There are a number of languages used in Spain and also a number of dialects of these languages. Most people in Spain can speak Castilian Spanish; Castilian Spanish is the official language of the country and so is used universally throughout Spanish Iberia. But, although the official language, Castilian isn't the only language that has "official" status. These other "co-official" languages are Catalan, Euskara and Galician. The co-official languages are used in different regions ("Comunidades Autónomas") of Spain.
Added to this, many of Spain's official languages themselves have their own derived dialects.
Castellano vs. Español : The Differences Between Castillian and ::
However, in certain contexts, castellano is used to refer only to the language as spoken in Spain, and español to the language as it is spoken in Latin
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WHAT IS THE LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN , raahi travel Q & A - raahi ::
WHAT IS THE LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN DIBRUGARH AND WHICH STATE IS THIS LOCATED, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, St Pierre & Miquelon, St. Kitts & Nevis
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Catalan is categorized as a romance language as it has been profoundly influenced by Latin. In the Iberian Peninsula, Catalan and its dialects are primarily spoken in the regions of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia however it is also used in some parts of Aragon and Murcia.
Catalan came to be recognised in early Spain when it began to blossom. It soon became regarded as a primary language. Catalan has passed in and out of favor in the royal court of Spain through a number of of rulers, most notably the dictator Francisco Franco. Since Franco's death in 1975 Catalan has been reinstated as one of Spain's official languages. It should be noted also that Catalan is not exclusively "Spanish" as it is also used in France and Italy.
EUROPA - Education and Training - Regional and minority languages ::
Regional and minority languages of the European Union. Catalan, for example, is spoken by some 7 million people in Spain, France and the town of Alghero
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Euskara is the official language of the Spanish Basque region. Having said this, it is being used in other parts of the country due to its co-official status. Euskara is a very unusual language in that nobody is really certain from which historical language it is derived as it is so different from any other language in the region, and in fact the world. There have been a number of theories on the history of Euskara, but the origin is still unknown today. Euskara is an extremely distinctive language as it is one of a kind; historians really do not have any ideas as to how it became. Euskara is spoken by around 500,000 basque natives and is is the most unique language in Spain.
Spanish language - Wikinfo::
Many Spaniards speaking Spanish call their language español. the language spoken by the descendants of the Jews expelled from Spain in the 15th century.
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The third co-official language is Gallego (Galician) spoken in the region of Galicia located in northern Spain. Like Catalan, Gallego is a romance language, however it has a much different sound to the Catalan language. At one time the Galician language and Portuguese were the same language (the historic Kingdom of Galicia once included the territory of Portugal). Although different languages today, Portuguese and the Galician language are united by what is called a dialect continuum (i.e. they are very similar having come from the same root language).
There are several areas in Spain where dialects are used by relatively few people; these "languages" struggle to survive and are disappearing rapidly. Most of the regions have dialects, and although the overwhelming majority of people can speak Spanish, many choose to use their own language. As a result a visitor to Spain may speak to several different people and hear several completely different languages, regardless of where they are in the country! This type of diversity has been discussed through the ages as the people of each region wear their language like a cultural badge.
As previously discussed, the official language in Spain is Castilian. Of course many other European languages are now used in certain parts of Spain as various peoples have migrated to the south of Spain. And so it is not unusual that you will not only hear Castilian, Catalan, Gallego and Euskara (depending of course upon where you are) but you may also hear French, Italian, German and English.
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