Spanish Constitution and Language Policy

Following Dictator Franco's death, work on the constitution began to consolidate Spain's comeback to democracy, which was ratified in 1978. Castilian is recognized as the official language of the state in Article 3 of the Constitution, with citizens having both a responsibility and a right to use it. On the surface, this appears to be little improvement over the language situation under Franco. However, a deeper analysis reveals that law permitting the use of the other language varieties of Spain now exists, marking a significant step forward in the acknowledgement and acceptance of linguistic diversity and multiculturalism in many of Spain's seventeen autonomous communities. However, because the usage and promotion of the multiple Spanish languages is confined to their respective, well-defined geographical zones, Castilian has retained its primacy as the "official Spanish language of the State", also mention in the Article 3.1 of the Spanish Constitution.

This linguistic nationalism indeed has coexisted uneasily with "the other languages of Spain" - as referred by the Spanish Constitution. Languages like Asturian-Leonese, Galaico-Portuguese, Aragonese, Basque, and Catalan speakers create linguistic regions that have withstood invasions and Castilian expansion. The 1978 Constitution establishes co-official status for the state language, Castilian, and native languages within the Autonomous Communities, which is most typically implemented through bi-language schools and initiatives, as well as the existence of local language media. Although Castilian's superior status is guaranteed (at least in law), it experiences competition internally as a result of the recurrent linkage of these regional languages with issues such as Basque nationalism, Catalan independence, and so forth. Therefore, the Spanish Academy's perceived threat to Spanish from these languages is really a matter of relative position between the languages of Spain, rather than code-mixing or linguistic adoptions endangering the purity of Castilian. 

The RAE is particularly focused on preserving, maintaining and growing Spanish as the language of official national use and eventually international affairs. Efforts from RAE members to linguistic debates within the nation are frequently viewed promoting Castilian as an identity element that crosses barriers, integrates communities, and facilitates mutual understanding and communication, whilst the regional languages are hence preserved as cultural heritage rather than major languages, despite their cultural richness and significance. “The Instituto Cervantes” which is a government institution established in 1991 to oversee the spread of Spanish language and Hispanic culture throughout the world, is arguably a more dominant influencer of the language's global status planning. As a state organization, the Cervantes is driven by national language policy and hence promotes Castilian's hegemony over other Spanish tongues, even when it engages into agreements to provide language training for, instance, Galician. This incorporation of minority language education in its global education/ cultural centers illustrates an apparent intention to promote Spain's linguistic diversity in a sort of simulated linguistic inclusivity, while actually reinforcing a notion of linguistic hierarchy, exerting some control over the world's perception of Spain's linguistic diversity.

Some of the most recent and major initiatives to adjust the Academy's focus may be seen in the modifications to the RAE statutes enacted in 1993–1995. The first article states:

“The Academy is an institution with its own legal status whose principal mission is to ensure that the essential unity of the Spanish language maintained across the Hispanic world is not fractured by the changes which the language experiences in its constant adaptation to the needs of its speakers” (Article 18, Real Academia Espanola 1995).