The European Union is made up of 24 official languages that are recognized within this group of countries. All of them have regulations that establish the language and writing officially and, therefore, have recognition as a language of Europe. But what are these official languages of the European Union? In this OneHOWTO article, we are going to discover the 24 languages that do enjoy recognition in the EU and, also, we will talk to you about the official languages of Spain so that you know the reality of our country. Let’s start with this lesson!
The 24 official languages of the European Union
The European Union is made up of countries that are part of this continent that is known as “the old world”. Currently, there are 28 countries that are part of the EU and many of them have their own languages that make their culture and customs unique and recognizable by the rest of the states.
There are 24 official languages of the European Union, something that shows that this group has a powerful multilingual policy that aims to protect and preserve linguistic diversity in Europe, as well as promote the learning of different languages.
Here is a list of the 24 languages of the European Union so you know what they are:
- German
- Bulgarian
- Czech
- Croatian
- Danish
- Slovak
- Slovenian
- Spanish
- Estonian
- Purposes
- French
- Greek
- Hungarian
- English
- Irish
- Italian
- Latvian
- Lithuanian
- Maltese
- dutch
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Romanian
- Swedish
This means that citizens living in the European Union have the right to use this language both privately and institutionally. The countries have to protect the linguistic wealth that they have in the states and, therefore, there have to be preservation and dissemination policies to prevent languages from falling into disuse or living in a situation of exclusion.
Therefore, EU regulations and official documents are always published in all 24 languages that are part of this conglomerate. Similarly, politicians who represent their country in the European Parliament have the right to use their language during their speeches, for global understanding, there are translators who facilitate communication.
Minority languages in the European Union
But, in addition to these official languages of the European Union, there are also other languages that are used by a minority or that are only spoken in smaller and more specific regions. Throughout the EU there are more than 60 types of languages that are included within this group of “minority” or “autochthonous” and, in total, there are about 40 million speakers of these languages.
Some examples of the least spoken languages in the EU are as follows:
- Catalan
- Basque
- Welsh
- Yiddish
- Friesian
- Sami
- Sardinian
- Galician
- Aranese
- Etc
In these cases, the management of these languages is not the direct responsibility of the EU, but rather of the country in question in which each language is spoken. It is the governments of each nation that end up deciding the institutional support and status of each of these languages. However, it is true that the European Commission intervenes to guarantee linguistic plurality and diversity.
The official languages of Spain
Now that we know the official languages of the European Union, we are going to focus on the linguistic reality of our country and, therefore, we are going to know which are the official languages of Spain. The first thing you have to know is that there is only one official language that is common to the entire state: Spanish or Castilian.
However, there are 4 languages that are co-official and are found in 6 autonomous communities. These languages are:
1. Catalan
It is the language spoken in Catalonia but also in two other communities: the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community. It is, therefore, the second most widely spoken language in the country and has around 11 million speakers globally. Although there are some disputes about Valencian and Balearic, the truth is that both are dialects of Catalan and, therefore, it is only counted as a common language.
2. Euskera or Basque
This official language is also spoken in more than one community. In this case, we can find it both in the Basque Country and in the community of Navarra, although the truth is that in the latter it is increasingly in disuse and is only spoken in specific areas. Basque is the oldest language on the Peninsula and is not part of the Romance languages, therefore, Latin is not its mother tongue. Due to its strong history and its great culture, it is an idiomatic relic that exists in our country and, therefore, must be preserved to the maximum.
3. Galician
Galician (or “Galician”) is the official language spoken in the community of Galicia. It is a language that is related to Portuguese and, in fact, during the Middle Ages, a linguistic group called “Galaico-Portuguese” was formed. It is another of the official languages of the country and appears in the Spanish Constitution.
4. Aranese
Aranese is the language that is only spoken in a small region of the country: the Vall d’Aran, in Catalonia. It is an Occitan language that, in Catalonia, is considered co-official with Catalan. It is a Gascon variety of Occitan and is the mother tongue of more than 34% of the population residing in this valley.
10 non-official languages in Spain
However, in addition to these official languages, there are also others that are regional or minority in Spain and that are spoken by many people in the country. Here is a complete list of all of them:
- Asturian
- Aragonese
- Cantabrian
- Silbo Romero (in La Gomera, Canary Islands)
- extremeño
- Alto Aragonese
- Fala Galician-Extremeña
- Arab-dariya (in Ceuta)
- Leonese
- Rifeño (in Melilla)
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