Language policies of Francoist Spain
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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.[1]
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 situation evolved from the harshest years of the immediate afterwar (especially the 1940s, also the 1950s) to the relative tolerance of the last years (late 1960s and early 1970s); Franco died in 1975, and his successor Juan Carlos of Spain began the Spanish transition to democracy.
Contents
Previous situation[edit]
For the first time in the history of Spain, the Second Republic recognised Galician, Basque, and Catalan as official languages when it granted autonomy for some regions with a regional language.
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The Spanish language[edit]
As part of the nationalistic efforts:
- Spanish films were produced only in Spanish. Foreign films were required to be dubbed.
- 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 Catalan Jordi (after Catalonia's patron saint, Saint George) were forbidden and even forcibly replaced in official records. Only Christian names in Spanish were allowed in official documents.
In the first decade of Franco's rule, languages other than Castilian were "confined to private spaces".[1]
In the regime's most radical discourse, languages other than Spanish were often considered "dialects" in the sense of speeches that were not developed enough to be "real languages". 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.[2] This never happened at the academic level, though.
All these policies became less strict and more permissive as time passed.
Evolution[edit]
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2008) |
The Press Law of Manuel Fraga Iribarne replaced the pre-publication censorship with after-the-fact punishments.
Situation by areas[edit]
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2008) |
Andalucia[edit]
Aragon[edit]
Asturias[edit]
Balearic Islands[edit]
Basque Country[edit]
- Basque language
- The Catholic Church had supported the Basque nationalists aligned with the Republic.
- Creation of Standard Basque by Euskaltzaindia
- Unofficial Basque-language schools (ikastola).
Catalonia[edit]
- Catalan language
- Montserrat
- Salvador Espriu
- Joan Manuel Serrat was not allowed to sing La La La in Catalan for the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 and, unwilling to sing it in Spanish, was replaced by Massiel, who won the contest.
- Catalan was not banned during francoism.[3]
- Commemorative plaque in Catalan during Francoism.[4]
Galicia[edit]
León[edit]
Spanish Guinea[edit]
- Pichinglis
- Fernando Poo
- Río Muni
- History of Equatorial Guinea: The Spanish also helped Equatorial Guinea achieve one of the continent's highest literacy rates
- Annobonese language (Fá d'Ambô)
[edit]
CA Osasuna was allowed to maintain its Basque name, unlike other football teams with non-Spanish names.
Spanish North Africa[edit]
- Ceuta, Melilla, Spanish Morocco, Spanish Sahara, international Tangier
Valencian Community[edit]
Caló[edit]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Sebastian Balfour, "Spain from 1931 to the Present", in Spain: a History, edited by Raymond Carr. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 0198206194. (p. 266).
- ^ Colin Baker, Sylvia Prys Jones, Encyclopedia of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education, (1998), Multilingual Matters (pp. 285-6).
- ^ http://www.minutodigital.com/2012/01/11/memoria-historica-el-bulo-de-que-franco-prohibio-el-catalan/
- ^ http://www.minutodigital.com/wp-content/uploads/Placa_conmemorativa_1964.jpg
External links[edit]
- 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.