Countries where Spanish is the official language. Language in Spain

It is one of the most widespread languages ​​on the planet and is represented on almost all continents; this is connected both with the colonial past of Spain and with the active settlement of Spaniards around the world in the 20th century. The civil war that shook the country in the 20th century became a catalyst for the active movement of Spaniards around the world, and many supporters of communism, fleeing their fascist persecutors, even ended up in the Soviet Union.

Spanish speaking countries

If we assume that a country is considered Spanish-speaking if there is a fairly large number of people for whom Spanish is their native language, then in the world we can count more than forty countries that meet this criterion.

First of all, of course, Spanish is the official language. But there are twenty-two other countries in which Spanish is officially recognized. The community of Spanish-speaking countries traditionally includes states where the language has official status.

The list of Spanish speaking countries is as follows:

• Argentina;
• Chile;
• Colombia;
• Bolivia;
• Costa Rica;
• Cuba;
• Dominican Republic;
• Ecuador;
• Guatemala;
• Honduras;
• Mexico;
• Nicaragua;
• Panama;
• Paraguay;
• Peru;
• Puerto Rico;
• Salvador;
• Uruguay;
• Venezuela;
• Spain;
• Philippines.

Spanish-speaking countries in Africa include the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The Spanish language achieved a dominant position in these countries thanks to the aggressive colonialist policy of Spain, which lasted for four centuries. During this time, Spanish-speaking countries appeared in all parts of the world, and the language spread from Easter Island, today under the control of the Chilean Republic, to countries

Jewish influence

However, it was not only colonialism that contributed to the spread of the language around the world. There were other events, no less tragic, that influenced this process.

In 1492, the Spanish Queen Isabella shocked her country's large Jewish community with a decree of incredible cruelty: all Jews had to leave the country or accept holy baptism, which, of course, was unacceptable to devout Jews. Death awaited those who disobeyed.

Within three months, many Jewish families left the kingdom, taking with them, in addition to their personal belongings, the language and culture of the Spanish kingdom. This is how the Spanish language was brought to the territory of the Ottoman Empire, and then to the state of Israel.

In addition, numerous Spanish and Jewish settlers brought the language to Morocco, which had long been safe thanks to the traditional religious tolerance of Islamic rulers.

Spanish in the USA

The United States Constitution makes no mention of an official language, and most states do not have special laws governing this issue. However, along with English, Spanish is actively used in the country, therefore, although the United States is not considered a Spanish-speaking country, in some states Spanish is also used in government agencies.

The large number of Hispanic Americans is not only due to migration, as it might seem, but also to historical events in the nineteenth century, when Mexico and the United States actively competed for influence in North America.

The result of this confrontation was a devastating war that lasted two years from 1846 to 1848. As a result of the war, more than a million square kilometers of land were alienated from Mexico, which amounted to almost half the territory of the losing country. Along with these lands, the United States also received Spanish-speaking citizens. Since then, Spanish has been the second most widely spoken language in many southern states, and in some states Spanish is spoken by a majority of the population.

Spanish is widely spoken throughout the world. 21 states have given it official status. About half a billion people consider Spanish their native language. Spanish is one of the six languages ​​of the UN international organization. Thanks to the conquistadors and Spanish sailors, Spanish spread far beyond the country's borders. In Latin America, Africa and Asia they spoke Spanish, only with some peculiarities.

The Spanish language began to emerge in medieval Castile. In the modern Spanish-speaking world, they like to call it castellano or Castilian. Spanish belongs to the Romance group, but has been greatly influenced by Arabic. Spanish is the second most widely spoken language on the planet. Only Chinese is ahead of it.

There are dialectal varieties of the language in Latin America and Spain. In Spain, there are traditionally two groups of dialects: northern and southern. The northern ones include Casitilla, Catalan, Galician and other dialects, the southern ones include Madrid, Valencian, Extremaduran and others.

A number of scientists consider some of the above dialects to be languages. This is because many language varieties are officially recognized in the regions where they are used. The Castilian dialect (castellano) is common in several central and northern regions of Spain. It is the Castilian pronunciation that is the norm in the Spanish language.

Catalan (or Catalan) is spoken in Valencia, the Balearic Islands and Catalonia. It is in second place in popularity among Spaniards. About 10 million people communicate on it.

The Galician dialect (not to be confused with the Galician language!) emerged as a result of mixing castellano and the Galician language. Distributed in Galicia. The Galician language itself (galego) is considered close to Spanish and Portuguese. In Galicia, Galician, along with Spanish, is considered an official language.

In Spain they also speak Basque (euskara). This language is spoken in some northern areas of Spain. These territories bear the historical name of the Basque Country - after the name of the people living there. Interestingly, it is not part of the foreign European family of languages ​​(unlike Spanish, Galician, etc.); the history of its origin is still unclear.

In the province of Asturias, in northern Spain, locals speak the Asturian dialect. This adverb has not received official recognition. However, this dialect is considered the fifth most popular among the population in Spain.

Linguists agree that such a wide variety of languages ​​and dialects arose due to the geographical isolation of the Iberian Peninsula. After the discovery of America, the conquest of the lands of the New World began by the Spanish conquistadors. Thanks to this, the Spanish language became widespread in Latin America. The Spaniards discover new territories and conquer local tribes. The Spanish language is undergoing changes due to mixing with the spoken language of the natives.

Thus, a huge number of variants of the Spanish language have emerged in Latin America. Based on similar characteristics and characteristics, they are grouped into five main groups:

1. Caribbean group. This version of the Spanish language has spread to some regions of Cuba, Panama, Colombia, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. It can also be heard in regions of Mexico close to the Caribbean Sea.
2. South American Pacific region. Some residents of Peru, Chile, and Ecuador speak a specific language.
3. Central American group. This includes El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica.
4. Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina.
5. The fifth group includes Latin American Spanish. It is used by residents of Guatemala, Mexico, and Colombia.

The Spanish language in Latin America is different in each country. A Mexican may not understand an Argentine, a Cuban a Peruvian, or a Guatemalan a Chilean. This is quite normal, because each country has its own cultural characteristics. Based on the generally accepted Castilian pronunciation, new phonetic forms appear. On the basis of new national variants, culture develops, its own literature, poetry and folklore appear.

The difference between the different options lies in intonation, pronunciation, and the use of certain expressions and words. If you pay attention to the features of the Spanish language in Latin America, you can see differences in the choice of pronouns in comparison with classical Spanish. Traditionally in Spanish the pronoun “tu” is used to denote the second person. In Argentina, "vos" is used for this. These pronouns are used in colloquial and informal speech. As for the official, both in Spain and in Latin American countries it is customary to use the pronoun “usted”.

Latin American varieties of Spanish tend to simplify some grammatical phenomena. For example, individual forms of tense formation are greatly simplified. Lexical changes are caused by the addition of the synonymous series. Changes in phonetics are expressed in different pronunciations of the same word. Intonation may also change.

Numerous textbooks offer to learn Spanish in its highest literary form, that is, the Castilian dialect. Those who want to learn Spanish from scratch should really start with the standardized version. This will help form the correct classical pronunciation and facilitate the acquisition of the language as a whole.

We always talk about learning Spanish (or Castilian), but few people realize that Spain is a multilingual state in which, along with Castellano, there are three other official languages. They are used in some autonomous regions of the country.

Article Three of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 states:
1. Of the languages ​​of Spain, Castilian is the official state language. All Spaniards are obliged to know it and have the right to use it.
2. The remaining languages ​​of Spain are also official in the respective Autonomous Communities in accordance with their Statutes.
3. The rich linguistic and dialectal diversity of Spain is part of its cultural heritage and is particularly respected and protected.”

If a language is called Cooficial and is one of the official languages, then its status is equal to other official languages. Spanish autonomous regions that have their own language include Galicia, the Basque Country, Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands. During Franco's dictatorship, the use of local languages ​​was persecuted by law, which is why they are now trying to protect them from extinction as best as possible. Official languages ​​are compulsory to study in educational centers of these regions.

Spanish or Castilian is considered the official language of the entire country, in practice it is the dominant language in all autonomous regions. But 6 of the 16 regions of Spain use other languages ​​along with Castellano, which usually have the status of a second official language.

But the existence of two official languages ​​on the same territory does not mean complete bilingualism. To varying degrees, the castellano predominates depending on the dependence. The local languages ​​of Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia are considered minority languages ​​and various development programs and strategies are usually used to promote them.

All local languages ​​used in Spain, except the Basque language (which is outside the group), belong to the group of Romance languages, in other words, those spoken in the Roman Empire and which are derived from Latin.

Castellano

It serves as the sole official language of the regions of Asturias, Cantabria, La Rioja, Aragon, Castile and Leon, Madrid, Castile - La Mancha, Extremadura, Andalusia, the Canary Islands, Murcia, Ceuta, Melilla and parts of Navarre. And in Catalonia, Valencia, Galicia, the Basque Country and the Balearic Islands, it is considered one of the official ones.
In all these territories, Castilian is the standardized language and the second official language is the minority language. For the most part, the local dialect predominates in spoken language, while Castilian prevails in official documents.

The language originated in the mountains of Cantabria and began a gradual expansion to the south in the 10th century. The dominance of the Castilian dialect over other languages ​​began in the Middle Ages, during the Reconquista; with the establishment of the political, cultural and economic hegemony of the Kingdom of Castile, which then grew into Castile and Leon. The language also became widespread in the kingdoms of Aragon and Navarre, which contributed to the growing popularity of the language (especially in the areas of trade, communication and diplomacy) in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the second half of the twentieth century, processes of internal migration, although to a lesser extent, also contributed to the dominance of Spanish.

Catalan/Valencian language

Catalan has two main varieties: Central, which is used in the provinces of Barcelona, ​​Girona, and the eastern part of Tarragona, and Northwestern, which is spoken in Lleida and the western part of the province of Tarragona. In Catalonia, Castellano is the mother tongue of the majority of the population (53.5%), while Catalan is only spoken by 40.4%.

In turn, the language of the Balearic Islands is a variety of Catalan and has features that fundamentally distinguish it from the island dialect.

In Valencia, Valencian is used, which is a variety of Western Catalan. According to linguistic indicators, Valencia has two zones: Castilian monolingualism (13% of the population) and Valencian-Castilian bilingualism (81% of the population).

Galician language

In Galicia, 61% of the population uses Galician more often than Castilian. A distinctive characteristic is that Castilian is preferred by residents of cities, while Galician is preferred by residents of rural areas.

Currently, more than three million people speak this language, both in Galicia and in the eastern part of Asturias, Leon and Zamora.

Language of the Basque Country

The Basque language is one of the languages ​​that dates back to the pre-Roman era. Many studies have been carried out, but so far it has not been possible to find out its origin. However, many scholars note its similarities with the Georgian language. Despite the strong Roman influence, in the third century the language was not subject to Romanization, managed to survive and did not undergo any significant changes.

By 1984, the language had many dialects, so to simplify communication, the language was unified and called “euskera batúa”.

Text: Irina Kharseeva

This country attracts a huge number of tourists every year. Why do people like Spain? There the bright sun always shines and a pleasant wind blows. Travelers can go to pristine beaches and swim in turquoise water. There is very tasty food, many interesting places, attractions and beautiful people.

Spanish natives are believed to be very emotional. It’s true, local residents greet tourists with great joy and are in a hurry to provide them with a service. But in order to address this or that person, you need to express yourself in such a way that he understands you.

There are four of them here. There are also many dialects in this country. – Spanish leader in the number of dialects. Despite the fact that Spain looks like a single country in the eyes of visiting foreigners, it is multi-ethnic. Catalans, Russians, British and even Americans live here. This explains the cultural diversity of the country. There are many customs and traditions, national dishes and, of course, speech features.

The official state language in Spain is Castilian. Let's talk about each of the four languages.

• Castilian. The title of this speech was given by the Queen of Castile. Since the culture of the state was multinational, the queen decided to create a single language that would be understood by everyone. Since then, Castilian speech has acquired official status. Castilian speech is mainly spoken in the center and north of the country. , including Barcelona, ​​it is spoken by more than 40 million people. It is believed that Castilian speech is the most widespread in the state. Those who spoke Castilian created many dialects. The most common of them are Rioja and churro.
• Catalan. Catalan is also spoken by many Spaniards - more than 10 million people. It is mainly used by people living on the islands (for example). On the islands, Catalan is considered the official language. Many dialects have also been created from this speech.
• Galician. Galician speech became widespread in one of the Spanish provinces - Galicia. Galicia borders Portugal, this left its mark on the formation of speech among the aborigines. Galician is spoken by about 3 million people in the country.
• Basque. This speech is in fourth place by the number of people speaking it. The Basque dialect is considered native to 800 thousand people. This speech is common in small regions of the state. Since this language is considered isolated, it is difficult to classify it as a language mixture.

Do they speak Russian in Spain?

Many tourists from Russia are worried about the possibility of a speech barrier with local residents. The Russian language is not popular in Spain, but this does not mean that Russian-speaking tourists will not be understood.

Here, as in many other European countries, English is the universal language. It is owned by Spanish transfer employees, hotel workers, restaurants and cafes. However, what about those who do not know English? There are several options:

1. A tourist can use an electronic translator. This is the easiest way to communicate, which is why it has become very popular. To speak in a language understandable to the natives, a Russian-speaking tourist must only download the appropriate program to his gadget.

An electronic translator often helps those who do not know a foreign language when traveling

After he says a phrase in Russian, the program will automatically translate it into English or Spanish.

1. He can also use a Spanish dictionary. But this method is not very convenient, since you have to carry a dictionary with you all the time. And it will take time to find the right word in it.
2. A tourist can prepare for the trip in advance and learn a few phrases that will be useful to him. For example: “I booked a room at your hotel.”

The Spaniards took care of the comfort of Russian-speaking travelers, so in many restaurants you can now find menus translated into Russian.

In many restaurants in Spain, Russian tourists can feel free: there will be no language barrier here

Those who speak English fluently will not experience any language difficulties here. Going to a Spanish museum, a foreign tourist will be pleasantly surprised by the audio version of the guide’s story, which will kindly be provided to him. This is convenient, because while visiting the museum, the tourist will be able to hear English spoken and receive interesting information.

Also, at almost all stops in Spain, transport diagrams are duplicated in English.

If a traveler wants to take an excursion to one of the Spanish hinterlands, he must be prepared for the fact that he will not be understood there. Not every resident of the province speaks English, much less Russian. In this case, a Russian-Spanish phrasebook will help out the tourist.

Interesting facts about Spanish dialects

• Nationalities such as Basques, Aragonese, Occitans and Catalans have their own languages, which are considered official.
• Castilian speech in Spain is considered universal for business documentation. This is a standardized language. It is understood throughout Spain. Reporters speak Castilian and even judges pronounce their sentences on the accused in it.
• In Spain there was the so-called Franco regime, according to which the speech of national minorities must be eradicated. This should be done with the aim of assimilating national minorities. However, Franco's regime was not successful. Today in Spain there are many ethnic groups and nationalities who speak their native language.
• The second most popular language in the country, after Spanish, is English. About 30% of local residents speak it fluently. The second most popular foreign language in Spain is French. It is spoken by 12% of Spaniards. About 2% of local residents speak German fluently.
• Spanish is the official language even in the Balearic Islands.

History of the Castilian dialect

For many people, Castilian speech is “true Spanish”. It has a centuries-old history. The language originated in medieval times, when Spain was ruled by the Queen of Castile.

The Queen understood that in order to effectively manage the territories, it was necessary for the people and the authorities to understand each other. This requires speech that is understandable to everyone. And since at that time a large number of foreigners already lived in Spain, it was not easy to make any language universal.

Therefore, the Queen of Castile decided to assimilate all foreigners. Their culture had to be replaced by Spanish, including speech. The creation of Castilian speech helped the queen to establish contact with her people.

People accepted the speech changes well, because thanks to the fact that the Castilian language had become universal, they could understand not only the Spaniards living on the other side of the country, but also the foreigners who came here.

Giving Castilian speech official status allowed the queen to actively promote it outside her country. During the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, Castilian speech was actively exported to other countries. This language is written in Latin, so every Spaniard could learn it.

Today, Spanish ranks second in the world in terms of the number of speakers. The first place is occupied by the Chinese language. Spanish is considered the most popular among all Romance dialects. More than 1.5 billion people can speak Spanish fluently. Most of them live in the West.

Watch a video about how the Spanish language came to be.

The center of world tourism, Spain is a country that attracts travelers from all over the world thanks to the originality of its culture, hot climate and friendly population, open to meeting new people. However, a person who is going to visit bullfighting fans has a need to fill in the gaps in his own knowledge about this country. With this article, it will be possible to once and for all deal with one of the main questions, namely: what language will a tourist have to speak? Is there only one official language in Spain, or are there several? What to study? It's time to put everything in its place.

Territorial division

Before you start looking for an answer to the question of which language is the official language in Spain, you should understand a little about the administrative structure of this state. The multilingual nature of the country and the coexistence of various dialects in it stems from the fact that Spain is divided into 17 autonomous territorial units that are completely independent from each other, uniting 50 provinces. The two cities, Melilla and Ceuta, are separate administrative regions. Each of them is characterized by distinctive features, certain traditions, cuisine, culture, as well as language or at least dialect.

Main characteristics of the language space

The official language of Spain, also mentioned in the constitution of the state, is Spanish, or, more correctly called, Castilian (“castellano” or “casteiano”, from Spanish “castellano”). It is spoken by over 40 million people. However, the law and the system of autonomy allows independent regions to choose a second language as well. This right was used by 6 territorial units: in Valencia, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands they speak Valencian (or Catalan), in Galicia - in Galician, in the Basque Country and Navarre - in Basque. So, now we can answer the question of how many official languages ​​there are in Spain - one, Castilian. All other languages ​​are recognized as semi-official. Now it's time to look at each of them in more detail.

Spanish or Castilian language

The official language of Spain has its origins in the ancient dialects of the population of the northern regions. Castellano became known throughout the world during the Great Geographical Discoveries. And it acquired official status during the reign of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand (XV century).

Despite the fact that the national language of Spain, Castellano, is a representative of the Romance group, you can find a large number of phrases, words and borrowings from Arabic 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 the Arabs.

The official language of Spain today is the most universal of all. More than 70% of local residents use it in everyday life, so if a tourist is faced with the question of what to study, the answer is obvious - this is castellano. Whatever autonomy the 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. Next, it is also necessary to move on to consideration of equally important semi-official national languages.

The second most common language is Catalan (or Catalan as it is often called, and also Valencian) spoken by 12% of the population who speak it as a mother tongue. It is most actively used by Catalans, Valencians, as well as residents of the Balearic Islands, Andorra and even in the city of Alghero, which is located on the island of Sardinia... in Italy!

In total, about 11 million people speak Catalan today. The history of this language begins in the Middle Ages. Further, in the time period from the 15th century. By 1830, Catalan had practically ceased to be used and almost acquired the status of a dead language. However, when the absolute monarchy was overthrown, Catalan was revived again. Today it plays an important role in the life of society.

By the way, the rules of grammar and spelling of Catalan appeared only in 1913 thanks to the work of the linguist Pampeu Fabra. Today a university in Barcelona is named in his honor.

Galician language

Another popular national language is Galician, which is used by 8% of the total population, which equates to approximately 3 million people. Its distribution occurs in the northwestern regions of the country.

The rich history of this language stretches back to ancient times. Thus, even before the 14th century, Galician already existed, was widely represented throughout the country and was even recognized as literary, but Castellano began to quickly and actively displace it. As a result, the Galician language experienced a serious decline for several centuries. It began its gradual revival quite recently, only in 1975.

The Galician language is used in Galicia, as well as in a number of 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 areas of Europe, the American and Australian continents.

According to Basque history, this language existed even before the conquest of modern Spain by Rome. Surprisingly, genetic links between Basque and other languages ​​have never been discovered by linguists, which is why its origins still remain unclear. Researchers do not classify the language as belonging to any of the currently known language families, but consider it pseudo-isolated. Conventionally, Basque occupies a niche in the group of heterogeneous 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 rural areas.

Motto of Spain

The official language of Spain is established. But besides this, the country also has other components that determine its identity 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” or “beyond the limit.” The motto was introduced during the Age of Discovery 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!