Leonese language (Llionés in Leonese) is the language of León and Zamora, both in Spain, and Bragança, in Portugal. A Romance language, Leonese was the language of the Kingdom of León in the Middle Ages.

Leonese is recognised by the UN as "seriously endangered" and is officially recognised by Castile and León.

Education 

Leonese is taught in sixteen schools in the cirt of León, and there are lessons for adults in several villages in the provinces of León and Zamora.

For approximately fifteen years, some cultural associations have offered courses in Leonese, sometimes with the support or collaboration of local administrations in the provinces of Leon and Zamora. There was never collaboration by Castile and León. The courses have taken place mostly with difficulty, without continuity or by unqualified teachers and very often, far from where Leonese is spoken.

Pronunciation 
The language has five vowels in a stressed position, represented by a, e, i, o and u, and three (two archiphonemes /I/, /U/ and one phoneme /a/) in a nonstressed position, represented by e, u, and a at the end of word.

Endangered language 

UNESCO, in its Atlas of Languages in Danger in the World, places Leonese among languages in danger.

Leonese is classified in the worst of the possible situations whose characteristics are:

 Non-official language.
 No presence in the means of communication.
 Low level of knowledge and use.
 Low social consideration of the language.
 Absence of the language in the school.
 Toponymy without normalizing.

Leonese and other Romance languages

English and Leonese words

Literature
Literature written in Leonese started in the Middle Ages and is still written today. The first written text in Leonese is the Nodicia of Kesos (959 or 974), found in Ardón. Other works in Leonese include the Fueru de Llión, Fueru de Salamanca, Fueru Xulgu, Códice d'Alfonsu XI, Disputa d'Elena y María and Llibru d'Alixandre.

Important writers are Torres Naharro, Juan del Encina, and Lucas Fernández. Some writers like Caitano Bardón (Cuentos en Dialecto Leonés), Luis Maldonado or Aragón Escacena (Entre brumas) restarted the Leonese literature in the early 20th century. Today, important writers include Eva González in the last 20th century or Abel Pardo, Xuasús González, Adrianu Martín or Félix Llópez.

References

Sources 

 Menéndez Pidal, R.: "El dialecto Leonés". Revista de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos, 14. 1906.
 Linguasphere Register. 1999/2000 Edition. pp. 392. 1999.
 García Gil, Hector (2010). «El asturiano-leonés: aspectos lingüísticos, sociolingüísticos y legislación». Working Papers Collection. Mercator Legislation, Dret i legislació lingüístics. (25). ISSN 2013-102X.
 Academia de la Lengua Asturiana«Normes ortográfiques». 2005. .
 García Arias, Xosé Lluis (2003). Gramática histórica de la lengua asturiana: Fonética, fonología e introducción a la morfosintaxis histórica. Academia de la Llingua Asturiana. .
 González Riaño, Xosé Antón; García Arias, Xosé Lluis (2008). II Estudiu sociollingüísticu de Lleón (Identidá, conciencia d'usu y actitúes llingüístiques de la población lleonesa). Academia de la Llingua Asturiana. .
 Galmés de Fuentes, Álvaro; Catalán, Diego (1960). Trabajos sobre el dominio románico leonés. Editorial Gredos. .
 Linguasphere Register. 1999/2000 Edition. pp. 392. 1999.
 López-Morales, H.: “Elementos leoneses en la lengua del teatro pastoril de los siglos XV y XVI”. Actas del II Congreso Internacional de Hispanistas. Instituto Español de la Universidad de Nimega. Holanda. 1967.
 Staff, E. : "Étude sur l'ancien dialecte léonnais d'après les chartes du XIIIe siècle", Uppsala. 1907.
 Gessner, Emil. «Das Altleonesische: Ein Beitrag zur Kenntnis des Altspanischen».
 Hanssen, Friedrich Ludwig Christian (1896). Estudios sobre la conjugación Leonesa. Impr. Cervantes.
 Hanssen, Friedrich Ludwig Christian (1910). «Los infinitivos leoneses del Poema de Alexandre». Bulletin Hispanique (12).
 Krüger, Fritz. El dialecto de San Ciprián de Sanabria. Anejo IV de la RFE. Madrid.
 Morala Rodríguez, Jose Ramón; González-Quevedo, Roberto; Herreras, José Carlos; Borrego, Julio; Egido, María Cristina (2009). El Leonés en el Siglo XXI (Un Romance Milenario ante el Reto de su Normalización). Instituto De La Lengua Castellano Y Leones. .

Other websites in Leonese language 

 Héctor García Gil. Asturian-leonese: Linguistic, Sociolinguistic and Legal Aspects 
 Asturian Language Academy 
 González i Planas, Francesc. Institutum Studiorum Romanicorum «Romania Minor». The Asturleonese Dialects. 
 La Caleya Cultural Association.
 Furmientu Cultural Association.
 Faceira Cultural Association.
 El Teixu Cultural Association.