Bable

Asturian
asturianu
Native to	Spain
Region	Autonomous Community of Principality of Asturias
Native speakers	110,000 (2007) Spoken by: 50,000 in central Asturias 30,000 in western Asturias 20,000 in eastern Asturias 450,000 L2 speakers (1994)
Language family	Indo-European Italic Romance Western Ibero-Romance West Iberian Astur-Leonese Asturian
Writing system	Latin
Official status
Recognised minority language in	Asturias (Spain)
Regulated by	Academia de la Llingua Asturiana
Language codes
ISO 639-2
ISO 639-3
Glottolog	astu1245
Linguasphere	51-AAA-ca
Linguistic area of Astur-Leonese, including Asturian

110,000 (2007)
Spoken by:

Asturian (/æsˈtʊəriən/;autonym: asturianu [astuˈɾjanu], formerly also known as bable [ˈbaβle]) is a West Iberian Romance language spoken in Principality of Asturias, Spain. Asturian is part of a wider linguistic group, the Astur-Leonese languages. The number of speakers is estimated at 100,000 (native) and 450,000 (second language). There are three main variants in the Astur-Leonese language family: Western, Central, and Eastern. For historical and demographic reasons, the standard is based on Central Asturian. Asturian has a distinct grammar, dictionary, and orthography. Regulated by the Academy of the Asturian Language, although it is not an official language of Spain it is protected under the Statute of Autonomy and is an elective language in schools.

Astur-Leonese is the historical language of Asturias, portions of the Spanish provinces of León and Zamora and the area surrounding Miranda do Douro in northeastern Portugal. Like the other Romance languages of the Iberian peninsula, it evolved from Vulgar Latin during the early Middle Ages. Asturian was closely linked with the Kingdom of Asturias (718–910) and the ensuing Leonese kingdom. The language had contributions from pre-Roman languages spoken by the Astures, an Iberian Celtic tribe, and the post-Roman Germanic languages of the Visigoths and Suevi.