Minderico language

Minderico, also known as Piação do Ninhou (the language of Minde), was originally a sociolect or a secret language spoken by textile producers and traders in the freguesia (civil parish) of Minde (Alcanena, Portugal).

History
After this initial phase (18th century), Minderico began to expand its vocabulary continuously and creatively. This expansion was (and continues to be) intimately related to the socio-cultural experiences of the inhabitants of Minde. For example, names and nicknames of well-known persons from Minde and the neighbouring areas were used as lexemes to express physical or psychological characteristics, as these characteristics were salient for those persons. This method of lexical formation can be explained by the fact that Minde, due to its geographical isolation, is a small and close knit community, where everyone knows one another. Therefore, using names of persons as a means to express the characteristics associated to them was immediately understood amongst members of the speech community; this was not an obstacle to effective communication.

The Interdisciplinary Centre for Social and Language Documentation (CIDLes), an institution dedicated to the research and documentation of endangered languages in Europe and the development of language technologies for lesser-used languages, is now working on the linguistic documentation of Minderico and, together with the speech community, on its revitalization.