How did Spain's other languages become co-official in 1978?

Spain's other languages become co-official

Las lenguas de España en la Constitución de 1978

6 December 1978. Spanish is not the only language of Spain.

Draft: not yet checked against its sources.

Where: Spain, Catalonia, Galicia, Basque Country, Valencia

What happened

Spanish is not the only language of Spain. Catalan (called Valencian in Valencia), Galician and Basque, as well as Aranese Occitan and smaller varieties, are spoken by millions, and under Franco they had been pushed out of public life. The Constitution approved by referendum on 6 December 1978 changed that. Article 3 says that Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, which all Spaniards have the duty to know and the right to use, and that 'the other Spanish languages' are also official in their Autonomous Communities according to their Statutes. The Statutes of Catalonia (1979), the Basque Country (1979), Galicia (1981), Valencia (1982), the Balearic Islands (1983) and Navarre (1986, for Basque in part of its territory) made the languages co-official, and schools, television and government now work in them.

Say it

En España también se hablan catalán, gallego y vasco.

In Spain, Catalan, Galician and Basque are also spoken.

Why it matters

A learner arriving in Barcelona, Bilbao or Santiago will hear two languages on the street and the signs; the Constitution explains why, and why 'castellano' is the word Spain's own law uses for Spanish.

Read about it

Connected

Sources

  1. Constitución Española: texto de la Constitución (artículo 3) — Congreso de los Diputados
  2. De cómo el castellano llegó a ser el español (Rafael Lapesa, 1978) — Centro Virtual Cervantes