Stigma and linguistic ideology surrounding Leonese

Abstract

In the pages that follow, using the so-called Sayagués theatrical genre as starting point, seen from the point of view of sociolinguistics as a form of jaronismo and referring to works and testimonies of some of its leading exponents such as Juan del Enzina and Manuel Herrera de Gallinato, we will analyse how Leonese diglossia shows signs of prevalence in Renaissance texts. The ideologization of the hierarchy between languages A and B through literature strengthened latent prejudice and had a significant impact on the early and profound stigma of Leonese dialects spoken in Zamora and Salamanca, showing traits still present in the current metalinguistic discourse surrounding Asturleonese. By resorting to literature of the Spanish Golden Age in order to place Leonese in a position of subordination as compared to the official language, the power structure of the Crown of Castile unwittingly laid the foundations for a centuries old stigma and the consequences it has had among speakers to speed up its loss are noticeable in its contemporary linguistic reality. Moreover, we will stress the importance of the change of ethnolinguistic allegiance through the concept of encompassment described by Louis Dumont using historical documents that prove how the Crown of Castile blurs the Leonese identity within the wider Castilian world view, favouring the loss of linguistic consciousness and loyalty. The processes of sayaguesización and change of ethnolinguistic allegiance in the Kingdom of León are intertwined within a wider context of Castilian political hegemony during the 16th and 17th centuries which are also connected with the creation of the Spanish national narrative in the 19th century. We will finish by discussing evidence of Castile-centred linguistic nationalism in scientific essays in which the survival of Leonese as a separate code is questioned and accounts of Leonese speakers from the 19th and 20th centuries that provide trustworthy accounts of its stigma.