Mirandese (mirandés)

Mirandese is a Western Ibero-Romance language spoken by about 3,500 people mainly in northern Portugal. The majority of Mirandese speakers live in the municipalities of Miranda do Douro (Miranda de l Douro) and Vimioso (Bumioso), and also in Mogadouro, , Macedo de Cavaleiros a and Bragança (Bergáncia). There are a few more speakers of Mirandese in Çamora and Salamanca in Spain.

According to a survey carried out by the University of Vigo in 2020, about 1,500 people speak Mirandese regularly, and younger people are less likely to speak the language.

There are three varieties of Mirandese: Border Mirandese (Mirandés Raiano), Central Mirandese (Mirandés Central) and Sendinese (Sendinés). Most Mirandese speakers of also speak Portuguese.

Mirandese is closely related to Asturian, and developed from Astur-Leonese, that was spoken in the Kingdom of León in Spain. It began to emerge as a distinct language during the 12th century, and Mirandese literature first appeared in the late 19th century. The best known Mirandese writer is José Leite de Vasconcelos.

Since Mirandese was first written in 1884, several different spelling systems have been used. The first official orthography appeared in the 1990s, and this has since been changed somewhat.

Today it is taught in some schools, articles in Mirandese appear some in newspapers and magazines, and there are occasional radio and television programmes in the language. Many young people view the language as archaic and underdeveloped and have little interest in it.

Mirandese alphabet

Pronunciation of Mirandese

Download an alphabet chart for Mirandese (Excel)

Notes

b = [β] between vowels and after voiced consonants
c = [s̻] before e or i, [k] elsewhere
ç = [z̻] before words starting with voiced consonants
d = [ð] between vowels and after r
e = [ɨ/ɨ̃] before stressed syllables
g = [ɣ] between vowels and after r. Before e and i, g = [ʒ]. g = [ɡu] in certain words, such as guira, guiron and guirica. g = [gu̯] before a
gu = [ɣ] between vowels and after r
l = [ʎ] at the beginning of words, and [l] elsewhere
o = [u] when unstressed
m is silent before nasalized front vowels, e.g. amportante
n is silent before consonants and at the end of words before nasalized front vowels, e.g. lhéngua, sons, quien
qu = [k] before e and i, and [kṷ] before a and en
r = [rr] at the beginning of words and after n
s = [s̺] when in initial position and before silent consonants. Between vowels and before voiced consonants, s = [z̺]
k, v and w are only used in loanwords from other languages

Sample texts

Quien dirie qu'antre ls matos eiriçados
Las ourriêtas i ls rius d'esta tiêrra,
Bibie, cumo l chaugarço de la siêrra,
Ua lhéngua de sons tan bariados?

Mostre-se i fale-s' essa lhéngua filha
D'un pobo que ten neilha l choro i l canto!
Nada por ciêrto mos cautiba tanto
Cumo la form' an que l'eideia brilha.

Zgraçiado d'aquel, qu'abandonando
La patri' an que naciu, la casa i l huôrto.
Tamien se squeçe de la fala! Quando
L furdes ber, talbéç que stéia muôrto!

A poem by J. Leite de Vasconcelos, source: http://www.orbilat.com/Languages/Asturian-Mirandes/Texts/Mirandes-Poem.html

Todos ls seres houmanos nácen lhibres i eiguales an honra i an dreitos. Dotados de rezon i de cuncéncia, dében de se dar bien uns culs outros i cumo armanos.

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)

Muitas lhénguas ténen proua de ls sous pergaminos antigos, de la lhiteratura screbida hai cientos d'anhos i de scritores hai muito afamados, hoije bandeiras dessas lhénguas. Mas outras hai que nun puoden tener proua de nada desso, cumo ye l causo de la lhéngua mirandesa.

Translation

Many languages take pride in their ancient scrolls, their centuries-old literature, and in famous writers, today standards of those languages. But there are others which can't boast of any of this, as in the case of Mirandese.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirandese_language#Sample_text

Sample videos in Mirandese

Information about Mirandese | Phrases | Numbers

Links

Information about the Mirandese Language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirandese_language
https://mwl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lh%C3%A9ngua_mirandesa
https://lhengua.org/lalhengua/
https://clul.ulisboa.pt/en/projeto/border-languages-mirandese

Tradutor Pertués - Mirandés (Portugese-Mirandese translator)
https://student.dei.uc.pt/~crpires/tradutor/Tradutor.html

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: 12.09.24

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