1 Aragonese and Bable By Cathryn Johnson, Emma Santoyo, Nicola Fellows, Francesca Hay and Andreas Pavlou Before we start this presentation we wanted to show you a couple of short videos from youtube so that you can actually listen to Aragonese and Bable so you can get a better idea of what we’re talking about when we do The first one on aragonese about growing up in aragon has subtitles although there not very clear you can see what they are saying in castilian. Aragon

2 Lengua vs. Dialecto Lengua: “sistema lingüístico caracterizado por su fuerte diferenciación, por poseer un alto grado de nivelación, por ser vehículo de una importante tradición literaria y, en ocasiones, por haberse impuesto a sistemas lingüísticos del mismo origen”(Alvar, )

3 Dialecto: “un sistema de signos desgajado de una lengua común, viva o desaparecida, normalmente, con una cocreta limitación geográfica, pero sin una fuerte diferenciación frente a otros de origen común. De modo secundario, pueden llamarse dialectos ‘las estructuras lingüísticas, simultáneas a otras que no alcanzan la categoría de lengua.”(Alvar, )

4 Where is Aragón? So firstly it’s important that we all know where Aragon is.... As you can see from the map on the board it’s in the North East of spain and shares it’s border with France as well of 6 of Spains autonomous communities including Catalan. This is quite important as Catalan is spoken in some places in catalan most notably the Franja de Aragon a strip of land

5 Where is Aragón? The area shaded in peach on the map is where the Speak catalan whilst the yellow area is where they speak kind of a mix of both or transition languages as they are called here. In the green part the mainly speak Castilian or aragonese.

6 Número de hablantes Censo “¿Conoce o utiliza algún habla propia de Aragón?” lo utilizaban. lo conocían. poca fiabilidad (conciencia lingüística, no emigrantes, antigüedad)

7 Censo lingüístico de Monzón. 199714% conoce/habla el aragonés 21% conoce/habla el aragonés y el catálán Estudio del Alto de Aragón encargado por el Gobierno de Aragón. 2000

8 Aragonese - History Early Origins Middle ages Modern EraCartahgenic era Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis Muslim moors 714 Carolingian Franks Middle ages Union of Aragon and Catalan Uniting of Castile and Aragon Modern Era Civil War So I’m going to briefly talk about the history of the Kingdom of Aragon. I won;t go in to too much detail since as you will see it’s a very complex history but if you do want to know more I would recommend having a look at The Encyclopaedia of Stateless Nations where I have taken most of my informantion from. It’s only 3 or 4 pages so you should be able to get through it in 15 mins or so. We can trace records of Aragon back to the Carthagenic era when the city of Zaragoza was known as Saluba. It became part of the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis although Roman power was never very strong in the area. It was then invaded by the Visigoths before the Muslim Moors invaded and seized power in the region in the year 714 but a few years later The Carolingian Frank ridded the region of the moors and it became part of the kingdom of Navarre. (I’m sorry there seem to be so many names in this but it does get a little easier in the middle ages – trust me!) In 1137 the ruler of Catalonia married the heiress to the kingdom of Aragon and for around 300 years the two kingdoms were more or less united although the Catalans did benefit far more from the union than the Aragonese. In 1179 the formed an agreement with the Castilains to reconquer two areas from the moors. With this complete, the aragonese then went on to expand in to the mediterranean, something that they did with the help of the Catalans who had a very strong navy. By 1412 the Agraonese arisocrats became somewhat dissillusioned with the Catalans and decided in favor of a union with Castile. The apponited Ferdinanad the 1st to the throne of Aragon and one of his successors also called Ferdinand was betrothed to and married Princess Isabella of Castile who was the Heir to the castillian throne. I exepct most of you know about Isabella and Ferdinanad – they ordered the Spanish Inquisition and the reconquest of territories taken previously by the Moors. In more recent times, the region suffered during the civil war, with a great many battles being waged in the area. During the Franco dictatorship the majority if people moved from the countryside to the cities leaving many of the rural areas depopulated, which can be attributed somewhat to the language decline that the area has experienced in recent years.

9 Aragonese – The LanguageFabla = Speech Origins – Ibero-Romance Language Navarro-Aragonese Dialect Western Central Eastern Southern Standardisation 16th/17th century “un dialecto arcaico del castellano”(Herreras 2006: 111) So the Aragonese language, also commonly known as Fabla which literally means “Speech”, like castillian and catalan, has its roots in the Ibero-Romance languages. It shares many similarities to Occitain and Catalan. Some of the oldest texts written in any of the Iberian Romance languages are written in Aragonese. The language is a Navarro-Aragonese dialect (in fact it’s the only remaining Navarro-Aragonese dialect) and is spoken in 4 major dialects – Western Central Eastern and Southern. The majority of modern day speakers use the Eastern Variety whilst the written form is based on both central and eastern. The language was widely spoken in the region until around the 15th century with the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille merged the two provinces and Castillian took over as the vernacular language and Argaonese became a dialect although any texts were still written in Aragonese as it was considered to be more elegant than castillian. Despote the prevelence of Castillian Spanish Aragonese was standardised in the 16th and 17th century. In more modern times, Aragonese is not officially recognised by the Spanish constitution as an independent language although the statute of Autonomy does provide certain protections for it as I shall explain in a few moments, and according to Jose Carlos Herreras it is now considered by experts to be an archaic dialect of castilian.

10 Aragón – Statute of Autonomy“Las lenguas y modalidades lingüísticas propias de Aragón constituyen una de las manifestaciones más destacadas del patrimonio histórico y cultural aragonés y un valor social de respeto, convivencia y entendimiento.” Like all the other autonomous regions of Spain, Aragon has it’s own statute of autonomy. The original dates from 1982 however it was recently reformed in 2007 with the aim of rejuvenating aragonese identity. Article 7 of the Statute sates that the languages and linguistic models of Aragon make up one of the most distinctive displays of aragonese historical and cultural heritage and is a social value of respect, coexistence and understanding. It also provides for a law to promote the protection, recuperation, teaching, promotion and diffusion of the linguistic heritage of Aragon in the zones where the aragonese lanaguge and linguistic models are predominantly used It also states that no one will be discriminated against because of the language that they use. It is important to note that the statute of autonomy calls uses the words “linguistic models” as well as languages. In some parts of Aragon whish border Catalonia Catalan is spoken. Typically the Aragonese is considered a dialect of spainsh but it has a rich history which warents its protection under law.

11 Aragonese Language bodies Magazines Pedro Arnal Cavero Literary PrizeConsello d'a Fabla Aragonesa Ligallos de Fabla Aragonese Academia de l’Aragonese Magazines Pedro Arnal Cavero Literary Prize Televison “The Aragonese, although a historic nation, are among the newest to create a national identity in southwestern Europe” (Minahan, 2001:167) I am now going to briefly look at some of the uses of Aragonese and also the attitudes towards the language. So as I have already said, Aragonese is recognised by the statute of autonomy as where it is referred to as a linguistic model , however it is not an official language recognised by the Spanish constitution. Moreover as we have seen previously, certain academics consider it to be an anchent dialect of castilian. Firstly I want to briefly mention the Consello d’e Fabla Aragonesa and the Ligallos de fabla Aragonese which are 2 bodies with in Aragon which aim to promote Aragonese within the region. The web pages for the two are in the bibliography if you want to have a more detailed look at them, although they are written in aragonese so a bit of patience is required. The consello d’a fabla or council of aragonese was established in 1976 however it has had very little real influence on linguistic policy in the region. It also publishes 2 journal/magazines one called Fuellas the other called Luenga & fablas. Again I won’t go in to too much detail about these but if you want to have a go at reading some aragonese have a look at the website. Similarly the website of ligallos de fabla aragonese or the league of aragonese speakers organises courses in Aragonese. There are also 5 magazines published in the language There is also the Academia de l’aragonese which is charged with standardising the language and again ensuring its promotion and use through out the region. In 1987 the Aragonese government created the Pedro Arnal Cavero book prize, named after a famous Aragonese writter and in 1989 a decree widened it’s cache to include books written in catalan as well. Aragon shares a boarder to the east with Catalan and along this stip many people speak catalan Aragon also has it’s own television channel which broadcast’s in Casitlian. Again, the web address is in the bibliography but as you will notice the website is in castilian and the broadcasts that you can watch online all appear to be in castilian. In the franja and around the borders they can pick up some catalan TV stations which in 2002 gained around 1.2% of the total audience, as you can see this is a minimal number. In terms of attitudes to the lanague there are no concrete figures to say weather the people are generally positive or negative. As you can see from the number of speakers compared with the actual population of the region would indicate that there is not really a massive amount of support for the lanague althoug as we saw in the video at the very beginning the younger generations seem to be learning it and the parents that were interviewed also have quite a positive outlook on the idea of learning Aragonese. In recent years there has been a move to revive the language and the aragonese identity. The revised version of the statute of autonomy is tribute to this. There has been a slight rise in aragonese nationalism however this seems more to do with political reasons rather than for actual purposes of identity. The main thing they are opposed to is the siphoning off of water from the Ebro river to other regions of Spain since Aragon is generally quite arid and a complex irrigation system is in place. So even though aragonese is one of the oldest language varieties in the iberian penunsula it is not currently in the best position. It is now seen as a dialect rather than an languae however there is a movement to resotre it, even if it does not have much support and it perhaps comes rather late in the day. As

12 Fonética GRANDE> gran (grande) FILIU> fillo (hijo)IUVEN>choven (joven) GELARE>chelar (helar) FACTU > feito (hecho COXU> coixo (cojo) MULIERE> mullé(r) (mujer) ACUT’LA> agulla (aguja)

13 Acentuación paraxitónica: tendencia a deshacer los esdrújolos;medíco ‘médico’

14 Morfología PronombresYo, tu, él/er, nusatros/nusotros, busatros/busotros, ellos/ers Con tu, con yo.. Iste, ista, istos, istas, isto Ixe, ixa, ixos, ixas, ixo ¿Qui ye ixe? ‘¿Quién es ese?’

15 Determinantes - Artículo: o, a, os, as lo, la, los, las - Bel can ‘Algún perro’ Bella mujer ‘Alguna mujer’ - ueito ‘ocho’; nuéu ‘nueve’, bente ‘veinte’.. Conjugación verbal - Morfemas personales fez ‘hacéis’ cantáz ‘cantáis’

16 - Morfemas temporales Pretérito imperfecto: ‘-ba’ vs. ‘-ía’ quereba ‘quería’ faba ‘hacía’ dizíba ‘decía’ Subjuntivo- pretérito imperfecto bebese ‘bebiera’ diziese ‘dijera’ Participio: amáu, partíu /amato, partito

17 7 Adverbios - Lugar: adebán, debán ‘delante’;dezaga ‘detrás’; astí ‘aquí’, ‘ahí’ - Tiempo: uey/ue ‘hoy’; à boníco/ amonico ‘despacio’; dillá/dellá ‘más allá’ - Modo: millar ‘mejor’; asinas ‘así’ - Cantidad: muito ‘mucho’; pro ‘bastante’ Preposiciones - enta ‘hacia’; dica ‘hasta’

18 Sintaxis Artículo + posesivos: O mio fillo ‘Mi hijo’Complementos en/ne ‘de ello’; bi/i ‘aquí, allí’ Damene ‘Dame (de ello)’ Bi ha chen ‘Hay gente (allí/ahí/aquí) Partitivo: ne/en Ya en tiene de comida

19 Conclusion Very few speakers Dialect rather than a languageProtected by Statute of Autonomy but few provisions for promotion of language Survival younger generations Institutional provisions and language planning measures

20 BABLE

21 In 1994 there were 100,000 first language speakers, and 450,000 second language speakers able to speak or understand Asturian.

22 Bable – An IntroductionRomance language spoken in Asturias and parts of Castilla y León and Zamora Also known as Asturian (although in official documentation referred to as Bable) A language (not a dialect) with 3 dialects of its own – Western, Central and Eastern Asturian (Central Asturian has most speakers so is the basis of its standard form) Does NOT have official status in Asturias or anywhere else.

23 Early Middle Ages Fragmentation of Vulgar Latin+ influences from the pre-Roman language spoken in Asturias, León, Zamora and Miranda before arrival of Latin = Bable (a Romance Language) Spoken first in Kingdom of Asturias before spreading to remainder of Asturias 10th century - first documents known to contain Asturian grammar and lexicon (although rare)

24 12th, 13th and 14th Centuries Long-term diglossic situation with Latin and Asturian Asturian was the chosen language for official documents (evidence found of wills, commercial contracts, agreements etc) Literature in Asturian not yet present

25 Introduction of CastilianCastilian administration, backed by Trastámara Dynasty, came to occupy areas of political and ecclesiastic power  Castilian replaced Bable as language of official documentation Bable/Asturian reduced to oral, private, informal use only

26 17th, 18th, 19th Centuries 17th C - start of Bable literary tradition (Antón de Marrireguerra (1605) key founding figure - works include fables Dido and Eneas) 18th C – literary importance continued (poetry - Xeneración del Mediu Sieglu) AND Intellectuals began to realise the importance of Asturian history and development (Jovellanos is a key figure – suggested grammar, dictionaries and Academy in late 1700s, although not enforced at the time) 19th and early 20th C – this double process (literature and intellectuals) continued

27 20th Century – Introduction of Asturian AcademyBefore Civil War – Asturian theatre grew in popularity, first Asturian newspaper published (IXUXU), first version of Asturian Language Academy permitted in 1920s Despite artistic and intellectual usage, lack of use of Asturian/Bable in official documentation for centuries meant that people gradually favoured the use of Castilian. Asturian perceived as rural, primitive, useless, second-class During Franco regime– literature and intellectual research continued clandestinely Democracy - Conceyu Bable (or Asturian Language Council) (1974), Academia de la Llingua Asturiana (1981) for standardization and promotion and protection of Asturian/Bable but still not official language.

28 Sample text in AsturianThe language itself: ALPHABET A, a a /a/ B, b be /b/ C, c ce /θ/, /k/ D, d de /d/ E, e e /e/ F, f efe /f/ G, g gue /g/ H, h hache I, i i /i/ L, l ele /l/ M, m eme /m/ N, n ene /n/ Ñ, ñ eñe /n/ O, o o /o/ P, p pe /p/ R, r erre /r/, /r-/ S, s ese /s/ T, t te /t/ U, u u /u/ V, v uve /b/ X, x xe /s/ Y, y ye, y griega /y/, /i/ Z, z zeta, zeda /θ/ Diagraphs ch che /ˆc/ gu + e, i — /g/ ll elle /l/ qu + e, i cu /k/ rr (btw vowels) erre doble /r-/ ARTICLES masculin feminine neuter singular el la lo plural los les Contractions: EL LA LO LOS LES A al DE del PA pal SO sol CON col cola colo colos coles EN nel na no nos nes PER pel pela pelo pelos peles POR pol pola polo polos poles VERBS Falar Dir Ser falo voi/vo soi/so fales vas yes fala va ye falamos vamos somos faláis vais sois falen van son Sample text in Asturian Tolos seres humanos nacen llibres y iguales en dignidá y drechos y, pola mor de la razón y la conciencia de so, han comportase hermaniblemente los unos colos otros. 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)

29 Statutes and Laws STATUTE OF AUTONOMYArt El bable gozará de protección. Se promoverá su uso, su difusión en los medios de comunicación y su enseñanza, respetando en todo caso, las variantes locales y la voluntariedad en su aprendizaje. .2. Una ley del Principado regulará la protección, uso y promoción del bable. Art El fomento y protección del bable en sus diversas variantes que, como modalidades lingüísticas, se utilizan en el territorio del Principado de Asturias LEY DE USO Y PROMOCION DEL BABLE/ASTURIANO 1998 Art. 3. Es objeto de la presente Ley: a) Amparar el derecho de los ciudadanos a conocer y usar el bable/asturiano y establecer los medios que lo hagan efectivo. b) Fomentar su recuperación y desarrollo, definiendo medidas para promover su uso. c) Garantizar la enseñanza del bable/asturiano, en el ejercicio de las competencias asumidas por el Principado de Asturias, atendiendo a los principios de voluntariedad, gradualidad y respeto a la realidad sociolingüística de Asturias. d) Asegurar su libre uso y la no discriminación de los ciudadanos por este motivo. Recognises Asturianu/Bable as traditional language of Asturias, and also to Asturian/Galician Aims to : enable use of Bable, extend peoples knowledge of it, guarantee education in Bable

30 Education “Bable nes escueles”Almost 90% of Asturians showed themselves favourable to the idea of the indigenous language being taught in schools “Bable nes escueles” Teaching Bable linked to state education Use of Asturian Act establishes the possibility of using Asturian as a medium of instruction However reality is offer the teaching of the Asturian language, Tool of communication for complementary academic activities: school press, theatre, festivals and recitals, cultural daytrips,etc.

31 Pre-school Education “Asturian language is slight at this level of education, the majority of teaching unions in Asturias demand the inclusion of Asturian within their syllabuses and the option to use it as an instrument, particularly where the home language of pupils is Asturian.” Mercator Language integrated into teaching, not a separate subject Pupils taught in Spanish, but cultural aspects taught in Bable, especially in rural areas PUPILS IN PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION(2001/02) TOTAL NUMBER OF PUPILS IN STATE EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS 13,448 Number of pupils taught Asturian in state educational establishments 1,370 TOTAL NUMBER OF PUPILS IN PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS 6,244 Number of pupils taught Asturian in private educational establishments 0 TOTAL NUMBER OF PUPILS 19,692

32 Primary Education optional subjectAsturian not language of instruction 2 hours a week of Asturian language optional subject Concentrated in industrial, urban areas Rural areas teach Asturian to a higher level PUPILS IN PRIMARY EDUCATION(2001/02) TOTAL NUMBER OF PUPILS IN STATE EDUCATION 30,325 Number of pupils taught Asturian in state educational establishments 14,238 TOTAL NUMBER OF PUPILS IN PRIVATE EDUCATION 14,591 Number of pupils taught Asturian in private educational establishments ----- TOTAL NUMBER OF PUPILS 44,916

33 Secondary Education Asturian as optional subjectNot been successfully introduced because of administrative issues Lack of materials at right level STUDENTS IN SECONDARY EDUCATION(2001/02) TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN STATE EDUCATION 27,018 Number of students studying Asturian in state educational establishments 936 TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN PRIVATE EDUCATION 13,978 Number of students studying Asturian in private educational establishments 144 TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS 40,996

34 Vocational/Higher/Adult EducationAsturian not subject until 2002/03 Higher University of Oveido Asturian can be used, but rarely Its use is increasing and becoming more accepted 60 places per year for Asturian philology Adult No real official organisation, but Asturian-language classes do exist

35 1. Your first language is:- Asturian: % - Castilian: % - Both: % - A mixture: % - Other: % - Don’t know: % 2. You find it easier to speak: - In Castilian: % - In Asturian: % - In both: % - It depends: % - Don’t know: % 3. Which language do you use at home? - More Asturian: % - More Castilian: % - No distinction: % - Don’t know: % Estudio sociolingüístico para Asturias

36 Usage/Attitudes/PrestigeMinority language due to low socio-economic status Spoken by the rural, old, lower class and less educated Stigma, inferiority Classic diglossic situation Asturian: informal, intimate Spanish: formal, official Inorganic/disorganised bilingualism

37 Change/ Future? Complex, contradictory attitudesYoung/politically minded more favourable Pro-asturian political organisations and movements Asturian literature revival Linked to ethnic identity Political measures insufficient, met by resistance Not recognised as official language

38 “ Bilingualism is clearly the linguistic future desired and imagined by the great majority of Asturians, expressing it with great pragmatism and moderation (...) It demands a great regional consensus at the institutional level and from people of influences and leaders of public opinion on the linguistic standardisation to reinforce the already important linguistic identity of Asturians (...) Majority opinion is in favour of equality of treatment in relation to the other languages of the Iberian peninsular. Standardisation and joint official status are the measures by which Asturians stamp their aspirations for linguistic justice.” Llera Ramo 1994

39 Conclusion (Bable/Asturian)Romance language 10th century Literary tradition Suppression under Franco Mutually intelligible to Castillian Some differences in morphology and lexis Few educational and institutional provisions Diglossic situation Contradictory attitudes Promising future

40 Bibliography Turell, (2001) Multilingualism in Spain, (Clevedon: Multilingual matters) TEXTO VIGENTE DEL ESTATUTO DE AUTONOMÍA DEL PRINCIPADO DE ASTURIAS (1981) LEY 1/1998, DE 23 DE MARZO, DE USO Y PROMOCION DEL BABLE/ASTURIANO. Academia de la Llingua Asturiana, (2001) Gramática de la Llingua Asturiana Mercator, (2002) The Asturian language in education in Spain

41 Bibliography - AragoneseAlvar, M. (1996) Manual de dialectologia Hispanica, Barcelona : Editorial Ariel, Conte, A. (1977) El aragones:Identidad y problematica de una lengua Minahan, James, ed. (2002), Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups Around the World, Westport: Greenwood Press Creciendo en Aragonese (2007)