Extremadurans (, , ) are the native people of

Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...

, in the central-west of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The dialect of Extremadura belongs to the southern dialects of Spanish, with strong similarities to the speech from Andalusia or Murcian. However, in northern Extremadura these southern features merge with some Leonese features, forming the

Extremaduran language Extremaduran ( , ) is a group of vernacular Romance dialects, related to the Asturleonese language, spoken in Extremadura and adjoining areas in the province of Salamanca. It is difficult to establish the exact boundary between Extremaduran ...

, which is nowadays seriously endangered. In the rest of the territory, the influence of Leonese on the language is marginal. There are some towns or villages in Extremadura where Portuguese is spoken, such as Olivenza, Cedillo and Herrera de Alcántara. Olivenza and Cedillo belonged to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

until two centuries ago, but Herrera de Alcántara never did. In three villages located in a small valley of the northwestern part of

near the border with

, the

Fala language Fala ("speech", also called ''Xalimego'') is a Western Romance languages, Western Romance language commonly classified in the Galician–Portuguese, Galician–Portuguese subgroup, with some traits from Leonese language, Leonese, spoken in Spai ...

is spoken, which is a Romance language from the Galician-Portuguese subgroup mixed with Extremaduran. Historically, Extremadura has long been one of the poorest regions in the country. As a result, many of its people emigrated to

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

during the colonial era (1492-1820s), leaving a mark on

Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and ) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America, which encompasses Music of Latin America, Latin America, Music of Spain, Spain, Mu ...

in the Americas ever since.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Extremaduran People Ethnic groups in Spain Romance peoples

See also

References