Learn about the origins and particularities of Galego, Catalan and Basque, the other three languages spoken in different Spanish provinces in addition to Castellano.
Galego
Galego is a separate language, not to be confused with a dialect, which is spoken in Galicia, in the north western part of the Spanish peninsula. It's estimated that approx. 3 million people speak Galego, but due to the fact that many Galegos emigrated during the past centuries because of famines and general poverty, Galician heritage plays a considerable role in other countries, for instance, Cuba.
Galego is a Romantic language, closely related and often intertwined with Portuguese. Of the three languages, Galego, also referred to as Galician, is the one which most closely resembles Castellano. However, the consonants J, K, W and Y are missing from the Galego alphabet and only used in words imported from other languages.
Listening to Galego, the similarity to Portuguese becomes even more evident. Whilst Castellano sounds somewhat harsh, Galego is much softer, due to the often present X, which is pronounced like the "sh" in the English word "shoe".
In the 19th century, Galego enjoyed a revival as a literary language. Poetry and novels were written entirely in Galego and a famous representative is the poet Rosalia de Castro. She was born in 1837 in Santiago and wrote poetry in Galego as well as in Castellano. Here is a short extract from one of her poems called Soia = Alone:
Tomou un dia lene
Camino do areal
como naide a esperaba
ela non tournou mas.
One fine day
she walked toward the beach
and because nobody waited for her
she never returned.
The essence of this poem about a young woman who commits suicide by drowning is reflected in two very typical Galician expressions: morina and saudade. Both can't be properly translated but express a mixture of sadness, melancholy and longing which is inherent to the Galician soul.
Rosalia de Castro
Catalan
Much more widespread than Galego is Catalan, a language spoken in the Spanish provinces of Catalunya, Valencia and the Balearic islands among others. It's estimated that Catalan is spoken by about 7.5 million people, most of them living in Spain, but also in the French region of Roussillon and in Andorra.
Catalan has its origins in vulgar Latin as spoken in the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis during the Roman Empire. In 1716, Philip V forbade the language together with all things Catalan. Like Galego, Catalan saw a literary revival in the 19th century which was however short lived and curtailed during the Civil War. Democracy in Spain saw the re-establishment of the Catalan language which is today officially taught in every school in Catalunya. Catalan has several dialects and a great influence of basic Latin and French words.
Here are two examples:
Fenestra = window in Catalan
Fenetre = window in French
Ventana = window in Castellano
Net = clean in Catalan
Net = clean in French
Limpio = clean in Castellano
Like Galego, many works of literature have been produced in Catalan. Modern representatives are, among others, Carles Ribes and playwright Jordi Casanovas.
Basque
Basque is spoken in the Basque country of Spain and certain regions in the south of France. At the end of the 20th century, a standardized form of the language, called Batua was created.
Basque is a prehistoric language and classified as a language isolate as it does not have any roots or connections with the origins of the languages spoken in the surrounding countries.
You may want to read these two in depth articles for more information on Basque and a Basque Learning course. Basque is mentioned in this article only in the context of a complete overview of the three additional languages spoken in Spain, as it is covered more completely in the articles mentioned.
The following are two proverbs in Basque, which clearly show that the language has no resemblance to any other.
A, zer parea, karakola eta barea.
Oh what a pair, a snail and a slug. Referring to people who share common habits.
Adiskide onekin, orduak labur.
Time flies if you are in the company of your friends.
I also found an interesting website which contains a multitude of information about the Basque language.
Among that information is the fact that Basque, also known as Euskara, was used as a secret language during WWII and the name of one of the few authors who write in Basque, Bernardo Atxaga.