bable
Asturian
editEtymology
editFirst attested by Carlos González de Posada, in Memorias históricas de Asturias (1794), who cites it as a synonym of "Asturian language"[1], the name became very popular in the 19th century all the way to the Surdimientu (1970s), only beginning to carry a despective meaning around the 1980s.[2] Possibly of onomatopoeic origin, similar to Spanish balbucir, English babble. Others have suggested Latin fābŭla, with a change of f- to b- (which is common in Meridional dialects), thus a Doublet of fala.[3]
In any case, the word remained exclusively used in intellectual or literary circles and was never used by the speakers themselves, who predominantly use asturianu (along with other names in local dialects), as seen in the 1930s ALPI survey.[4]
Pronunciation
editNoun
editbable m (uncountable)
- (archaic, literary) Asturian (language) [from late 18th c. to mid 20th c.]
- Synonyms: asturianu, bable asturianu
- 1889, Tedoro Cuesta, A mió má la d'el cielu[1]:
- Pa dalgunos el bable ye enoxosu
Y pa muchos quiciaes revesosu- To some, Asturian is irritating
And for many maybe convoluted
- To some, Asturian is irritating
- 1923, Carlos de la Concha, Los suaños del probe Lin[2]:
- ¡Ay bable, llengua materna!
¿Por qué fusti abandonada?- Oh Asturian, [my] mother tongue!
Why have you been abandoned?
- Oh Asturian, [my] mother tongue!
- (derogatory) Asturian [from late 20th c.]
- (derogatory, dated, in the plural) Asturian, when purposely conceived as an "amalgamation of dialects" rather than a language [from late 20th c.]
- (derogatory, dated) an Asturian variant or dialect, when Asturian isn't considered a language [from late 20th c.]
References
edit- ^ tubo ingenio viváz, alegre y de tan pronta imaginativa y dulce expresion en la Poesía familiar ó idioma Asturiano (que allí dicen Vable) ― he had a lively wit, cheerful and of such quick, imaginative and sweet expression in the familiar poetry or Asturian language (which there they call Vable)
- ^ Carlos Busto Cortina, Juan. El Surgimiento del glotónimo bable y su implatanción frente a asturiano. University of Oviedo, 2024
- ^ Tesoro de los diccionarios históricos de la lengua española - Bable
- ^ Atlas Lingüístico de la Península Ibérica - Nombre dialectal de las hablas locales
Further reading
edit- “bable (noun)”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1st edition, Academy of the Asturian Language [Asturian: Academia de la Llingua Asturiana], 2000, →ISBN
- Xosé Lluis García Arias (2002–2004), “bable (noun)”, in Diccionario general de la lengua asturiana [General Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Spanish), Editorial Prensa Asturiana, →ISBN
Norwegian Bokmål
editEtymology
editOnomatopoeic, lydord. Compare with German babbeln
Verb
editbable (imperative babl or bable, present tense babler, passive bables, simple past and past participle babla or bablet, present participle bablende)
- to babble
References
edit- “bable” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editOnomatopoeic, lydord. Compare with German babbeln
Verb
editbable (present tense bablar, past tense babla, past participle babla, passive infinitive bablast, present participle bablande, imperative bable/babl)
- to babble
References
edit- “bable” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Spanish
editEtymology
editOnomatopoeic, similar to balbucir, English babble.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editbable m (uncountable)
- (sometimes derogatory) Asturian (language)
- Synonym: asturiano
Further reading
edit- “bable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
- Asturian terms with usage examples
- Asturian onomatopoeias
- Asturian terms inherited from Latin
- Asturian terms derived from Latin
- Asturian doublets
- Asturian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Asturian/able
- Rhymes:Asturian/able/2 syllables
- Asturian uncountable nouns
- Asturian lemmas
- Asturian nouns
- Asturian masculine nouns
- Asturian terms with archaic senses
- Asturian literary terms
- Asturian terms with quotations
- Asturian derogatory terms
- Asturian dated terms
- ast:Languages
- Norwegian Bokmål lemmas
- Norwegian Bokmål verbs
- Norwegian Nynorsk lemmas
- Norwegian Nynorsk verbs
- Norwegian Nynorsk weak verbs
- Spanish onomatopoeias
- Spanish 2-syllable words
- Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Spanish/able
- Rhymes:Spanish/able/2 syllables
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish nouns
- Spanish uncountable nouns
- Spanish masculine nouns
- Spanish derogatory terms
- es:Languages