We've already discussed the most widely spoken languages in the world, but do you actually know which are the co-official languages in Spain? Do you know all the places they’re spoken? In this article, we’ll give you some interesting facts about Spain’s official languages and tell you some things you probably didn't know about them.
Before the Romans arrived, the Iberian Peninsula was inhabited by diverse groups of people: the Iberians in the eastern area, the Celtic-influenced peoples in the north, the west and the inland part of the peninsula, and the Turdetani and Tartessians in the southwest.
Each of these groups was divided into several tribes, and some of them, especially those near the border, shared cultural and linguistic influences. And on top of all that, there was the influence of the Greeks, Phoenicians and Carthaginians.
With the arrival of the Roman Empire, all the territories were unified and Latin was established as the official language throughout the peninsula.
Centuries later, following the fall of the Roman empire, each territory developed a different language that stemmed from Latin over time and shaped under the different influences of each region. Some of these languages became officially recognized languages and others were classified as dialects.
Now that we've reviewed some of the historical background, we can focus on the present: Spain’s official language is Spanish, although in certain autonomous communities it’s co-official with the local language.
Article 3 of the Spanish Constitution declares Castilian Spanish to be the official national language of Spain and establishes that the other languages are official languages of Spain in the respective autonomous communities, in accordance with their respective statutes.
The co-official languages in Spain, together with Castilian Spanish, in their corresponding territories, are Catalan, Galician and Basque.
In 2006, a fourth co-official Spanish language, Aranese, was added.
In view of the above, the quick answer to the question of how many languages are spoken in Spain would be five. However, the reality is that many more are actually spoken. Let’s lay out some facts:
Spain's linguistic richness is a reflection of the rich cultural diversity of our country. Here at Linguaserve, we offer you our diverse translation services in Spain’s co-official languages.