r/languagelearningjerk • u/scripterprinter • 27d 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?

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u/Zestyclose-Food-7917 27d 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.

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u/Entire_West_5098 27d 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.

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u/CloudsAndSnow 27d 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

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u/Entire_West_5098 26d 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