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Languages in Spain

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The languages of Spain, or Spanish languages (lenguas españolas or lenguas hispánicas), are those languages that are either currently or were once spoken in Spain.  The main languages of Spain fall into the category of Romance languages, of which Spanish—the Castilian variety of Spanish—is the sole official language for the whole of the country.  Additionally, there are a number of other languages and variants with co-official or regionally-recognized status in specific territories and regions of the country, as well as several unofficial languages and dialects that can be heard in certain localities within the Spanish borders.  This linguistic diversity and freedom in Spain is guaranteed by the Spanish Constitution, which establishes that the nation will protect “all Spaniards and the peoples of Spain in the exercise of human rights, their cultures and traditions, languages and institutions.”

Spaniards are likely to use the term español when differentiating it with languages of other countries such as English or French however call it castellano when distinguishing it with other languages or dialect in Spain such as Basque, Galician, and Valencian.

The Spanish language was developed from Vulgar Latin, through major Arabic influences at some point in the Andalusian period.  It made its way along the isolated areas of the Northern Spain such as Alava, Burgos, Cantabria, La Rioja and Soria.  This northern dialect from Cantabria was brought south during the Reconquista and remained a minority language for some northern regions of Morocco.  During the golden era of Spanish colonization, the language was carried to the Americas and East Indies.  For most part of the 16th and 17th centuries, Spanish became the chief language of Politics and Art across Europe.

The consonant system of the language Spanish has undergone various important changes during the 16th century making it more distinguishable from other Romance languages such as Portuguese and Catalan.  Spanish and Italian have an extremely similar phonological system.  Their grammars are very much alike.  Spanish is written using the Latin alphabet with the inclusion of the character “ñ” (eñe) as well as the diagraphs “ll” (elle) and “ch” (che).  Consequently, the conventional Spanish alphabet consists of 28 letters, a total of 29 if “w” is included which is merely used in loanwords and foreign names:

a, b, c, ch, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, ll, m, n, ñ, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z.

Today, 21 countries use Spanish as their principal language including most Latin American nations and Equatorial Guinea.    Between 322 and 400 million people speak the Spanish language worldwide making it the most spoken Romance language.

Basque

Basque or euskara is the language used by people who occupied Pyrenees located in North-Central Spain and the neighboring province of South-Western France.  It is spoken by an estimated a quarter of the Basques population – eastern Guipúzcoa, northwestern Navarre and the meagerly populated Soule and French Lower Navarre.

There are 6 major Basque dialects – Bizkaian, Gipuzkoan, Lapurdian, and Upper Navarrese (in Spain), and Lower Navarrese, and Zuberoan (in France).  Nevertheless, the dialect limitations are not congruent with political boundaries.  The most broadly used standardized vernacular is Batua (“unified” in Basque), which is the language taught in majority of the schools and used on media and official documents.

Valencian

The historical, conventional, and official spoken language in the Valencian Community of Spain is referred to as Valencian which is also identified elsewhere as Catalan (català).  Every university coaching Roman languages consider Valencia and Catalan linguistic variations of the same language like Canadian French and Metropolitan French.  But various theories and political arguments have been the topic of many debates separating Valencian from Catalan.  The official and state-bound body regulating Valencian orthography, Academia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL), states that the Valencian and Catalan are the similar languages.  The AVL polices and procedures are indeed followed by public organizations such as schools or universities.

Sub-varieties of the Valencian language includes: Transitional Valencian or Tortosí; Castellonen; Central or apitxat; Southern; and Alacantí.

Spanish Languages of Today

Official Language of Spain

Spanish (Español)—officially recognized in the Constitution as Castilian (Castellano)—is the official language of the entire country of Spain.  It is also the most predominant and most widely spoken language in the country; a language which nearly all Spaniards can speak as either a first or second language.  In fact, the Spanish Constitution of 1978 requires that all citizens be familiar with the language, specifically saying that “it is the right and duty of every Spaniard to know the Spanish (Castilian) language.”  According to the latest available information, 89 percent of the Spanish people speak Spanish as their native language.

RAE oversees the Spanish language and its constant adaptations to the needs of its speakers.Co-official and Regionally Recognized Languages of Spain

In addition to naming Castilian as the official language of Spain, the Spanish Constitution also states that “all other Spanish languages”—that is, all other languages of Spain—will also be official in their respective autonomous communities in accordance with their laws and statutes and their organic regional legislations, and that the “richness of the distinct linguistic modalities of Spain represents a patrimony which will be the object of special respect and protection.”

In the same poll mentioned above, Catalan/Valencian is listed as the second-most widely spoken language in Spain, spoken as a first language by approximately 9 percent of the population.  This language is followed by Galician, spoken by 5 percent of the population; Basque, spoken by 1 percent of the population; and other native languages, spoken by 3 percent of the population.  In addition, there are a number of regional languages that, although not deemed co-official, are spoken widely in certain Spanish territories.

The languages that have co-official status in the country of Spain are as follows:

  • Catalan.  Catalan (Català) is the co-official language in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands.  Additionally, a distinct variant of Catalan known as Valencian is co-official in the Valencian Autonomous Community.  
  • Galician.  The Galician (Galegos) language is co-official in Galicia.  It can also be heard in the nearby western portions of the Principality of Asturias and Castile and Leon, although it is not officially recognized in these areas.
  • Basque.  The Basque (Euskara) language is co-official in the Basque Country and Navarre.  Interestingly, it is the only non-Romance language granted co-official status by the Spanish Constitution.
  • Aranese.  Like Catalan, Aranese is also co-official in Catalonia.  This language is spoken sparsely in the Pyrenean comarca of the Aran Valley (Val d’Aran), located in the northwestern portion of Catalonia.  Aranese is a variety of Gascon, which in turn is a variety of the Occitan language.

Castilian Spanish is the official language throughout the country of Spain.  It is the language used officially by the national government and the language used in education in those autonomous communities where it is the only language with official or co-official status.  The languages listed above, however, are granted co-official status in their respective communities, and each of them, except for Aranese, is “sufficiently widespread as to have daily newspapers and significant book publishing and media presence in those communities.”  In Catalonia and Galicia, the respective co-official languages of Catalan and Galician are used by the regional governments and local administrations there.  Many of those living in these regions deem their regional language as their primary language and Spanish/Castilian as their secondary language.

In addition to the official language of Spain (Castilian) and those granted co-official status (Catalan, Galician, Basque and Aranese), there are also a number of languages that are recognized regionally throughout the country, though these languages are seen as endangered due to the miniscule percentage of speakers in present-day Spain.  These regionally recognized languages include:

  • Aragonese.  Aragonese is recognized regionally, although not officially, in Aragon.
  • Asturian.  Asturian is recognized regionally, although not officially in Asturias.
  • Leonese.  Leonese is spoken by a very small percentage of the population of Castile and Leon, specifically in the provinces of Leon and Zamora.  Like Aragonese and Asturian, it is recognized regionally in these areas, although not officially.

Spanish Dialects

The Spanish or Castilian language itself has a number of distinct dialects used around the country.  The Andalusian or Canarian dialects, for example, each have their own sub-varieties, some of which are associated with the Spanish spoken in the Americas.  These, and other dialects like them, have traditionally been influenced, in various ways, depending on the regions and/or period, and according to different and non-homogenous migrating or the processes of colonization.

Spain is home to five localized dialects of different affiliation:  Fala, an unofficial, unrecognized and nearly extinct dialect, mostly ascribed to the Galician-Portuguese group of languages; Cantabrian and Extremaduran, Spanish dialects that are also regarded as Astur-Leonese dialects; Eonavian, a dialect sounding like a cross between Asturian and Galician, although closer to the latter according to experts; and Benasquese, a Ribagorcan dialect that was once categorized as Catalan, later Aragonese, and which is currently regarded as a traditional language of its own.  The regional languages Asturian and Leonese are closely akin to the local Mirandese dialect, which is spoken on an adjacent territory, one that spills over into Portugal. Mirandese is, however, recognized there and has some official status at the local level.

Save for Basque, all of the languages spoken within the mainland borders of Spain are Indo-European languages, specifically Romance languages.  Outside of the mainland borders, Afro-Asiatic languages, such as Arabic (including Ceutra Darija) or Berber (mainly Riffian Berber), are spoken by the Muslim populations of Ceuta and Melilla and by recent immigrants, mainly those arriving from Algeria and Morocco.

Spain and the Portuguese Language

The Galician and Portuguese languages have many similarities, and although Portuguese has no official status in Spain, it can be heard in certain regions of the country, particularly Galicia.  The mutual relationship between the Galician and Portuguese languages has recently stirred up some controversy in Spain.  Some linguists consider that they are both dialects of a common language, in spite of the differences in vocabulary and phonology.  Others argue that the major differences in vocabulary and phonics, and to a lesser extent, morphology and syntax, have caused them to become completely separate languages.

Nevertheless, the written standards of each respective language (Galician and Portuguese) are noticeably discernible from one another, in part due to the different phonological features and the usage of Spanish orthographic conventions over the Portuguese ones at the time of Galician standardization by the 20th century.  Because of this, the official position of the Galician Language Institute is that Galician and Portuguese should and are to be considered separate languages.

Fala, a Galician-Portuguese based dialect, is spoken locally in Spain in an area sometimes known as the Valley of Jálama/Xálima, which includes the towns of San Martin de Trevejo (Sa Martin de Travellu), Eljas (As Elhas) and Valverde del Fresno (Valverdi du Fresnu), in the northwestern corner of Cáceres province, Extremadura.  In terms of Portuguese itself, in its proper form, it can still regularly be heard in a select number of border regions, including the towns of La Alamedilla, in the Salamanca province; Cedillo (in Portuguese Cedilho) and Herrera de Alcantara (in Portuguese Ferreira de Alcantara), although its use in the latter two towns has faded greatly.  In addition, Portuguese is also spoken to some degree in the town of Olivenza (in Portuguese Olivenca), in the Badajoz province, and in its surrounding territory, which although formerly part of Portugal and still claimed by that country, has officially been Spanish territory since the 19th century.

Historical Languages of Spain

No discussion of Spanish languages would be complete without mentioning some of the historical languages of Spain—languages once spoken, although now rarely used, in the area that is now Spain, located on the Iberian Peninsula.

The Iberian and Celtic people were the first historically-recorded inhabitants in the region now known as Spain, with the former speaking the Iberian language, and the latter speaking one of two Celtic languages: Celtiberian and Gallaecian.  Later, due to its geographical importance, Iberia became an important part of the Roman Empire, and as such, the country became very latinized, and the Latin language was introduced widely around the region.  The Gothic language was widely spoken during the Visigoth era in Spain. However, when the Christians were conquered by the Moors in the 8th century, languages such as Andalusi Arabic, Classical Arabic and Mozarabic became the norm and were widely spoken throughout Spain.  These languages would remain in force until the Moors were finally ousted by Christian forces during the Reconquista of the 15th century, ending nearly eight centuries of Muslim rule.  Following this ouster, Spain gradually reverted back to the Latin-based Romance languages, a category of which most of its languages of today---Castilian, Galician, Catalan, etc.—are a part.

Spanish Idioms

Dar Calabazas

You’ve probably heard the Spanish idiom “dar calabazas.” And you´ve probably heard it in two very different instances. You might have heard: “Esa chica me dio calabazas” and “en el examen me dieron calabazas.”

Does “dar calabazas” mean the same thing in these two cases? Well, yes and no. They both imply some form of rejection, but each of a different kind. The literal translation of “dar calabazas” is “to give someone pumpkins”, but of course that is not how you should understand it in the 2 cases mentioned.

If you hear: “esa chica me dio calabazas” you should understand “that girl turned me down.” That is: I was interested in starting a romantic relationship with that girl, but she is not interested in me and declined my advances.

In the other case mentioned “en el examen me dieron calabazas,” what you are saying is “I flunked the test.” You are talking about a test given in an academic context and your answers did not meet the teacher’s expectations.

If you hear or read “dar calabazas” in a context other than the two mentioned above, you should refer back to its literal meaning, and that is to give someone pumpkins.

Beberse los vientos

You might have heard in Spain the idiom “beber los vientos;” for instance: “Pepe se bebe los vientos por Mari.” And what they are literally saying is that Pepe is drinking the winds for Mari, but figuratively that he is madly in love or crazy about her.

The dictionary of the Real Academia Española explains that “beber los vientos” for someone or something means to highly desire that person or object and to do everything in one’s power to obtain it.

The use of this idiomatic phrase dates back many years—we should say centuries—and it has been used by renowned writers such as Cervantes and Quevedo. We should add that originally this idiomatic phrase read: “beberse los vientos y los elementos” (to drink the winds and the elements).

“Viento,”in Spanish, is not only translated as wind, a flow of air produced in the atmosphere by natural causes, but it is also a smell, the trace left in the air by wild game. “Venteros” are the hunting dogs that search for and pursue their pray by wildly sniffing the “viento” left by them. And this you could think to be the origin of the phrase “beberse los vientos.” So a person who “bebe los vientos por algo” is someone wildly pursuing the person or object of his or her desire.

En casa del herrero cuchillo de palo

There is a saying similar to the Spanish “en casa del herrero, cuchillo de palo”in any countries and in even more languages. But what does it really mean? The literal translation of the Spanish saying is: in the blacksmith’s house, wooden knife.

And you can somewhat get what the phrase is saying. The blacksmith is someone who works with metals, giving then shape and practical use. The Spanish word “palo” refers to a stick of wood, and anything made of “palo” is actually made of wood. So the craftsman who works with metals to give them shape and use would be neglecting his work-related skills when he is at home. It is as if you were saying: in the plumber’s house the faucets leak.

When someone says in Spain “en casa del herrero cuchillo de palo,” he or she is not necessarily criticizing the person, but expressing a common situation, which also seems to be common all over the world: The craftsman’s home is lacking that very thing which the craftsman takes care offs at work. And that amounts to not using the skills that we use at work when it comes to own private life.

A buenas horas, mangas verdes

Has anyone in Spain ever said to you “a buenas horas mangas verdes”? And have you wondered what they were trying to tell you? Well, if someone was waiting for you to bring a solution to a particular situation, and when you finally arrive the problem had already been solved, that is exactly what they were saying. That is: you are too late and your help is no longer needed.

The phrase also indicates that not only is it too late for you to fix the situation, but that now you are pretending to resolve what you should have done before—and you know it! So when someone tells you “a buenas horas mangas verdes," he or she is also implying that they are not pleased with your failure to assist when you should have, and they want you to know it.

The literal translation for the words “a buenas horas mangas verdes” is: it’s about time green sleeves—which doesn’t really make much sense. So, how did the phrase get the meaning it has today? In our research, we found out that the “mangas verdes” (green sleeves) were, in the Middle Ages, a squad of soldiers dressed in green uniforms in charge of arresting and incarcerating the criminals. As a rule, they were late when they arrived at the crime scene and the bandits were on the loose because of their failure to be there when needed.

A pie juntillas

“A pie juntillas” is an adverbial phrase that could be translated as blindly, without a doubt or without hesitation. An adverbial phrase is a group of words that do the work of an adverb in a phrase. So when you hear “me lo creí a pie juntillas,” you should understand “I believed it without hesitation.”

When you take a close look at the idiomatic expression “a pie juntillas” you notice that it appears grammatically incorrect. The word “pie” is masculine in the singular form and “juntillas” is feminine in the plural form. So it is unlikely that “juntillas” is directly referring to “pie.” Because this phrase is from an ancient source, it is possible that we will not be able to find the original basis for it.

Here, we will refrain from making the mistake of passing on incorrect
from one website to another—as we have seen it done in the past. We have seen how one website makes a statement that could be more or less correct or incorrect, and various others pass on that same information without apparently verifying the source. All that to say that the explanations we have found for the original source of “a pie juntillas,” ranging from a children’s game to a religious practice, seemed to imply that “juntillas” is referring to "pie"—which would be grammatically incorrect.

However a more logical explanation is that “a pie” refers to a position of standing or on foot, and “juntillas” refers to one’s legs been closed together. And that would be the proper position of one who asserts himself or is firmly standing. So “creerse algo a pie juntillas” would simply imply that she or he is standing firmly or without hesitation on that which she/he believes.

Darse con un canto en los dientes

With the idiomatic expression “darse con un canto en los dientes” we continue our weekly explanations of Spain’s popular sayings and proverbs. This one is a little tricky as we could not find an explanation of where the saying came from, that made enough sense to us.

First, the literally meaning of the saying is “to hit oneself in the teeth with a stone.” And why would you want to do that?--you might ask. Well, that is not really what you are saying. If you hear someone saying “ya me puedo dar con un canto en los dientes,” what the person is actually saying is: that is not what I really wanted, but I will consider myself fortunate, since something worse could have happened. In other word, we make a decision to be satisfied with the results obtained—even though they are not the best possible result, and we had wished that things had gone better.

So the actual meaning of the expression is much different from the literal meaning. You are counting yourself lucky, but you are hurting yourself for it? You could wonder how this idiomatic expression, “darse con un canto en los dientes” came about, and so did we. We looked for that information and found the following explanations:

1. This expression has its origin in the ancient custom of thanking God by beating oneself in the chest with a stone. To show more gratitude, the place of hitting is moved from the chest to the teeth, causing even more pain.
2. A “canto” is a fairly flat stone without any sharp points, so that the pain produced by these stones is not as sharp as the pain caused by sharp and pointed stones.
3. Perhaps it is a derivation of an ancient gesture of hitting oneself with a stone on the chest as a way of showing satisfaction when something desired had been achieved.

None of these explanations of the origin of the idiomatic expression “darse con un canto en los dientes” make enough sense to us. What about you?

Ponerse las botas

When you hear the Spanish words “ponerse las botas” (such as “en el restaurante me puse las botas”) you could very well think that person is talking about someone putting on his or her boots. And that could just be it. “Botas” are translated for boots and “ponerse” means to put on. So to put on your boots can be an appropriate translation or interpretation of those words. However, it doesn’t always have that literal meaning. When you hear that “alguien se puso las botas,” you might be hearing about something that has nothing to do with footwear and much to do with overeating.
 
In various Spanish-speaking countries the idiom is used, but with different meanings. For instance in Peru it means to take action, in Mexico to impose your own way, in Argentina to have great success, and in El Salvador to show firmness of character or authority. The Real Academia de la Lengua Española (RAE)—the official royal institution responsible for overseeing the Spanish language—has several definitions for the idiomatic expression “ponerse las botas.” They are as follows:

1.    To become rich or to achieve extraordinary profit.
2.    To take advantage of something, often in an inconsiderate way.
3.    To gorge on something pleasant.

The last definition of “ponerse las botas” is how most people In Spain use the idiom. They generally use to say that they ate a lot. So you could translate “me puse las botas” for I stuffed myself or I pigged out. Of course it is used in a colloquial way and you would not want to use the idiom in a formal setting.

One could wonder how to put on boots could end up meaning to overeat or stuff yourself. I have found a couple of explanations that make some sense. First explanation claims that boots in ancient times were a distinctive sign of the upper-class gentleman who hoards wealth—as opposed to sandals, the footwear worn by poor and lowly people. So to wear boots would suggest having or getting something in abundance. A second explanation says the formerly seamen went about barefooted to avoid slipping on deck. But once they arrived to a port they would put on their boots so they could go and stuff themselves in town. Either explanation could work for the present day use in Spain of the idiom “ponerse las botas.”