There are a variety of languages used in Spain and also a number of dialects of language. Everyone in Spain can speak Castilian Spanish; Castilian is the official language of Spain and so is used universally throughout Spain. But, although the official language, Castilian is not the only language that has “official” status. These other “co-official” languages are Catalan, Euskara and Galician. The co-official languages are spoken in different regions (Autonomous Communities) of Spain.
On top of this, many of Spain’s official languages themselves have their own derived dialects.
Catalan is categorized as a romantic language as it has been profoundly influenced by Latin. In Spain, Catalan and its dialects are principally spoken in the regions of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia however Catalan is also used in some parts of Murcia and Aragon.
Catalan came to be recognised in early Spain when it began to blossom. It soon became considered as a primary language. It has passed in and out of favor in the Spanish court through a variety, most notably the dictator Francisco Franco. Since Franco’s death in 1975 Catalan has been reinstated as one of Spain’s official languages. It should be remembered also that this language is not exclusively “Spanish” as it is also used in Italy and France.
Euskara is widely used in the Spanish Basque region. Having said this, it is being used in other parts of Spain due to its co-official status. The Basque language is a very unusual language in that nobody is entirely sure where it has come from 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 this language, but the origin is still unknown today. Euskara is a very distinctive language as it is one of a kind; historians really do not have any ideas as to how it became. The Basque language is spoken by approximately 0.5 million 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 northern Spain. Like Catalan, Gallego is a romantic language, however it has a very different sound to the Catalan language. At one time 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 related by what is called a dialect continuum (i.e. they are very similar having come from the same root language).
There are several areas in Spain where dialects are used by relatively few people; these “languages” are fighting to survive and are gradually disappearing. Most regions have dialect variances, and although the overwhelming majority of people can speak Spanish, many choose to use their own dialect. Consequently a visitor to Spain may speak to several different people and hear several completely different languages, no matter where they are in Spain! This linguistic diversity has been the subject of much discussion throughout the years as the people of each region wear their language like a cultural badge.
As previously mentioned, the official language in Spain is Castilian Spanish. Of course many other European languages are now used in certain areas of Spain as various peoples have migrated to the south of Spain. And so it is likely that you will not only hear Castilian, Catalan, Gallego and Euskara (depending of course on where you are) but you may also hear English, German, Italian and French.
Javier Melendez writes for many Spanish related websites such as the Spanish Talk site. His recent work is entitled “Spain and the Spanish language“.
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