Asturian language Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Asturian or Asturleonés (Bable in Asturian) is a Romance language spoken in some parts of the provinces of Asturias and León in Spain, and in the area of Miranda de Douro in Portugal (where it is officially recognized as 'Mirandese'). In Asturias it is protected under the Autonomous Status legislation, and it is an optional language at schools. There was a diglossia conflict between Asturian and Spanish, which resulted in some scholars considering it a dialect of Spanish. However, nowadays it is considered a separate language.Much effort has been made since 1980 to protect and promote Asturian. However, establishing the language as an official tongue has still not happened in most areas. The situation of Asturian in other parts of Spain 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 the recognition of Asturian as an official language has driven Asturian to an apparent dead end. Speakers are prevented from using it in its daily life, because neither the Administration nor private instituions will accept documents written in Asturian and usually will not pay attention to people trying to deal with them in Asturian. Some reports claim that Asturian language will be extinguished in 2 generations.
In spite of all the difficulties that the government (both Asturian government and Spanish government) have put to the language, the number of young people learning and using it(mainly as a written language) has substantially increased in the last years, mainly among intellectual groups and Asturian and Leonese political active people with an identity feeling.
This, along with the great work developed by the Academia de la Llingua Asturiana, who in the last 20 years has provided the language with most of the tools needed by a language to ensure its theoretical survival (Grammar, Dictionary, periodic publications...), and the new generation of Asturian (both in Asturias and in Leon) writers, makes us foresee a not so pessimistic future for Asturian Language.
External links
There is an Asturian-language Wikipedia.
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