SafekipediaLeonese language
Adapted from Wikipedia · Adventurer experience
Leonese is a group of traditional dialects spoken in parts of Spain and Portugal. You can mainly hear it in the provinces of León, Zamora, and Salamanca in Spain. There are also a few villages in Portugal where people speak it. Some people think Leonese is its own language, but most speakers use Spanish every day.
Only around 20,000 to 50,000 people still speak Leonese today. It is part of a bigger group of languages called Asturleonese. This group also includes Asturian. Even though some people treat Asturian and Leonese as separate, they are very similar. Leonese has a rich history and is important to the culture of the area where it is spoken.
Name
The name "Leonese" was used by a scholar named Menéndez Pidal to describe a group of languages, including Asturias. Some experts now use the term "Asturian-Leonese." But many people still call these languages "Leonese" or "Asturian." This is because some of these dialects are rare and not well known, even in the areas where they are spoken.
Leonese and Asturleonese
Leonese is a group of dialects spoken in parts of Spain and Portugal. It is closely related to the Asturian language, and together they are often called Astur-Leonese. These dialects share many features and are influenced by nearby languages like Galician.
Some scholars see Leonese as a language that includes both Asturian dialects and those spoken in the provinces of León and Zamora in Spain, as well as a related dialect in Trás-os-Montes in Portugal. Mirandese, spoken in Miranda do Douro, Portugal, is often considered a separate language and has official recognition there. Unlike Asturian, which has official support, Leonese dialects do not have the same level of promotion or regulation.
Main articles: Asturian language, Astur-Leonese, Galician language, Miranda do Douro, Institute of the Mirandese Language, Academy of the Asturian Language
Linguistic description
Leonese has five vowel sounds: /a, e, i, o, u/. These sounds can change a little when they are not stressed.
Leonese uses masculine and feminine genders and singular and plural numbers. For example, masculine nouns often end in -u when they are singular and -os when they are plural. Feminine nouns often end in -a when they are singular and -as when they are plural. Adjectives also change to match the gender and number of the nouns they describe.
| Gloss | Latin | Portuguese | Galician | Asturian/Leonese | Mirandese | Spanish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diphthongization of ŏ and ĕ | ||||||
| door | pŏrta(m) | porta | porta | puerta | puorta | puerta |
| eye | ŏc(u)lu(m) | olho | ollo | güeyu güechu | uolho | ojo |
| time | tĕmpu(m) | tempo | tempo | tiempu | tiempo | tiempo |
| land | tĕrra(m) | terra | terra | tierra | tierra | tierra |
| Falling diphthongs | ||||||
| thing | causa(m) | cousa coisa | cousa | co(u)sa | cousa | cosa |
| blacksmith | ferrariu(m) | ferreiro | ferreiro | ferre(i)ru | ferreiro | herrero |
| Initial n- | ||||||
| Christmas | natal(is) nativitate(m) | natal | nadal | ñavidá | natal | navidad |
| Initial f- | ||||||
| make | facere | fazer | facer | facer | fazer | hacer |
| iron | fĕrru(m) | ferro | ferro | fierru | fierro | hierro |
| Initial l- | ||||||
| fireplace | lare(m) | lar | lar | llar ḷḷar | lhar | lar |
| wolf | lupu(m) | lobo | lobo | llobu ḷḷobu | lhobo | lobo |
| Initial pl-, cl-, fl- | ||||||
| flat | planu(m) | chão | chan chao | chanu llanu | chano | llano |
| key | clave(m) | chave | chave | chave llave | chabe | llave |
| flame | flamma(m) | chama | chama | chama llama | chama | llama |
| Intervocalic -n- | ||||||
| frog | rana(m) | rã | ra(n) | rana | rana | rana |
| -ct- and -lt- | ||||||
| made | factu(m) | feito | feito | feitu fechu | feito | hecho |
| night | nŏcte(m) | noite | noite | nueite nueche | noute | noche |
| much | mŭltu(m) | muito | moito muito | muitu mueitu muchu | muito | mucho |
| listen | auscultāre | escutar | escoitar escuitar | escuitare escueitare escuchar | scuitar | escuchar |
| -c’l-, -t’l-, -g’l- | ||||||
| razor | novac(u)la(m) | navalha | navalla | ñavaya | nabalha | navaja |
| old | vet(u)lu(m) | velho | vello | vieyu viechu | bielho | viejo |
| tile | teg(u)la(m) | telha | tella | teya | telha | teja |
| -lj- | ||||||
| woman | muliere(m) | mulher | muller | muyer mucher | mulhier | mujer |
| -ll- | ||||||
| castle | castellu(m) | castelo | castelo | castiellu castieḷḷu | castielho | castillo |
| Intervocalic -l- | ||||||
| ice / to frost | gelu(m) gelare | gelo gear | xeo xear | xelu | hielo | |
| fern | filictu(m) | feto | fieito, fento | feleitu feichu | feleito | helecho |
| -m'n- | ||||||
| man | hom(i)ne(m) | homem | home | home | home | hombre |
| hunger, famine | fam(i)ne(m) | fome | fame | fame | fame | hambre |
| fire | lum(i)ne(m) | lume | lume | llume ḷḷume | lhume | lumbre |
Historical, social and cultural aspects
The Leonese language started from Latin, which Romans brought to the area. Over time, it changed and grew in places like Leon, Zamora, Asturias, and parts of Portugal. Long ago, Leonese was used in writing, government, and books. Today, fewer people speak it, mostly in villages.
Leonese is considered an endangered language. People are working to protect it, with classes and research. Some want Leonese used more in schools and official places, while others want to keep it as a special part of culture.
| Sociolinguistic study | Number of speakers |
|---|---|
| II Estudiu sociollingüísticu de Lleón: Identidá, conciencia d'usu y actitúes llingüístiques de la población lleonesa | 50,000 |
| Facendera pola Llengua newsletter | 25,000 |
| El asturiano-leonés: aspectos lingüísticos, sociolingüísticos y legislación | 20,000 to 25,000 |
| Linguas en contacto na bisbarra do Bierzo: castelán, astur-leonés e galego. | 2,500 to 4,000 (El Bierzo, Ribas de Sil, Fornela, and La Cabrera) |
Literature
Leonese literature includes several notable works, such as:
- Benigno Suárez Ramos, El tío perruca, 1976.
- Cayetano Álvarez Bardón, Cuentos en dialecto leonés, 1981.
- Xuan Bello, Nel cuartu mariellu, 1982.
- Miguel Rojo, Telva ya los osos, 1994.
- Manuel García Menéndez, Corcuspin el Rozcayeiru, 1984.
- Manuel García Menéndez, Delina nel valle'l Faloupu, 1985.
- Eva González Fernández, Poesía completa : 1980–1991, 1991.
- Cuentos de Lleón: Antoloxía d'escritores lleoneses de güei, 1996.
- Roberto González-Quevedo, L.lume de l.luz, 2002.
- Roberto González-Quevedo, Pol sendeiru la nueite, 2002.
- Roberto González-Quevedo, Pan d'amore : antoloxía poética 1980–2003, 2004.
- Roberto González-Quevedo, El Sil que baxaba de la nieve, 2007.
- Emilce Núñez Álvarez, Atsegrías ya tristuras, 2005.
- Luis Cortés Vázquez, Leyendas, cuentos y romances de Sanabria, 2003.
- Ramón Menéndez Pidal, El dialecto leonés (Commemorative edition with stories and poems in Leonese), 2006.
- Cuentos populares leoneses (escritos por niños), 2006.
- Nicolás Bartolomé Pérez, Filandón: lliteratura popular llionesa, 2007.
- José Aragón y Escacena, Entre brumas, 1921.
- Francisco Javier Pozuelo Alegre, Poemas pa nun ser lleídos, 2008.
- Xosepe Vega Rodríguez, Epífora y outros rellatos, 2008.
- Xosepe Vega Rodríguez, Breve hestoria d'un gamusinu, 2008.
- Antoine De Saint-Exupéry, El Prencipicu (Translation of The Little Prince), 2009.
- Ramón Rei Rodríguez, El ñegru amor, 2009.
- Juan Andrés Oria de Rueda Salguero, Llogas carbayesas, 2009.
Images
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Leonese language, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Images from Wikimedia Commons. Tap any image to view credits and license.