Galician Cultural Revival: Post-War Language and Literature

The Dominance of Castilian and Galician Resilience

During the post-war period, Castilian served as the sole vehicle for official communication, dominating the Church, administration, schools, and media. Despite this, the Galician language continued to be spoken, particularly in Portuguese-speaking regions and among the diaspora.

Exile and Cultural Hubs

Buenos Aires emerged as a significant cultural capital for Galician exiles. This period saw the appearance of publishing houses such as Editorial Rio de Janeiro and Nova Citânia. Unprecedented cultural activities took place, including conferences held in Galician, radio broadcasts, and the publication of various periodicals.

Post-War Publishing and Literary Initiatives

In 1950 and 1951, Editorial Galaxia was founded, driven by a group of Galician cultural activists. It quickly became a crucial instrument for the recuperation and promotion of Galician culture. This era also saw the emergence of influential magazines like Grial, Journal of Economics, and Sao Paulo. Other significant literary endeavors included journals such as Xistral in Lugo and the publisher Bibliófilos Gallegos, which was responsible for establishing the first Galician literary prize and the literary supplement of the weekly newspaper La Noche.

Emergence of Cultural Associations

Cultural associations began to arise, playing a vital role in fostering Galician identity. Notable examples include:

• A Lareira in A Coruña
• O Galo in Santiago de Compostela
• Abrente in Ribadavia

These organizations undertook significant ideological and cultural work, successfully generating renewed interest in Galician language and heritage.

Institutional Recognition and Academic Integration

In 1963, to commemorate the centenary of the publication of Rosalía de Castro's seminal work, Cantares Gallegos, the Real Academia Galega established the Day of Galician Literature. This initiative honored Rosalía de Castro and celebrated Galician literary heritage.

Further progress was made in 1965 when the Galician language and literature were formally introduced into the curricula of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santiago de Compostela. By 1971, the Office of the Galician Language was created, marking another significant step towards institutional support for the language.

Defining Language Status: Hegemonic vs. Minority

Hegemonic Languages

Hegemonic languages typically enjoy significant social prestige, which is often determined by the political and economic power that underpins them. The more functions a language fulfills within society, the greater its prestige tends to be.

Characteristics of Minority Languages

Minority languages are those historically specific to a particular place, but whose social conditions restrict their roles. This often occurs when some or all of their traditional functions are carried out by another, often foreign, language. Furthermore, minority languages can also be defined quantitatively as those with a relatively small number of speakers. The concept of a minority language is thus applicable in both sociological and quantitative terms.