Mirandese language

Mirandese language (Lhéngua Mirandesa in Mirandese; Língua Mirandesa or Mirandês in Portuguese) is a language spoken in northeast Portugal, which was recognised by the Portuguese Parliament in 1999.

Mirandese has a grammatical body (independent phonetics, phonology, morphology and syntax) dates from the formation of Portugal (12th century). It has its roots in the spoken Latin in the North of the Iberian Peninsula (Portuguese was in the Northwest). It is a well preserved dialect of the ancient Leonese language of northern Iberia, which today is related to Asturian language, which in its turn is considered by many a dialect of Spanish.

However, these amalgamations in the Spanish territory did not affect Mirandese, which is a distinct language in relation to both Portuguese and Spanish. It is the last remnant of the ancient language of the Kingdom of León.

In the 19th century, José Leite de Vasconcelos, describe it has "the language of the farms, of work, home, and love between the Mirandese".

Today it is used, mostly as a second language, by less than 5,000 people (no first language to any) in the villages of the Municipality of Miranda do Douro and in three villages of the Municipality of Vimioso, in an area of 484 km², stretching to other villages of the municipalities of Vimioso, Mogadouro, Macedo de Cavaleiros and Bragança. There are three dialects: "Normal Mirandese", "Border Mirandese" and "Sendinês Mirandese". Most people are bilingual in Portuguese or even trilingual in Spanish.