Castilian of Extremadura

The Spanish traditionally spoken in the Spanish autonomous community of Extremadura is called extremaduran dialect or sometimes castúo. The most differentiated varieties of other Castilian dialects are currently considered by various authors as a different language, Extremadura or Estremeñu, although the limit between what is Castilian of Extremadura and what is Extremadura is very subjective.

Features

Extremadura Castilian is a southern language in transit with Extremadura, it would be characterized by sharing features such as some conservation lexicalizations of the Latin group -mb-, some partitive genitive expressions of the style a few of, the diminutive in -ino (not -inu) and above all the features common to distinguishing western Andalusian urban speech (neither lisping nor hissing), including the aspiration of -s- and -z- implosive, the elision of -d- intervocalic, the aspiration of Latin initial efe and certain gender changes in some words (la caló). The neutralization of -r- and -l- in an implosive position, if it exists, tends to -r- in some languages and to -l- in others. The final r and ele are usually omitted (as in western Andalusian or as in the Alto Extremaduran speech of a good part of the Hurdes: superió, comé, fatá, dad). There is a certain characteristic particular lexicon, which tends to be lost in some cases among the new generations. For example, the use of the word guarro referring to the pig as an animal or the expression una mijina (a little bit), which can be reinforced by becoming , is still frequent. a mijinin or a mijirrinin. The characteristics of the Castilian of Extremadura put it in relation with the language of Extremadura, which constitutes its linguistic substratum (we find terms such as barruntar in the sense of perceiving a noise, privá for manure, dating instead of locking, etc.). The lisp only appears in some towns near Portugal and in Fuente del Maestre, also due to the influence of traditional Extremaduran speech. There are small islets of sporadic use of the article with the possessive (la mi cama) also in the province of Badajoz, even in places in the far south of it, although already in clear decline.

The Chaste Name

Castúo is an imprecise concept to refer to the languages of Extremadura.

The name castúo was coined by the poet from Extremadura, Luis Chamizo Trigueros, a native of Guareña, province of Badajoz, when in 1921 he published his book of poems El Miajón de los Castúos. In his work, Chamizo defines the castúo as "castizo, maintainer of the caste of farmers who cultivated their own land". Originally, the term therefore refers to the character traditional of the peasant from Extremadura, only later did it acquire its modern linguistic meaning.

Some authors distinguish castúo as a Castilian dialect spoken in Extremadura from the Asturian language of Extremadura (estremeñu), but this distinction is cultured and does not occur among the people, for whom castúo and estremeñu are usually synonymous. In this way, the word has come to mean, according to its meanings:

• countryman who maintains traditional speech and customs
• Castor of Extremadura, with asturleoness influence
• Extremadura, estremeñu
• any person originally from Extremadura

Over time, the name castúo has become popular to name the languages of Extremadura, both those that make up Extremadura, and those that are already southern Spanish with a slight Leonese influence, both in the High as in the Lower Extremadura. The speech in which Luis Chamizo wrote can be considered as a literary southeastern Extremaduran written with Castilian orthography and a very reduced lexicon.

Castuo literature

Since the works of José María Gabriel y Galán and Luis Chamizo, castúo -or Extremadura with different degrees of Spanish and different spellings- has been used in writing, configuring a growing vernacular literature. There are more and more new poets and writers who use this language as a vehicle of culture.

Among the new books written in this language, the following stand out:

• FIRST ANTHOLOGY OF FOREIGN POESY (DE GABRIEL AND GALAN TO JUAN JOSÉ CAMISÓN), 2005, by Luis Martínez Terrón.
• MARABAJAS (Poesía Extremeña) (2002) by Juan José Camisón (JUAN KAM),
• Requilorios (1984) by ext:José Ma Alcón Olivera, first novel written in Extremadura.

As a noteworthy curiosity, it can be noted that in 2019 one of the Tintin comics was translated into Castúo.