> And, the Galician dialect of northwestern Spain is for all linguistic
> intents and purposes a dialect of Portuguese, though it is usually counted
> as a dialect of Spanish for political purposes. The fact that Spanish and
> Portuguese aren't regarded as extreme dialects of each other is primarily a
> political issue, anyway: separate armies.
No, no. Galician and Portuguese were the same language in the Middle Age,
and afterward they slightly separated, Portuguese evolving more than
Galician, which in turn has been influenced by Castilian (=Spanish).
No, you cannot say that Galician is a dialect of Portuguese. On the other
hand, Galician has NEVER been counted as a dialect of Spanish.
Portuguese and Spanish are not mutually understandable for normal people.
So, you cannot consider one as an extreme dialect of the other.
Regards,
Juan Jose Adan
Villafranca del Castillo
Madrid (Espa;a - Spain)