The Aragonés language, identified by UNESCO as one of the world's most endangered Romance languages, faces significant challenges. A study published by the University of Zaragoza, titled "Charrando aragonés: La lengua aragonesa en su zona de uso predominante" (Speaking Aragonese: The Aragonese Language in its Predominant Use Area), provides a diagnosis of the language's current state.
Around 8,000 people use it daily, especially in family and neighborhood settings, and in small towns. The study also found that 79% of the surveyed population understands the language, but only 34% speak it, 29% write it, and 69% read it. These figures highlight weak intergenerational transmission, a major obstacle to its survival.
Aragonés persists mainly in the Pyrenean valleys and rural communities. However, factors such as depopulation, an aging population, and the lack of institutional support pose risks to its continuity. The authors warn that "social and demographic changes can make it more difficult for the most endangered Romance language in the world to survive."
Despite the challenges, the study highlights positive aspects, such as growing linguistic awareness among the population and broad support for cultural protection measures. The researchers emphasize the need to combat historical prejudices that have associated Aragonés with a "rustic" or "second-class" language. The authors propose repeating the survey periodically to monitor the evolution of Aragonés use and expand it to other areas.
The book, published in paper and digital format by the University Presses of Zaragoza, emphasizes that Aragonés is a "treasure" of Aragonese cultural heritage. The authors call for more decisive institutional actions, such as including Aragonés in education and normalizing its use in the media and administration, to prevent this thousand-year-old language from becoming a memory. "Without strong measures, the risk of losing this heritage is very real," they conclude.