| Astur-Leonese | |
|---|---|
| Asturllionés: asturianu, llionés, mirandés | |
| Spoken in | Spain (in the autonomous communities of Asturias, northwestern Extremadura, northwestern Castile and León and western Cantabria) and small pockets in northeastern Portugal. |
| Native speakers | 300,000-450,000[1] (date missing) |
| Language family |
Indo-European
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| Writing system | Latin |
| Official status | |
| Official language in | In Portugal: Co-official (as Mirandese) in Miranda do DouroIn Spain: Given special protection (as Leonese) in Castile and León, and (as Asturian) in Asturias |
| Regulated by | Academy of the Asturian Language, Institute of the Mirandese Language |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | [[ISO639-3:ast – Asturian ext – Extremaduran mwl – Mirandese|ast – Asturian ext – Extremaduran mwl – Mirandese]] |
| ISO 639-3 | variously: ast – Asturian ext – Extremaduran mwl – Mirandese |
| Linguasphere | 51-AAA-c |
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Astur-Leonese area
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Astur-Leonese is the generic name for a group of closely related linguistic varieties included in the West Iberian branch of the Romance languages. The linguistic varieties or languages in the group are assigned different names:
In addition:
Leonese language (as a denomination for the whole linguistic group) was once considered an informal dialect (basilect) of Spanish, or Castilian, but, in 1906, Ramón Menéndez Pidal showed it was the result of Latin evolution in the Kingdom of León.[3][4][5] Leonese language is officially recognised by the Autonomous Community of Castile and León (2006). In Asturias it is protected under the Autonomous Statute legislation, and is an optional language at schools, being widely studied.[6] In Portugal, the related Mirandese language is recognized by the Assembly of the Republic as a co-official language, along with Portuguese, for local matters and it is taught in public schools covering the areas where Mirandese is natively spoken. Initially thought to be a basilect, José Leite de Vasconcelos studied Mirandese and concluded it was a language different from Portuguese.
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The language developed from Vulgar Latin with contributions from the pre-Roman languages, which were spoken in the territory of the Astures, an ancient tribe of the Iberian peninsula. Castilian Spanish came to the area later, in the 14th century, when the central administration sent emissaries and functionaries to occupy political and ecclesiastical offices.
Much effort has been made since 1974 to protect and promote Asturian.[7] In 1981 Asturian, or Bable, as the language is officially named,[8] was recognized as a subject of specific protection by the local government. In 1994 there were 100,000 first language speakers, and 450,000 second language speakers able to speak or understand Asturian.[9] However, the situation of Asturian is critical, with a large decline in the number of speakers in the last 100 years. At the end of the 20th century, the Academia de la Llingua Asturiana made efforts to provide the language with most of the tools needed by a language to ensure its survival: a grammar, a dictionary, and periodicals. A new generation of Asturian writers have championed the language. These developments give the Asturian language a greater hope of survival.
Leonese was probably spoken in a much larger area in the Middle Ages, roughly corresponding to the old Kingdom of León. As the Spanish language became the main language in Spain, the linguistic features of Leonese progressively retreated westwards.
In the late 90s several associations unofficially promoted Leonese Language courses. In 2001 the Universidad de León (University of León) created a course for Leonese Teachers, and Local and Provincial Governments developed Leonese Language Courses for adults. Nowadays Leonese can be studied in the most important villages of León, Zamora and Salamanca provinces.
The situation of Leonese as a minority language has driven Leonese to an apparent dead end, and it is considered as a Seriously Endangered Language by UNESCO. There are some efforts to gain acceptance among the urban population (the Leonese Council has made campaigns for young people in the Leonese language). Some reports claim that it will be dead in two generations.
In spite of all the difficulties, the number of young people learning and using it (mainly as a written language) has substantially increased in recent years. Leonese City Council uses Leonese language in its own website and there are Leonese language courses for adult people. Leonese language is taught in sixteen leonese schools.
Leonese language has a special status in the Statute of Autonomy of Castile and León.[10]
In the 19th century, José Leite de Vasconcelos, described it as "the language of the farms, of work, home, and love between the Mirandese" distinguishing it from Portuguese. Since 1986/1987 the language has been taught to students between the age of 10 and 11, and the language is recovering. Today Mirandese retains fewer than 5,000 speakers (but the number can be up to 15,000 if counting second language speakers).
Portugal has taken a further step in protecting Mirandese, which is closely related to Asturian and specially to Leonese language, and it can be studied. Mirandese was officially recognised by the Portuguese Republic in 1999. It is administrated by the Anstituto de la Lhéngua Mirandesa.
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