Aragonese dialects facts for kids

The Aragonese language is spoken in the Pyrenees mountains of Aragon, Spain. Like many languages, it has different ways of being spoken, called "varieties" or "dialects." These differences often come from how isolated valleys and towns were from each other. People who speak Aragonese might use local names for their dialect, like cheso or ansotano. This is partly because for a long time, Spanish was often seen as the more important language, which made people less aware of Aragonese as a single language. Experts often group these Aragonese varieties into four main areas: Western, Central, Eastern, and Southern.

Dialectal areas of Aragonese.

How Aragonese Dialects Are Grouped

The Four Main Groups

The most common way to group Aragonese dialects comes from an expert named Francho Nagore. He divided them into four main types:

• Western Aragonese
• Central Aragonese
• Eastern Aragonese
• Southern Aragonese

Some people think these four groups are the main dialects, and the smaller local ways of speaking (like Cheso or Chistabino) are just variations within them. Others see the four groups as big dialects, and the local ways of speaking as "subdialects."

Other Ideas for Grouping

While Nagore's four-group idea is popular, other experts have different thoughts. Chusé Raúl Usón and Chabier Tomás, for example, suggest there are three older dialects. These roughly match three old areas in the Pyrenees:

• Western Dialect: From the County of Aragón
• Central Dialect: From the County of Sobrarbe
• Eastern Dialect: From the County of Ribagorza

Another expert, Fernando Sánchez, thought there were two big groups: Western and Eastern. He also noted that some areas within these groups had very strong, unique features. For example, Ansotano in the West was very old-fashioned, and Ribagorzano in the East was quite similar to Catalan.

Eastern Aragonese

The Eastern Aragonese area covers much of the historic County of Ribagorza. It also includes eastern parts of Sobrarbe. This group shares many features with the Catalan language. The closer you get to Catalonia, the more similar the languages become.

Some common features of Eastern Aragonese are:

• Certain Latin sounds change when they are between vowels. For example, meligo (navel) or forau (hole).
• In words that describe past actions (like "sung" or "put"), the endings often become -au or -iu. For example, cantau (sung) or metiu (put).
• They use a special way to talk about the past, similar to modern Catalan. For example, él/ell ba cantá/cantar (he sang).
• They keep a special little word i (meaning "there" or "in it").
• More often than in other dialects, some Latin endings change to -u, like in Catalan. An example is peu (foot).

Western Aragonese

The Western Aragonese area includes the Jacetania region. It also covers part of Alto Gállego and a few towns in Cinco Villas. Well-known Western dialects include Ansó Aragonese, Hecho Aragonese, Aragüés Aragonese, and Aísa Aragonese.

Common features of Western Aragonese are:

• Latin sounds often change when they are between vowels. But there are some exceptions, like gramito or espata. These might be linked to the Gascon dialect.
• Words describing past actions end in -au or -iu.
• The words for "we" and "you (plural)" are nos and bos.
• They use li and lis for "to him/her" or "to them."
• They use the word bi (meaning "there" or "in it"). This is like "y" in French or "hi" in Catalan.

Southern Aragonese

Southern dialects include Nevalese. These dialects have been most influenced by the Spanish language. Sadly, in recent times, most of them have lost almost all their Aragonese features. They have blended with the Spanish dialects spoken in the south.

Central Aragonese

Central Aragonese is spoken in parts of Alto Gállego and western Sobrarbe.

Here are some of its features:

• Sometimes, a Latin short "E" sound becomes -ia-. For example, fiasta (celebration).
• Latin sounds between vowels often stay the same, more than in other dialects. Examples include capeza (head), saper (to know), lupo (wolf), and ayutar (to help).
• Because of this, words describing past actions often end in -ato or -ito.
• Sounds can change after certain consonants. For example, -MP- might become -mb-, or -NT- might become -nd-. These changes happen differently in various words and towns.
• In some towns, people use ro, ra, ros, ras for "the" instead of the more common Aragonese o, a, os, as.

Current Classification of Regional Dialects

Here are some of the specific regional dialects within the main groups:

Western Block

• Ansotano from Ansó Valley
• Cheso from Hecho Valley
• Aragüesino from Aragüés and Jasa
• Aisino from Aísa Valley
• Jaqués from Jaca

Central Block

• Central Western Aragonese
  • Tensino from Tena Valley
    • Panticuto from Panticosa
  • Biescas land Aragonese
  • Acumuer Valley Aragonese
  • Serrablés from Serrablo
  • Ballibasa Aragonese from Yebra de Basa
  • Sobrepuerto Aragonese
• Central Eastern Aragonese
  • Fiscal Aragonese
  • Bergotés from Broto Valley
  • Vió Valley Aragonese
  • Puértolas Valley Aragonese
  • Tella Valley Aragonese
  • Belsetano from Bielsa
  • Sierra Ferrera Aragonese

Eastern Block

• Chistabino from Gistau Valley
• Fovano from La Fueva Valley
• Ribagorzano Aragonese from the old County of Ribagorza
  • Altorribagorzano or Benasqués or Patués from Benasque Valley
  • Mediorribagorzano or Campo dialect
  • Bajorribagorzano
    • Grausino from Graus
    • Estadillano frpm Estadilla
    • Foncense from Fonz

Southern Block

• Ayerbense from Ayerbe
• Somontanés Aragonese from Somontano
  • Navalés from Naval
• Aragonese from Old Sobrarbe

Transition Dialects

• Aragonese Spanish

Valleys and Somontano

The mountains and separate valleys have caused the Aragonese language to develop unique ways of speaking in each valley. Here are some examples:

Western and Eastern Differences

There are clear differences between the Aragonese spoken in the West and the East. The dividing lines for these differences aren't always in the same place. Some features are mostly found from Broto and Cotefablo towards Ribagorza and beyond. Other features are mainly seen from Tena and Cotefablo towards Navarre.

See Also

In Spanish: Dialectos del aragonés para niños

• Judaeo-Aragonese