Mirandés
Mirandese
Indo-European (Romance, Ibero-Romance, Astur-Leonese)
Mirandese (mirandés) is an Astur-Leonese Romance language spoken in three municipalities of Portugal's far northeast (Miranda do Douro, Vimioso, Mogadouro), with ~10K-15K speakers. It is the only co-official language of Portugal alongside Portuguese (Law 7/99 of 29 January 1999, the Lei do Mirandês), making Portugal — usually considered Europe's most monolingual country — formally bilingual. Closely related to Asturian (ast) on the Spanish side; both descend from medieval Leonese rather than Castilian. Distinct standardized orthography (Convenção Ortográfica da Língua Mirandesa, 1999), used in education and local signage.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Mirandese
Water
auga
/ˈawɣa/
Fire
fuogo
/ˈfwoɣu/
Sun
sol
/sɔl/
Moon
luna
/ˈluna/
Mother
mai
/maj/
Father
pai
/paj/
Eat
comer
/koˈmeɾ/
Drink
bubir
/buˈβiɾ/
Love
amor
/aˈmoɾ/
Heart
coraçon
/koɾaˈt͡soŋ/
Tree
arble
/ˈaɾβle/
House
casa
/ˈkaza/
Dog
perro
/ˈperu/
Cat
gato
/ˈɡatu/
Hand
mano
/ˈmano/
Eye
uolho
/ˈuoʎu/
Hello
olá
/oˈla/
Thank you
oubrigado
/owβɾiˈɣadu/
One
un
/uŋ/
Good
buono
/ˈbwonu/
Sources
- Ethnologue: mwl
- Ferreira & Raposo (1999) Convenção Ortográfica da Língua Mirandesa
- Glottolog: mira1251
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (Romance, Ibero-Romance, Astur-Leonese) languages
| Meaning | Mirandese | Asturian | Extremaduran | Aragonese | Golden Age Spanish (Siglo de Oro) | Spanish (Europe) | Old Spanish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | auga /ˈawɣa/ | agua /ˈaɣwa/ | agua /ˈaɣwa/ | augua /ˈawɡwa/ | agua /ˈaɣwa/ | agua /ˈaɣwa/ | agua /ˈaɣwa/ |
| Fire | fuogo /ˈfwoɣu/ | fueu /ˈfweu/ | huegu /ˈweɣu/ | fuego /ˈfweɣo/ | fuego /ˈfweɣo/ | fuego /ˈfweɣo/ | fuego /ˈfweɣo/ |
| Sun | sol /sɔl/ | sol /sol/ | sol /sɔl/ | sol /sol/ | sol /sol/ | sol /sol/ | sol /sol/ |
| Moon | luna /ˈluna/ | lluna /ˈʎuna/ | luna /ˈluna/ | luna /ˈluna/ | luna /ˈluna/ | luna /ˈluna/ | luna /ˈluna/ |
| Mother | mai /maj/ | ma /ma/ | mai /mai/ | mai /maj/ | madre /ˈmadɾe/ | madre /ˈmaðɾe/ | madre /ˈmaðre/ |
| Father | pai /paj/ | pa /pa/ | pai /pai/ | pai /paj/ | padre /ˈpadɾe/ | padre /ˈpaðɾe/ | padre /ˈpaðre/ |
| Eat | comer /koˈmeɾ/ | comer /koˈmeɾ/ | comel /koˈmel/ | minchar /minˈt͡ʃaɾ/ | comer /koˈmeɾ/ | comer /koˈmeɾ/ | comer /koˈmeɾ/ |
| Drink | bubir /buˈβiɾ/ | beber /beˈβeɾ/ | bebel /beˈβel/ | beber /beˈβeɾ/ | beuer /beˈβeɾ/ | beber /beˈβeɾ/ | bever /beˈveɾ/ |
| Love | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | amol /aˈmol/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ | amor /aˈmoɾ/ |
| Heart | coraçon /koɾaˈt͡soŋ/ | corazón /koɾaˈθon/ | curaçón /kuɾaˈsɔn/ | corazón /koɾaˈθon/ | coraçón /koɾaˈt͡son/ | corazón /koɾaˈθon/ | coraçón /koɾaˈt͡son/ |
| Tree | arble /ˈaɾβle/ | árbol /ˈaɾβol/ | arbol /ˈaɾβol/ | árbol /ˈaɾβol/ | árbol /ˈaɾβol/ | árbol /ˈaɾβol/ | árbor /ˈaɾβoɾ/ |
| House | casa /ˈkaza/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkasa/ | casa /ˈkaza/ |
| Dog | perro /ˈperu/ | perru /ˈperu/ | perru /ˈpɛru/ | can /kan/ | perro /ˈpero/ | perro /ˈpero/ | can /kan/ |
| Cat | gato /ˈɡatu/ | gatu /ˈɡatu/ | gatu /ˈɣatu/ | gato /ˈɡato/ | gato /ˈɡato/ | gato /ˈɡato/ | gato /ˈɡato/ |
| Hand | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ | manu /ˈmanu/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ | mano /ˈmano/ |
| Eye | uolho /ˈuoʎu/ | güeyu /ˈɡweʝu/ | oju /ˈohu/ | güello /ˈɣweʎo/ | ojo /ˈoʃo/ | ojo /ˈoxo/ | ojo /ˈoʒo/ |
| Hello | olá /oˈla/ | hola /ˈola/ | salú /saˈlu/ | hola /ˈola/ | Dios os guarde /djos os ˈɡwaɾde/ | hola /ˈola/ | salud /saˈlud/ |
| Thank you | oubrigado /owβɾiˈɣadu/ | gracies /ˈɡɾaθjes/ | gracias /ˈɣɾasjas/ | gracias /ˈɡɾaθjas/ | gracias /ˈɡɾat͡sjas/ | gracias /ˈɡɾaθjas/ | mercedes /meɾˈt͡seðes/ |
| One | un /uŋ/ | ún /un/ | un /un/ | un /un/ | uno /ˈuno/ | uno /ˈuno/ | uno /ˈuno/ |
| Good | buono /ˈbwonu/ | bonu /ˈbonu/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ | bueno /ˈbweno/ | bono /ˈbono/ |
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