Multilingualism in Spain

Spain is a historically multilingual state, with Spanish language having many varieties and dialects, however, only one was given prominence. Nation-building theories and policies at the time of the Franco dictatorship in Spain promoted Castilian as the official and public language, and prohibited the use of minority languages in public (i.e., Galician, Basque and Catalan). As a result, a 'Castilian-only' policy emerged, born of the desire to create a culturally, politically, and linguistically homogeneous nation-state. This practice, however, was also an ideology in the pre-Francoism era and subsequently that elevated the use of a single standardized Castilian variation over all other language varieties in Spain, reinforcing the concept that this was an absolute pre-requisite for national unity in that social reality.

The concept that linguistic, social, cultural, and political unity are the foundations of a stable nation-state underpins this standard language discourse as followed in Spain. As a result, speaking a standard language is considered to be a measure of a nation’s power, state's status, and membership. Standardization may be and is used as a control tactic in conjunction with such 'utopian' ideals, and not simply in terms of language use. Language ideologies are inextricably linked to other ideas concerning society's organization and control. There exists several other examples of controversial and ongoing language issues, particularly in multilingual nation-states like Spain.

Spain is a nation where linguistic ideology discussions about the importance, use, and current status of Spanish language occur frequently and widely, at both the expert and public levels. The Castilian language that is so named after its grounds in 'Castile' - the central Iberian Kingdom, has been used to achieve cultural, social, and political hegemony as viewed across the history of the Iberian Peninsula.  With King Alfonso's declaration that the language of Toledo's (city in Spain) upper classes should be employed in literature, science, and administration in the thirteenth century began the efforts toward a standardizing Castilian. 

For some hundred years, linguistic unity and standardization ideals had prevailed in Spain as the twentieth century started. Apart from a brief period of economic prosperity during World War I, political unrest and financial conflicts dominated Spain until after the Civil War of 1936–1939.  These problems that still prevail in Spanish society resulted in a three-year Civil War and a nearly 40-year dictatorship under General Franco. The result was a strong state centralization, with coercive measures directed at populations outside of Castilian control.