Astur-Leonese language

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{{language |name=Asturian |nativename=asturianu |region=Spain (the autonomous communities of Asturias, Extremadura and Castile and Leon) and Portugal (the municipality of Miranda do Douro) |speakers=100,000 (450,000 total) |familycolor=Indo-European |fam2=Italic |fam3=Romance |fam4=Italo-Western |fam5=Gallo-Iberian |fam6=Ibero-Romance |fam7=West Iberian |fam8=Asturo-Leonese |agency=Academy of the Asturian Language |iso2=ast|iso3=ast}}

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, llïonés), Extremadura (where is called Extremaduran, extremeñu) and in the area of Miranda de Douro in Portugal (where it is called Mirandese, mirandés).

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 Status legislation, and is an optional language at schools. In Portugal it is officially recognized as Mirandese.

1 Language history
2 Status
3 See also
4 External links

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Language history

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.

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Status

Much effort has been made since 1980 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. Portugal has taken a further step in protecting this language by recognizing it.

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 that government policies (both the Asturian government and the Spanish government) have caused, 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.

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