Name	Galician
Nativename	Galego
Pronunciation
Region	Galicia and adjacent areas in Asturias and Castile and León
Speakers	3.2 million
Date	1986
Familycolor	Indo-European
Fam2	Italic
Fam3	Romance
Fam4	Western
Fam5	Gallo-Iberian
Fam6	Ibero-Romance
Fam7	West-Iberian
Fam8	Galician-Portuguese
Script	Latin (Galician alphabet)
Nation	Galicia, Spain; accepted orally as Portuguese by the European Union Parliament.
Agency	Royal Galician Academy
Iso1	gl
Iso2	glg
Iso3	glg
Lingua	51-AAA-ab
Notice	IPA }}

Galician ( ) is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.

Classification and relation with Portuguese

Modern Galician and its southern sibling, Portuguese, originated from a common mediaeval ancestor called variously by modern linguists as Galician-Portuguese or Mediaeval Galician or Old Galician or Old Portuguese. This common ancestral stage developed in the territories of the old Kingdom of Galicia, which covered the territories of modern day Galicia and northern Portugal. In the 13th century it became a written and cultivated language. In the past Galician and Portuguese formed a dialect continuum. For many scholars this continuum still exists today at the level of rural dialects. Others point out that modern Galician and Portuguese have diverged notably during the past seven centuries.

Historically, the Galician-Portuguese language originated from Vulgar Latin as a Western Romance language in the lands now in Galicia, Asturias and northern Portugal, which belonged to the mediaeval Kingdom of Galicia, itself comprising approximately the former Roman territory of ''Gallaecia'' as modified during the two centuries of the Suevic Kingdom of Galicia. The standards of the language began to diverge in the 14th century, as Portuguese became the official language of the independent kingdom of Portugal and its chancellery, whilst Galician was the language of the scriptoria of the lawyers, noblemen and churchmen of the Kingdom of Galicia, then integrated in the crown of Castile and open to influence from Castilian language, culture, and politics. During the 16th century the Galician language stopped being used in legal documentation, becoming de facto an oral language, with just some use in lyric, theatre and private letters.

The linguistic status of Galician with respect to Portuguese is controversial, and the issue sometimes carries political overtones. There are linguists who deal with modern Galician and modern Portuguese as norms or varieties of the same language. Some authors, such as Lindley Cintra, consider that they are still co-dialects of a common language, in spite of superficial differences in phonology and vocabulary, while others, such as Pilar Vázquez Cuesta, argue that they have become separate languages due to major differences in phonetics and vocabulary usage, and, to a lesser extent, morphology and syntax. Fernández Rei in 1990 stated that the Galician language is, with respect to Portuguese, a ''lingua ausbau'', a language through elaboration, and not a ''lingua abstand'', a language through detachment.

With respect to the external and internal perception of this relation, for instance in past editions of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Galician was defined as a Portuguese dialect spoken in northwestern Spain. However, most Galician speakers do not regard Galician as a variety of Portuguese, but as a different language, as modern Galician evolved without interruption and in situ from Mediaeval Galician.

Mutual intelligibility (estimated at 85% by Robert A. Hall, Jr., 1989) is good between Galicians and northern Portuguese speakers in the Portuguese provinces of Alto-Minho and Trás-os-Montes but is significantly poorer between Galicians and speakers from central and southern Portugal.

Opposing views

The official position of the Galician Language Institute is that Galician and Portuguese should be considered independent languages. The standard orthography is noticeably different from the Portuguese, partly because of the divergent phonological features, and partly due to the use of Spanish (Castilian) orthographic conventions, which ignore many proper Galician features, like open and close vowels, which do not exist in Spanish.

The official institution regulating the Galician language, backed by the Galician government and universities, the Royal Galician Academy, claims that modern Galician must be considered an independent Romance language belonging to the group of Ibero-Romance languages and having strong ties with Portuguese and its northern dialects.

However, the ''Associaçom Galega da Língua'' (Galician Association of the Language) and ''Academia Galega da Língua Portuguesa'' (Galician Academy of the Portuguese Language), belonging to the Reintegrationist movement, support the idea that differences between Galician and Portuguese speech are not enough to justify considering them as separate languages: Galician is simply one variety of Galician-Portuguese, along with Brazilian Portuguese; African Portuguese; the Galician-Portuguese still spoken in Spanish Extremadura, Fala; and other dialects.

Political Implications

The relationship involving Galician and Portuguese can be compared with that between Macedonian and Bulgarian, Aromanian with Romanian, Occitan and Catalan, or English and Lowland Scots: language proximity conflicts with political interpretation.

These contrasting attitudes have distinct political implications. Considering Galician as an independent language reduces contact with Portuguese culture, leaving Galician as a minor language with less capacity to counterbalance the influence of Spanish, the official language. On the other hand, viewing Galician as a part of the Lusophony, whilst not denying its own characteristics (cf. Swiss German), shifts cultural influence from the Spanish domain to the Portuguese. Although it is difficult to clarify the political positions of those who favour one view or the other, the vindication of Galician as an independent language is generally associated with more conservative political thought linked to certain Spanish political and administrative structures. Some scholar authors describe the situation as properly a continuum, from the Galician variants of Portuguese in one extreme to the Spanish language in the other (which would represent the complete linguistic shift from Galician to Spanish), reintegrationist points of view are closer to the Portuguese extreme, and so-called isolationist ones would be closer to the Spanish one.

Geographic distribution and legal status

Galician is spoken by some three million people, including most of the population of Galicia and the numerous Galician communities established elsewhere, in Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Biscay), in other European cities (Andorra, Geneva, London, Paris), and in the Americas (New York, New Jersey, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Havana, Caracas, Mexico City, São Paulo, Managua, Guadalajara, Veracruz City, Panama City).

Galician is today official, together with the Spanish (Castilian) language, in the autonomous community of Galicia, where it is recognized as the autochthonous language (''lengua propia''), being the first language of the local administrations and governments. It is taught bilingually, alongside Castilian, in both primary and secondary education. It is also used at the three universities established in Galicia, having also the consideration of official language of the three institutions. Galician has also legal recognition in the Bierzo region in León, and in four municipalities in Zamora. The other languages with official status elsewhere in Spain are Castilian (also called ''Spanish''), Catalan (or Valencian), Basque and Aranese. Galician has also been accepted orally as Portuguese in the European Parliament, having been used by some Galician representatives, among others: José Posada, Camilo Nogueira and Xosé Manuel Beiras.

Controversy exists regarding the inclusion of Eonavian (spoken in the western end of Asturias, bordering Galicia) into the Galician language, as it has some traits in common with Western Asturian or bable occidental (spoken in the middle west of Asturias). There are those defending these linguistic varieties as dialects of transition to the Astur-Leonese group on the one hand, and those defending it as clearly Galician varieties on the other. The recent edition of the cartularies of Oscos in Eonavia and cartularies of Obona, Cornellana, Corias and Belmonte in middle west of Asturias have shown a huge difference in the medieval speech between both banks of the Navia river. An examination of the old documents of the Eonavian monastery of Oscos, written from the late twelfth to early 14th century to 16th century, shows a clear identification of this language with the Galician-Portuguese linguistic group; whilst contemporary parchments elsewhere in Asturias are written in Castilian (i.e. Spanish). The two most important traits of those commonly used to tell apart Galician-Portuguese and Asturian-Leonese varieties are the preservation of the mid-open vowels and , which became diphthongs in Asturian-Leonese, and the loss of intervocalic , preserved in the latter language.

History

Latinate Galician charters from the 8th century onward show that the local written Latin was heavily influenced by local spoken romance, yet is not until the 12th century that we find evidences for the identification of the local language as a language different from Latin itself. During this same 12th century we can find full Galician sentences being inadvertently used inside Latin texts, whilst its first reckoned use as a literary language dates to the last years of this same century.

The linguistic stage from the 13th to the 15th centuries is usually known as Galician-Portuguese (or ''Old Portuguese'', or ''Old Galician'') as an acknowledgement of the cultural an linguistic unity of Galicia and Portugal during the Middle Ages, as both linguistic varieties differed only in dialectal minor phenomenons, and were considered by the contemporary as just one language.

This language flourished during the 13th and 14th centuries as a language of culture, developing a rich lyric tradition of which some 2000 compositions (''cantigas'', meaning 'songs') have been preserved—a few hundreds even with their musical score—in a series of collections, and belonging to four main genres: ''Love songs'' where a man sings for his love, ''Cantiga de amigo'' where a woman sings for her boyfriend, crude, taunting and sexual ''Songs of Scorn'', and religious songs.

The oldest known document is the poem ''Ora faz ost'o Senhor de Navarra'' by Joam Soares de Paiva, written around 1200. The first non-literary documents in Galician-Portuguese date from the early 13th century, the Noticia de Torto (1211) and the Testamento of Afonso II of Portugal (1214), both samples of medieval notarial prose.

Its most notable patrons—themselves reputed authors—were king Dom Dinis in Portugal, and king Alfonso X the Learned in Galicia, Castile and León, who was a great promoter of both Galician and Castilian Spanish languages. Not just the kings encouraged literary creation in Galician-Portuguese, but also the noble houses of Galicia and Portugal, as being an author or bringing reputed troubadours into one's home became a way of promoting social prestige; as a result many noblemen, businessmen and clergymen of the 13th and 14th centuries became notable authors, such as Paio Gomes Charinho, lord of Rianxo, and the aforementioned kings.

Aside from the lyric genres, Galicia developed also a minor tradition on literary prose, most notably in translation of European popular series, as those dealing with king Arthur written by Chretien de Troyes, or those based on the war of Troy, usually paid and commissioned by noblemen who desired to read those romances in their own language. Other genres include history books (either translation of Spanish ones, or original creations like the ''Chronicle of St. Mary of Iria'', by Rui Vasques), religious books, legal studies, and a treaty on horse breeding. Prose literary creation in Galician had stopped by the 16th century, when printing press became popular; the first complete translation of the Bible was not printed until the 20th century.

As for other written uses of Galician, legal charters (last wills, hirings, sales, constitutional charters, city council book of acts, guild constitutions, books of possessions, and any type of public or private contracts and inventories) written in Galicia are to be found from 1230 to 1530—the earliest one probably a document from the monastery of Melón, dated in 1231—being Galician by far the most used language during the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, in substitution of Latin.

Diglossia and influence of the Castilian language

Galician-Portuguese lost its unity when the County of Portugal obtained its independence from the Kingdom of Leon, establishing the Kingdom of Portugal. Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Galicia was united with the Kingdom of León, and later with the Kingdom of Castile, under the kings of the House of Burgundy. The Galician and Portuguese standards of the language diverged over time, following independent evolutionary paths, Portuguese being the official language of the Portuguese chancellery, whilst Galician was the usual language not only of troubadours and peasants, but also of the local noblemen and churchmen, and of their bureaus, so forging and maintaining two slightly different standards.

During the reign of Alfonso X, Castilian Spanish became the official language of the chancellery of the Kingdom of Castile. However, in Galicia and neighbouring regions of Asturias and León, the local language kept being during the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries the usual written language in any type of document, either legal or narrative, public or private. The progressive introduction of Castilian, through Royal decrees and through the edicts of foreigner churchmen and officials, led, from the final years of the 15th century on, to the abandonment of the use of Galician language in legal documentation, being the last ones issued around 1530. together with the legal compulsion from 1480 on the notaries of the Crown of Castile to obtain their licences in Toledo where they had to probe their mastery of Spanish, A reaction to the relegation of the authoctonous language led to the apparition of a series of literary and historical works, always written in Spanish, which goal was the vindication of Galician history, language, people and culture, most notably during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Anyway, the three centuries, from the 16th to the first years of the 19th, when Galician had little literary —and no legal— use are considered as the dark age of Galician language, whilst the Galician spoken and written at that time is usually refereed as ''Middle Galician''.

Middle Galician

Middle Galician is known mostly thought popular literature (songs, carols, proverbs, theatrical scripts, personal letters), but also through the frequent apparition of Galician interferences and personal and place names in local works and documents otherwise written in Spanish. Other important sources are a number of sonnets and other lyric poetry, as well as other literate productions, including the forgery of allegedly mediaeval scriptures or chronicles under diverse pretensions —usually to show the ancient nobility of the forger's family— being these writings elaborated in an archaic looking Galician which nevertheless couldn't conceal the state of the language during this period.

Middle Galician is characterized by a series of phonetic processes which led to a further separation from Portuguese, and to the apparition of some of the more notorious dialectal features, among other phenomenons: emergence of the ''gheada'' or pronunciation of as a pharyngeal fricative; denasalization of nasal vowels in most of Galicia, becoming oral vowels in the east, or a group formed by an oral vowels plus a nasal in the west; reduction of the sibilant system, with the confluence (except in the ''Baixa Limia'' region) of voiced and voiceless fricatives, followed by a process of de-affrication which led to different results in the west and in the east.

The most important author during this period of the language was the enlightened scholar Martín Sarmiento, unconditional defender and the first researcher of Galician language (history, evolution, lexicon, etymology, onomastics). His ''Elementos etimológicos segun el método de Euclides'' (1766), written in Spanish but dealing with Galician, was in fact one of the first comprehensive studies on sound change and evolution of any European language.

Rexurdimento (Renaissance)

During the 19th century a thriving literature developed, in what was called ''Rexurdimento'', 'Resurgence', of the Galician language. It was headed by three main authors: Rosalia de Castro, an intimist poetess; Eduardo Pondal, of nationalist ideology, who championed a Celtic revival; and Manuel Curros Enríquez, a liberal and anticlerical author whose ideas and proclamations were scandalous for part of the 19th century society.

Galician language today

With the advent of democracy, Galician has been brought into the country's institutions, and it is now co-official with Spanish in Galicia. Galician is taught in schools, and there is a public Galician-language television channel, Televisión de Galicia.

Today, the most common language for everyday use in the largest cities of Galicia is Spanish rather than Galician, as a result of this long process of language shift. Galician is still the main language in the rural areas, though.

The Royal Galician Academy and other Galician institutions celebrate each May 17 as Galician Literature Day (''Día das Letras Galegas''), dedicated each year to a deceased Galician-language writer chosen by the academy.

Dialects

It is usually asserted that Galician possesses no real dialects. Anyhow, Galician local varieties are collected in three main dialectal blocks, each block comprising a series of areas, being local linguistic varieties all mutually intelligible. Some of the main features which tells apart the three blocks are: The resolution of medieval nasalized vowels and hiatus: these hiatus turned sometimes into diphthongs in the east, whilst in the centre and west the vowels in the hiatus were sometimes assimilated. Later, in the eastern —with the exception of Ancarese Galician— and central blocks, the nasal trait was lost, whilst in the west the nasal trait usually developed into an implosive nasal consonant . In general, these led to important dialectal variability in the inflection in genre and number of words ended in a nasal consonant. So, from medieval ''irmão'' 'brother', ''ladrões'' 'robbers', ''irmãas'' 'sisters' we have eastern Galician ''irmao'', ''ladrois'', ''irmás''; central Galician ''irmao'', ''ladrós'', ''irmás''; western Galician ''irmán'', ''ladróns'', ''irmáns''. : An exception to this rule is constituted by the hiatus in which the first vowel was a nasalized i or u. In those cases, a palatal or a velar antihiatical nasal was usually generated: ''űa'' 'a / one (fem.)' > ''unha'' (Portuguese ''uma''), -''ina'' > -''îa'' - > -''iña'' (Portuguese -''inha''). Nevertheless, in Ancarese and Asturian Galician, this process was unculmined: ''vecía'' vs. ''veciña'' '(she-)neighbor' (Port. ''vezinha''), ''ua'' vs. ''unha'' (Port. uma). The resolution of hiatus formed by oral vowels had similar developments, most notably those derived of the lost of , which again had important consequence on the declension of words ended in . So, Medieval Galician ''animaes'' 'animals' (sing. ''animal''); central and western Galician ''animás''; eastern Galician ''animais''; Asturian Galician ''animales'' ( is preserved). In the west, is rendered as a fricative (''gheada''), except after a nasal, where it can become a stop . Stressed vowel metaphony is most notable in the west and centre, whilst in the east it is unknown. It is triggered by a final , which tends to close open-mid vowels, or by a final which tend to open close-mid ones. There are three main sibilant systems, all derived from medieval Galician one, which were richer and more complex:

The common one, extended in the eastern and center regions, presents an opposition . In westermost areas the opposition of and is lost in postnuclear position, in the coda, being both produced .

In the coastal western areas the opposition is , being produced in some regions as a laminal or in some others as an apical. Sometimes this system is even further reduced to just a single . On the other hand, in some areas final is produced as .

In the Limia Baixa region an old six sibilant system is still preserved, with voiced/voiceless opposition: ; (apical) and (laminal).

Each dialectal area is then further defined by these and other more restricted traits or isoglosses:

Eastern Galician: Asturian area (Eonavian), Ancares area, Zamora area and Central-Eastern area.

Central Galician: Mindoniense area, Lucu-auriense area, Central Transitional area, and Eastern Transitional area.

Western Galician: Bergantiños area, Fisterra area, Pontevedra area and Lower Limia area.

Standard Galician is usually based in Central Galician characteristics, but it also incorporates western and eastern traits and features.

Examples

cais ladrós irmao luz/cincoollo, hora/ tu/ti cantaches

colspan="3"

Old Galician (13th-15th c.) !! rowspan="2" >Portuguese !! rowspan="2"

Spanish !! rowspan="2" | Latin !! rowspan="2" | English

cans

cas

|

cães/cããs

cães

canes/perros

canes

canines/dogs

ladróns

|

ladrois

ladrões

ladrões

ladrones

latrones

robbers

irmán '''

|

irmao

irmão

irmão

hermano

germanum

brother

luz

|

luz

luz/lus

luz

luz

lux

light

cinco

|

cinco

cinco

cinco

cinco

quinque

five

ollo , hora

|

ollo , hora

ollo, hora

olho, hora

ojo, hora

oculum, horam

eye, hour

ti cantaste(s)

|

tu cantaste/cantache

cantaste

cantaste

cantaste

cantavisti

you sang

animás

animás In modern times, Galician dialects may allow any vowel in unstressed position, i.e.

**Final unstressed , and fail to raise in most instances, especially in metropolitan dialects.

**Unstressed close-mid vowels and open-mid vowels ( and ) occur in complementary distribution (e.g. ''ovella'' 'sheep' / ''omitir'' 'to omit' and ''pequeno'' 'little, small' / ''emitir'' 'to emit'), with few minimal pairs like ''botar'' 'to throw' vs. ''botar'' 'to jump'. In pretonic syllables, close-/open-mid vowels are kept in derived words and compounds (e.g. ''c''''rd''- → ''corda'' 'string' → ''cordeiro'' 'string-maker'—which contrasts with ''cordeiro'' 'lamb').

** (centralized): normal realization of the phoneme.

** (retracted): when next to an .

** (advanced): before a palatal consonant, or before a yod.

** (lengthened): due to contraction, as in ''ra'' 'frog' < ''rãa'' < Latin .

nasal vowels, but Ancarese Galician, spoken in the Ancares valley in Province of León>León. Nevertheless, any vowel is nasalized in contact with a nasal consonant.

* The vocalic system of Galician language is heavily influences by metaphony. Regressive metaphony is produced either by a final , which tend to open medium vowels, or by a final , which can have the reverse effect. As a result, metaphony affects most notably words with genre opposition: ''sogro'' ('father-in-law') vs. ''sogra'' ('mother-in-law'). On the other hand, vowel harmony, triggered by or , has had a large part in the evolution and dialectal diversification of the language.

;Diphthongs

Galician language possesses a large set of falling diphthongs:

'box' papeis queixo bocoi loita

+Galician diphthongs
colspan="6">falling
	caixa	|
	|			autor	'author'
	|	'papers'		deu	'He/She gave'
	|	'cheese'		bateu	'He/She hit'
	|	'barrel'
	|	'fight'		pouco	'little'

There are also a certain number of rising diphthongs, but they are not characteristic of the language and tend to be pronounced as hiatus.

Consonants

, (dialectal ), , (dialectal ) (or )

+ Consonants
Phoneme (International Phonetic Alphabet>IPA)	!Main allophones	!Graphemes	!Example
	|	b/v	''bebo'' '(I) drink', ''alba'' 'sunrise', ''vaca'' 'cow', ''cova'' 'cave'
	|	z/c	''macio'' 'soft', ''cruz'' 'cross'
	|	ch	''chamar'' 'to call', ''achar'' 'to find'
	|	d	''vida'' 'life', ''cadro'' 'frame'
	|	f	''feltro'' 'filter', ''freixo'' 'ash-tree'
	|	g/gu	''fungo'' 'fungus', ''guerra'' 'war', ''o gato'' 'the cat'
	|	c/qu	''casa'' 'house', ''querer'' 'to want'
	|	l	''lua'' 'moon', ''algo'' 'something', ''mel'' 'honey'
	|	ll	''mollado'' 'wet'
	|	m	''memoria'' 'memory', ''campo'' 'field', ''álbum''

Voiced plosives (, and ) are lenited (weakened) to approximants or fricatives in all instances, except after a pause or a nasal consonant; e.g. ''un gato'' 'a cat' is pronounced , whilst ''o gato'' 'the cat' is pronounced .

During the modern period, Galician consonants have undergone significant sound changes that closely parallel the evolution of Spanish consonants, including the following changes that neutralized the opposition of voiced fricatives / voiceless fricatives: → ; → → in western dialects, or in eastern and central dialects; → ;

For a comparison, see Differences between Spanish and Portuguese: Sibilants. Additionally, during the 17th and 18th centuries the western and central dialects of Galician developed a voiceless fricative pronunciation of (a phenomenon called ''gheada''). This may be glottal , pharyngeal , uvular , or velar .

Spanish has been experiencing a centuries-long consonant shift in which the lateral consonant comes to be pronounced as a fricative (see ''yeísmo''). This merger, which is almost complete for Spanish in Spain, has somewhat influenced other linguistic varieties spoken in Spain, including some Galician ones, but it is rejected by Galician language institutions.

In this respect, it can be said that Portuguese is phonologically more conservative than Galician.

Grammar

Galician allows pronominal clitics to be attached to indicative and subjunctive forms, as does Portuguese, unlike modern Spanish. After many centuries of close contact between the two languages, Galician has also adopted many loan words from Spanish, and some calques of Spanish syntax.

Writing system

The current official Galician orthography was introduced in 1982, and made law in 1983, by the Royal Galician Academy (RAG), based on a report by the ILG. It remains a source of contention, however; a minority of citizens would rather have the institutions recognize Galician as a Portuguese variety as cited before, and therefore still opt for the use of writing systems that range from adapted medieval Galician-Portuguese writing system or European Portuguese one (see reintegrationism).

In July 2003 the Royal Galician Academy modified the language normative to admit some archaic Galician-Portuguese forms conserved in modern Portuguese. These changes have been considered an attempt to build a consensus among major Galician philology trends and represent, in the words of the Galician Language Academy, "the orthography desired by 95% of Galician people." The 2003 reform is thought to put an end to the so-called "normative wars" raised by the different points of view of the relationship between the modern Galician and Portuguese languages. This modification has been accepted only by a part of the reintegrationist movement at this point.

The question of the spelling system has very significant political connotations in Galicia. At present there are minor but significant political parties representing points of view that range from greater self-government for Galicia within the Spanish political setup to total political independence from Spain designed to preserve the Galician culture and language from the risk of being inundated by the Castilian culture and language. Since the modern Galician orthography is somewhat influenced by Castilian spelling conventions, some parties wish to remove it. Since medieval Galician and medieval Portuguese were the same language, modern Portuguese spelling is nearer to medieval Galician than to modern Galician Spanish-style spelling. Language unification would also have the benefit of linking the Galician language to another major language with its own extensive cultural production, which would weaken the links that bind Galicia and Spain and ultimately favor the people's aspiration toward an independent state. However, although all three concepts are frequently associated, there is no direct interrelation between reintegrationism, independentism and defending Galician and Portuguese linguistic unity, and, in fact, reintegrationism is only a small force within the Galician nationalist movement.

Examples

{|class="wikitable" align="center" |- ! English ! Galician (Official) ! Galician (Reintegrationist) ! Portuguese ! Spanish |- | Good morning | ''Bo día / Bos días'' | ''Bom Dia'' | ''Bom Dia / Bons dias'' | ''Buenos días'' |- | What is your name? | colspan=3 style="text-align: center;" | ''Como te chamas?'' | ''¿Cómo te llamas?'' |- | I love you | ''Quérote / Ámote'' | colspan=2 style="text-align: center;" | ''Amo-te'' | ''Te quiero / Te amo'' |- | Excuse me | colspan=3 style="text-align: center;" | ''Desculpe'' | ''Perdón / Disculpe'' |- | Thanks / Thank you | ''Grazas'' | colspan=2 style="text-align: center;" | ''Obrigado'' | ''Gracias'' |- | Welcome | ''Benvido'' | ''Bem-vido'' | ''Bem-vindo'' | ''Bienvenido'' |- | Goodbye | colspan=3 style="text-align: center;" | ''Adeus''* | ''Adiós'' |- | Yes | ''Si'' | colspan=2 style="text-align: center;"| ''Sim'' | ''Sí'' |- |No | ''Non'' | ''Nom'' | ''Não'' | ''No'' |- |Dog | ''Can'' | ''Cam'' | ''Cão'' | ''Perro'' (rarely, ''Can'') |- |Grandfather | ''Avó'' |colspan=2 style="text-align: center;"| ''Avô'' | ''Abuelo'' |- |Newspaper | ''Periódico'' / ''Xornal'' |colspan=2 style="text-align: center;"| ''Jornal'' | ''Periódico'' |- |Mirror | ''Espello'' |colspan=2 style="text-align: center;"| ''Espelho'' | ''Espejo'' |}

!English	!Galician official	!Galician reintegrationist	!Portuguese	!Spanish	!Latin
Our Father who art in heaven,	Noso Pai que estás no ceo:	Nosso Pai que estás no Céu:	Pai Nosso que estais no Céu:	Padre nuestro que estás en los cielos:	Pater noster qui es in caelis:
hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.	santificado sexa o teu nome, veña a nós o teu reino e fágase a túa vontade aquí na terra coma no ceo.	santificado seja o Teu nome, venha a nós o Teu reino e seja feita a Tua vontade aqui na terra como nos Céus.	santificado seja o vosso nome, venha a nós o vosso reino, seja feita a vossa vontade assim na Terra como no Céu.	santificado sea tu Nombre, venga a nosotros tu reino y hágase tu voluntad en la tierra como en el cielo.	sanctificetur nomen tuum, adveniat regnum tuum, fiat voluntas tua sicut in caelo et in terra.
Give us this day our daily bread,	O noso pan de cada día dánolo hoxe;	O nosso pam de cada dia dá-no-lo hoje;	O pão nosso de cada dia nos dai hoje;	Danos hoy nuestro pan de cada día;	panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie;
and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,	e perdóanos as nosas ofensas como tamén perdoamos nós a quen nos ten ofendido;	e perdoa-nos as nossas ofensas como também perdoamos nós a quem nos tem ofendido;	Perdoai-nos as nossas ofensas assim como nós perdoamos a quem nos tem ofendido;	y perdona nuestras ofensas como también nosotros perdonamos a los que nos ofenden;	et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	e non nos deixes caer na tentación, mais líbranos do mal.	e nom nos deixes cair na tentaçom, mas livra-nos do mal.	e não nos deixeis cair em tentação, mas livrai-nos do mal.	no nos dejes caer en tentación, y líbranos del mal.	et ne nos inducas in tentationem; sed libera nos a malo.
Amen.	Amen.	Amen.	Amém.	Amen.	Amen.

See also

Barallete

Castrapo

Eonavian

''Fala dos arxinas'', a jargon of Galician masons

Fala language

Galician literature

Galician-Portuguese

Leonese language

Portuguese language

List of Galician words of Celtic origin

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Galician guides: LOIA: Open guide to Galician Language . Ethnologue report for Galician Basic information on Galician language , ,

Records, phonetic and dialectology:

Arquivo do Galego Oral - An archive of records of Galician speakers.

A Nosa Fala - Sound recordings of the different dialects of the Galician language.

Amostra comparativa - Comparison between Galician, Portuguese and Brazilian-Portuguese pronunciation (with sound files) (reintegrationist Galician)

Dictionaries:

Appendix:Galician pronouns - on Wiktionary

English-Galician CLUVI Online Dictionary (official Galician), ) Galician - English Dictionary: from Webster's Online Dictionary - The Rosetta Edition. (Official Galician), A short English-Galician-Japanese Phraselist (Renewal) incl. sound soft (Official Galician), , Dicionario de dicionarios do galego medieval - A dictionary of Old Galician dictionaries. Dicionario de dicionarios - A dictionary of Galician dictionaries.

e-Estraviz - Isaac Alonso Estraviz's dictionary (on-line). (reintegrationist norm and official norm)

Texts: Gallaeciae Monumenta Historica - An on-line repository of medieval texts Biblioteca Virtual Galega Cantigas de Santa Maria

Corpus Xelmirez - A corpus on medieval Galician documentation, in Galician, Latin, and Spanish.

Newspapers in Galician: Luns a Venres - free daily newspaper Galiciaé.es - online news portal Galicia Hoxe - daily newspaper A Nosa Terra - weekly newspaper Vieiros - online news portal Gznacion - online news portal Arroutada Noticias - online news portal

Novas da Galiza - monthly newspaper (in reintegrationist Galician)

Galiza Livre - pro-independence online news portal (in reintegrationist Galician)

Other links related to Galician: Royal Galician Academy Instituto da Lingua Galega A Mesa pola Normalización Lingüística

Associaçom Galega da Língua - Portal Galego da Língua (reintegrationist Galician)

Movimento Defesa da Lingua (reintegrationist Galician)

Category:Iberian Romance languages Category:Galician language Category:Languages of Spain

af:Galicies ar:لغة غاليسية an:Idioma gallego frp:Galicien ast:Gallegu az:Qalis dili be:Галісійская мова be-x-old:Галісійская мова bg:Галисийски език br:Galizeg ca:Gallec cs:Galicijština co:Lingua galiziana cy:Galisieg da:Galicisk (sprog) de:Galicische Sprache et:Galeegi keel el:Γαλικιανή γλώσσα es:Idioma gallego eo:Galega lingvo ext:Luenga gallega eu:Galiziera fa:زبان گالیسی hif:Galician bhasa fr:Galicien ga:An Ghailísis gv:Galeeshish gl:Lingua galega hak:Kâ-lî-sî-â-ngî ko:갈리시아어 hy:Գալիցերեն hi:गैलिशियन भाषा hr:Galješki jezik io:Galisiana linguo id:Bahasa Galisia ia:Lingua gallecian os:Галисиаг æвзаг it:Lingua gallega he:גליסית ka:გალისიური ენა kw:Galijek rw:Ikigalisiya sw:Kigalicia kv:Галис кыв ku:Zimanê galîsyayî lad:Lingua gayega la:Lingua Gallaica lv:Galisiešu valoda lt:Galisų kalba lij:Lengua galissiann-a li:Galicisch lmo:Galizian hu:Galiciai nyelv mk:Галициски јазик mi:Reo Galicia mr:गालेगो भाषा arz:جاليجو ms:Bahasa Galicia nah:Galiciatlahtōlli nl:Galicisch ja:ガリシア語 no:Galisisk nn:Galisisk oc:Galèc pnb:گلیکیائی pms:Lenga galissian-a pl:Język galicyjski pt:Língua galega ro:Limba galiciană qu:Galligu simi ru:Галисийский язык se:Galegogiella sco:Galician leid sq:Gjuha galiciane simple:Galician language sk:Galícijčina sr:Галицијски језик sh:Galicijski jezik fi:Galego sv:Galiciska tl:Wikang Galisyano ta:கலீசிய மொழி tet:Lia-galegu th:ภาษากาลิเซีย tr:Galiçyaca uk:Галісійська мова ug:گالىسىيەچە vec:Lengua gałiziana vi:Tiếng Galicia fiu-vro:Galeegi kiil bat-smg:Galisu kalba zh:加利西亞語

name	Yo-Yo Ma馬友友
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth date	October 07, 1955
birth place	Paris, France
instrument	Cello, piano, viola, violin
genre	Classical
occupation	Cellist, composer, pedagogue
years active	''fl. ca.'' 1961–''present''
label	CBS, RCA, Sony Classical
associated acts	Silk Road Ensemble
website	yo-yoma.com
notable instruments	Violoncello''Davydov 1712'' StradivariusDomenico Montagnana 1733Luis and Clark }}

)}}

Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born Chinese American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. Ma is regarded by some as the most famous cellist of the modern age.

Early life

Yo-Yo Ma was born in Paris on October 7, 1955, to Chinese parents and had a musical upbringing. His mother, Marina Lu, was a singer, and his father, Hiao-Tsiun Ma, was a violinist and professor of music at Nanjing National Central University. His family moved to New York when he was five years old.

At a very young age, Ma began studying violin, and later viola, before settling on the cello in 1960 at age four. According to Ma, his first choice was the double bass due to its large size, but he compromised and took up cello instead. The child prodigy began performing before audiences at age five, and performed for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Dwight D. Eisenhower when he was seven. At age eight, he appeared on American television with his sister, Yeou-Cheng Ma, in a concert conducted by Leonard Bernstein. By fifteen years of age, Ma had graduated from Trinity School in New York and appeared as a soloist with the Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra in a performance of the Tchaikovsky ''Rococo Variations''.

Ma studied at the Juilliard School at age nine with Leonard Rose and briefly attended Columbia University before ultimately enrolling at Harvard University later on. Prior to entering Harvard, Ma played in the Marlboro Festival Orchestra under the direction of nonagenarian cellist and conductor Pablo Casals. Ma would ultimately spend four summers at the Marlboro Music Festival after meeting and falling in love with Mount Holyoke College sophomore and festival administrator Jill Hornor his first summer there in 1972.

However, even before that time, Ma had steadily gained fame and had performed with most of the world's major orchestras. His recordings and performances of Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites recorded in 1983 and again in 1994–1997 are particularly acclaimed. He has also played a good deal of chamber music, often with the pianist Emanuel Ax, with whom he has a close friendship back from their days together at the Juilliard School of Music in New York.

Ma received his bachelor's degree from Harvard in 1976. In 1991, he received an honorary doctorate from Harvard.

Career

Ma currently plays with his own Silk Road Ensemble, which has the goal of bringing together musicians from diverse countries all of which are historically linked via the Silk Road, and records on the Sony Classical label. Ma's primary performance instrument is the cello nicknamed ''Petunia'', built by Domenico Montagnana in 1733. It was named this by a female student that approached him after one of his classes in Salt Lake City asking if he had a nickname for his cello. He said, "No, but if I play for you, will you name it?" She chose Petunia, and it stuck. This cello, more than 270 years old and valued at US$2.5 million, was lost in the fall of 1999 when Ma accidentally left the instrument in a taxicab in New York City. It was later recovered undamaged. Another of Ma's cellos, the ''Davidov Stradivarius'', was previously owned by Jacqueline du Pré who passed it to him upon her death, and owned by the Vuitton Foundation. Though Du Pré previously voiced her frustration with the "unpredictability" of this cello, Ma attributed the comment to du Pré's impassioned style of playing, adding that the Stradivarius cello must be "coaxed" by the player. It was until recently set up in a Baroque manner, since Ma exclusively played Baroque music on it. He also owns a modern cello made by Peter and Wendela Moes of Peissenberg, Germany, and one of carbon fiber by the Luis and Clark company of Boston.

In 1997 he was featured on John Williams' soundtrack to the Hollywood film, ''Seven Years in Tibet''. In 2000, he was heard on the soundtrack of ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'', and in 2003 on that of ''Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World''. He collaborated with Williams again on the original score for the 2005 film ''Memoirs of a Geisha''. Yo-Yo Ma has also worked with world-renowned Italian composer Ennio Morricone and has recorded Morricone's compositions of the Dollars Trilogy including ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly''. He also has over 75 albums, 15 of which are Grammy Award winners. Ma is a recipient of the International Center in New York's Award of Excellence.

Ma was named Peace Ambassador by UN then Secretary-General Kofi Annan in January 2006.

On November 3, 2009, President Obama appointed Ma to serve on the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. His music was featured in the 2010 documentary ''Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story'', narrated by Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman.

Playing style

thumb|right|Ma with Condoleezza Rice after performing a duet at the presentation of the 2001 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal Awards.Ma has been referred to as "omnivorous" by critics, and possesses a more eclectic repertoire than is typical for classical musicians. A sampling of his versatility in addition to numerous recordings of the standard classical repertoire would include his recordings of Baroque pieces using period instruments; American bluegrass music; traditional Chinese melodies including the soundtrack to the film ''Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon''; the tangos of Argentinian composer Ástor Piazzolla; an eclectic and unusual collaboration with Bobby McFerrin (where Ma admitted to being terrified of the improvisation McFerrin pushed him toward); as well as the music of modern minimalist Philip Glass in such works as the 2002 piece ''Naqoyqatsi''. He is known for his smooth, rich tone as well as his considerable virtuosity, including a cello recording of Niccolò Paganini's 24th Caprice for solo violin, Zoltán Kodály's cello sonata, and other demanding works.

Notable live performances

Ma performed a duet with Condoleezza Rice at the presentation of the 2001 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal Awards. Ma was the first performer on September 11, 2002, at the site of the World Trade Center, while the first of the names of the dead were read in remembrance on the first anniversary of the attack on the WTC. He played the Sarabande from Bach's ''Suite in C minor (#5)''. He performed a special arrangement of Sting's "Fragile" with Sting and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir during the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Ma has also appeared as a ''Pennington Great Performers'' series artist with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra in 2005.

He performed John Williams' "Air and Simple Gifts" at the inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama on January 20, 2009, along with Itzhak Perlman (violin), Gabriela Montero (piano) and Anthony McGill (clarinet). While the quartet did play live, the music played simultaneously over speakers and on television was a recording made two days prior due to concerns over the cold weather damaging the instruments. Ma was quoted as saying "A broken string was not an option. It was wicked cold."

On May 3, 2009, Ma performed the world premiere of Bruce Adolphe's "Self Comes to Mind" for solo cello and two percussionists with John Ferrari and Ayano Kataoka at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The work is based on a poetic description written for the composer of the evolution of brain into mind by neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, and featured, at the premiere, a film of brain scans provided by Hanna Damasio plus other images, coordinated with the music during the performance.

On August 29, 2009, Ma performed at the funeral mass for Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Pieces he performed included the Sarabande movement from Bach's ''Cello Suite No. 6'', and Franck's ''Panis Angelicus'' with Placido Domingo.

On October 3, 2009, Ma appeared alongside Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the National Arts Centre gala in Ottawa. Harper, a noted fan of The Beatles, played the piano and sang a rendition of "With A Little Help From My Friends" while Ma accompanied him on his cello.

On October 16, 2011, Ma performed at the memorial for Steve Jobs held in Stanford University's Memorial Church.

In 2011, Ma performed with American dancer Charles "Lil Buck" Riley in the United States and in China at the U.S.-China Forum on the Arts and Culture.

Media appearances

Ma has appeared in an episode of the animated children's television series, ''Arthur'', as well as on ''The West Wing'' (episode "Noël", in which he performed the prelude to the Bach Cello Suite No.1 at a Christmas dinner at the White House), ''Sesame Street'' and ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''. In ''The Simpsons'' episode "Missionary: Impossible", Ma, (voiced by Hank Azaria) runs after Homer Simpson along with many other frequent guests of PBS.

He also starred in the visual accompaniment to his recordings of Bach's ''Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello''.

Ma was also seen with former Apple Inc. and Pixar CEO Steve Jobs. Ma was often invited to press events for Jobs's companies, and has performed on stage during event keynote presentations, as well as appearing in a commercial for the Macintosh computer.

Ma was a guest on the Not My Job segment of ''Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' on April 7, 2007, where he won for listener Thad Moore.

On October 27, 2008, Ma appeared as a guest and performer on ''The Colbert Report''. He was also a show's guest on November 1, 2011, where he performed songs from The Goat Rodeo Sessions with fellow musicians Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile.

According to research done by Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., of Harvard University, in 2010 for the PBS series ''Faces of America'', in which Ma made an appearance, a relative had hidden the Ma family genealogy in his home in China to save it from destruction during the Cultural Revolution. Ma's paternal ancestry can be traced back eighteen generations to the year 1217. This genealogy had been compiled in the 18th century by an ancestor, tracing everyone with the surname Ma, through the paternal line, back to one common ancestor in the 3rd century BC. Ma's generation name, "Yo", had been decided by his fourth great grand-uncle, Ma Ji Cang, in 1755.

Personal life

Ma married his long-time girlfriend Jill Hornor, a German language professor, in 1977. He proposed outside her apartment. They have two children, Nicholas and Emily, and reside in Winchester, Massachusetts. Ma's elder sister, Yeou-Cheng Ma, who was also born in Paris, is a violinist married to Michael Dadap, a New York–based guitarist from the Philippines.

Discography

Awards and recognitions

Avery Fisher Prize

1978

Award of Distinction (International Cello Festival)

2007

Dan David Prize

2006

Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) (''honoris causa'')

2005 Princeton University

Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance:

1996 ''Brahms/Beethoven/Mozart: Clarinet Trios'' (Sony 57499)

1993 ''Brahms: Sonatas for Cello & Piano'' (Sony 48191)

1992 ''Brahms: Piano Quartets Op. 25, Op. 26'' (Sony 45846)

1987 ''Beethoven: Cello and Piano Sonata No. 4 in C & Variations'' (CBS 42121)

1986 ''Brahms: Cello and Piano Sonatas in E Minor Op. 38, and F Op. 99'' (RCA 17022)

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance:

1998 ''Yo-Yo Ma Premieres – Danielpour, Kirchner, Rouse'' (Sony Classical 66299)

1995 ''The New York Album – Works of Albert, Bartók & Bloch'' (Sony 57961)

1993 ''Prokofiev: Sinfonia Concertante/Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme'' (Sony 48382)

1990 ''Barber: Cello Concerto, Op. 22/Britten: Symphony for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 68'' (CBS 44900)

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance:

1985 ''Bach: The Unaccompanied Cello Suites'' (CBS 37867)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition:

1995 ''The New York Album'', ''Stephen Albert: Cello Concerto'' (Sony 57961)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Album:

1998 ''Yo-Yo Ma Premieres – Danielpour, Kirchner, Rouse'' (Sony Classical 66299)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album:

2010 ''Songs of Joy & Peace'' (Sony Classical B001BN1V8U)

2004 ''Obrigado Brazil'' (Sony 89935)

2001 ''Appalachian Journey'' (Sony 66782)

1999 ''Soul of the Tango – The Music of Ástor Piazzolla'' (Sony Classical 63122)

Glenn Gould Prize

1999

Kennedy Center Honor

2011

Latin Grammy for Best Instrumental Album

2004 ''Obrigado Brazil'' (Sony 89935)

Léonie Sonning Music Prize

2006

National Medal of Arts 2001 Presidential Medal of Freedom Nominated: November 17, 2010 Awarded: February 15, 2011

References

External links

Official Website

''About Us'', The Children's Orchestra Society, ChildrensOrch.org, 2007

Yo-Yo Ma in Conversation from WGBH Radio Boston

Yo-Yo Ma Interview on Time.com, October 2008

Yo-Yo Ma Podcast Series produced by Sony BMG Masterworks

Yo-Yo Ma TV Interview with Ennio Morricone from C Music TV

2006 Dan David Prize laureate

Welcome to Baku: Yo-Yo Ma: Silk Road Ensemble with Alim Gasimov and Fargana," by Aida Huseinova in Azerbaijan International, Vol. 14:2 (Summer 2006), p. 14

Category:American classical cellists Category:American classical musicians of Chinese descent Category:Contemporary classical music performers Category:Child classical musicians Category:Columbia University alumni Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:Emmy Award winners Category:French emigrants to the United States Category:French people of Chinese descent Category:Gemini Award winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Juilliard School alumni Category:Musicians from Massachusetts Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:People from Paris Category:Members of Committee of 100 Category:Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:American people of Ningbo descent Category:United Nations Messengers of Peace Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:People from Belmont, Massachusetts

af:Yo-Yo Ma ar:يويو ما zh-min-nan:Yo-Yo Ma ca:Yo-Yo Ma de:Yo-Yo Ma es:Yo-Yo Ma eo:Yo-Yo Ma fa:یو-یو ما fr:Yo-Yo Ma gl:Yo-Yo Ma ko:요요 마 id:Yo-Yo Ma it:Yo-Yo Ma he:יו-יו מה lv:Jo-Jo Ma hu:Yo-Yo Ma nl:Yo-Yo Ma ja:ヨーヨー・マ no:Yo-Yo Ma oc:Yo-Yo Ma pl:Yo-Yo Ma pt:Yo-Yo Ma ru:Йо-Йо Ма sq:Yo-Yo Ma simple:Yo-Yo Ma sl:Yo-Yo Ma fi:Yo-Yo Ma sv:Yo-Yo Ma th:โยโย มา zh:馬友友