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Language politics in Spain under Franco

 

 
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Language politics in Spain under Franco
 
 
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Language politics in Francoist Spain centered on attempts in Spain under Franco
Spain under Franco

Francisco Franco became the undisputed dictator of Spain when he defeated the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War. Franco declared an official end of hostilities on April 1 1939, and reworked the name of the republic into the ?Spanish State,? a new moniker attempting to distinguish the new regime from both the monarchy and the republic...
 to increase the dominance of the Spanish language
Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
 over the other languages of Spain
Languages of Spain

The languages of Spain are the languages spoken or once spoken in Spain....
. The regime of Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco

Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Te?dulo Franco y Bahamonde, Salgado y Pardo de Andrade , commonly known as Francisco Franco or Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was the dictator and Head of State of Spain from October 1936, and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in 1975....
 had Spanish nationalism
Spanish nationalism

Spanish nationalism is the social, political and ideological movement which has shaped Spain's national identity since the 19th century. Spanish nationalism is not an irredentist nationalism per se, the only territorial revindication identified as actually being "national" as such having been Gibraltar , all other territorial revindicati...
 as one of its bases.

Under his dictatorship, the Spanish language (known in some parts of Spain as Castellano, i.e., Castilian) was declared Spain's only official language
Official language

An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration....
. The public use of other languages was either banned, frowned upon or despised depending on the particular circumstances and timing.






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Language politics in Francoist Spain centered on attempts in Spain under Franco
Spain under Franco

Francisco Franco became the undisputed dictator of Spain when he defeated the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War. Franco declared an official end of hostilities on April 1 1939, and reworked the name of the republic into the ?Spanish State,? a new moniker attempting to distinguish the new regime from both the monarchy and the republic...
 to increase the dominance of the Spanish language
Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
 over the other languages of Spain
Languages of Spain

The languages of Spain are the languages spoken or once spoken in Spain....
. The regime of Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco

Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Te?dulo Franco y Bahamonde, Salgado y Pardo de Andrade , commonly known as Francisco Franco or Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was the dictator and Head of State of Spain from October 1936, and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in 1975....
 had Spanish nationalism
Spanish nationalism

Spanish nationalism is the social, political and ideological movement which has shaped Spain's national identity since the 19th century. Spanish nationalism is not an irredentist nationalism per se, the only territorial revindication identified as actually being "national" as such having been Gibraltar , all other territorial revindicati...
 as one of its bases.

Under his dictatorship, the Spanish language (known in some parts of Spain as Castellano, i.e., Castilian) was declared Spain's only official language
Official language

An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration....
. The public use of other languages was either banned, frowned upon or despised depending on the particular circumstances and timing. The situation evolved from the harshest years of the immediate afterwar (especially the 1940s, also the '50s) to the relative tolerance of the last years (late '60s and early '70s); Franco died in 1975, and his successor Juan Carlos of Spain began the Spanish transition to democracy
Spanish transition to democracy

The Spanish transition to democracy was the era when Spain moved from the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to a liberal democracy. The transition is usually said to have begun with Franco?s death on November 20, 1975, while its completion has been variously said to be marked by the Spanish Constitution of 1978, the failure of 23-F on Februar...
.

Previous situation

For the first time in the history of Spain, the Second Republic recognised Galician
Galician language

Galician is a language of the Iberian Romance languages branch, spoken in Galicia , an Autonomous communities of Spain located in northwestern Spain, as well as in small bordering zones in the neighbouring autonomous communities of Asturias and Castile and Le?n and in Northern Portugal....
, Basque
Basque language

Basque is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France....
, and Catalan
Catalan language

Catalan is a Romance languages, the national language and official language of Andorra, and a official language in the Autonomous Communities of Spain of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community and in the city of Alghero in the Italy List of islands in the Mediterranean of Sardinia....
 as official languages when it granted autonomy for some regions with a local language.

The Spanish language

As part of the nationalistic efforts:
  • Spanish films were produced only in Spanish. Foreign films were required to be dubbed
    Dubbing (filmmaking)

    In film production, dubbing or looping is the process of recording or replacing voices for a motion picture. The term most commonly refers to voices recorded that do not belong to the original actors and speak in a different language from the one in which the actor is speaking....
    .
  • Person names were restricted to Spanish versions of Catholic and classical names. Leftist names like Lenín and regional names like the Catalan
    Catalan language

    Catalan is a Romance languages, the national language and official language of Andorra, and a official language in the Autonomous Communities of Spain of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community and in the city of Alghero in the Italy List of islands in the Mediterranean of Sardinia....
     Jordi
    Jordi

    Jordi may mean:*Jordy - French Child Singer*Saint George - Patron Saint of Catalonia *Jordi Bernet - Spanish comics artist who used Jordi as a pseudonym in the 60s and 70s...
     (after Catalonia's patron saint, Saint George
    Saint George

    Saint George of Lydda was according to tradition, a Roman soldier in the Guard of Emperor Diocletian, venerated as a Christian martyr.In Hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Anglican Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, and the Eastern Catholic Churches....
    ) were forbidden and even forcefully substituted in official records. Only Christian names in Spanish were allowed in official documents.


In the regime's most radical discourse, languages other than Spanish were often considered "dialect
Dialect

A dialect is a variety of a language that is characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors, such as social class....
s" in the sense of speeches that were not developed enough to be "real language
Language

A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
s". Basque
Basque language

Basque is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France....
 was different enough that it could not be taken as a debased form of Spanish but was despised as a rural language of limited currency, unfit for modern discourse. This never happened at the academic level, though.

All these policies became less strict and more permissive as time passed.

Evolution

The Press Law of Manuel Fraga Iribarne
Manuel Fraga Iribarne

Manuel Fraga e Iribarne is a Spain Politics of Spain from the northwest region of Galicia . Fraga's career as one of the key political figures in Spain straddles both General Francisco Franco's Spain under Franco and the subsequent democracy....
 replaced the pre-publication censorship with after-the-fact punishments.

Situation by areas


Andalucia

  • Andalusian Spanish
    Andalusian Spanish

    The Andalusian dialect of Spanish language is spoken in Andalusia, Ceuta, Melilla, and parts of southern Extremadura. It is perhaps the most distinct of the southern dialects of peninsular Spanish, differing in many respects from northern dialects as well as from Standard Spanish....


Aragon

  • Aragonese language
    Aragonese language

    Aragonese , is a Romance languages now spoken in a number of local varieties by between 10,000 and 30,000 people over the valleys of the Arag?n River, Sobrarbe and Ribagorza in Aragon....

Asturias

  • Asturian language
    Asturian language

    Asturian is a Romance language of the West Iberian languages, Astur-Leonese language, spoken in the Spain province of Asturias by the Asturian people....

Balearic Islands

  • Balearic
    Balearic

    Balearic is the name given collectively to the group of Catalan language variants spoken in the Balearic Islands, Spain. The collective term was coined by philologists, while the historic names used by the speakers themselves refer to the language as if it was local to each island, and so "Mallorqu?" , "Eivissenc" and "Menorqu?" may be used...

Basque Country

  • Basque language
    Basque language

    Basque is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France....
  • The Catholic Church had supported the Basque nationalists
    Basque nationalism

    Basque nationalism is a political movement advocating for either further political autonomy or, chiefly, full independence of the Basque Country ....
     aligned with the Republic.
  • Creation of Standard Basque
    Batua

    Euskara batua is a Standard language of the Basque language, which nowadays is the most widely and commonly spoken throughout the Basque Country ....
     by Euskaltzaindia
    Euskaltzaindia

    Euskaltzaindia is the official academic Language planning which watches over the Basque language. It carries out research on the language, seeks to protect it, and establishes standards of use....
  • Unofficial Basque-language schools (ikastola
    Ikastola

    An Ikastola is a type of school in the Basque Country , Navarre and the French Basque Country in which students are taught either entirely or predominantly in the Basque language....
    ).


Catalonia

  • Catalan language
    Catalan language

    Catalan is a Romance languages, the national language and official language of Andorra, and a official language in the Autonomous Communities of Spain of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community and in the city of Alghero in the Italy List of islands in the Mediterranean of Sardinia....
  • Montserrat
    Montserrat

    Montserrat is British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea....
  • Salvador Espriu
    Salvador Espriu

    Salvador Espriu i Castell? was a Spain Catalonia poet writing in the Catalan language....
  • Joan Manuel Serrat
    Joan Manuel Serrat

    Joan Manuel Serrat i Teresa is a Spain Catalonia singer-songwriter.Serrat is considered one of the most important figures of modern, popular music in both the Spanish and Catalan languages....
     was not allowed to sing La La La
    La La La

    "La, la, la" is a song which was performed by the Spanish singer Massiel at the Eurovision Song Contest 1968, winning the contest for Spain in that year....
     in Catalan for the Eurovision Song Contest 1968
    Eurovision Song Contest 1968

    The Eurovision Song Contest 1968 was the 13th Eurovision Song Contest. The contest was won by the Spanish song "La, la, la", performed by Massiel....
     and, unwilling to sing it in Spanish, was replaced by Massiel
    Massiel

    Mar?a de los ?ngeles Felisa Santamar?a Espinosa , professionally known as Massiel, is a Spanish pop singer. She won the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 with the song La La La, beating the famous United Kingdom pop singer Cliff Richard's Congratulations....
    , who won the contest.


Galicia

  • Galician language
    Galician language

    Galician is a language of the Iberian Romance languages branch, spoken in Galicia , an Autonomous communities of Spain located in northwestern Spain, as well as in small bordering zones in the neighbouring autonomous communities of Asturias and Castile and Le?n and in Northern Portugal....
  • The exiles and emigrants in Buenos Aires
    Buenos Aires

    Buenos Aires is the Capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southern shore of the R?o de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent....
     took a great role in Galician literature
    Galician literature

    Galician language literature is the literature written in Galician language. The earliest works in Galician language are from the early 13th-century trovadorismo tradition....
    .


León

  • Leonese language
    Leonese language

    The Leonese language was developed from Vulgar Latin with contributions from the pre-Roman languages which were spoken in the territory of the Spanish provinces of Le?n , Zamora, and Salamanca and in some villages in the District of Bragan?a, Portugal....


Spanish Guinea
Spanish Guinea

Spanish Guinea was an African colony of Spain that became the independent nation of Equatorial Guinea....

  • Pichinglis
    Pichinglis

    Pichinglis was an English language-based Creole language spoken in Spain territories during the Spanish Empire. "Pichinglis" can refer to a trade pidgin used in the Canary Islands, but can also refer to a pidgin spoken in Spanish Guinea, on the island of Bioko in the Gulf of Guinea, where it served as a lingua franca....
  • Fernando Poo
  • Río Muni
    Río Muni

    R?o Muni is the Continental Region of Equatorial Guinea, and comprises the mainland geographical region, covering 26,000 km?.R?o Muni was ceded by Portugal to Spain in 1778 in the Treaty of El Pardo ....
  • History of Equatorial Guinea
    History of Equatorial Guinea

    The History of Equatorial Guinea is diverse and varied....
    : The Spanish also helped Equatorial Guinea achieve one of the continent's highest literacy rates
  • Annobonese language
    Annobonese language

    The Annobonese language, known to its speakers as F? d'Amb? or Fa D'ambu, is spoken by 2,500 in the Annob?n and Bioko Islands off the coast of Equatorial Guinea, mostly by people of mixed African, Spain, and Portugal descent....
     (Fá d'Ambô)


Navarre

CA Osasuna
CA Osasuna

Club Atl?tico Osasuna, usually known as Osasuna, is a Spain La Liga football club based in Pamplona in Navarre, founded in 1920.The team's home kit is red shirt, navy blue shorts, black socks with red back, whilst the away one is navy blue shirt, orange shorts and navy blue socks....
 was allowed to maintain its Basque name, unlike other football
Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players, and is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world....
 teams with non-Spanish names.

Spanish North Africa

  • Ceuta
    Ceuta

    Ceuta is an autonomous community#autonomous cities of Spain located on the North African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, on the Mediterranean, which separates it from the Spanish mainland....
    , Melilla
    Melilla

    Melilla is an autonomous cities of Spain located on the Mediterranean, on the north coast in North Africa. It was regarded as a part of M?laga prior to March 14, 1995, when the city's Statute of Autonomy was passed....
    , Spanish Morocco
    Spanish Morocco

    Spanish protectorate of Morocco was the area of Morocco under colonialism rule by the Spanish Empire, established by the Treaty of Fez in 1912 and ending in 1956, when both France and Spain recognized Moroccan independence....
    , Spanish Sahara
    Spanish Sahara

    Spanish Sahara was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was ruled as a territory by Spain between 1884 and 1975....
    , international Tangier
    Tangier

    Tangier or Tangiers [#Notes] is a city of northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel....

Valencian Community

  • Valencian
    Valencian

    Valencian is the historical, traditional, and official name used in the Valencian Community of Spain to refer to the region's native language, known elsewhere as Catalan language ....


Caló

  • Caló (Spanish Romani)
    Caló (Spanish Romani)

    Cal? or Spanish Romani is a dialect spoken by the Romani people in Spain Gitanos or Zincarli originating from Spain: Cal? relexification native Romani language vocabulary with Spanish language grammar, as Romani people in Spain lost the full use of their ancestral language....


See also

  • Language policy in France
    Language policy in France

    France has one official language, the French language. The French government does not regulate the choice of language in publications by individuals but the use of French is required by law in commercial and workplace communications....
  • Language politics
    Language politics

    Language politics is a term used to describe political consequences of linguistic differences between people, or on occasion the political consequences of the way a language is spoken and what words are used....


External links

  • ("Chronology of the repression of Catalan language and culture", in Catalan with Spanish quotations).
  • (CCITT T.& G4 Facsimile TIFF). Order of 16/05/1940 forbidding the use of generic foreign terms in lettering, samples, advertisements, etc.