3 Puode-se outelizar mirandés an todos ls campos? / Can Mirandese be used in all contexts?

 

Julga-se que, ne ls anhos 1960s, arrimado a 15000 pessonas poderien, de algua maneira, falar mirandés. L mirandés fui oufecialmente reconhecido an 1999, mas isso nun ampediu que ls mirandeses se cunsemíssen pula lhéngua deilhes se poder morrer. Ls redadeiros studos publicados an 2023 dízen que arimado a 3500 pessonas fálan hoije mirandés i uas 1500 mais podien-lo falar se quejíssen (Ounibersidade de Bigo, 2023).Ua maneira amportante para medir se ua lhéngua stá an peligro ye ber quantas pessonas la fálan cun cunfiaça. Isto quier dezir falá-la cun fluéncia para quemunicar an casa, ne l trabalho ou na scola, quando stan cula jolda, quando ándan pula rue ou para pagar la décima nas finanças. Buscai na figura abaixo para çcubrir adonde ye l mirandés la prancipal lhéngua de quemunicaçon: 

In the 1960s, it was estimated that around 15,000 people could speak Mirandese in some capacity. Mirandese was officially recognised in 1999, but that hasn’t stopped locals from worrying that their language could disappear. The latest research published in 2023 estimates that only around 3,500 people actively speak Mirandese, and that 1,500 people could speak it but choose not to (University of Vigo, 2023).
One crucial indicator to measure whether a language is endangered is how many people are fully confident using it. By that we mean being able to use it fluently to communicate at home, at work or school, to hang out with friends, to run errands or to sort out your taxes at the local council. Explore the image below to find out in which contexts Mirandese is the main language of communication:

 

 

Hai campo para l mirandés an todos estes sítios i inda mais, mas l redadeiro studo amostra ua grande falta de cunfiaça antre ls falantes. Tenemos, anton, que muitas pessonas solo fálan mirandés an casa ou nun béien l mirandés cumo ua bantaige ou scuolhen falar pertués delantre de ls amigos deilhes.Cumo quiera que apuis de mais de binte anhos de reconhecimiento oufecial i de ser ansinado na scola, ls falantes habien de tener mais cunfiança, ora si?Anfelizmente, l sentimiento de bergonha era mui fuorte. Até l fin de ls anhos 1990s, miraba-se para l mirandés cumo ua lhéngua “pequeinha” i “sien cultura”. Ralhában-se ls garotos na scola pula faláren i fazie-se caçuada de quien la falaba. I claro, cumo talbeç yá hábades bisto noutras partes deste módulo, ye mui custoso andreitar esta torna.

Mas nien todo son zgrácias. Trés geraçones de amigos de la lhéngua, porsores i outros  fúrun capazes de alhebantar alguns marcos amportantes i cuntínan a fazer camino.

There is a place for Mirandese in all these contexts and more, but the latest research shows a complete lack of confidence among existing speakers. So, most people only use it at home, or who don’t recognise it as a valuable skill, or switch to Portuguese in front of their friends.

You would think that after more than 20 years of official recognition and school instruction, speakers would be fully confident, right? Unfortunately, stigma runs deep. Until the late 1990s, Mirandese was seen as a “lesser” “uncultured” language. Children would be told off at school for using it and adults were object of mockery. And, as you may have already seen in other chapters of this module, it takes a lot of effort to revert this damage!

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Three generations of activists, educators and civil servants have achieved some great milestones, and continue to do so.

 

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Mirandese Copyright © by Alfredo Cameirão and Gema Zamora. All Rights Reserved.

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