Spain

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Spain

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The Spanish Constitution, although affirming the sovereignty of the Spanish Nation, recognizes historical nationalities.

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The Castilian-derived Spanish (called both español and castellano in the language itself) is the official language throughout Spain, but other regional languages are also spoken. Without mentioning them by name, the Spanish Constitution recognizes the possibility of regional languages being co-official in their respective autonomous communities. The following languages are co-official with Spanish according to the appropriate Autonomy Statutes.

Related Topics:
Spanish - Regional language - Spanish Constitution - Autonomy Statute

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• Catalan (català) in Catalonia (Catalunya), the Balearic Islands (Illes Balears) and Valencia (València).
• Basque (euskara) in Basque Country (Euskadi), and parts of Navarre (Nafarroa). Basque is not known to be related to any other language.
• Galician (gallego) in Galicia (Galicia or Galiza).
• Occitan (the Aranese dialect). Spoken in the Vall d'Aran in Catalonia.

Catalan, Galician, Aranese (Occitan) and Spanish (Castilian) are all descended from Latin and have their own dialects, some championed as separate languages by their speakers (the Valencià of València, a dialect of Catalan, is one example).

Related Topics:
Spanish - Latin - Valencià - València

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There are also some other surviving Romance minority languages: Asturian / Leonese, in Asturias and parts of Leon, Zamora and Salamanca, and the Extremaduran in Caceres and Salamanca, both descendents of the historical Astur-Leonese dialect; the Aragonese or fabla in part of Aragon; the fala, spoken in three villages of Extremadura; and some Portuguese dialectal towns in Extremadura and Castile-Leon. However, unlike Catalan, Galician, and Basque, these do not have any official status.

Related Topics:
Romance - Minority language - Asturian / Leonese - Asturias - Leon - Zamora - Salamanca - Extremaduran - Caceres - Aragonese - Aragon

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In the touristic areas of the Mediterranean costas and the islands, German and English are spoken by tourists, foreign residents and tourism workers.

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Many linguists claim that most of the Spanish language variants spoken in Latin America (Mexican, Argentinian, Colombian, Peruvian, etc. variants) descended from the Spanish spoken in southwestern Spain (Andalusia, Extremadura and Canary Islands).

Related Topics:
Latin America - Andalusia - Extremadura

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