Mirandese or "Mirandês" is the second language spoken in Portugal and it was recognized as such by the Portuguese Parliament in 1998.
Mirandês is spoken in the villages of the Municipality of Miranda do Douro and in some eastern villages of the Municipality of Vimioso, in the North of the Country. Today Mirandese retains fewer than 5,000 speakers (but the number can be up to 15,000 if counting second language speakers) and the Portuguese authorities started a campaign to boost the number of speakers so that the language never dies.
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| Cathedral of the city of Miranda Douro |
Thus, efforts are being made to keep the language alive and today we find Mirandês being taught in the village schools, chronicles being published in Mirandês language in one of the most read newspaper, Público, Asterix stories being published in the language and last but not least, the epic novel Os Lusíadas was also translated into Mirandês by Amadeu Ferreira in 2009.
But this on last Saturday, November 12th 2011, at Livraria Ferin, in Lisbon, the most recent publication in Mirandês language was unveiled to the public: LS Eibangeilhos - the title of the version of the 4 gospels of the Bible (Matthew, Luke, Mark and John) that recount the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The publication of this work happened after nine years from the beginning of the translation until the sale to the public, reveals the author,Amadeu Ferreira.
The project began to be sketched in 1998, when Mirandês was considered the second language in Portugal..
"The Mirandese language was traditionally an oral language and when it was officially declared Portugal's second language [in 1998] I had the idea of writing in Mirandês some of the major works of world culture, starting with the Portuguese classics. ", says Ferreira.
You can watch here a documentary about the Mirandês language:
"In 2002 I began the translation, which was completed in 2004. Since then I've been working on how to improve, modify, revise, change; until I saw it was nearly perfect" he explained.
The project began to be sketched in 1998, when Mirandês was considered the second language in Portugal..
"The Mirandese language was traditionally an oral language and when it was officially declared Portugal's second language [in 1998] I had the idea of writing in Mirandês some of the major works of world culture, starting with the Portuguese classics. ", says Ferreira.
You can watch here a documentary about the Mirandês language:
To read the original article, visit this page at A Bola Newspaper.
To find out more about Mirandês (English), visit its dedicated page in Wikipedia.
To look up words in Mirandês language dictionary, go to this page set up by Amadeu Ferreira e José Pedro Ferreira.
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