World Tourism Center, Spain is a country that attracts travelers from all over the world due to the originality of its culture, hot climate and friendly, open to meeting new people. However, a person who is going to go on a visit to lovers of bullfighting, there is a need to fill the gaps in their own knowledge about this country. With this article there will be an opportunity once and for all to deal with one of the main questions, namely: what language will the tourist have to speak? Is there one official language in Spain, or are there several? To study what to undertake? It's time to put everything in its place.
Territorial division
Before starting to search for an answer to the question which language is official in Spain, you should understand a little about the administrative structure of this state. The multilingualism of the country and the coexistence of different dialects in it stems from the fact that Spain is divided into 17 completely independent autonomous territorial units uniting 50 provinces. Two cities, Melilla and Ceuta, are separate administrative areas. Each of them is characterized by distinctive features, certain traditions, cuisine, culture, as well as language or at least a dialect.
The main characteristics of the language space
The official language of Spain, also mentioned in the constitution of the state, is Spanish, or, more correctly, Castilian ("castellano" or "castiano", from the Spanish. "Castellano"). It is spoken by over 40 million people. However, the law and the autonomy system allows independent regions to choose a second language for themselves. This right was used by 6 territorial units: in Valencia, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands they speak Valencia (or Catalan), in Galicia - in Galician, in the Basque Country and Navarre - in Basque. So, now you can answer the question, how many official languages in Spain are one, Castilian. All other languages are recognized as semi-official. Now it's time to dwell on each of them in more detail.
Spanish or Castilian
The official language of Spain goes back to the ancient dialects of the population of the northern regions. Castellano became known to the whole world during the time of the Great geographical discoveries. And he acquired official status in the era of the reign of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand (XV century).
Despite the fact that the official language of Spain, Castellano, is a representative of the Romanesque group, you can find a large number of turns, words and borrowings from the Arabic language in it. This is due to the fact that the initial formation of the Castilian language began when the territory of the state was owned by Arabs.
The official language of Spain today is the most universal of all. It is used in everyday life by more than 70% of local residents, therefore, if the tourist is faced with a question, what to undertake to study, the answer is obvious - this is castellano. Whatever autonomy a traveler goes to, if he knows Castilian, he will be understood everywhere.
Catalan (Valencian) language
So, the answer to the question: “What is the official language in Spain?” Found. Further, it is also necessary to proceed to the consideration of no less important semi-official national languages.
The second most common is the Catalan (or Catalan, as it is often called, as well as Valencian) language is used by 12% of the population for whom it is native.The most actively used by the Catalans, Valencians, as well as residents of the Balearic Islands, in Andorra and even in the city of Alghero, which is located on the island of Sardinia ... in Italy!
In general, about 11 million people speak Catalan today. The history of this language begins in the Middle Ages. Further, in the time period from the XV century. until 1830, Catalan almost ceased to be used and almost acquired the status of a dead language. However, when the absolute monarchy was overthrown, the Catalan revived again. Today it plays an important role in society.
By the way, the norms of grammar and spelling of the Catalan appeared only in 1913 thanks to the activities of the linguist Pampeu Fabra. Today, a university in Barcelona is named after him.
Galician language
Another popular national language is Galician, which is used by 8% of the total population, which is approximately 3 million people. Its distribution falls on the northwestern regions of the country.
The rich history of this language stretches from ancient times. So, even before the XIV century, the Galician already existed, was widely represented throughout the country and even recognized as a literary one, but Castellano began to quickly and actively supplant it. As a result, for several centuries the Galician language was in serious decline. He began his gradual rebirth only recently, only in 1975.
The Galician language is used in the territory of Galicia, as well as in several European countries and on the American continent, in particular, in Buenos Aires, Mexico City (the capital of Mexico), Montevideo and Havana.
Basque
The last of the most common languages in Spain is Basque. It is considered native to 1.5% of the population, that is, approximately 0.8 million people. Basque is represented mainly in Navarre, the Basque Country, as well as in several regions of Europe, on the American and Australian continent.
According to Basque history, this language existed even before the conquest of the territory of modern Spain by Rome. Surprisingly, the genetic links between Basque and other languages have not been discovered by linguists, which is why its origin is still unclear. Researchers do not attribute the language to any of the currently known linguistic families, but consider it pseudo-isolated. Basically, Basque occupies a niche in the group of diverse languages of the Mediterranean.
Currently, there is a gradual revival of the language, which until the 20th century was used only as a means of communication between residents of the countryside.
Spanish motto
The official language of Spain is installed. But besides him, the country has other components that determine its originality and uniqueness. For example, state symbols. The question then arises - what language is used for the official motto of Spain? Everything is simple here - the country's motto sounds like Plus ultra. This is a Latin saying that translates as “beyond the limits,” or “beyond the limit.” The motto was introduced during the great geographical discoveries by King Charles V.
Now, armed with new knowledge about the Spanish languages, their status and places of distribution, you can safely go on a trip!