Languages
The predominant language nowadays is Spanish but the local vernaculars can be classified as either Galician or Leonese; the Galician traits increase as you move from east to west and north respectively. The use of Galician and Leonese in everyday speech has mixed usages. Although both have enjoyed a recent revival through the work of different associations that promote their use and study, Galician has been more favored, extending its area of influence. Leonese continues to have a very limited use.
The Galician language, in addition to Galicia, is also spoken in western El Bierzo and a small area called As Portelas in the westernmost part of the province of Zamora, both areas in the community of Castile and Leon; the teaching of Galician in public education is allowed in those areas under an agreement between the Education Departments of Galicia and Castile and Leon. In 2005-2006 there were 844 students studying in 9 municipalities of El Bierzo, with 47 teachers, and in 2008-2009 more than 1000 students enrolled in Galician courses in El Bierzo and As Portelas, although many of them are children of immigrants from Galicia. In addition to that, the Statute of Autonomy of Castile and Leon, in its article No. 5, states: " Shall respect and protect the Galician language and language patterns in places where the language is habitually used."
Pachuezu or patsuezu is the western Asturleonese variant most entrenched in the north of El Bierzo.
Read more about this topic: El Bierzo
Famous quotes containing the word languages:
“People in places many of us never heard of, whose names we can’t pronounce or even spell, are speaking up for themselves. They speak in languages we once classified as “exotic” but whose mastery is now essential for our diplomats and businessmen. But what they say is very much the same the world over. They want a decent standard of living. They want human dignity and a voice in their own futures. They want their children to grow up strong and healthy and free.”
—Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)
“Wealth is so much the greatest good that Fortune has to bestow that in the Latin and English languages it has usurped her name.”
—William Lamb Melbourne, 2nd Viscount (1779–1848)
“The very natural tendency to use terms derived from traditional grammar like verb, noun, adjective, passive voice, in describing languages outside of Indo-European is fraught with grave possibilities of misunderstanding.”
—Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897–1934)