Alentejan Portuguese

Alentejan Portuguese is a dialect of Portuguese spoken in the Portuguese region of Alentejo, and in the Spanish municipalities of Olivenza and Táliga (where exists a subdialect) which for several centuries (1297 to 1801) were part of Portugal. It is currently endangered.

Characteristics

• Antepositon of the article before the possessive pronoun, as in Ladino
• Regular use of the gerund in Present, as in Brazilian Portuguese
• Transformation of the vocalic group ou, into oi. Ex: oitro (Portuguese: outro)
• Paragoge in i, in the verbs in infinitive. Ex: fazeri (Portuguese: fazer)
• Absence of diphthong ei, transforming into e. Ex: galinhero (Portuguese: galinheiro), (Spanish: gallinero)

Present situation

The 2005 report of the Council of Europe's expert group on the implementation in Spain of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, 2005^[1] asked the Spanish government to furnish information about the situation of Oliventian Portuguese, and for measures for the protection and promotion of that language under the provisions of Article 7 of the Charter.^[2] However, in the report submitted by Spain in 2006, there are no references to Oliventian Portuguese.^[3]

In the 2008 report the following paragraphs were listed:^[4]

48. The Expert Committee has received no information on the use of Portuguese in Extremadura, particularly in Olivenza.

49. According to information gathered during the site visit, the Portuguese language (the Oliventina) is traditionally spoken in Olivenza and Táliga since the 13th century. However, the information received on the current use of this language is inconclusive, but indicates that Portuguese is taught as a foreign language in the education field.
50. The Expert Committee can not assess the situation of Portuguese in Extremadura, and urges the authorities to clarify this issue in the next cycle of monitoring, particularly in cooperation with the association "Além Guadiana", recently established to promote the Portuguese language.

References