THE LANGUAGES OF SPAIN 1

In Spain there are four different languages, which are: Castilian Galican Catalan Basque Valencian

WHAT IS AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE? An official language is used in governmental events and administrative issues. In Spain there are four official languages: Spanish, Catalonian, Galician and Basque. 3

SPANISH . The origin of the Spanish language is to be found in the Latin language spoken in the Northern part of the country during the Roman invasion in the 1st century B.C. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, the Hispanic languages developed under the influence of Latin. 4

CASTILIAN Castilian was the name of the Spanish language. It was called after Castilla, the main region in the centre of Spain, where many castles -“ castillos” in Spanish – stood. The first grammar of the Spanish language was published by Elio Antonio de Nebrija es de 1492. A t that time, after the Conquest, Spanish starts to spread across America. 5

Hola,¿como estas? Hola Carmen Yo bien. Hola Marta

EL CATALONIAN 7

CATALONIAN LANGUAGE It is spoken by 3 million people in the North- eastern region of Catalonia. I t is spoken in Cataluña, Valencia, Islas Baleares, the eastern part of Aragón, Rosellón (France) y Cerdaña (Italia). 8

Hola, com aquestes? Hola Carmen Jo bé. Hola Marta

VALENCIAN AND BALEARIC The Valencian language is similar to Catalonian. The two regions are very close. In the Balearic Isles - a touristic place - 600,000 people speak Catalonian, with some differences in the dialect.

Hola, com estes? Hola, Carmen Jo bé. Hola Marta.

It is spoken in the North-Western part of Spain It is spoken in the North-Western part of Spain. It shares some features with Portuguese because this region in next to Portugal. GALICIAN 12

Ola, como vai vostede? Ola Carmen Eu tamén. Ola Marta

BASQUE 14

Today it is used by 60% of overall population. BASQUE It is the only language in Western Europe that does not have an Indoeuropean origin. They say it traces back to the Bronze Era. It was about to dissapear in the 50s and 60s, but its usage was recovered on political grounds. Today it is used by 60% of overall population. 15

Hi, zer moduz? Hi Carmen I ondo. Hi Marta

WHERE IS SPANISH SPOKEN? 17

OTHER LANGUAGES IN SPAIN. In Asturias there is a dialect called Bable. It is not considered a language because there are not sufficient written records of it. There are fragmented social varieties of Aragonian and Aranian( Arán Valley), which is a variety of Gasconian. 18

OTHER LANGUAGES AND DIALECTS IN SPAIN 19