Alentejan Portuguese is a dialect of Portuguese spoken in most of the Portuguese region of Alentejo. It is also spoken, with its own subdialect, in the disputed municipalities of Olivença and Táliga. In this area, the language is currently endangered.
Characteristics
Alentejan Portuguese is thought to be influenced by the regions large focus on agriculture and livestock. Vowels are after stretched as be more easily heard over long distances. This coupled with a slow more deliberate pronunciation makes speakers of Alentejan Portuguese sound a bit more relaxed and simple compared to other dialects Below are a few more traits that differentiate Alentejan Portuguese Presence of the article before the possessive pronoun, as in Ladino The regular use of the gerund in the present tense. A shift of ou to oi: for Paragoge with i added to the end of verbs in the infinitive of verbs: for The diphthong ei is replaced by e: for
Cultural Significance The Cante Alentejano is a type of polyphonic singing derived from Alentejan Portuguese. The singing is characterized by its emphasis on vocal melodies and lack of accompanying instruments. In 2014, both Cante Alentejano and Fado music were listed by the UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Present situation in Olivença and Táliga The 2005 report of the Council of Europe's expert group on the implementation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in Spain asked the Spanish government to furnish information about the situation of Oliventine Portuguese, and for measures for the protection and promotion of that language under the provisions of Article 7 of the charter. However, in the report submitted by Spain in 2006, there are no references to Oliventine Portuguese.
In the 2008 report issued by the Council of Europe, the following paragraphs were listed:
See also Algarvean Portuguese Oliventine Portuguese
References
CINTRA, Luís F. Lindley (1971). Nova proposta de classificação dos dialectos galego-portugueses. Boletim de Filologia (in Portuguese). 22: 81–116.
CUNHA, Celso; CINTRA, Lindley. (2015). Nova Gramática do Português Contemporâneo. Lisboa: Figueirinhas.
Further reading