Leonese language
| Leonese | |
|---|---|
| Llionés, Ḷḷionés, Lionés | |
| Native to | Spain, Portugal |
| Region | Provinces of León (north and west), Zamora (north-west) in Castilla y León, in Spain, and the parishes of Riudenor (Rio de Onor) and Deilon (Deilão) in northeastern Portugal. |
| Ethnicity | Leonese |
Native speakers | 20,000–50,000 (2008) |
Early forms | |
| Dialects | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | As of 2010, has special status in the Spanish autonomous community of Castile and León |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | ast |
| ISO 639-3 | ast |
| Glottolog | leon1250 |
| Linguasphere | 51-AAA-cc |
| IETF | ast-u-sd-escl |
Astur-Leonese is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Leonese (llionés, ḷḷionés, lionés) is a set of vernacular Romance language varieties spoken in northern and western portions of the historical region of León in Spain (the modern provinces of León, Zamora, and Salamanca), the village of Riudenore (in both Spain and Portugal) and Guadramil in Portugal, sometimes considered another language. In the past, it was spoken in a wider area, including most of the historical region of Leon. The current number of Leonese speakers is estimated at 20,000 to 50,000. Spanish is now the predominant language in the area.
Leonese forms part of the Asturleonese linguistic group along with dialects of Asturian. The division between Asturian and Leonese is extra-linguistic, as the main divisions within the Asturleonese complex are between eastern and western varieties, rather than between varieties spoken in Asturias and Leon.