The Galician language conflict is a centuries-long competition between a dominant (Castilian Spanish) and a non-dominant (Galician) language. Galicia went through its ‘golden age’ at the very beginnings of Spanish history, before experiencing a millennia long decline until Galician was relegated to use in the home [Beswick, 2007: 58-59; D’Emilio, 2015: 362-64, 430]. Through the 19th century Rexurdimento (‘Resurrection’) and 20th century Irmandades de Fala (‘Brotherhood of Speech’) and Xeración Nós (‘The Generation of Us’), a burgeoning culture arose around the language, including newspapers and literature that promoted usage of Galician and its preservation [Beswick, 2007: 63-65, 67-68]. The destruction during, and oppression after, the Spanish Civil War reversed decades of Galician cultural progress. This reversal, however, proved to be relatively brief, as the 1981 Statute of Autonomy of Galicia, coupled with future acts to normalize and strengthen the protections granted by the national government to the now autonomous community, finally cemented the position of this regional language after centuries of unease, oppression, and loss [Share, 1986: 557; Xunta de Galicia, 2009; D’Emilio, 2015: 915].
Today, the Galician language is diminished and endangered by the region’s dependence on the Spanish state, and a large monolingual Castilian population living in Galician cities, many of whose identity is now equal parts Spanish and Galician. Economically, Galicia’s development trails that of the Basque Country and Catalonia, two of the most prosperous regions in Spain, partly on account of its remote location and rural history, and so has struggled to keep up with these other regions in the protection and promotion of their language and culture. Although neofalantes, new speakers of Galician, have taken up the language and efforts such as Radio Galicia and inclusion of Galician in the education system have been implemented, Galicia has not seen the same magnitude of development and promotion of its language as have other autonomous language communities within the Spanish state [O’Rourke & Ramallo, 2015 pg. 148; O’Rourke, 2018; CRTVG, n.d.]. Still, Galician linguistic development has continued despite setbacks such as the difficulty they’ve had in encouraging its use among the younger generation. The language conflict in Galicia, therefore, centers on the struggle for the revival and maintenance of a language that, over the centuries, had suffered decay in a rural region with high outmigration.
Catalan is historically spoken in several Western European countries and regions, including Catalonia, the French Department of Western Pyrenees, Andorra, Eastern Aragon, Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, and Alghero (Sardinia). The conflict between Castilian Spain and Catalonia can be dated to the first Catalonian rebellion against Spanish rule in the mid-17th century and then traced through the rise of Catalonian nationalism in the 19th and 20th centuries. The conflict between their languages, Castilian Spanish and Catalan, can be classified contemporarily as a competition between dominant and non-dominant languages, but historically the conflict was geopolitical. The geopolitical conflict can be summarized as two nation building projects that have clashed for centuries: that of a Catalonia with aspirations of independence and that of a Spain with an agenda for unity.
Catalonia has historically been at odds with the Castilian state, whose efforts to unify Spain and instill nationalism through the vehicle of Castilian (i.e. “standard”) Spanish threaten Catalonia’s identity. Catalan was first infringed upon following the War of Spanish Succession, when the Bourbon monarchy signed the Nueva Planta decrees (1707-1716), enforcing Castilian as the sole official language of Spain and reducing the cultural and linguistic footprint of Catalan [Guibernau, 2000; Narotzky, 2019]. Throughout the following centuries Catalan repression continued, and by the 20th century the use of Catalan was strongly regulated by the Bourbons who required the use of Castilian in all public accomodations and in education. This repression grew first under Miguel Primo de Rivera and then by the Falangist regime that ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War (1936- 1939), leading to a system where Catalan was fully banned from public use. The post-Franco Spanish constitution of 1978 recognized the right of self-government for all nationalities and regions [Constitute, n.d.], resulting in a renewed Catalonian push for independence centered around their language and culture [Guibernau, 2000; Narotzky, 2019].
Modern expressions of this linguistic tension are reflected in a heightened attention to elements of Catalan history and culture that highlights the Renaixença (Catalan Renaissance) of the1830s-80s, popular music, and sports rivalries such as Futbol Club Barcelona vs. Real Madrid Club de Fútbol [Bisht, 2018; Eaude, 2011]. Above all else, however, Catalonian separatists have consistently relied upon their language, Catalan, to frame their expression of political and cultural independence.
The conflict of the Basque people, or Euskaldunak, is a long-standing issue of autonomy that has spanned multiple centuries and transcends national borders. It has basis in the autonomy that the Basque people have held for much of their modern history, from the Kingdom of Navarre to the fueros system that guaranteed them rights above what many other Spanish citizens had. It also has basis in the preservation of Basque culture, for which many modern organizations exist.
As movements of national unity grew, the Basque people found themselves constrained by various attempts by the Spanish government to nationalize them. Even as Franco actively suppressed the population, the fervor for self-governance separate from the Spanish state, and even independence, has reigned in the Basque spirit and will continue to remain. The conflict has largely ended with the disarmament and disbanding of the ETA, a notable Basque terrorist organization, but cultural tensions and unforgotten hatred still remain.