Mirandese language
Mirandese (mirandés or lhéngua mirandesa) is a language or variety of Asturleonese that is sparsely spoken in a small area of northeastern Portugal in Tierra de Miranda (made up of the municipalities of Miranda de l Douro, Mogadouro and Bumioso). The Assembly of the Republic granted it official recognition alongside Portuguese for local matters with Law 7/99 of 29 January 1999. 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.
| Mirandese | |
|---|---|
| mirandés | |
| Native to | Portugal |
| Region | Tierra de Miranda (Miranda de l Douro, Bumioso and Mogadouro) |
Native speakers | 15,000 (2000) (~10,000 use it regularly) |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Co-official recognition. Special protection status in Miranda de l 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 |
| Glottolog | mira1251 |
| ELP | Miranda do Douro |
| Linguasphere | 51-AAA-cb |
Locator map of the Miranda de l Douro municipality, which harbors the vast majority of Mirandese speakers. | |
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.