# Regional languages in Spain



## avalon2004

Hi all,

I have a general question and would be interested in hearing people's views:
*How is the role of Spanish as an ever-increasing world language affecting the regional languages in Spain?* _(Is the wide-spread use of Castellano resulting in less people speaking Catalan, Galician and Basque or the very opposite? Are the regional languages in danger of being swallowed up by Spanish? Are these languages compulsory throughout all sectors of life in the areas where they are spoken?)_

If there has already been a thread on this topic I'd be grateful if someone could provide me with a link to it. 

Responses are welcome in English, Spanish, Catalan or Galician (cannot understand Basque, unfortunately!)

Thanks.


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## MonsieurAquilone

Hi Avalon2004

In my opnion and through what I have learnt through my interest in the Spanish language (among others), I can say that there are indeed many factors in this issue.

Firstly, I believe that Spanish's wordwide influence in the world is, to a large part, thanks to South America which, in turn, has its own style of speaking Spanish.  Therefore, one could argue that the internationalisation of Spanish by way of a vast swathe of people who speak a similar dialect/idiom is having an impact.

This said, however, you could also argue that due to the "exclusivity" of various dialects and languages around Spain, they are, themselves, nurtured in areas, away (it can be argued) from external forces of mainstream _castellano_.  It is also necessary to acknowledge that various media around Spain to cater to the differing cultural and linguistic areas around Spain, and therefore these dialects and the like are protected.

I hope this helps.


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## belén

Hi Avalon, the subject about Catalan has been brought up in several occassions in the CD forum. I suggest you do a search on "catalan" with the search engine (upper right side of the screen). 

Cheers,
Belén


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## Selena1967

avalon2004 said:


> *How is the role of Spanish as an ever-increasing world language affecting the regional languages in Spain?* _(Is the wide-spread use of Castellano resulting in less people speaking Catalan, Galician and Basque or the very opposite? Are the regional languages in danger of being swallowed up by Spanish? Are these languages compulsory throughout all sectors of life in the areas where they are spoken?)_


 
I don't think so, it seems to be, on the contrary, that there is a substancial increase in native languages speakers on areas as Catalonian, Basque Country or Galicia, as far as I know. This is due mostly for nationalist political movements in Spain that want to promote a national feeling on their own cultural heritage to make it different from the Spanish cultural heritage. On the other hand, the influence of 'Spanish' inmigration, in certain areas, such as USA, has dramatically increased the number of students who wants to learn Spanish as second language. In fact, many of new American slangs used in-everyday-issue come from Spanish language from movies to advertisements, from media to oficial press releases, or broadcastings.... It's quite funny how some American and Canadian friends or some neighbours want to please me when they try to say hello, good morning, or simply asking me how I am doing in Spanish.


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## Cecilio

avalon2004 said:


> *How is the role of Spanish as an ever-increasing world language affecting the regional languages in Spain?* _(Is the wide-spread use of Castellano resulting in less people speaking Catalan, Galician and Basque or the very opposite? Are the regional languages in danger of being swallowed up by Spanish? Are these languages compulsory throughout all sectors of life in the areas where they are spoken?)_



The influence of Spanish on the other languages spoken in Spain is by no means a recent phenomenon. It has been developing in the last centuries. Nowadays the situation of Catalan, Galician and Basque is a lot better than it was say 50 years ago, especially due to linguistic policies and political decisions. It's difficult to say what the future holds for these languages, but the present dooesn't look too bad in my opinion.


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## Milhaud

As Cecilio has said, due to linguistic policies and political decisions, the situation of Catalan, Galician and Basque are much better than years ago (remmember that during Franco's dictatorship these were forbidden languages).

Anyway, in my opinion, Basque and Catalan look good for the future, but maybe Gallego will have some problems more due to region where it is spoken.


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## Lusitania

Milhaud said:


> Anyway, in my opinion, Basque and Catalan look good for the future, but maybe Gallego will have some problems more due to region where it is spoken.


 
Humm... I'm not sure. In the north of Portugal they have common projects and iberian studies at the universities and even here in Lisbon we have Galician studies in many places. Although the language is very very similar.

There many language schools where you can learn Catalan (as its phonetics are very much like how we speak in Lisbon). We can't still learn Basque here. Yet.


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## illerdi

Lusitania said:


> There many language schools where you can learn Catalan (as its phonetics are very much like how we speak in Lisbon). We can't still learn Basque here. Yet.


 
The situation of the Basque language is different depending on the area. I am from Navarre and even there is a lot of people that wants to learn in Basque, our goverment doesn't help a lot. 

I know that it is cruel to say that but the Goverment of Navarre is not interested in protect our language.


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## Lusitania

illerdi said:


> The situation of the Basque language is different depending on the area. I am from Navarre and even there is a lot of people that wants to learn in Basque, our goverment doesn't help a lot.
> 
> I know that it is cruel to say that but the Goverment of Navarre is not interested in protect our language.


 

I've writen an email here to the Spanish Embassy and they haven't replied. I'm also looking for online courses or schools in the Basque Country and can't find it. I'm sure that there are some EU programmes for that to apply. I find it a very beautyful language and would like to learn it.


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## illerdi

I am glad to hear that from you, Lusitana!

I don´t know if there is any EU  programme to learn Basque. I will try to find something and some online courses as well.
I'll let you know, ok?


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## Lusitania

There are EU and COE funding programmes for regional languages. I'm sure. I think we had it for the second official language Mirandês. I think that there are also treaties for the protection of minority languages. 

There are many people learning Spanish and also Catalan here. Lots of promotion on Catalan. Whenever I go abroad everybody knows a lot about Catalan, sorry Català  and Catalonia. I think that Catalonia is reaching an international Status unlike other languages in Spain.


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## Surinam del Nord

Milhaud said:


> As Cecilio has said, due to linguistic policies and political decisions, the situation of Catalan, Galician and Basque are much better than years ago (remmember that during Franco's dictatorship these were forbidden languages).
> 
> Anyway, in my opinion, Basque and Catalan look good for the future, but maybe Gallego will have some problems more due to region where it is spoken.


 

They were not forbidden languages.


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## Cecilio

Surinam del Nord said:


> They were not forbidden languages.



They were forbidden in some important areas, particularly in education and at all levels of public administration. This situation put languages like Catalan in serious danger of disappearance.


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## Surinam del Nord

Cecilio said:


> They were forbidden in some important areas, particularly in education and at all levels of public administration. This situation put languages like Catalan in serious danger of disappearance.


 

You are right, but unofficial does not mean forbidden. I think it is better to speak as many languages as you can, but the one you choose at each time must never be an administrative matter, just personal, and I am thinking as much of Franco as of any other disguised priest.


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## Cecilio

Surinam del Nord said:


> You are right, but unofficial does not mean forbidden. I think it is better to speak as many languages as you can, but the one you choose at each time must never be an administrative matter, just personal, and I am thinking as much of Franco as of any other disguised priest.



As I said, in Franco's time Catalan was strictly forbidden in the areas I mentioned. The language was kept alive in the families (for example mine) and thanks to some organizations and some people who fought for it despite the difficulties.

I don't know what you mean by "disguised priest".


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## Surinam del Nord

I call a disguised priest someone who tells you what you have to do, always, and to legitimize it uses such words as _freedom_, _humankind_, _honour_, _duty_, _progress,_ and so on.


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## Cecilio

Surinam del Nord said:


> I call a disguised priest someone who tells you what you have to do, always, and to legitimize it uses such words as _freedom_, _humankind_, _honour_, _duty_, _progress,_ and so on.



I don't see the connection between these 'disguised priests' and the topic we are discussing here.


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## Surinam del Nord

I am against any meddling from Administration when the matter is a language. That's not a matter of theirs.


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## Cecilio

Surinam del Nord said:


> I am against any meddling from Administration when the matter is a language. That's not a matter of theirs.



I suppose it's easy to say that if you're from Madrid. Spanish is a language that needs no 'official' help. Unfortunately, other languages like Catalan DO NEED OFFICIAL SUPPORT. And many many many people in Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands agree with that, including priests, people in disguise, politicians, waiters, plumbers, teachers and whoever.


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## Surinam del Nord

If you use the argument of my residence in Madrid to charge me with not being impartial towards the topic, I can use that of your residence in Valencia to charge you with the same thing. Personal circumstances are but burdens for the clean exercise of dialectics.


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## Cecilio

Surinam del Nord said:


> If you use the argument of my residence in Madrid to charge me with not being impartial towards the topic, I can use that of your residence in Valencia to charge you with the same thing. Personal circumstances are but burdens for the clean exercise of dialectics.



When I said "if you're from Madrid" I was using an impersonal "you". In Spanish it could be translated as "si se es de Madrid" or "si uno es de Madrid". So it's not YOUR residence in Madrid in particular. I'm sorry if I didn't express the sentence clearly enough.

And yes, I mean that for people from Madrid, or other monolingual parts of Spain, it is easier to say things like the one you said about the administrations being involved in language. And I've heard these things SO MANY times before!


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## Surinam del Nord

I beg you pardon, Cecilio, for I may have been too suspicious. I may have been not clear enough, either. What I meant is that policies about languages (like forbiding some of them, or send any of them to ostracism, or make people use what is not the language they want to use) are not the natural flows of a language. The natural one, which makes a language alive, is the spontaneous will of using this one in concrete. As I see it, that has more to do with private life than with laws. In our country we have all this argument about languages because of very specific situations we all know and regret, but beyond that I try not to be conditioned by them, for they are not universal.

I hope I have been clear, maybe it would have been easier if we had spoken the language we really have in common!

Buona sera!


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## TraductoraPobleSec

Couldn't agree more with all the views Cecilio points out. Spanish is widely spoken around the world; therefore, it is a safe language. However, Catalan is only spoken in a very small part of the world and it would be a shame that it could be lost. It'd be wonderful if we could find a balance among languages. 

I would also like to point out that Catalan has a great literary tradition, which proves the importance of a not so widely spoken language. From Ramon Llull or Ausias March to Josep Pla, we are before universal figures and they are no joke.

All the best to everyone from Montjuïc, Barcelona


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## Fernando

As I do not want to repeat comments in other threads, I support Cecilio and Surinam (who basically agree about the facts) while endorse Surinam's views on the matter of opinion.


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## JGreco

I think the situation has to be divided between what is reality in Latin America versus in Spain. I do not think castellano in Latin America should be brought up in revelance to the dialectal situation in Spain because unfortunately in a large part that the other languages of Spain are not important to Castellano in Latin America. The spreading of castellano in a large part is due to the spread of it and the situation in Latin America. So this topic should specifically stay within the realities of Spain itself becuase I trully think the situation internationally with castellano has nothing to do with the regional languages of Spain.


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