Do you know that Spain is a multilingual country? It is believed that knowing Spanish is enough to travel or live in the Iberian Peninsula. However, along with Spanish, which is the state language, there are four more languages that have official status in the autonomous regions of the Kingdom: Catalan, Basque, Galician, and Aran. Therefore, if you want to move to Catalonia or the Basque Country, you will undoubtedly face the need to learn the local language.
During the Franco dictatorship, the Catalan language was outlawed, and those who spoke it were persecuted and could be sent under arrest, therefore, for the Catalans, their native language is of sacred importance – the government of the autonomous community is very actively involved in its preservation and protection. Catalan is the language of instruction in schools and universities, most documents are written in both Catalan and Spanish, and street signs and menus in restaurants are always written in two languages. Of course, if you want to be integrated into the local culture and society and feel at home, knowledge of the Catalan language is a must.
It is often presumed that Catalan is a dialect of Spanish, but actually, it is a different language. Catalan originated from Vulgar Latin in the Middle Ages and has been heavily influenced by Occitan, French, and Arabic, so it has many lexical and phonetic correspondences with these languages. Catalan is spoken not only in Barcelona but also in Valencia, on the Balearic Islands, and even in the Italian Sardinia in the city of Alghero people speak Catalan. In addition, Catalan is one of the official languages of Andorra.
The language of the Basque Country, which is called Euskara, is quite mysterious because linguists have not yet established its origin and have not identified a connection with any language family, although there is some affinity with Georgian and the languages of the Caucasus. The language appeared before the conquest of Europe by the Romans, did not succumb to the influence of the Romance languages, and retained its uniqueness. Due to the complexity of its grammar and limited distribution, the Basque language was used as a cipher during World War II.
Galician is spoken in northern Spain by about three million people. The language has long been considered the language of poetry and is the closest ancestor of modern Portuguese.
Only 3,000 who people speak Aran live in the small mountain village of Val d’Aran on the border with France. Despite the small number of native speakers, they, like the Catalans, are eager to preserve their language. It is taught in schools and has achieved the status of an official language.
In addition to these languages, Spain has many dialects and semi-official languages, knowledge of which will be a big plus for getting to know this incredible country.