The Languages Of Spain

By Author: Javier Melendez
Total Articles: 17
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There are a variety of languages used in Spain and also a number of dialects of these languages. Most people in Spain can speak Castilian Spanish; Castilian is the official language of Spain and so is used universally throughout Spain. However, although the official language, Castilian is not the only tongue that has "official" status. These other "co-official" languages are Euskara, Catalan and Galician. These co-official languages are spoken in different regions "Comunidades Autónomas" of Spain.

On top of this, many of the official languages of Spain themselves have their own derived dialects.

Catalan is classified as a romance language as it has been profoundly influenced by Latin. In Spain, Catalan and its derivatives are primarily spoken in the regions of Valencia, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands however Catalan is also used in some parts of Murcia and Aragon.

Catalan came to be recognised in early Spain when it began to spread. It soon became considered as a primary language. Catalan has passed in and out of favor within the royal court of Spain through a number of of rulers, most notably ...
... the dictator General Franco. Since Franco's death in 1975 Catalan has been reinstated as one of Spain's official languages. It should be noted also that Catalan is not exclusive to Spain as it is also used in France and Italy.

Euskara is the official language of the Spanish Basque region. Having said this, it is being used in other parts of the country due to its co-official status. The Basque language is a very interesting language in that nobody is really certain from which historical language it is derived as it is so different from any other language in the Iberian region, and indeed the world. There have been several theories on the history of Euskara, but the origin is still unknown today. Euskara is an extremely distinctive language as it is one of a kind; historians really do not have any ideas as to how it came to be. The Basque language is spoken by around 500,000 basque natives and is is the most unique language in Spain.

The third co-official language is Gallego (Galician) spoken in the region of Galicia situated in the north of Spain. Like Catalan, Gallego is a romance language, however it has a much different sound to the Catalan language. In the past Gallego and Portuguese were the same language (the historic Kingdom of Galicia once extended into the territory of Portugal). Although different languages today, Portuguese and Gallego are united by what is called a dialect continuum (i.e. they are very similar having come from the same root language).

There are a few areas in Spain where dialects are used by a relative handful of people; these "languages" struggle to survive and are gradually disappearing. Most regions have dialects, and although the overwhelming majority of people can speak Spanish, many choose to use their own language. As a result a visitor to Spain may speak to several different people and hear several completely different languages, no matter where they are in the country! This linguistic diversity has been discussed through the ages as the people of each region are proud of its language and culture.

As previously discussed, the official language of Spain is Castilian. Of course many other European languages are now used in certain parts of Spain as various peoples have migrated to the south of Spain. And so it is not unusual that you will not only hear Castilian, Catalan, Gallego and Euskara (depending of course upon where you are) but you may also hear French, Italian, German and English.