Astur-Leonese language
Astur-Leonese is a
Romance language of the
West Iberian group, spoken in the
Spanish provinces of
Asturias (where it is called
Asturian,
asturianu, or
Bable),
León,
Zamora and
Salamanca (where it is called
Leonese,
llionés),
Extremadura (where it is called
Extremaduran,
extremeñu) and
Cantabria (where is called
Cantabrian,
montañés).
The language was once considered an informal dialect (
basilect) of
Spanish, but now it is considered a separate
language. In Asturias it is protected under the Autonomous Statute legislation, and is an optional language at schools. In Portugal, the related
Mirandese language is officially recognized.
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. In
1994 there were 100,000 first language speakers, and 450,000 second language speakers able to speak or understand Asturian. However, the situation of Asturian is critical, with a large decline in the number of speakers in the last 100 years.
The denial of recognition of Asturian or Leonese as an official language has driven Asturian and Leonese to an apparent dead end. Some reports claim that Asturian 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, mainly among intellectual groups and politically active Asturians and Leonese proud of their regional identity.
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 both in Asturias and in León have also championed the language. These developments give the Asturian / Leonese language a greater hope of survival.
Portugal has taken a further step in protecting the language variety known as
Mirandese, which is closely related to
Astur-Leonese, by recognizing it as a language.
*
List of Asturian language authors*
Extremaduran language *
Mirandese language *
Menéndez Pidal*
Ethnologue report for Asturian*
L'Academia de la Llingua Asturiana — the official Asturian language committee
*
Real Instituto de Estudios Asturianos — Royal Institute of Asturian Studies (RIDEA or IDEA), founded 1945.
*
Asturian–English dictionary
