FAQs about Galician
1) What is the origin of Galician?
Galician is derived from the Latin spoken in the northwest of Hispania; as a Romance language it is part of the same family as Castilian (Spanish), Catalan, French, Italian and other Romance languages. It is a language closely related to Portuguese, both of which had virtually the same history until the middle of the 16th century. Despite a divergent history since the Middle Ages, even today Galician and Portuguese are mutually intelligible almost without effort.
2) Where is Galician spoken and how many people speak it?
Galician is spoken in the Autonomous Community of Galicia (Spain), located in the northwest of the Iberian peninsula, bordered by the provinces of Asturias, León and Zamora. It is also spoken by emigrant communities in Latin America (above all in Argentina and Uruguay), Europe (especially in Germany, Switzerland and France) and Spain (mostly in Catalonia, Madrid and the Basque Country). Almost a third of the population speak Galician on a regular basis and less than a quarter only speak Spanish. Bilinguals account for 44.7% of the population, with Spanish speakers outnumbering those speaking Galician, whereas over half the population speak only Galician or more Galician than Spanish.
3) What is the current situation of Galician?
Two languages are spoken in Galicia; Galician (the land’s own language) and Castilian (or Spanish, spoken all over Spain). Historically, Castilian was the dominant social and cultural language, while Galician was marginalized. Today, Galician is recognized with the status of official language of Galicia (along with Castilian), and is present in the educational system, the mass media and public life. It is the first language of the majority of the inhabitants of Galicia. It is also the most used in daily life. However, the percentage of children under 15 years of age who cannot speak Galician has increased at an alarming rate./p>
4) What is the level of development of Galician?
Although it had a brilliant literary past in the Middle Ages, Galician was reduced to a spoken language for centuries. In the 19th century, a shining poetic cultivation began, in the early 20th century an important literary production was developed and in the last few decades an important editorial (1,500 new titles in Galician each year on average) and audiovisual production has grown up. Galician also has a notable presence on the internet.
5) Where is Galician studied?
The study of Galician language and literature is compulsory in Galicia in all levels of pre-university education. The three Galician universities (A Coruña, Santiago and Vigo) offer degrees in Galician language and literature. In some European and American universities, there are also chairs and departments of Galician studies.