Línguas minoritárias no ecrã: o caso da língua mirandesa em Portugal

The screen, be it the cinema screen or the home screen, is acknowledged almost unanimously as a powerful means for the assertion of national languages or prestigious standards. Despite this, its power can also be extended to the defence of minority languages, official or not, and two of the most outstanding examples are the Catalan Regional Channels, such as TV3, EI33, or Canal Nou, and bilingual subtitling practices in Belgium (in French and Flemish). As far as Portugal is concerned, Mirandese became the second official language in 1999, a language spoken in Miranda do Douro, in the north-eastern part of Portugal, by about 10,000 speakers. It was “discovered” at the end of the 19th century by Leite de Vasconcellos, and only then did it meet its first written forms; the first spelling convention dates from 1999. Since Leite de Vasconcellos, many literary works, newspaper articles and translation of Portuguese classics have been put forth by various authors. However, the screen has not yet been conquered by Mirandese for economic and political reasons. We intend to answer some questions: What is there still to be achieved? What could the screen bring its speakers? Could the screen enable to bridge the generation gaps, to encourage the speakers’ self-esteem and identity?

Línguas minoritárias no ecrã: o caso da língua mirandesa em Portugal Conference Paper