Languages in Spain
While nearly everyone in
Spain can
speak Spanish (which is almost universally known in
Spain as castellano - "Castilian" - rather than español - "Spanish") other languages figure prominently in many regions: Basque (Euskara) in the
Basque Country and
Navarre; Catalan in
Catalonia, the
Balearic Islands, and
Valencia (where it is known as valencià, "Valencian"); and Galician in
Galicia.
All of these have co-official status and all are major enough that there are numerous daily newspapers in these
languages and (especially for Catalan and Basque) a significant book publishing industry. Many citizens in these regions consider their regional language as their primary
language and Spanish as secondary; these languages cover broad enough regions to have multiple distinct dialects. (Spanish itself also has distinct dialects around the country, with the
Andaluz dialect being closer to the Spanish of the Americas, which it heavily influenced.)
In addition, there is strong and growing support for other
regional languages, some of them in danger of extinction. These include Asturian in
Asturias, Aragonese in
Aragon, and Aranese, a dialect of Gascon spoken only in the tiny Val d`Aran, but enough of a live language to be used in the public schools there.
With the exception of Basque, which appears to be a language isolate, all of these are Romance languages.
Languages: Aragonese language, Asturian language, Basque language (Euskara), Catalan language, Valencian, Extremaduran language, Galician (Gallego), Gascon language, Aranese language, Ladino (Judaeo-Spanish, Sefardi), Occitan language, Spanish language (Castellano)