bable
Asturian
Etymology
First 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
- IPA(key): /ˈbable/ [ˈba.β̞le]
- Rhymes: -able
- Syllabification: ba‧ble
Noun
bable 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
- ^ 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
- “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
Etymology
Onomatopoeic, lydord. Compare with German babbeln
Verb
bable (imperative babl or bable, present tense babler, passive bables, simple past and past participle babla or bablet, present participle bablende)
- to babble
References
- “bable” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Alternative forms
Etymology
Onomatopoeic, lydord. Compare with German babbeln
Verb
bable (present tense bablar, past tense babla, past participle babla, passive infinitive bablast, present participle bablande, imperative bable/babl)
- to babble
References
- “bable” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Spanish
Etymology
Onomatopoeic, similar to balbucir, English babble.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbable/ [ˈba.β̞le]
- Rhymes: -able
- Syllabification: ba‧ble
Noun
bable m (uncountable)
- (sometimes derogatory) Asturian (language)
- Synonym: asturiano
Further reading
- “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