Fala

Fala is a Romance language spoken in the Jalama valley (Val de Xálima) in the northeast of Extramadura in Spain by about 10,500 people. The majority of Fala speakers live in three towns: Valverde del Fresno (Valverdi du Fresnu), Eljas (As Ellas) and San Martín de Trevejo (Sa Martín de Trebellu), and they call their language valverdeiru in Valverde del Fresno, lagarteiru in Eljas and manhegu / mañegu in San Martín de Trevejo.

Fala is also known as Fala de Jálama or Fala de Xálima, though not by Fala speakers, and is closely related to Galician and Portuguese, with influence from Extramaduran. It is more or less mutually intelligible with Galician and is thought to have developed after a group of Galician speakers moved to the Jalama valley and became isolated from other Galicians. Modern Fala speakers do not identify with Galicians however, and rejected a Galician-based orthography for their language.

Fala has no official status, though is recognized as Bien de Interés Cultural (Heritage of Cultural Interest) by the Extramaduran Minsitry of Culture. Most speakers of Fala are literate in their language, and all are bilingual in Fala and Spanish. The first literary work in Fala was published in 1998, and a number of other works and translations have been published since then.

Fala alphabet and pronunciation

Alphabet

A a B b C c D d E e F f G g H h
a be ce de e efe ge hache
I i J j L l M m N n O o P p Q q
i jota ele eme ene o pe que
R r S s T t U u V v X x Z z  
erre esse te u ve xis zeta  

k (ca), w (ve dobre) and y (i grego) are also used, but only in loanwords and in foreign names.

Pronunciation

Fala pronunciation

Notes

Source: http://pgl.gal/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Critérios-para-orientar-a-ortografia-do-xalimego.pdf

Sample text

De fel u ben, nun temus que sansalmus nunca; ya chegará u día que arrecollamus u que hemus sembráu.

Translation

To do good, we must never tire, and the day will come that we collect what we sow.

Information about the Fala alphabet and pronunciation, and sample text supplied by Michael Peter Füstumum

Links

Information about Fala
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fala_language
https://www.ethnologue.com/language/fax
https://robertlindsay.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/fala-a-galician-portuguese-language-of-spain/
http://www.sketchesofiberia.com/2011/07/observations-on-two-autochthonous-minority-languages-in-iberia/

Romance languages

Aragonese, Aranese, Aromanian, Asturian, Catalan, Corsican, Dalmatian, Emilian-Romagnol, Extremaduran, Fala, Franco-Provençal, French, Friulian, Galician, Gallo, Gascon, Genoese, Guernésiais, Istro-Romanian, Istriot, Italian, Jèrriais, Ladino, Ladin, Ligurian, Lombard, Lorrain, Megleno-Romanian, Mirandese, Moldovan, Monégasque, Mozarabic, Neapolitan, Occitan, Occitan (Auvergnat), Occitan (Languedocien), Occitan (Limousin), Occitan (Provençal), Picard, Piedmontese, Portuguese, Romanian, Romansh, Sardinian, Sicilian, Spanish, Valencian, Venetian, Walloon

Languages written with the Latin alphabet

Page last modified: 23.04.21

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