West Iberian languages
Encyclopedia
West Iberian is a branch of the Romance languages
which includes Castilian
, Ladino, the Astur-Leonese group (Asturian
, Leonese
, and Mirandese
, but also Extremaduran and Cantabrian), and the modern descendants of Galician-Portuguese
(Galician
, Portuguese
, and the Fala language
). According to historical linguistic
analysis, these languages are significantly closer to each other in historical terms than to any other living language in the peninsula—including Catalan
, the other major Romance language of the Iberian Peninsula
.
Until a few centuries ago, they formed a dialect continuum
covering the western, central and southern parts of the Iberian Peninsula—excepting the Basque
and Catalan-speaking
territories. This is still the situation in a few regions, particularly in the northern part of the peninsula, but due to the differing sociopolitical histories of these languages (independence of Portugal
since the early 12th century, though briefly interrupted in the 16th and the 17th centuries; unification of Spain
in the 15th century under the Catholic Monarchs
, who privileged Castilian over the other Iberian languages), Spanish (Castilian) and Portuguese have tended to overtake and to a large extent absorb their sister languages, while they kept diverging from each other.
There is controversy over whether the members of the modern Galician-Portuguese and Astur-Leonese subgroups are language
s or dialect
s. A common, though disputed, classification is to state that Portuguese and Galician are separate languages, as Asturian, Leonese, and Mirandese. Cantabrian and Extremaduran are considered codialects of Leonese language for the UNESCO, while the latter is a Castilian dialect in the ISO codes.
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
which includes Castilian
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Ladino, the Astur-Leonese group (Asturian
Asturian language
Asturian is a Romance language of the West Iberian group, Astur-Leonese Subgroup, spoken in the Spanish Region of Asturias by the Asturian people...
, Leonese
Leonese language
The Leonese language is the endonym term used to refer to all vernacular Romance dialects of the Astur-Leonese linguistic group in the Spanish provinces of León and Zamora; Astur-Leonese also includes the dialects...
, and Mirandese
Mirandese language
The Mirandese language is a Romance language belonging to the Astur-Leonese linguistic group, sparsely spoken in a small area of northeastern Portugal, in the municipalities of Miranda do Douro, Mogadouro and Vimioso...
, but also Extremaduran and Cantabrian), and the modern descendants of Galician-Portuguese
Galician-Portuguese
Galician-Portuguese or Old Portuguese was a West Iberian Romance language spoken in the Middle Ages, in the northwest area of the Iberian Peninsula. It was first spoken in the area bounded in the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean and the Douro River in the south but it was later extended south...
(Galician
Galician language
Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...
, Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, and the Fala language
Fala language
Fala is a Romance linguistic variety commonly classified in the Portuguese-Galician subgroup, with some traits from Leonese, spoken in Spain by about 10,500 people, of whom 5,500 live in a valley of the northwestern part of Extremadura near the border with Portugal...
). According to historical linguistic
Historical linguistics
Historical linguistics is the study of language change. It has five main concerns:* to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages...
analysis, these languages are significantly closer to each other in historical terms than to any other living language in the peninsula—including Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
, the other major Romance language of the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
.
Until a few centuries ago, they formed a dialect continuum
Dialect continuum
A dialect continuum, or dialect area, was defined by Leonard Bloomfield as a range of dialects spoken across some geographical area that differ only slightly between neighboring areas, but as one travels in any direction, these differences accumulate such that speakers from opposite ends of the...
covering the western, central and southern parts of the Iberian Peninsula—excepting the Basque
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
and Catalan-speaking
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
territories. This is still the situation in a few regions, particularly in the northern part of the peninsula, but due to the differing sociopolitical histories of these languages (independence of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
since the early 12th century, though briefly interrupted in the 16th and the 17th centuries; unification of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in the 15th century under the Catholic Monarchs
Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; they were given a papal dispensation to deal with...
, who privileged Castilian over the other Iberian languages), Spanish (Castilian) and Portuguese have tended to overtake and to a large extent absorb their sister languages, while they kept diverging from each other.
There is controversy over whether the members of the modern Galician-Portuguese and Astur-Leonese subgroups are language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
s or dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
s. A common, though disputed, classification is to state that Portuguese and Galician are separate languages, as Asturian, Leonese, and Mirandese. Cantabrian and Extremaduran are considered codialects of Leonese language for the UNESCO, while the latter is a Castilian dialect in the ISO codes.
See also
- Iberian Romance languagesIberian Romance languagesThe Iberian Romance languages or Ibero-Romance languages are the Romance languages that developed on the Iberian Peninsula, an area consisting primarily of Spain, Portugal, and Andorra....
- Iberian languagesIberian languagesIberian languages is a generic term for the languages currently or formerly spoken in the Iberian Peninsula.- Pre-Roman languages :The following languages were spoken in the Iberian Peninsula before the Roman occupation and the spread of the Latin language.* Aquitanian * Proto-Basque* Tartessian*...