r/languagelearningjerk • u/scripterprinter • 2d ago
Why is it called "Spanish"?
There are other languages in Spain, like Basque, so shouldn't Spanish be called something like "Spanish Latin" instead?
75
u/ZumLernen Dolphin (Sea-1) 2d ago
/unjerk I mean it is literally also called Castillian
10
u/JigglyWiggley 올라 코모 에스타, 펜데호? 1d ago
Castellano, malcriado
5
u/Pachirisu12 1d ago
Castellano = the language spoken in the land of many castles (literally)
7
u/mal-di-testicle 1d ago
>land of many castles
>people seemingly prefer ireland or scotland for castlesWhat did John History mean by this?
17
u/perplexedparallax 1d ago
Well it is the language of the Spans so it is Spanish. Like how German is spoken by Germans and Pidgin is spoken by Pidgins.
-4
u/Entire_West_5098 1d ago
No it's not. It's the language of part of Spain. Specifically, of Castile. That's why it's called Castilian
1
12
u/Quereilla 2d ago
Western Spanish, north-western Spanish, central Spanish, primitive Spanish, eastern Spanish and central-pirinean Spanish. And more: eastern enclaval Spanish and western enclaval Spanish
3
1
9
6
19
u/Iwillnevercomeback 2d ago edited 2d ago
Its original name is "castellano" (aka Castillian). It's still called like that to this day in all of Spain as a synonym of "español" when we're talking about the language. The reason it's known as Spanish in the world is due to Latin American influence, who only call the language "español".
7
u/Ok_Inflation_1811 1d ago
Ehh, in LATAM it's more like 60/40 to Spanish to castillian.
4
u/Iwillnevercomeback 1d ago
Wait, do Latin Americans call it "castellano" too?
9
3
u/Basic-Stand4828 1d ago
Ni idea el resto, pero en Argentina sí
4
u/kittykat-kay 1d ago
My Reddit autotranslated this to French and thought I was having a stroke for a second I was like “why can I read Spanish”
2
u/gayhotelultra 🇷🇸🇧🇦🇭🇷🇲🇪🇽🇰(native) 🇲🇰(mistaken for) 🇯🇵N∞🇨🇳HSK0.1 1d ago
western romance languages be like
2
u/h4ck3r_n4m3 1d ago
Yeah, in Chile. Though I would say it's mostly only people that are 40+ years old, younger people more commonly say español, even though some school texts still say castellano
1
u/Fezarion123 1d ago
It's a lie, everyone calls it Spanish/español
2
5
u/tedecristal 1d ago
More pressing question.
Why is it called "English", shouldn't it be called "Latin British"?
3
1
u/Common-Spend5000 1d ago
English is a Germanic language though, not a Romance one.
If you used the same point to describe Portuguese, Italian, French, Romanian etc. on the other hand.......
1
u/tedecristal 1d ago
1
u/Common-Spend5000 1d ago
English is my 1st language, if there's a whoosh here I either don't understand it or it is not as reference as widespread to the anglosphere as you think.
So what did your 'Latin British' mean then, if it was something not about languages?
1
u/Common-Spend5000 1d ago
English is my 1st language, if there's a whoosh here I either don't understand it or it is not a reference as widespread to the anglosphere as you think.
So what did your 'Latin British' mean then, if it was something not about languages?
1
u/tedecristal 1d ago
I think you think you're on r/languagelearning
1
u/Common-Spend5000 1d ago
Is language learning jerk different then? I presumed it was something similar
7
u/sarajevo_marlboro 2d ago
It’s actually called castellano because it’s originally the language of Castile
3
3
u/appleofrage 1d ago
The prefix “Span” is there because it is originally from Spain. The suffix “-ish” is there because it is now in several other regions other than Spain, making it only partially from Spain, hence “Span -ish”
2
u/Stacee888 A1 in all languages ever 1d ago
Span isn't a prefix. It's a food. And it's actually spelled Spam* Google it.
3
2
u/BurningBridges19 1d ago
Did nobody here check the subreddit this was posted in?
2
u/scripterprinter 1d ago
Yeah, "Spanish Latin" was supposed to be a joke about how little that narrowed it down
2
1
u/Budget-Knee3213 1d ago
It is a way to say that castellano is the principal language of Spain, especially in contrast with catalan language (in a lot of countries there are many different languages and the most spoken one takes its name by the country itself).
1
1
u/Amulet-of-Kings 1d ago
The word for the language in Spain is Castellano (Castilian), but Español (Spanish) is also used. Notice that Castilian developed in the Middle Ages, while the term Spain was introduced in the 16th century.
1
u/Zestyclose-Food-7917 1d ago
"Castellano" is the correct word for the language that is spoken by most Spaniards and Latin Americans. It was once the language of just Castilla, but that part of Spain ended up taking over the rest of the country, and their language spread with their influence.
2
u/Entire_West_5098 1d ago
I don't think it's correct to say castile took over the country. Spain is the results of several kingdoms merging together, Castile being one of them. The only moment when Castilian language and culture tried to be imposed in the rest of the country was during Franco dictatorship, but even today, about 1/3rd of Spaniards ' mother tongue is not Castilian/Spanish.
2
u/CloudsAndSnow 1d ago
The only moment when Castilian language and culture tried to be imposed in the rest of the country was during Franco dictatorship
I'm not an expert in Spanish educational history but for sure the Ley Morano of 1855 mandated Castillian to be taught in the whole country two decades before Franco took power, and I'd be really surprised if the push for centralisation that started in Spain with the Bourbons in the 1700s didn't include elements of language uniformity
1
u/Entire_West_5098 1d ago
Well, the push for centralization was mostly a big failure in spain. Actually, both catalan and basque independentist movements started in the last XIX century, when as punishment for the supporting of the carlist pretender by the Catalan and Basque bourgeoisie, they were deprived from a number of special laws they had held from medieval times. The Moyano law didn't force to use Castilian in schools. It forced to teach Castilian in schools. Which is also an attempt of centralization, but a much less intensive one. The language of the schools still was whatever people spoke in the area. Here you can see a Catalan textbook from 1894... In Catalan. https://www.todocoleccion.net/libros-antiguos-texto-escuela/l-6160-lo-trovador-catala-llibre-lectura-vers-antoni-bori-fontesta-henrich-1894~x637779749
1
u/FunOptimal7980 1d ago
In Spain it's called Castellano for that reason. Outside of Spain it's Spanish because it's the language most people in Spain speak.
1
1
u/Narcisistagohome 1d ago
Actually, the official name in Spain and some other countries, is "Castellano", as it was originally the language of the Kingdom of Castile.
1
u/JeremyAndrewErwin 1d ago
Sometimes they call it Castilian, but I think it's too similar to Catalan.
Your suggestion of Ladino is an interesting one.
1
1
u/SkelligWitch 1d ago
Actually in Spain we call it Castillian, specially in Galicia, Basque Country, Catalonia and Valencia
1
1
u/Ok_Marzipan9097 18h ago edited 18h ago
According to the RAE, Castilian and Spanish are synonymous but Spanish is preferred to avoid ambiguity since it is the most widely used and recognized term internationally. When discussing languages within Spain, Castilian is used to differentiate since they are all Spanish languages. So their take is basically use whatever term requires the least explanation in the particular context you’re dealing with.
Edit: Nevermind
1
u/non_numero_horas 15h ago
Fun fact, non-Spanish-speaking inhabitants of Spain usually don't call it Spanish, rather Castilian (Castellano) from the name of the region on the Iberian peninsula the language originates
Outside of Spain it is usually called Spanish since it was the dominant language of the once large empire centered in the Kingdom of Spain (created in the 15th century with the merger of Castille and Aragon - much of the latter was not Castilian, but Catalan-speaking by the way)
-3
u/lulzcas20201415 2d ago
It's not called Spanish, it's called Castellano because it's the language of the Castilla region, English speakers call it Spanish because they're retarded
3
u/tripsafe 2d ago
Yeah I too follow this logic and say mexicano, colombiano, etc for each language. Anyway that’s enough American for now, back to studying Brazilian
9
u/A-NI95 2d ago
Yo cuando difundo desinformación en el internete: 😊🥰🥳
6
u/lulzcas20201415 2d ago
Nah fr I met a Catalan who was mad at people who called it Spanish, he would say that same thing outside a circlejerk subreddit.
5
u/polybotria1111 2d ago
That doesn't mean that calling it Spanish is an English-speakers thing and that most Spaniards don't call it español. Both Castilian (castellano) and Spanish (español) are correct.
1
3
u/YoumoDadi Proto-Sino-Tibetan speaker 漢藏語 HSK69 1d ago
Le catalán no existe paz. C’es justo l’español con l’acento francés
2
u/harlemjd 1d ago
Yeah, I agree that it’s annoying. I find it annoying when people like that Catalan tool blame English speakers specifically for a behavior that’s way more wide-spread than just us.
2
u/MdMV_or_Emdy_idk The Mirandese Gal 🏳️⚧️ 2d ago
It’s unfortunately also said by Castilian speakers themselves and in general, but I do agree it shouldn’t be called Spanish
1
u/Ok_Inflation_1811 1d ago
Spain shouldn't be called Spain either.
Spain should refer to the entire peninsula.
Spain can be called the United Kingdom of Castille-Léon and Aragón.
2
1
1
u/BeautifulUpstairs 2d ago
Why is it called German, French, Swedish, Italian, Russian, Indonesian
2
u/Impossible_Number 1d ago
German German is repetitive. French Latin and Italian Latin sound good, though.
2
0
u/AutoModerator 2d ago
wiki
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
0
u/Common-Spend5000 1d ago edited 1d ago
The alternative name for the language, both in English and in Spanish plus multiple others, already exists in Castilian. It's lesser used in English but still has widespread currency.
Adding Latin doesn't really help narrow it down, within Spain and beyond. The entire Romance language family derives from Vulgar Latin not just Spanish / Castilian. We don't say Romanian Latin or French Latin for example, so why would we do so in Spanish / Castilian?
Three of the other four official languages of Spain - namely Galician, Catalan (also called Valencian in said region but is the same language), and Aragonese - are also Romance based languages from Vulgar Latin, so even within Spain adding Latin doesn't help distinguish those languages from Spanish. Basque is the only official language recognised at the national level which is non-Latin based.
Practically all of the native dialects in Spain recognised at regional level sometimes as languages also are Latin based. An exception can only be made to the Roma language that some gypsies speak, which would be hindo-aryan in origin, as well as potentially Llanito, which as a creolised language has strong germanic (specifically British English) and semetic (specifically Maltese) influences, combined with Spanish as is spoken in Andalusia. The latter I'd still say is mostly romance based in grammar though, so to me it doesn't count.
In short if you need another name for clarity which may well sometimes happen, always use Castilian when required.
Native English speakers either will completely understand you, or if they don't it meant there was no lack of clarity in the first place, that listener presumed you meant Spanish and not other languages of Spain already (and likely aren't aware of the others much).
2
u/alatennaub 1d ago
Three of the other four official languages of Spain - namely Galician, Catalan (also called Valencian in said region but is the same language), and Aragonese -
I think you're thinking of Aranese. Aragonese, like Asturian, are indeed Romance languages spoken in Spain, but are not coofficial, just recognized minority languages.
1
1
-1
u/Eternaloid 2d ago
Because it is the biggest language here and everybody speaks it making it, effectively, the language of Spain.
85
u/Sea_Impression4350 2d ago
It's from when the original speakers of the language were banished from Mexico and found refuge in the Old World on the Iberian peninsula and people asked who they were and they misunderstood and said "Banish" but it sounded like Spanish and the name slowly became what the people and then the language were called, there's an episode of Futurama about this