Most people who visit Spain think that Spanish is the only language spoken in the country. This could not be further from the truth.
Spain actually has four official languages: Spanish, Catalan, Euskera and Galician.
Spanish:
Spanish is the most prominent of the four as it is a compulsory subject in every school, whether it is taken as a first language or as a second.
What’s interesting to note is that at least a third of the Spanish vocabulary comes from Arabic. This is because Spain was ‘owned’ by the Arab caliphs for hundreds of years.
Examples:
Good Morning – Buenos dias.
Good Afternoon – Buenas tardes
Good Night – Buenas Noches.
I do not understand – No entiendo
Do you speak English - ¿Hablas inglés?
Catalan:
Catalan is in fact an older language than Spanish. It was developed around the ninth century from Vulgar Latin. It is a much softer language than Spanish and wasn’t really influenced by Arabic in the same way that Spanish was.
Catalan is mainly spoken in the regions of Catalunya, the Balear Islands and Valencia.
Examples:
Please, where is the bathroom? – Si us plau, on es el bany?
Good Morning – Bon Dia
Hello – Hola
Good-bye – Adéu
Thank you – Gràcies
Euskera:
This is the language primarily spoken in the Basque country. The most interesting thing about it is that no one has any idea about where it comes from. Euskera is not related to any European languages or Arabic and it is nearly impossible to make out what any word means without knowing it. (On a side note, people who can speak Euskera can learn Japanese much more easily than other people).
Examples:
Good Morning – Egun on
I don’t speak Euskera – Ez dakit euskaraz hitz egiten
Do you speak English? – Ba al dakizu ingelaraz hitz egiten?
Galician:
Galician is the language spoken in Galicia (of course!). The language, while being close to Spanish, is also very close to Portuguese. In fact, in medieval times, Galician and Portuguese were a single language called Galician-Portuguese, Medieval Galician or Old Portuguese.
Examples:
Sorry, I don’t speak Galician – Sintoo, non falo o galego
Good Morning – Bos días
Thank you – Graciñas
What’s your name? - Como te chamas?
Excuse me - Desculpe
Spain actually has four official languages: Spanish, Catalan, Euskera and Galician.
Spanish:
Spanish is the most prominent of the four as it is a compulsory subject in every school, whether it is taken as a first language or as a second.
What’s interesting to note is that at least a third of the Spanish vocabulary comes from Arabic. This is because Spain was ‘owned’ by the Arab caliphs for hundreds of years.
Examples:
Good Morning – Buenos dias.
Good Afternoon – Buenas tardes
Good Night – Buenas Noches.
I do not understand – No entiendo
Do you speak English - ¿Hablas inglés?
Catalan:
Catalan is in fact an older language than Spanish. It was developed around the ninth century from Vulgar Latin. It is a much softer language than Spanish and wasn’t really influenced by Arabic in the same way that Spanish was.
Catalan is mainly spoken in the regions of Catalunya, the Balear Islands and Valencia.
Examples:
Please, where is the bathroom? – Si us plau, on es el bany?
Good Morning – Bon Dia
Hello – Hola
Good-bye – Adéu
Thank you – Gràcies
Euskera:
This is the language primarily spoken in the Basque country. The most interesting thing about it is that no one has any idea about where it comes from. Euskera is not related to any European languages or Arabic and it is nearly impossible to make out what any word means without knowing it. (On a side note, people who can speak Euskera can learn Japanese much more easily than other people).
Examples:
Good Morning – Egun on
I don’t speak Euskera – Ez dakit euskaraz hitz egiten
Do you speak English? – Ba al dakizu ingelaraz hitz egiten?
Galician:
Galician is the language spoken in Galicia (of course!). The language, while being close to Spanish, is also very close to Portuguese. In fact, in medieval times, Galician and Portuguese were a single language called Galician-Portuguese, Medieval Galician or Old Portuguese.
Examples:
Sorry, I don’t speak Galician – Sintoo, non falo o galego
Good Morning – Bos días
Thank you – Graciñas
What’s your name? - Como te chamas?
Excuse me - Desculpe
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This is just a small excerpt from one of the many shows found on Tourism Radio.
Visit http://www.tourismradio.info to find out more on how you can tune into the number one information station.
