Extremaduran (Estremeñu)

Extremaduran is a Romance language spoken in western Spanish, mainly in the autonomous community of Extremadura, and in neighboring parts of Salamanca, Toledo, Ciudad Real, Córdoba and Huelva. It is also spoken in Barrancos in Portugal.

There are two varieties of Extremaduran: a Western one, and an Eastern one, which is more influenced by Spanish.

Estimates on the number of Extremaduran speakers vary widely, from 200,000 to 1.1 million people. The language is spoken mainly by the oldest generation. Younger people understand it but do not necessarily speak it.

Extremaduran was first written in 16th century by the poet Diego Sánchez de Badajoz, whose play Farsas was written in the Sayagués dialect which included Extremaduran vocabulary. In the late 19th José María Gabriel y Galán wrote some of his poems in Extremaduran and started the cultured literary use of the language.

Extremaduran alphabet

This orthography was created by Ismael Carmona García, one of the best-known Extremaduran linguists. It was approved by the Linguistic Committee of the OSCEC (Órganu de Seguimientu i Cordinación del Estremeñu i la su Coltura), a cultural association which promotes the Extremaduran language.

A a	B b	C c	D d	E e	F f	G g	H h	I i	J j	L l	M m	N n
a	be	que/ce	de	e	efi	g(u)e	hachi	i	jota	eli	emi	eni
Ñ ñ	O o	P p	Q q	R r	S s	T t	U u	V v	X x	Y y	Z z
eñi	o	pe	cu	er(r)i	es(s)e	te	u	uvi	equis	ye	zeta

Extremaduran pronunciation

Notes

b and v = [β̞] between vowels (cabu, avíu), [ɸ] after s (los burrus, las vegas), [b] elsewhere (lombu, vida, envital).
c = [θ] before i or e (cereza, cigarru), [kʰ] after s (pesca), [k] elsewhere (canchu).
ç = [θ] before a, o, u or r (çapatu, çocotreu, çugal, Caçris).
d = [ð̞] between vowels (recadal), [θ] after -s (los deus), [d̪] elsewhere.
g = [h] before i or e (genti, giganti), [ɣ] between vowels (higu), [x] or [h] after -s (los gatus) and [ɡ] elsewhere.
gu = [ɡ] before e or i (guerra, guisiju), [ɡw] before a, o, u (guanti, aguosu, abriguu). It’s gü if u sounds before e or i (agüilla).
p = [pʰ] after s (espá), [p] elsewhere.
qu = [k] before e or i (quesu, quintu), [kw] before a, o, u (quaira, liquu). It’s qü if u sounds before e or i (aqüíferu).
r = [r] before n (carni), after n or l (onra, pelra) and in word initial position (ratu), [ɾ] elsewhere.
s = [z] between vowels (casa), [ʰ] before consonants or in word final position in most of the dialects, [s] elsewhere.
t = [t̪ʰ] after s (estalachi), [t̪] elsewhere.
Acute accents are probably used to show stress.

Sample text in Extremaduran

Tolos ombris nacin libris i igualis en diniá i derechus. Comu gastan dela razón i del conocimientu, devin de portal-si comu ermanus unus con otrus.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Information provided mainly by Ismael Carmona García

Information about Extremaduran | Phrases | Numbers

Links

Information about Extremaduran
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremaduran_language
http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ext
http://oscec.blogspot.co.uk/
https://palraestremenu.wordpress.com/

Romance languages

Aragonese, Aranese, Aromanian, Asturian, Catalan, Corsican, Dalmatian, Emilian-Romagnol, Extremaduran, Fala, Franco-Provençal, French, Friulian, Galician, Gallo, Gascon, Genoese, Guernésiais, Istro-Romanian, Istriot, Italian, Jèrriais, Ladino, Ladin, Ligurian, Lombard, Lorrain, Megleno-Romanian, Mirandese, Moldovan, Monégasque, Mozarabic, Neapolitan, Occitan, Occitan (Auvergnat), Occitan (Languedocien), Occitan (Limousin), Occitan (Provençal), Picard, Piedmontese, Portuguese, Romanian, Romansh, Sardinian, Sicilian, Spanish, Valencian, Venetian, Walloon

Languages written with the Latin alphabet

Page last modified: 23.04.21

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