With a population of over 47 million, Spain is a country particularly rich and varied in languages, both official and dialects. In fact, when you’ve travelled to one of Spain’s top holiday destinations, you’ve probably wondered how many languages are spoken in Spain or heard a language other than Spanish being spoken.
From Dencanto Community we tell you below which languages are spoken in Spain, in which areas and how to start learning some of them.
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How many languages are spoken in Spain?
Castilian Spanish, also known as Spanish, is the official language of Spain. It is also the most popular and the most widely spoken in all of its autonomous communities. However, Spanish coexists on a daily basis with other official and non-official languages that further enrich the country’s culture and diversity.
Official languages spoken in Spain
Today, just over 80% of the population speak Spanish as their mother tongue. However, although it is the official language, it is not the first choice when speaking in some autonomous communities such as Catalonia, Valencia, the Basque Country and Galicia.
In these communities, Spanish coexist on a daily basis with other official languages:
- Catalan: official language used in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community. There may be differences in sound, grammar and vocabulary depending on the area where this official language is spoken.
- Euskera or Basque: official language spoken in the Basque Country and northern Navarre.
- Galician: language spoken in Galicia.
Minority languages
As with the co-official languages, there are a variety of other minority and non-official languages in Spain, but they are the means of communication for thousands of people. In fact, there are many people whose mother tongue is a minority language:
- Aragonese: a language of Romance origin currently spoken by an average of 40,000 people.
- Asturian: this language, spoken mainly in the Principality of Asturias, has around 300,000 speakers today.
- Benasqués: this is a dialect of Romance origin spoken in some areas of the province of Huesca.
- Cantabrian: despite being classified by UNESCO as an endangered language, Cantabrian is still spoken by thousands of inhabitants today.
- Eonavian: also known as Galician-Asturian, this language has around 45,000 speakers in the areas of Galicia and Asturias.
- Extremaduran: it has around 6,000 speakers today, mainly located in Extremadura.
- Fala: this language of Romance origin is spoken mainly in the Jálama valley by around 10,000 people.
- Leonese: between 20,000 and 50,000 people speak this unofficial language in the province of Leon. It is also considered at risk of disappearing.
- Murciano: this is a regional dialect of the Autonomous Community of Murcia.
- Silbo Gomero: this non-verbal language that uses whistling as a method of communication was included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2009.
Tips for learning the languages and dialects of Spain
Learning Spanish and some of its dialects at the same time can be a process that needs more effort, attention and time. However, nothing is impossible! You should bear in mind that the origin of many of the dialects is the same or similar to that of Spanish, so many of the words or sounds will be familiar to you.
If you are interested in learning one of Spain’s dialects, take the following advice:
- Choose a dialect or co-official language whose origin or roots are similar to Spanish. Basque, for example, may be more difficult for you as it bears almost no similarity to Spanish.
- Start studying the second language when you already have a good, solid foundation in Spanish. It is highly advisable to know the grammatical rules of Spanish beforehand in order to be able to better understand the variations of its dialects.
- Practice both languages with native speakers. Ideally, do it with people who speak both languages so that they can correct you or explain the difference between one and the other.
- Listen to original content in both languages and try not to mix them at the same time to avoid confusion.
- Be patient with the learning process as, even if you choose similar languages, each language has specific rules, grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary.
Now that you know a little more about the different languages spoken in Spain, do you want to learn one of them? Remember that before you start learning any other language or dialect, you need to know the basics of Spanish.
At Dencanto Community we offer professional, specialised and innovative training with which you can learn and consolidate your knowledge of Spanish effectively, solidly and forever.