Linguistic Diversity and Dialects of Spain

The Linguistic Situation in Spain: Languages and Dialects

A dialect is a variety of a specific language. A dialect becomes a language when it is written and used as a vehicle for literature, politics, and administration, and begins to establish formal linguistic rules. Three of the four languages spoken in Spain—Galician, Castilian, and Catalan—are Romance languages because they are derived from Latin. Basque, or Euskera, another Spanish language, was spoken on the Peninsula before the arrival of the Romans and is, therefore, the oldest peninsular language.

Official Languages and Bilingualism

Castilian, or Spanish, is the official language of the entire State and coexists in several areas with other languages. Consequently, quite extensive areas of our country exist in a situation of bilingualism. Basque, Galician, Catalan, and Valencian are official languages in their respective territories, and each possesses different geographical varieties. In addition to the aforementioned languages, there are varieties in Spain coming directly from Latin, such as Aragonese and Leonese. Thus, Aragonese and Leonese are two Romance languages spoken by a minority in certain areas of Spain. Both were declared endangered languages by UNESCO in the late twentieth century.

The History and Reach of Castilian

Castilian was originally the dialect of Latin that, through historical circumstances, became the common language. Castilian is spoken today in Spain and Latin America. It is also spoken in parts of the southern and eastern United States, in parts of the Philippines, Africa, and countries where the Sephardim (Jews) expelled from Spain settled.

Varieties of Castilian

Castilian has different varieties in Andalusia, Extremadura, Murcia, and the Canary Islands, in addition to the varieties found in American countries.

The Andalusian Dialect

The most characteristic features of Andalusian are:

• Aspiration and sometimes the disappearance of the final 's': mih libroh.
• Aspiration of the 'j', the phoneme /x/: muhér.
• Confusion between 'r' and 'l' at the end of a syllable or word: mi arma (for mi alma).
• Seseo, or the pronunciation of 'c' or 'z' as 's': senis.
• Ceceo, or the pronunciation of 's' as 'z': Zeviya.

The Extremaduran Dialect

Extremaduran features traits from both Leonese and Andalusian. In northern Extremadura, Leonese features predominate, while in the south, Andalusian traits are more common. The most characteristic features of Extremaduran are:

• Aspiration and sometimes the disappearance of the final 's' of a syllable or word: mih libroh.
• Aspiration of the 'j', the phoneme /x/: muhér.
• Confusion between 'r' and 'l' at the end of a syllable or word, or their extinction.
• Conservation of the consonant group 'mb': lamber.
• Aspiration of the initial Latin 'f': jiguer.