Mirandese language

Mirandese
Mirandese
mirandés
Native to	Portugal
Region	Terra de Miranda (Miranda do Douro, Vimioso and Mogadouro)
Native speakers	15,000 (2000)e18; (10,000 use it regularly, 5,000 when they return to the area)
Language family	Indo-European Italic Romance Western Ibero-Romance West Iberian Asturleonese Mirandese; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Official status
Official language in	Co-official recognition. Special protection status in Miranda do Douro, Portugal. Statutory language of provincial identity in 4 municipalities, northeast Portugal (1999, Law No. 7-99 of 29 January).
Regulated by	Anstituto de la Lhéngua Mirandesa
Language codes
ISO 639-2	mwl
ISO 639-3	mwl
Linguasphere	51-AAA-cb
	Locator map of the Miranda do Douro municipality, which harbors the vast majority of Mirandese speakers.
	This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.
	This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.

The Mirandese language or lhéngua mirandesa is an Astur-Leonese language or language variety^[2] that is sparsely spoken in a small area of northeastern Portugal in Terra de Miranda (made up of the municipalities of Miranda do Douro, Mogadouro and Vimioso).

Street sign in Genísio, with the street name in Mirandese and in Portuguese

Recognition

The Assembly of the Republic granted it official recognition alongside Portuguese for local matters on 17 September 1998 with the law 7/99 of 29 January 1999.^[3] In 2001, Mirandese was officially recognised by the European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages, which aims to promote the survival of the least spoken European languages.^[4]

Roots

Mirandese has a distinct phonology, morphology and syntax. It has its roots in the local Vulgar Latin spoken in the northern Iberian Peninsula.

Mirandese is a descendant of the Astur-Leonese variety spoken in the Kingdom of León and has both archaisms and innovations that differentiate it from the modern varieties of Astur-Leonese spoken in Spain. In recognition of these differences, and due to its political isolation from the rest of the Astur-Leonese speaking territory, Mirandese has adopted a different written norm to the one used in Spain for Astur-Leonese.

Mirandese Language Media

How the masculine singular definite article is said in the mirandese speaking territory, ‘L’. All villages that speak the Raiano dialect (except for San Martino) say /lu/, while all other villages say /ɐl/.
Bilingual sign in the village of Pruoba(Póvoa), previously Pruôba, with old writing, having ⟨ô⟩. Reading Dius bos l pague pula buôssa besita i buôna biaige 'God bless you for your visit and bon voyage.'
Public sign with the history of the Cathedral of Miranda do Douro, written in Mirandese.