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Introduction A Sociolinguistic Panorama of Spanish in Spain

Article  in  International Journal of the Sociology of Language · September 2008

DOI: 10.1515/IJSL.2008.045

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Francisco Moreno-Fernandez
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Introduction
A Sociolinguistic Panorama of Spanish in Spain

FRANCISCO MORENO-FERNÁNDEZ

Spain’s sociolinguistic situation is not only defined by the intense and vivid dynamic of its
bilingual areas. Coexistence of languages is – no doubt – one of the main characteristics of
the community of Spain, in the Iberian Peninsula as in the Insular and North African
territories. Precisely for this reason, and due to the importance of this sociolinguistic reality,
the International Journal of the Sociology of Language has already dedicated one of its volumes
(Issue 184) to the sociolinguistics of bilingual areas in Spain with a special emphasis on the
relative position of the Spanish language. This monographic issue presented the
sociolinguistic situation of Spanish with respect to the co-official languages in Galicia, the
Basque Country, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Community of Valencia, as well as
in the border areas of Aragon and Catalonia and the territories bordering on Portugal.1

Nevetheless, to gain a complete and correct picture of the sociolinguistic situation of the
Spanish language in Spain, one must take into account all possible contexts and
manifestations of the language, including monolinguistic contexts where diversity is not the
result of varietal exchange between neighbor languages nor the result of the distribution of
social functions within the varieties of each community, but is due instead to the
correlation of language components and diverse historical, geographical social and stylistic
factors.

The aim of this monographic volume is to provide basic, up to date and accurate
information on the sociolinguistic situation of the Spanish language in Spain, while
focusing specifically on the monolingual areas where Spanish does not coexist with another
official language. In volumen 184 of this same journal, I had the opportunity to present an
overview of the most relevant moments in the social history of the Spanish language in
Spain, from the Middle Ages up to the twentieth century (Moreno Fernández 2007: 7-20).
On that occasion, however, the focus was not on the geolinguistic and sociolinguistic
diversity of Spanish in monolingual regions of Spain. The purpose of this introduction is
to provide a general background of the sociolinguistic panorama of Spanish in these
regions that will serve as a prologue to the papers that make up this second monographic
volume titled The Sociolinguistics of Spanish. Social History, Norm, Variation and Change.

The situation of Spanish in Spain clearly reveals certain phenomena that parallel what is
happening with other European languages. As we know, the status of the traditional
Europoean dialects has become incresasingly more ambiguous over the course of the
twentieth century (Moreno Fernández 1999-2000). This progressive ambiguity can be
interpreted as a dissolution or weakening derived from, among other factors, increasing
demographic mobility due to the industrialization and urbanization of the last century as
well as to the growing presence of communication media in society. The gradual
weakening of dialectal – or geolectal - forms of speech can be attributed to the influence of
certain linguistic modalities of social prestige that have been widely favored and
disseminated by migratory movements and varying forms of social communication.
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For Auer y Hinskens (1996), the social and cultural changes that Europe’s linguistic
situation has gone through affect the nature and position of traditional and popular speech
forms in four main areas or dimensions, as defined below:

a. Dialect – prestige variety dimension: The traditional dialects are influenced by a standard
or prestige variety, which often leads to a certain levelling of the varieties.

b. Dialect – dialect dimension: This dimension refers to the influence that one dialect has
over antoher, especially in the case of those that do not have a well-defined, standardized
language, for example, Lapp or the Rhaeto-Romanic languages.

c. Border dialects dimension: Border speech forms can acquire characteristics that
differentiate them from a more general linguistic variety. It must be said, however, that the
impact of such borders has declined in the last few decades due to the development of
forms of communcation.

d. Large scale migration dimension: Dialects imported by large immigrant groups can be
weakened by the speech of the host country, or they can have their own influence over
native dialects.

For the most part, the sociolinguistic situation of the monolingual regions of Spain
demonstrates the fourth of the above-described dimensions. In this case, the varieties that
can come into contact are a prestige variety, one or more traditional varieties and those
varieties that are imported through migratory movements. Among these different
modalities, one can discern a variety of influences, which, generally speaking, show two
tendencies: convergence and divergence. Demographic and social mobility as well as the
development of forms of social communication favor the appearance or intensification of
both convergent and divergent tendencies between the linguistic modalities that come into
contact. Contact between varieties can lead to linguistic approximation or distancing and
can appear in the case of contact between different dialects as well as in the case of one or
more dialects in contact with the cultivated or normative variety of the language. The
dynamic of the dialectal and sociolinguistic relationships mirrors the dynamic of
communicative interaction, where the activity also develops through a tug-of-war between
convergence and divergence .2

In light of this situation, one can certainly understand the difficulties involved in seperating
the geographic from the social in European sociolinguistic studies: one must not forget that
the geolinguistic and sociolinguistic, as well as historical and stylistic dimensions of the
language are parameters that make demands on each other in the sense that linguistic use
cannot be detached from simultaneously occurring extralinguistic circumstances.3
Currently, Europe is experiencing a social, economical and demographic process that
obligates us to take both geography and society into account when studying the language.
The sociolinguistics of Spanish in Spain reveal the existence of the four dimensions
previoulsy described.

1) In the dimension dialect (popular speech) – prestige variety, Castillian Spanish, which
enjoys great social prestige, is widely disemminated by all forms of social
communcation and is the normative basis of the language, differs from the popular
linguistic uses (traditional dialects) present in the diverse areas that make up the
linguistic domain of the Spanish of Spain. In cases where the popular speech forms
do not coincide with the Castillian modality, both convergence (towards the
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prestige variety) and divergence (towards the traditional variety) tensions are
generated, producing a rich and intense sociolinguistic and sylistic variation that
affects the evolution of the language. We can observe this dimension in the
linguistic area of Andalusia, where a well-differentiated variety (with respect to
Castillian), generically referred to as “andaluz”, is used.
2) With regards to the the dimension dialect (popular speech) – dialect (popular speech), we
can also observe a contrast or tension dynamic between the most innovative and
the more conservative varieties of Spanish. Innovation and conservatism can be
appreciated on a variety of levels: on the phonic level (especially with the use of
implosive consonants), on the grammatical and lexical levels (traditional/archaic
forms versus urban/neologistic forms). This dimmension is obvious in the contact,
for example, of Madrilenian or Valencian popular speech with that of Andalusia,
Extremadura or Castille-Leon, a consequence of Spain’s internal migratory
movements.
3) In the dimension border dialects, some interesting linguistic variation phenomena
occurs in which the influence of a third modality, or language, is added to the
situation seen in the 2nd dimension scenario. This dimension manifests itself in the
areas of Murcia and Extremadura, which, linguistically speaking, are considered to
be transition zones: on the one hand, zones between conservative and innovative
modalities, and, on the other, between varieties of Spanish and Catalan (to the East)
or Spanish and Portuguese (to the West).
4) Currently, in Spain, large scale immigration capable of future linguistic repercussions
corresponds to the Hispano-American population, mainly from the Andean
linguistic area of American Spanish (Ecuador, Colombia). The incorporation of this
immigrant population will give rise to a variety of interdialectal influence processes,
the definitive result of which is difficult to predict at this time.

In 1966, Einar Haugen defined three types of communities based on the most prevalent
communicative situation found in each: terciary communities, where the codes of the
different exisiting groups are unintelligible – interpreters are needed for any real
communication to take place; secondary communities, those in which there is partial
comprehension between speakers; and primary communities, where there is direct
communication between speakers with very little differentiation in linguistic modalities.
The linguistic communities of Spain are, for the most part, primary and it is these
communities that will be the focus of this volume. In order to present an overview of
Spain’s linguistic communities, we propose a geolinguistic itinerary that will cover the
linguistic domain of Spanish from North to South.

The area of Castille, traditionally considered the birthplace of Spanish and the area where
Castillian is spoken, is presented as a diverse territory demonstrating interesting linguistic
changes – the disappearance of certain uses as well as the difusion of innovations. The
analysis of some linguistic change shows a movement of convergence between the
periphery and the centre. This convergence is becoming increasingly more marked among
higher sociocultural levels, while at the same time affecting the lower strata whereby the
dialectical variations lose the prestige enjoyed in the cities. As it is important to pay
attention to Madrid’s role as a disseminator of innovations and linguistic trends from the
perspective of urban sociolinguistics, a presentation of the principal characteristics of
Madrilenian speech complements the study of Castile. From its geographical position in the
centre of the Iberian Peninsula, midway between the conservative dialects of Castile-Leon
and the more innovative speech of Castile-La Mancha, Madrid is now one of the references
for standard Castilian.
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The northern panorama is completed with information on Aragon. One of the kingdoms
in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Age, its language, Aragonese, was replaced by
Castilian (Spanish later) in mid and lower Aragon around the end of the fifteenth century.
It is interesting to note the most relevant linguistic characteristics of Spanish in the
historical region of Aragon - the presence of Old Aragonese linguistic elements found in
the Spanish spoken today, as well as the linguistic attitudes, social uses and legal situation of
linguistic varieties in Northern and Eastern Aragon.
The southern territory of Spain includes three significant varieties that are also some of the
most innovative of Spain’s Spanish: Extremadurian, Murcian and Andalusian Spanish.
Extremadura has historically received influences from different linguistic varieties:
Castilian, Portuguese, Old Leonese and, more recently, Andalusian dialects. Extremadura is
a territory where prestigious Castilian fights with popular uses, exhibiting innovative
phonetics combined with some old phonetic features (especially in the North) and
archaisms in the lexical level. Murcia has historically been a transition area where many
different cultures and civilizations have met. The Spanish spoken in Murcia is a transition
dialect, sharing features with Valencian Catalan, Castilian, Aragonese and Andalusian
Spanish. These varied influences make it necessary to study the covert prestige
characterization and its consequences in terms of dialect obsolescence in favor of the
adoption of Standard Castilian Spanish, the structure of diffusion of this standard, and
dialect choice in public contexts. Andalusian derives from a southern innovatory
simplification of the phonological system of thirteenth century Castilian as the result of
dialect koineization. Innovatory varieties accept natural phonological changes affecting
syllable structure and reduce phoneme inventory. Since standard Spanish is a conservative
dialect, Andalusian is said to be divergent. What characterizes today’s Andalusian speech
behavior is a certain division between eastern and western varieties, the result of historical,
social and structural conditions. The varieties of the Canary Islands also show convergence
and divergence from the national standard. Spanish from these islands has been influenced
by Andalusian speech varieties, as well as by the presence of many features of American
(Spanish) and Portuguese origin. The panorama of Spain’s Spanish is completed with a
study of recent immigration in Spain and its sociolinguistic and educational consequences.

In preparing this volume, we are privileged to have the collaboration of renowned

specialists in the sociolinguistics and sociology of each of the analyzed territories, all of
them university professors in the field who have shown interest in the topic of Spanish in
monolingual areas. In alphabetical order by last name, the contributors are Manuel Ariza,
professor of the University of Seville, in Andalucia, Ana María Cestero, professor at the
University of Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, José María Enguita-Utrilla, professor at the
University of Zaragoza, in Aragon, Juan Manuel Hernández-Campoy, professor of the
University of Murcia, Maite Hernández-García, from the Adult Education Center
“Agustina de Aragón” in Madrid, Isabel Molina, professor of the University of Alcalá de
Henares, Florentino Paredes, professor at the University of Alcalá de Henares, José
Antonio Samper, professor of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Pedro
Sánchez-Prieto, professor at the University of Alcalá de Henares, Félix Villalba-Martínez,
also from the Adult Education Center “Agustina de Aragón” in Madrid, and Juan A.
Villena, professor of the University of Malaga, in Andalucia. My sincere gratitude goes to
Nieves González, María Sancho and Irene Vicente-Miguel, doctoral students at the
University of Alcalá de Henares and authors of the book reviews on sociolinguistic
methodology, and Hispanic and historical sociolinguistics. I would like to thank them all
for the enthusiasm and professionalism they have lent to their contributions.
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I would also like to acknowledge two people who deserve special mention. Once again,
Melissa Andres has taken on the difficult task of reviewing the English of the submitted
articles to assure that it is at the level required by a prestigious journal like the IJSL. I
would like to thank Professor Joshua Fishman for accepting this volume with the same
enthusiasm as he did Issue 184. On behalf of all the contributors to this volume, I am
happy to have this opportunity to thank you all for your unconditional confidence and to
wish you success in future projects.

The University of Alcala de Henares

Appendix

Map1. Spain’s Autonomous Communities

References

Auer, Peter, Franz Hinskens and Karl Mattheier (eds.) (1986). Social Dialectology. The
convergence and divergence of dialects in Europe. Sociolinguistica, vol.
Auer, Peter and Franz Hinskens (1996). The convergence and divergence of dialects in a
changing Europe, The Journal of the ESF. 34: 30-31.
Giles, Howard (ed.) (1984). The Dynamics of Speech Accomodation. International Journal of the
Sociology of Language, 46.
Haugen, Einar (1966). Linguistics and Language Planning. In W. Bright (ed.), Sociolinguistics,
50-71. The Hague: Mouton.
Fernández-Ferreiro, Manuel and Fernando Ramallo (2002-2003). Sociolinguitics in Galicia:
Views on diversity, a diversity of views. Estudios de Sociolingüística. Special Issue, 3(2) &
4(1).
Moreno-Fernández, Francisco (1999-2000). El estudio de la convergencia y la divergencia
dialectal. Revista Portuguesa de Filologia. XXIII: 1-27.
Moreno-Fernández, Francisco (ed.) (2007). Spanish in Spain: The Sociolinguistics of Bilingual
Areas. International Journal of the Sociology of Language. 184.
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Villena-Ponsoda, Juan (1997). Convergencia y divergencia en el continuo sociolingüístico

andaluz: datos del vernáculo urbano malagueño. Lingüística Española Actual, XIX:
83-126.

Notes
1 Other volumens of this journal have been dedicated to the sociolinguistics of Catalan (47) and Basque (174).

In the case of Galician, we also have excellent monographic resources such as Sociolinguistics in Galicia: Views on
diversity, a diversity of views (Fernández-Ferreiro & Ramallo 2002-2003) published in Estudios de
Sociolingüística.
2 Convergence and divergence are fundamental concepts that appear in “Speech Accomodation Theory”.

This theory, more recently referred to as “Communicative Accomodation Theory”, is the result of the work
of Richard Bourhis and Howard Giles, among others, and was developed mainly in terms of social
psychology, though it is clearly applicable to the field of linguistics (Giles 1984). Basically, the theory of
speech accomodation focuses on the cognitive processes produced by the perception of social context and
the communicative conduct of individuals. The aim is to explain the underlying motivations involved in
communicative behavior as well as the stylistic changes in speech that take place in communicative
exchanges. Convergence is understood as a communicative strategy – during which a large series of linguistic
elements is handled - that speakers practice in order to adapt to a situation or to the speech of their
interlocutors. Divergence is also a strategy. In this case, speakers accentuate their linguistic and
communicative differences.
3 This does not mean that more favorable geosocial circumstances in which geolinguistics can de looked at

independently, or in which sociolinguistics can be studied without geolinguistics entering the picture, do not
exist.

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