Language politics in Spain under Franco
Encyclopedia
Language politics in Francoist Spain centered on attempts in Spain under Franco to increase the dominance of the Spanish language
(Castilian) over the other languages of Spain
.
The regime of Francisco Franco
had Spanish nationalism
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
.
The public use of other languages was either banned, frowned upon or despised depending on the particular circumstances and timing, whilst the use of non Castilian names for newborns was forbidden in 1938, except for foreigners.
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
.
, Basque
, and Catalan
as official languages when it granted autonomy for some regions with a local language.
In the regime's most radical discourse, languages other than Spanish were often considered "dialect
s" in the sense of speeches that were not developed enough to be "real language
s". Basque
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.
replaced the pre-publication censorship with after-the-fact punishments.
was allowed to maintain its Basque name, unlike other football
teams with non-Spanish names.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
(Castilian) over the other languages of Spain
Languages of Spain
The languages of Spain are the languages spoken or once spoken in Spain. Romance languages are the most widely spoken in Spain, of which Spanish is the country's official language...
.
The regime of Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, 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 November, 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...
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 jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...
.
The public use of other languages was either banned, frowned upon or despised depending on the particular circumstances and timing, whilst the use of non Castilian names for newborns was forbidden in 1938, except for foreigners.
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 democratic state. The transition is usually said to have begun with Franco’s death on 20 November 1975, while its completion has been variously said to be marked by the Spanish...
.
Previous situation
For the first time in the history of Spain, the Second Republic recognised GalicianGalician language
Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...
, Basque
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
, and Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
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 dubbedDubbing (filmmaking)Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
. - Spanish names and Spanish versions of Catholic and classical names were the only ones allowed. Leftist names like Lenín and regional names like even the CatalanCatalan languageCatalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
JordiGeorge (given name)George, from the Greek word γεωργός , "farmer" or "earth-worker", which became a name in Greek: Γεώργιος , and Latin: Georgius. The word γεωργός is a compound word, formed by the words ge , "earth", "soil" and ergon , "work"...
(after Catalonia's patron saint, Saint GeorgeSaint GeorgeSaint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
) were forbidden and even forcibly replaced 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
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a 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,...
s" in the sense of speeches that were not developed enough to be "real language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
s". Basque
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
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 IribarneManuel Fraga Iribarne
Manuel Fraga Iribarne is a Spanish People's Party politician. Fraga's career as one of the key political figures in Spain straddles both General Francisco Franco's dictatorial regime and the subsequent transition to democracy. He served as the President of the Xunta of Galicia from 1990 to 2005...
replaced the pre-publication censorship with after-the-fact punishments.
Basque Country
- Basque languageBasque languageBasque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
- The Catholic Church had supported the Basque nationalistsBasque nationalismBasque nationalism is a political movement advocating for either further political autonomy or, chiefly, full independence of the Basque Country in the wider sense...
aligned with the Republic. - Creation of Standard BasqueBatuaStandard Basque is a standardised version of the Basque language, developed by the Basque Language Academy in the late 1960s, which nowadays is the most widely and commonly spoken Basque-language version throughout the Basque Country...
by EuskaltzaindiaEuskaltzaindiaEuskaltzaindia is the official academic language regulatory institution 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 (ikastolaIkastolaAn Ikastola is a type of primary and secondary school in the Basque Autonomous Community, Navarre and the French Basque Country in which pupils are taught either entirely or predominantly in the Basque language...
).
Catalonia
- Catalan languageCatalan languageCatalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
- MontserratMontserratMontserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...
- Salvador EspriuSalvador EspriuSalvador Espriu i Castelló was a Catalan poet writing in the Catalan language.-Biography:Espriu was born in Santa Coloma de Farners, Catalonia. He was the son of an attorney. His childhood was divided between his home town, Barcelona, and Arenys de Mar, a village on the Maresme coast...
- Joan Manuel SerratJoan Manuel SerratJoan Manuel Serrat i Teresa is a Catalan Spanish 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 in Catalan for the Eurovision Song Contest 1968Eurovision Song Contest 1968The 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 MassielMassielMaría de los Ángeles Felisa Santamaría Espinoza , professionally known as Massiel, is a Spanish pop singer...
, who won the contest.
Galicia
- Galician languageGalician languageGalician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...
- The exiles and emigrants in Buenos AiresBuenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
took a great role in Galician literature.
Spanish Guinea
- PichinglisPichinglisPichinglis, commonly referred to by its speakers as Pichi and Fernando Poo Creole, is an Atlantic English-lexicon Creole language spoken on the island of Bioko, Equatorial Guinea Pichinglis, commonly referred to by its speakers as Pichi and Fernando Poo Creole, is an Atlantic English-lexicon Creole...
- Fernando Poo
- Río MuniRío MuniRío Muni is the Continental Region of Equatorial Guinea, and comprises the mainland geographical region, covering 26,017 km².-History:Río Muni was ceded by Portugal to Spain in 1778 in the Treaty of El Pardo...
- History of Equatorial GuineaHistory of Equatorial Guinea-Pre-colonial history:The first inhabitants of the region that is now Equatorial Guinea are believed to have been Pygmies, of whom only isolated pockets remain in northern Rio Muni. Bantu migrations between the 17th and 19th centuries brought the coastal tribes and later the Fang...
: The Spanish also helped Equatorial Guinea achieve one of the continent's highest literacy rates - Annobonese languageAnnobonese languageThe Annobonese language, known to its speakers as Fá d'Ambô or Fa d'Ambu, is spoken by 2,500 in the Annobon and Bioko Islands off the coast of Equatorial Guinea, mostly by people of mixed African, Spanish, and Portuguese descent....
(Fá d'Ambô)
Navarre
CA OsasunaCA Osasuna
Club Atlético Osasuna, known as Osasuna, is a Spanish football team based in Iruñea-Pamplona, in the autonomous community of Navarre.Founded in 1920, it currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at the 19,553-capacity Estadio Reyno de Navarra...
was allowed to maintain its Basque name, unlike other football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
teams with non-Spanish names.
Spanish North Africa
- CeutaCeutaCeuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
, MelillaMelillaMelilla is a autonomous city of Spain and an exclave on the north coast of Morocco. Melilla, along with the Spanish exclave Ceuta, is one of the two Spanish territories located in mainland Africa...
, Spanish MoroccoSpanish MoroccoThe Spanish protectorate of Morocco was the area of Morocco under colonial 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.-Territorial borders:...
, Spanish SaharaSpanish SaharaSpanish 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 TangierTangierTangier, also Tangiers is a city in 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...
External links
- Cronologia de la repressió de la llengua i la cultura catalanes ("Chronology of the repression of Catalan language and culture", in Catalan with Spanish quotations).
- Ministerio de la Gobernación (Gazeta of 17 May 1940) (CCITT T.& G4 Facsimile TIFF). Order of 16 May 1940 forbidding the use of generic foreign terms in lettering, samples, advertisements, etc.