LANGUAGE, RELIGION AND IDENTITY IN THE PROCESS OF LINGUISTIC ASSIMILATION OF MUDEJAR PEOPLE

Abstract

The aim of this talk is to set out some of the key aspects of the process of linguistic change which took place at the heart of the Mudejar community in the Iberian Peninsula during the Late Middle Ages. Subdued to an intense acculturation process by Christian society, Mudejar people gave up the use of the Arabic language and substituted it for the Romance language from Castile or from Aragón. We will focus on the causes that determined that change process, on the circumstances under which it was developed and on its consequences which marked the future of the communities involved.