During the 20th century, different opinions about whether Valencian should be considered a language of its own or a dialect of Catalan led to the, In the Basque Country, Basque is the official language in the entire territory. Strikingly, there are many parallels with the situation in the UK. French is spoken by 12% of the population, like English, this is a common business language. Others, such as Pilar Vázquez Cuesta,[10] argue that they have become separate languages due to major differences in phonetics and vocabulary usage, and, to a lesser extent, morphology and syntax. There are four co-official languages: Euskara, Galego, Català and Valencià. It is known as a “language isolate” since it does not relate to any other language. Languages in Spain Conocimiento de idiomas en España Official languages in Spain : Spanish Sub-titling of films & TV: No An interactive visualisation of language knowledge in Europe, based on the latest Europe-wide survey of languages in Europe by the European Commission. It disseminate world-wide early in 16th centuries as Portugal made a colonial and commercial empire which crossed from Brazil (Americas), Goa (India) to Macau (China). These include Many new arrivals are surprised to learn that more than one language is actually spoken in Spain. There are many other languages and dialects, some of which have co-official status in the particular region in which they are used. According to a 2019 Pew Research survey, the most commonly spoken languages at home other than Spanish were Catalan in 8% of households, Valencian 4%, Galician 3% and Basque in 1% of homes. Languages Spoken in Barcelona Castilian and Catalan are the two official languages in the region of Catalonia and its capital, Barcelona. Some speakers of New Mexican Spanish are descendants of Spanish settlers who arrived in New Mexico in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. https://speakingabroad.com/what-languages-are-spoken-in-spain It is also co-official with other languages in Catalonia, Balearic Islands, Valencia, Galicia, Basque Country and the Basque zone of Navarre. Spanish is the only official language in Asturias, Cantabria, La Rioja, Aragon, Castile and León, Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Andalusia, the Canary Islands and the region of Murcia, as well as Ceuta, Melilla, and half of Navarre. The data refer to all modern spoken living languages that are taught as foreign languages. Alongside these three well-known regional languages, there are a few others in Spain, some of which are only spoken by a few thousand people. Catalan originates in Catalonia and is spoken today throughout northeastern Spain as well as parts of France. Spoken in Spain’s northwestern region of Asturias (directly to the east of Galicia), Asturian (el asturiano) is a Romance language that shares many similarities with Spanish. However, what many people don't know is that along with the widespread Castellano, there are three other fully-developed independent languages: Gallego, Catalán and Vasco. In total, Galician is the language spoken at home by approximately 1,302,000 people. Where it’s spoken: Spain. Regional Languages Of Spain. Sadly, Asturian today is an endangered language with just 110,000 native speakers remaining . It is the only remaining pre-Indo-European language in Western Europe. And even though Castilian is the predominant language of Spain, there are other languages that are spoken in Spain which have their own appeal and their own history, and these include Catalan (or Valencian), Galician, Euskara (or Basque), and Aranese, among others. Why it's normal to feel anxious about a post-COVID future. Unlock this profile with an Essentials plan.. See the details on every language spoken in Spain, plus: Profiles for every other country in the world; 7,464 profiles covering every language in use today Due to political and demographic pressure in the past, the predominant language is Spanish, as opposed to areas surrounding the metropolitan area in the province of Valencia. Mirandese is recognised and has some local official status. The regional languages of France are divided into 5 language family subgroups: Vasconic, Italo-Dalmatian, Gallo-Romance, Germanic, and Celtic. The languages of Spain (Spanish: lenguas de España), or Spanish languages (Spanish: lenguas españolas),[2] are the languages spoken or once spoken in Spain. Nevertheless, there are other co-official or unofficial languages spoken according to the cultural diversity of the Spanish regions that form an important part of the Spanish cultural patrimony. Aranese, a variety of Occitan/Gascon spoken in the Aran Valley, in the northwest of Lleida province, is official in this valley and from 2006 in all of Catalonia following the new Statute of Autonomy. 6 languages spoken in Spain besides Spanish Castilian. Articles; Forums; Guide; Many people are put off moving abroad because of the language barrier that may exist. (Euskara has no legal recognition in France, where far fewer people speak it.) Five very localised dialects are of difficult filiation: Fala, a variety mostly ascribed to the Galician-Portuguese group; Cantabrian and Extremaduran, two Astur-Leonese dialects also regarded as Spanish dialects; Eonavian, a dialect between Asturian and Galician, closer to the latter according to several linguists; and Benasquese, a Ribagorçan dialect that was formerly classified as Catalan, later as Aragonese, and which is now often regarded as a transitional language of its own. There is a variety of Vernacular languages spoken in Spain. It is a multilingual nation with over 840 languages spoken, with twelve of them lacking many speakers. Culture. Spanish (Castilian), spoken by about 99% of Spaniards as a first or second language, Catalan / Valencian is spoken by 17%, Galician by 7%, and Basque by 2% of the population in Spain. In addition to its six official languages, several Spanish dialects and minority languages also contribute to Spain’s linguistic landscape. Six of the sixteen autonomous communities in Spain have other co-official languages in addition to Spanish. In addition to Galicia, Galician is spoken in western Asturias and in the westernmost area of the provinces of Leon and Zamora. The EU is home to over 60 indigenous regional or minority languages, spoken by some 40 million people. Yet both the UK and Spain have regions in which local languages continue to thrive, especially amongst young people. Road signs and labels e.g. In fact, according to some Galician and Portuguese authors, they should still be considered a single language today despite the differences that have appeared since the Middle Ages (see Reintegrationism). Besides Castilian, Galician and Basque, Catalan is one out of four official languages in Spain. In total, Catalan is the language spoken at home by approximately 4,452,000 Spanish citizens. In terms of the number of speakers and dominance, the most prominent of the languages of Spain is Spanish (Castilian), spoken by about 99% of Spaniards as a first or second language. Co-official regional languages include Basque, Catalan, Galician, and Occitan. In addition to these, there are a number of seriously endangered and recognised minority languages: Spanish itself also has distinct dialects. There are numerous language options for children in the Spanish education system... During public primary education, students develop Spanish (Castellano) language skills and learn the official language of the autonomous community, for example Catalan.Once a child reaches the final year of primary school they begin with the basics of a foreign language, usually English. Castellano. During the second half of the 20th century, Francoism drove the regional languages away from public use and favored the use of Spanish; the internal migrations happening around the same time contributed to the predominance of Spanish too. Linguistic opinion is divided on the matter of the relationship between Galician and Portuguese. A Galician-Portuguese-based dialect known as Fala is locally spoken in an area sometimes called Valley of Jálama/Xálima, which includes the towns of San Martín de Trevejo (Sa Martin de Trevellu), Eljas (As Elhas) and Valverde del Fresno (Valverdi du Fresnu), in the northwestern corner of Cáceres province, Extremadura. Although it is the predominant language in almost every autonomous community, six of them have, along with Castilian, other co … Asturian (or Bable), spoken in the region of Asturias (North), is the most important of them. In all of these territories the official name for the language is Catalan, while in Valencia the official name is Valencian. The Fala of the Valley of Jalama in northwestern Extremadura is related to Portuguese and also to Galician. How many languages and dialects are there in Spain? The word Spanish does not mean a thing. The Romance languages spoken in different regions of France can be divided into three geographic subgroups: langues d’oïl, occitan (langue d’oc), andfranco-provençal. Most languages spoken in Spain belong to the Romance language family, of which Spanish is the only language which has official status for the whole country. [12];0[all]&C=1[0];2[2013]&F=&S=&SCF=Galicia (2013), "INEbase / Society /Education and culture /Survey on the Involvement of the Adult Population in Learning Activities / Results/ Year 2016", "La mitad de los españoles habla un segundo idioma y 4 de cada 10 elige el inglés", "The Numbers of Spanish Speakers in the World Exceeds 500 million : Spanish Language Domains", "Reportaje | Más 'speak spanish' que en España", "Statistics of Language Usage in Catalonia", "Conselleria d' Educació, Investigació, Cultura i Esport – Generalitat Valenciana", "Euskarabidea :: Euskararen Nafar Institutua", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Official_languages_of_Spain&oldid=981878376, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from June 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Gallego is closely linked with Portuguese. Those regional languages include: - Catalan - Basque - Valencian - Galician - Aranese There are various unofficial languages spoken in Spain too. It is advisable to learn what you can before you arrive as, although more Valencians speak English than English people speak Spanish, few have enough English to hold a proper conversation and you certainly cannot rely on them to get you by. The region of Catalonia has two official languages. 10 mins read ; CHEST AND LUNGS. In offices and schools, Catalan is the dominant language. It is an unusual language thought to date back to the Stone Age. 301 Moved Permanently . Spanish is not the only language spoken in Spain. I live in Spain. However, there are other co-official languages spoken in Spain´s many culturally diverse regions that form an important part of the Spanish cultural patrimony. Over 25 regional languages are spoken throughout Metropolitan France and some of these are spoken in neighboring countries such as Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Belgium. The majority belong to the sub-group of languages Iberian Romance, with the exception of Catalan/Valencian and Aranes, belonging to the Occitano-Romances and Aragonese. But are they realistic? 47 million speakers in Spain. Just as English dominates globally, Spanish too is a world language spoken by many hundreds of millions of speakers. Galician belongs, along with Spanish, to the group of Iberian Romance languages, and is closely related to Portuguese, with which it formed linguistic unity (Galician-Portuguese) during the Middle Ages. Unlike in Catalonia, the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands, in Galicia the main cause of the advance of Spanish over the local language (Galician) is not immigration, but language shift. Six of the sixteen autonomous communities in Spain have other co-official languages in addition to Spanish. Matthew Perry engaged to 'the greatest woman' NFL player's neck injury may end his career Valencian. … Nowadays 16 different languages (official and unofficial) are spoken on the Iberian Peninsula and the 11 islands that are an important part of the country. The most widely spoken language in Spain is actually the Spanish you already know. Language Spoken in Spain. Each student studying a foreign language is counted once for each language he or she is studying, in other words students studying more than one language are counted as many times as the number of languages … A number of citizens in these areas consider their regional language as their primary language and Spanish as secondary. [3] Various other languages have co-official or recognised status in specific territories,[4] and a number of unofficial languages and dialects are spoken in certain localities. Languages Spoken in New Mexico English only: 64% Spanish: 28% Navajo: 4% Others: 4% According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 28.45% of the population age 5 and older speak Spanish at home, while 3.50% speak Navajo. What regional languages are there in Spain? Asturleonese is a language whith many variants and dialects spoken in northwestern Spain. As in other autonomous communities, Spanish is the language that is spoken most in urban areas of Galicia, while Galician is spoken in rural areas. Castilian Spanish (known as Castellano) is the official language and is understood everywhere.However, you might not always be replied to in the same language! The main foreign languages of Spain are English, French, and German. Spain is the motherland of the Spanish language, of course. About 600,000 speak Euskara, sometimes known as Basque, as a first language. As with many of the regional languages in France, use of Alsatian diminished during the twentieth century, with use of Germanic languages in schools forbidden in France after 1945, but it continues to be spoken and is part of regional educational programs. Languages in Spain Conocimiento de idiomas en España Official languages in Spain : Spanish Sub-titling of films & TV: No An interactive visualisation of language knowledge in Europe, based on the latest Europe-wide survey of languages in Europe by the European Commission. Today there are four co-official languages in Spain: Basque Catalan/Valencian/Balearic Galician Aranese Milly Evans; 8 mins read; CHEST AND LUNGS. Which Languages are Spoken in Spain? The most widely-spoken oïl language is … Basque is spoken by the Basque people, an ethnic group in Spain and France who have their own separate identity. Valencian (a variety of Catalan) is the native language of 35.2% of the population in that community and Basque is the native language of 33.7% of the Basque people and of 14.6% of those from Navarre.[3]. According to the Survey of the Involvement of the Adult Population in Learning Activities[2] distributed by the National Institute of Statistics with data from 2016, in regards to the languages in Spain that are native languages or languages that are not native but used, 98.9% of the population speaks Spanish, 17.5% speaks Catalan, 6.2% speaks Galician, 5.8% speaks Valencian (a variety of Catalan) and 3.0% speaks Basque. There are four official languages recognized in text of the Spanish Constitution: Castilian, commonly known as "Spanish", Catalan, Basque and Galician. Aragonese is spoken in the region of Aragon. In fact, most Spaniards will refer to the official language as castellano instead of español. Today there are four co-official languages in Spain: Asturian (or Bable), spoken in the region of Asturias (North), is the most important of them. Español Ibérico (o Español Europeo) is useful in Spain and neighboring countries. About 28% live in regions with Catalan as the official language.Source: Government of the Balearic Islands. The predominance of Spanish started in the Middle Ages with the Reconquista, expanding throughout the Kingdom of Castile (in which the language was born) and later to other areas in the Iberian peninsula; it had cultural prestige and was also spoken in part of the Kingdom of Aragon and of the Kingdom of Navarre. Afro-Asiatic languages, such as Arabic (including Ceuta Darija) or Berber (mainly Riffian), are spoken by the Muslim population of Ceuta and Melilla and by recent immigrants (mainly from Morocco and Algeria) elsewhere. There are two official languages in Barcelona: Catalan and Spanish.. Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia (Catalunya), therefore Catalan is the official language and widely spoken. The answer to the above question is: There are seven major Spanish dialects in the world. Spain is, along with Colombia[4] and after Mexico and the United States,[5] ranked third in the world as the country with the most Spanish speakers. Castellano is Spain’s main language and the principle tongue in Valencia. Spanish, the official language in the entire country, is the predominant native language in almost all of the autonomous communities in Spain. Don’t panic! Basque. Galician is co-official in Galicia (Spanish Constitution of 1978 article 3.2 and Statute of Autonomy of Galicia article 5). The local government makes sure it emphasizes the use of the local language. During the time of Franco's dictatorship, which ended in 1975, all regional languages were suppressed along with separate regional identities. There are six main Basque dialects and a standard variety, Standard Basque. It’s the official language of the country. There are also many other languages which are minoritary and are not recognised officialy. Official Languages Of Spain. If you are planning to visit Barcelona and don’t speak Castilian or Catalan, don't worry because you can get by in English , especially in the touristy areas of the city or in hotels , restaurants or shops . Languages spoken in Spain. Additionally, within Spain Catalan is also spoken, though not official, in the easternmost part of Aragon (known as La Franja)[9] and in the region of El Carche, in the northeastern region of Murcia. Asturleonese is a language whith many variants and dialects spoken in northwestern Spain. Castellano is the official national language of Spain. It might be their language but they don’t have the most speakers. Some of the languages have less than 1,000 speakers. This can be an important thing to know if you are planning to go to Spain to learn the language, because if people are speaking a language other than Spanish, it may make learning Spanish a little more difficult. The Constitution also made space for Spain’s other languages, stating that they would be official in their respective self-governing regions and that they represented a cultural heritage that would be respected and protected. After arriving in Spain in 2010 to finally learn Spanish, I was surprised to learn that there are a lot more languages spoken in Spain than just Spanish.. Approximately 27% of the population speaks English. Nope, you just never really think of it. In all of the bilingual autonomous communities, with the exception of Galicia, Spanish is actually the native language of the majority of the population, although this is due in large part to the internal migration processes that occurred in Spain from the middle of the 20th century. * First of all, Castilian/Spanish (THE SAME LANGUAGE) : It’s spoken by 99% of the population. Does this need to be a problem in Valencia? The seven most common languages in Spain, organized from highest population to lowest are: Spanish (99%) Catalan (8%) Valencian (4%) Galician (3%) Basque (1%) Aranese (0,007%) Extremaduran (0,4%) A Romance language spoken in Galicia. Euskara is the language spoken by the Basque people, an ethnic group in Spain and France that has its own identity as well as separatist sentiments on both sides of the Franco-Spanish border. Galician has three main dialectal areas: western, central, and eastern; those are subdivided into other areas. Portuguese proper is still spoken by local people in three border areas: In addition to the languages which continue to be spoken in Spain to the present day, other languages which have been spoken within what are now the borders of Spain include: Languages that are now chiefly spoken outside Spain but which have roots in Spain are: There are also variants of these languages proper to Spain, either dialect, cants or pidgins: Overview about the languages spoken in Spain, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Llei 35/2010, d'1 d'octubre, de l'occità, aranès a l'Aran, "Spain honours Ladino language of Jewish exiles", Detailed Ethno-Linguistic map of Pre-Roman Iberia (around 200 BC), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Languages_of_Spain&oldid=1007109821, Articles with Catalan-language sources (ca), Articles with Occitan-language sources (oc), Articles needing additional references from December 2020, All articles needing additional references, Articles containing Spanish-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2009, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 16 February 2021, at 14:36. Spanish is the official language of Spain. * First of all, Castilian/Spanish (THE SAME LANGUAGE) : It’s spoken by 99% of the population. But these days, Spanish speakers from Spain are greatly outnumbered by Spanish speakers from other places. Spain's Official Language. It is a Romance language that started in Spain and northern Portugal from the Latin spoken by the Lusitanian’s, the Gallaeci, the Celtici and the Conii approximately 200 years ago. Spanish, the official language in the entire country, is the predominant native language in almost all of the autonomous communities in Spain. The most noticeable differences are that it has three classes of quantity; singular, plural and indefinite. The popular language is spoken by over 200,000 people. [citation needed]. Bilingualism in different degrees and in distinct communicative situations between Spanish and another language is a habitual practice for many of the Spanish people who reside in one of these autonomous communities. The official and widespread position (followed by the Galician Language Institute and the Royal Galician Academy) is that Galician and Portuguese should be considered independent languages. To answer the question of how many languages are spoken in Spain, here is an overview of the most widely spoken languages in descendant order: Castilian: It is the official language of Spain with over 45 million speakers scattered across the country. Estimates indicate that around 27% or just over a quarter of the population can speak English to some extent, but many of these cannot speak it very fluently at all . One of the reasons why Spain is so well known is because of the Spanish language that is spoken here. Never miss a beat with MailOnline's latest news for women. What Language Is Spoken In Spain? After a whole year in and out of lockdown and our lives turned upside down, it's a relief to many to hear the government announce its plans to ease COVID-19 restrictions over the next few months. The official and dominant language of the country is Castilian or Spanish, but have you asked yourself at some point, how many languages and dialects are there in Spain? Languages spoken in Valencia. Additionally, different... Catalan. Latin American Spanish. When will I get my COVID-19 vaccine? Studies indicate that English is not very widely spoken overall in Spain, with recent polls suggesting that around 60% of Spaniards cannot speak, read or write in English at all. Is it really a surprise that a country so large (at least by European standards) boasts language diversity? Here are the languages listed and ra… Bilingual city: Catalan and Spanish. There are numerous language options for children in the Spanish education system... During public primary education, students develop Spanish (Castellano) language skills and learn the official language of the autonomous community, for example Catalan.Once a child reaches the final year of primary school they begin with the basics of a foreign language, usually English. Languages in Barcelona. Similarly, many lectures at the University are hold in Catalan. Other Significant Languages Spoken in Spain. In Galicia, Galician is the native language of 40.9% of the population, 30.9% claim Spanish as their native language, and 25.3% have both languages as native; 50.8% of the population habitually use more Galician than Spanish, while 47.8% habitually use Spanish.[10]. However, there are many many areas still where the people speak their own dialect and unfortunately do not travel enough out of the area, so can't even understand their own official language. Asturian and Leonese are closely related to the local Mirandese which is spoken on an adjacent territory but over the border into Portugal. Almost half of the world’s population claim one of only ten languages as their mother tongue. Spain. Additionally, it is also spoken by French-born individuals who currently number about 100,448. With regard to native languages alone, Galician is the native language of 82.8% of Galicians, Catalan is the native language of 31.6% of people in Catalonia and of 42.9% of the residents in the Balearic region. Galician. Some English speakers are British-born, others use English for business transactions. In fact, about a fourth of the country's residents use a tongue other than Spanish as their first language. Spanish, or Castilian, is one of the languages with the largest number of speakers in the world. The European Commission maintains an open dialogue, encouraging linguistic diversity and putting effort into preserving this heritage. There are also many other languages which are minoritary and are not recognised officialy. Spanish, also known as Castilian Spanish or just Castilian, is the official national language.