Bilingualism and Diglossia in Spain: Languages
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Other Languages are Spanish: Galician, Catalan and Basque
Galician, which comes from Portuguese-Galician formed in the northwest, expanded south with the Reconquista. It had a flourishing literary culture in the Middle Ages, later declined, and reappeared with Romanticism. Currently, it is spoken in western Asturias, El Bierzo, and northwestern Zamora. However, it is in Galicia where the language is recognized as official.
The second language, Catalan, born in the northeast corner, was spreading through Catalonia, the Kingdom of Valencia, and the Balearic Islands. At first, it enjoyed a huge literary development that eventually fell into decay and resurfaced with the Renaixença. Today, it is the official language of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and Valencia (home to a booming, previously unknown, dialect), and also Andorra. It is also spoken in some border areas of France and Alghero.
The third language, Basque (Euskera), is the only survivor in Western Europe. Although nothing is known to science for certain of its origin, it seems that it occupied the entire northern peninsula, although it was shrinking steadily and has also been influenced by Latin and Castilian. Today, it is the co-official language of the Basque Country and is spoken in Biscay, Gipuzkoa, and the French Basque Country. This was its most brilliant time.
Bilingualism and Diglossia in Spain
Bilingualism in Spain is the linguistic situation of a human community whose speakers are, or can use, two different languages. Generally, in that situation, one of the two languages is seen as common. However, when one is considered more socially, culturally, and efficiently relevant than the other, it is called diglossia.
Once the Spanish State was organized in autonomous communities, the statutes of six of them listed the names of the language itself and proclaimed the character of co-official alongside Castilian. Thus, today, the official state language is Castilian, and Catalan, Galician, and Euskera are co-official. Everything was done to achieve bilingualism, but there is diglossia in all areas of Spain where the two languages are spoken.