Family ties, dwelling and mobility in the development of Barranquenho

Barrancos (Portugal) and Encinasola (Spain) are located across the river Murtiga valley on the southern Portuguese-Spanish border; they are separated by about seven miles. The proximity and the centuries-old cultural exchanges between these two towns reaches back to the Al-Andalus period. In addition, their geographical, historical and economic periphery with regard to regional and national centers of power of Lisbon and Madrid were important in determining Barranquenhos' and Marochos's peripheral identities. To them these values are as equally significant for their shared geography, history and strong cultural perceptions of separation as for their distinct intra- and intercommunity linguistic practices and representations. In this respect, language loyalties in Barrancos and Encinasola configure a triple axis made up by the local dialects (Barrancos / Encinasola), regional varieties (Alentejo / Andalusia) and national standards (Lisbon / Madrid). A special case of varied linguistic manifestations is the Portuguese-Spanish hybridity in the Barranquenho dialect, having a degree of mixing not found in other contact dialects spoken on the border separating Portugal and Spain. As the result of inter-communal marriages, spatial and social mobility, and travel across-the-border, family ties and new social networks have been constantly forming throughout history. Given the relevance of social network and identity for sociolinguistic variation, and of space and time for linguistic change in general, this paper seeks to interpret language change on the Portuguese-Spanish border within the mobility paradigm. It will show ideological outcomes of mobility in these border towns are connected to questions of language, place and identity as they relate to movement and crossing to and from Barrancos and Encinasola. In particular, the mobilities paradigm is used to understand language across the border as tied to different forms of mobilities and moorings over space and time.