Editing Spain (section)

=== Languages ===
{{Main|Languages of Spain}}
[[File:Languages of Spain.svg|thumb|[[Languages of Spain]]]]

Spain is a multilingual state.<ref name=conversi>{{cite web|url=http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/conversi/smooth.pdf|last=Conversi|first=Daniele|title=The Smooth Transition: Spain's 1978 Constitution and the Nationalities Question|work=National Identities, Vol 4, No. 3|publisher=Carfax Publishing, Inc.|year=2002|access-date=28 January 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511172945/http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/conversi/smooth.pdf|archive-date=11 May 2008}}</ref> [[Spanish language|Spanish]]—featured in the 1978 [[Spanish Constitution]] as ''castellano'' ([[names given to the Spanish language|'Castilian']])—has effectively been the official language of the entire country since 1931.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fFYa2ooeVXgC&pg=PA129|title=National, regional and minority languages in Europe|publisher=[[Peter Lang (publisher)|Peter Lang]]|editor-first=Gerhard|editor-last=Stickel|chapter=Spain, a plurilingual state: Spanish and other official languages|first=Manuel|last=Casado Velarde|page=129|year=2011|location=Frankfurt|isbn=978-3-631-60365-9|access-date=24 July 2021|archive-date=12 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230912033901/https://books.google.com/books?id=fFYa2ooeVXgC&pg=PA129|url-status=live}}</ref> As allowed in the third article of the Constitution, the other 'Spanish languages' can also become official in their respective [[autonomous communities]]. The territoriality created by the form of co-officiality codified in the 1978 Constitution creates an asymmetry, in which Spanish speakers' rights apply to the entire territory whereas vis-à-vis the rest of co-official languages, their speakers' rights only apply in their territories.{{sfn|Ramallo|2018|p=465}}

Besides Spanish, other territorialised languages include [[Aragonese language|Aragonese]], [[Aranese]], [[Astur-Leonese]], [[Basque language|Basque]], Ceutan Arabic ([[Darija]]), [[Catalan language|Catalan]], [[Galician language|Galician]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Valencian language|Valencian]] and [[Tarifit|Tamazight]], to which the [[Caló language|Romani Caló]] and the sign languages may add up.<ref>{{Cite book|year=2018|doi=10.1515/9783110365955-018|publisher=[[De Gruyter]]|editor-first=Wendy|editor-last=Ayres-Bennett|editor-first2=Janice|editor-last2=Carruthers|title=Manual of Romance Sociolinguistics<!--|pages=462–493-->|first=Fernando|last=Ramallo|chapter=17. Linguistic diversity in Spain |isbn=9783110365955|chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325696721|page=462|s2cid=158999790}}</ref> The number of speakers varies widely and their legal recognition is uneven, with some of the most vulnerable languages lacking any sort of effective protection.{{sfn|Ramallo|2018|p=463}} Those enjoying recognition as official language in some autonomous communities include Catalan/Valencian (in [[Catalonia]] and the [[Balearic Islands]] officially named as Catalan and in the [[Valencian Community]] officially named as [[Valencian language|Valencian]]); Galician (in [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]]); Basque (in the [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque Country]] and part of [[Navarre]]); and Aranese in Catalonia.

According to an official survey complementary to the 2021 census carried out by [[National Statistics Institute (Spain)|National Statistics Institute]], Spanish is considered as first language by 81.53%, while Catalan/Valencian by 10.50%, Galician by 3.77% and Basque by 1.42% of the Spanish population. The most spoken foreign language was [[Arabic]] with 2.17% of the population considering it as their first language, followed by [[English language|English]] with 1.58%, [[Romanian language|Romanian]] with 1.44%, [[French language|French]] with 0.94%, Portuguese with 0.54%, [[Chinese language|Chinese]] with 0.48%, [[German language|German]] with 0.44% and [[Italian language|Italian]] with 0.41%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=INEbase / Demografía y población /Cifras de población y Censos demográficos /Encuesta de Características Esenciales de la Población y las Viviendas / Microdatos |url=https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/es/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736177092&menu=resultados&idp=1254735572981# |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=INE |language=es}}</ref> Such diversity of foreign languages is mainly due to international migration.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://gramatica.usc.es/att/montserrat.recalde/Recalde_2016.pdf|year=2016|page=175|first=Montserrat|last=Recalde Fernández|title=Ser inmigrante en tempos de crise: Unha ollada multidisciplinar |editor-first=Montserrat|editor-last=Recalde Fernández|editor-first2=Carme|editor-last2=Silva Domínguez|publisher=Servizo de Publicacións e Intercambio Científico da Universidade de Compostela|doi=10.15304/9788416533015|chapter=A contribución da inmigración ao multilingüismo do Estado español|isbn=9788416533015|access-date=12 July 2021|archive-date=25 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725112956/https://gramatica.usc.es/att/montserrat.recalde/Recalde_2016.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>