Fala leid

**Fala** ("Speech", cried *Xalimego* an aw) is a Wast Romance leid for ordinar pit in the Galician-Portuguese subgroup, wi some traits frae Leonese, uised in Spain bi aboot 10,500 fowk, oot ae that 5,500 bide in a valley in the northwast pairt o Extremadura near the border wi Portugal. The uisers o Fala bide in the touns Valverde del Fresno (Valverdi du Fresnu), Eljas (As Ellas) an San Martín de Trevejo (Sa Martín de Trebellu). These are ben the Jálama dale, in the comarca o Sierra de Gata.

Ither names sometimes uised for the leid are *Fala de Jálama* or *Fala de Xálima*, but naither o thaim is uised bi the speakers thaimsels, thit caw thair linguistic varieties *lagarteiru* (in Eljas), *manhegu* / *mañegu* (in San Martín de Trevejo) an *valverdeiru* (in Valverde del Fresno).

Tho it hasnae got an offeecial status, an disnae hiv muckle presence in schuils an kirks, the leid is uised abreed, an the literacy rate in Fala is near 100%. As a linguistic community, tawkers hiv a strang, unthirlt identity; thay hiv got rejectit pittin thegither a staundart orthography sib tae that or based on the yin in Galicie. An owersettin o the New Testament wis pit oot in Fala in 2015.

## History

### Origins

In the Middle Ages, mixed varieties o Portuguese an Leonese coud be fund alang an ootwi the mairches atweesh Leon an Portugal, representit in texts sic as the *Foro de Castelo Rodrigo* (13t yearhunner). Tho thare isae ony documentation on the colonization an repopulation o this area in the 13t yearhunner, thare are sindry hypotheses o Galician citizens muivin tae bield the mairches agin Muslims as a punishment pit forrit bi the Leonese keeng, or the delivery o the airts tae sindry military orders bi Keengs Alfonso IX an Fernano II.

In general, philologists for the Galician theory uphaud the hypothesis that the dale is an isolatit airt an, tharefore, the Galician colonists keep thair wey o tawkin in a "pure" form acause o nae external influences.

This thesis is redargied gin contrastit wi ither historical data:

* It is thocht thit afore the Galician-Leonese resettlement, this place wis awready occupeed bi Portuguese an e'en efter the colonization thare wis contact wi the neehbourin kintra.
* Frae the 12t until the 16t yearhunner, baith Portugal an León an Castile wantit the territory acause o its importance as a mairch. It chynged frae one country tae anither so the population wis lyal tae ane keeng or anither.
* On the ither haun, it is gaes agin the orders that the aurie wis gien, bein enemies, resettlt the airt wfowkm fae the same origin.

### Recent

On August 3, 1992, the association *Fala i Cultura* wis foondit, amang its goals bein pittin thegither a common grammar (based on the yin in Galicie) an the commemoration o *u día da nosa fala* (the day fur wir leid) celebratit wanst a year frae 1992 in Eljas, 1993 in Valverde an 1994 in San Martín.

It wisnae until 1998 thit the first literar wirk in Fala wis pit oot: *Seis sainetes valverdeiros*, scrieved bi Isabel López Lajas an pit oot in 1998 bi Edicións Positivas (Santiago de Compostela). It wis on this date thit the Gabinete de Iniciativas Transfronterizas (Office o Cross-Border Initiatives) stairtit tae bein interestit in Fala an tae promuive its study, pittin scientific wirks in 1999 an celebratin in Mey a "Congress on *A Fala*".

On 14t Juin 2000, Fala wis kent as a leid bi the Ministry o Cultur o the Junta de Extremadura as *Bien de Interés Cultural*. Nouadays, tho the fowk bidin in Jalama Valley can tawk Spainish, maist o thaim are bilingual acause at hame an in ither acteevities oot o schuil, thay keep on tawkin the local leid.

## Sociolinguistic surveys
In 1992, a survey pit oot bi José Enrique Gargallo Gil (a professor at the Varsity o Barcelona) collectit the follaein data aboot the uise o Spainish in family bletherins:

* 4 oot the 29 fowk frae San Martín uised Spanish whan tawkin wi their faimilie (13.8%)
* In Eljas the figure drappit tae anely 3 oot the 54 fowk (5.6%)
* In Valverde, 25 oot the 125 fowk uised Spainish in this context (20%).

In September/Dizember 1993 a survey wis pit oot in issue No. 30 o *Alcántara* Magazine bi José Luis Martín Galindo, thit kythed the opeenion o fowk in San Martín de Trevejo as tae the nature o Fala in the follaein:

* Hink thit Fala is a Spanish byleid: 13%
* Hink thit Fala is a Portuguese byleid: 20%
* Hink thit Fala is it's ain leid: 67%

The survey speired juist twenty fowk (ower 960 neeebours) an thare wisnae no alternative repone for thae thit answered thit thocht o  Fala as a Galician byleid. It is argied thit option no bein thare made sense acause theories aboot the possible relation o Fala wi Galician warnae faur kent.

In 1994, a new study kythed thit 80% o fowk answerin lairned tae tawk Spanish in schuil. The amoont o parents claimin tae use Fala whan tawkin wi thair weans wis as sic:

* 100% in Eljas
* 85% in San Martin
* 73% in Valverde.

## Phonology

## Alphabet
Ane alphabet pit oot haes 23 letter:

## Comparative vocabulary
Some Fala vocabulary are shawn in the table ablow.

## See an aw

* Leonese leid
* Portuguese leid
* Galicie leid

## References

## Faurer readin

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