Evolution of Languages in Spain: From Romanization to Today

The Evolution of Languages in Spain

Official and Co-official Languages

The constitution establishes Castilian (Spanish) as the official language of Spain. Galician, Basque, Catalan, and Valencian are recognized as co-official languages in their respective regions.

Linguistic Diversity

Linguistically, there are varieties that are not considered languages, such as Asturian and Aranese.

Historical Language Formation

The most widespread languages in ancient times were Iberian, Celtic, and Basque. Other languages like Tartessian were spoken in the south. Phoenician, Greek, and Carthaginian were established on the coasts. These pre-Roman languages eventually disappeared, but some terms reached the current Castilian.

Romanization and Romance Languages

During the Romanization period, Latin was imposed for a very long time. This led to the emergence of early Romance dialects, which subsequently originated the Romance languages.

Visigothic and Arab Influence

Later, the Visigoths invaded, leaving behind many words. The Arabs also had a great influence, contributing many words to the lexicon.

Christian Kingdoms and Language Development

Christians in the north, with independent kingdoms, advanced southwards, while the Arabs and Muslims remained in the south.

Spanish

Spanish was born in Cantabria and Burgos. The first manifestations appeared in the 11th century. In the 13th century, thanks to Alfonso X and the School of Toledo, Spanish reached its peak during the Golden Age. Phonological changes occurred, such as the transformation of J, X, and G into a single sound. The letters 'ç', 'z', 'y', and 'v' were standardized. The initial 'f' disappeared. In 1713, the Royal Spanish Academy was founded and published the "Diccionario de Autoridades."

Catalan

Catalan arose from the evolution of Vulgar Latin. It experienced great splendor in the Middle Ages. After the union of Castile and Aragon in the 15th century, a movement called the "Renaixença" emerged to defend the language.

Galician

Galician comes from Galician-Portuguese. The Kingdom of Galicia expanded south, giving birth to Galician-Portuguese lyric poetry. With the independence of Portugal, the languages began to differentiate.

Basque

Basque is a non-Indo-European language whose origins are unknown. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Academy of the Basque Language ("Euskaltzaindia") was established, and it created Unified Basque ("Euskara Batua").

Dialects

Leonese

Leonese dialects are highlighted by speeches from Asturias. Its most characteristic features are the closing of 'o' and 'f' from the original.

Aragonese

Aragonese consists of local dialects scattered without unity. Its features include the loss of the initial 'f', the loss of the final vowel, and the maintenance of initial Latin groups.