Eduardo Madina Muñoz (born 11 January 1976) is a Spanish socialist politician. He was the Secretary General of the Socialist Parliamentary Group in Congress between April 2009 and September 2014.
107-914: Madina is married and has one child. He comes from a family of socialists from the Basque Country . His grandfather was a miner. At age 17 he joined the Socialist Youth of Euskadi, a youth branch of the PSE-EE , and shortly after graduating in Contemporary History at the University of Deusto . He holds a master's degree in European Integration from the University of the Basque Country , specialising in International Relations. He has worked as
214-840: A Basque radio/TV station . These and only some of the powers acknowledge in the Gernika Statute have since 1980 been transferred to the Autonomous Community by the Cortes Generales under the Gernika Statute . The seats of the Basque Parliament and Government are in Vitoria-Gasteiz , so this is the capital city de facto , but the Basque Autonomous Community has no capital de jure . The Parliament
321-469: A campaign based on two pillars: the fight against corruption and nepotism, and the recovery of social policies. Finally, on 13 July, those internal elections were held in which he achieved the second place with 36% of the votes, in comparison to the 48% of Pedro Sánchez and the 15% of José Antonio Perez Tapias. After the elections, he decided not to take part in Sanchez's new Executive Committee, and to return as
428-588: A considerable number of words from Arabic , as well as a minor influence from the Germanic Gothic language through the period of Visigoth rule in Iberia. In addition, many more words were borrowed from Latin through the influence of written language and the liturgical language of the Church. The loanwords were taken from both Classical Latin and Renaissance Latin , the form of Latin in use at that time. According to
535-517: A dramatic change in the pronunciation of its sibilant consonants , known in Spanish as the reajuste de las sibilantes , which resulted in the distinctive velar [x] pronunciation of the letter ⟨j⟩ and—in a large part of Spain—the characteristic interdental [θ] ("th-sound") for the letter ⟨z⟩ (and for ⟨c⟩ before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ ). See History of Spanish (Modern development of
642-476: A first language by Spaniards and educated Filipinos ( Ilustrados ). Despite a public education system set up by the colonial government, by the end of Spanish rule in 1898, only about 10% of the population had knowledge of Spanish, mostly those of Spanish descent or elite standing. Spanish continued to be official and used in Philippine literature and press during the early years of American administration after
749-621: A joint statute of autonomy in 1932, was granted a separate chartered statute in 1982. Currently there is no official capital in the autonomous community, but the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz , in the province of Álava, is the de facto capital as the location of the Basque Parliament , the headquarters of the Basque Government , and the residence of the President of the Basque Autonomous Community (the Palace of Ajuria Enea ). The High Court of Justice of
856-582: A large majority of that Parliament in January 2005. Since the first autonomic cabinet, the Basque Nationalist Party has held office in the Basque Autonomous Community except for a 2009–2012 term, led by Patxi López (PSE-PSOE). The current Basque prime minister is Iñigo Urkullu , also a member of the Basque Nationalist Party . Despite ETA 's ceasefire in 2011, this autonomous community shows
963-471: A long history in the territory of the current-day United States dating back to the 16th century. In the wake of the 1848 Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty , hundreds of thousands of Spanish speakers became a minoritized community in the United States. The 20th century saw further massive growth of Spanish speakers in areas where they had been hitherto scarce. According to the 2020 census, over 60 million people of
1070-508: A percentage slightly higher than the EU average (10.8%), but still ahead of the Spanish overall unemployment rate of around 16.55%, the second highest in the EU. Unemployment rate (December data) (%) In regards to GDP performance, 2017 was a remarkably positive year for the Basque Autonomous Community. It underwent an increase in GDP of 3.0%, close to the Spanish increase, 3.1%. In the last term of 2013,
1177-498: A primarily Hassaniya Arabic -speaking territory, Spanish was officially spoken as the language of the colonial administration during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Spanish is present in the partially-recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as its secondary official language, and in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf ( Algeria ), where the Spanish language is still taught as
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#17328842038131284-436: A professor to his duties at the university. Basque Country (autonomous community) The Basque Autonomous Community [ / b æ s k , b ɑː s k / A.C.] ( Basque : Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa (EAE) ; Spanish : Comunidad Autónoma Vasca (CAV) , French : Communauté Autonome du Pays Basque (CAPV) ), also officially called Euskadi [ /eus̺kadi/ ], is an autonomous community in northern Spain. It includes
1391-599: A second language features characteristics involving the variability of the vowel system. While far from its heyday during the Spanish protectorate in Morocco , the Spanish language has some presence in northern Morocco , stemming for example from the availability of certain Spanish-language media. According to a 2012 survey by Morocco's Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES), penetration of Spanish in Morocco reaches 4.6% of
1498-518: A second language, largely by Cuban educators. The number of Spanish speakers is unknown. Spanish is also an official language of the African Union . Spanish was an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish administration in 1565 to a constitutional change in 1973. During Spanish colonization , it was the language of government, trade, and education, and was spoken as
1605-515: A specialist in the European Parliament and has taught international relations and European construction at several Spanish universities. He is currently associate professor of contemporary history in Madrid at Carlos III University . He previously directed and presented a program of musical content on Radio 3 called "El Archiduc". In 2012 he was chosen among the most outstanding young people in
1712-526: A wide variety of flora (visitors view them mainly in the spring) and fauna (visitors with binoculars arrive all during the year, because of the birds migratory habits). The Basque mountains form the watershed and also mark the distinct climatic areas of the Basque Country: The northern valleys, in Biscay and Gipuzkoa and also the valley of Ayala in Álava, are part of Green Spain , where the oceanic climate
1819-530: Is Mexico . Spanish is part of the Ibero-Romance language group , in which the language is also known as Castilian ( castellano ). The group evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century, and the first systematic written use of
1926-416: Is cognate to the root word of satisfacer ("to satisfy"), and hecho ("made") is similarly cognate to the root word of satisfecho ("satisfied"). Compare the examples in the following table: Some consonant clusters of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these languages, as shown in the examples in the following table: In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish underwent
2033-413: Is also one of the most taught foreign languages throughout the world. Spanish is well represented in the humanities and social sciences . Spanish is also the third most used language on the internet by number of users after English and Chinese and the second most used language by number of websites after English. Spanish is used as an official language by many international organizations , including
2140-647: Is an accepted version of this page Spanish ( español ) or Castilian ( castellano ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe . Today, it is a global language with about 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Americas and Spain , and about 600 million when including second language speakers. Spanish
2247-602: Is composed of 25 representatives from each of the three provinces. The Basque Parliament elects the Lehendakari (President of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country) who forms a government following regular parliamentary procedures. Until 2020, except for the 2009–2012 period, all Lehendakaris (even those in 1937 and during the exile) have been members of the Basque Nationalist Party (Euzko Alderdi Jeltzalea) (moderate and Christian-Democrat ) since 1978. Since 1982 until
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#17328842038132354-449: Is estimated that about 486 million people speak Spanish as a native language , making it the second most spoken language by number of native speakers . An additional 75 million speak Spanish as a second or foreign language , making it the fourth most spoken language in the world overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi with a total number of 538 million speakers. Spanish is also
2461-662: Is ethnically Basque. The Basque Government used the " Laurak Bat ", which included the arms of Navarre, as its symbol for many years. The Navarrese Government protested, and tribunals ruled in their favour. The Basque Government replaced it with an empty red field. Navarre is one of the historical Basque territories and even claimed by the Basque nationalists as the core of the Basque nation. There are also two enclaves surrounded by Basque territory— Treviño (Basque: Trebiñu ) and Valle de Villaverde (Basque: Villaverde-Turtzioz )—which belong to
2568-740: Is heavily influenced by Venezuelan Spanish. In addition to sharing most of its borders with Spanish-speaking countries, the creation of Mercosur in the early 1990s induced a favorable situation for the promotion of Spanish language teaching in Brazil . In 2005, the National Congress of Brazil approved a bill, signed into law by the President , making it mandatory for schools to offer Spanish as an alternative foreign language course in both public and private secondary schools in Brazil. In September 2016 this law
2675-468: Is predominant, with its wet weather all year round and moderate temperatures. Precipitation average is about 1200 mm. The middle section is influenced more by the continental climate , but with a varying degree of the northern oceanic climate. This gives warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. The Ebro valley has a pure continental climate: winters are cold and dry and summers very warm and dry, with precipitation peaking in spring and autumn. Due to
2782-806: Is spoken by very small communities in Angola due to Cuban influence from the Cold War and in South Sudan among South Sudanese natives that relocated to Cuba during the Sudanese wars and returned for their country's independence. Spanish is also spoken in the integral territories of Spain in Africa, namely the cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands , located in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 km (62 mi) off
2889-804: Is the de facto national language of the country, Spanish is often used in public services and notices at the federal and state levels. Spanish is also used in administration in the state of New Mexico . The language has a strong influence in major metropolitan areas such as those of Los Angeles , Miami , San Antonio , New York , San Francisco , Dallas , Tucson and Phoenix of the Arizona Sun Corridor , as well as more recently, Chicago , Las Vegas , Boston , Denver , Houston , Indianapolis , Philadelphia , Cleveland , Salt Lake City , Atlanta , Nashville , Orlando , Tampa , Raleigh and Baltimore-Washington, D.C. due to 20th- and 21st-century immigration. Although Spanish has no official recognition in
2996-491: Is the official language of 20 countries , as well as one of the six official languages of the United Nations . Spanish is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese ; the world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English , Mandarin Chinese, and Hindustani ( Hindi - Urdu ); and the world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers
3103-567: Is usually assumed to be derived from castillo ('castle'). In the Middle Ages , the language spoken in Castile was generically referred to as Romance and later also as Lengua vulgar . Later in the period, it gained geographical specification as Romance castellano ( romanz castellano , romanz de Castiella ), lenguaje de Castiella , and ultimately simply as castellano (noun). Different etymologies have been suggested for
3210-515: Is widely known as Greater Bilbao . With 28.2% of the Basque Country population born outside this region, immigration is crucial to Basque demographics. Over the 20th century most of this immigration came from other parts of Spain, typically from Galicia or Castile and León . Over recent years, sizeable numbers of this population have returned to their birthplaces and most immigration to the Basque country now comes from abroad, chiefly from South America. As of 2018, there were 151,519 foreigners in
3317-482: The 2012 Basque parliamentary election , the PNV obtained a plurality of the votes, followed by the left-wing nationalist coalition EH Bildu ( Eusko Alkartasuna , Sortu , Alternatiba ). In 2016 the Basque regional election was held on 25 September to elect the 11th Parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community, which left a hung parliament , with the combination of Basque nationalist parties (PNV and EH Bildu ) representing
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3424-523: The Ecofin , with a full membership, in order to defend Basque interests in line with Basque reality and fiscal status, and not as a Spanish subsidiary. The strategic geographical location of the Basque Country as a link between the northwest and centre of Spain and the rest of Europe makes this territory heavily transited. The main backbones of road transport are the AP-8 motorway which links Bilbao, San Sebastián and
3531-463: The European Union and 30% higher than Spain's average in 2016 at €34,400. In 2019, the community showed a surplus in public finances, at 0.3% of the GDP. Industrial activities were traditionally centred on steel and shipbuilding, mainly due to the rich iron ore resources found during the 19th century around Bilbao. The Estuary of Bilbao was the centre of Euskadi's Industrial Revolution during
3638-580: The PSE-EE , and between 2008 and 2014 he is also a member of the PSOE 's Federal Executive Committee. During his term of office, he participated in Julio Medem 's documentary The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone , and has always defended the need for a dialogue with ETA to end the violence. In the general elections of 2008, he ran as head of his party for Vizcaya, which won in his circumscription. In April 2009 he
3745-529: The Provincias Vascongadas since 1833 . The political structure of the new autonomous community is defined in the Gernika Statute , which was approved by a majority in a referendum held on 25 October 1979. Nowadays it is one of the most decentralised regions in the world; in this regard it has been described as having " more autonomy than just about any other in Europe " by The Economist . As regards
3852-557: The Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative in March 2005. Spanish has historically had a significant presence on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba , Bonaire and Curaçao ( ABC Islands ) throughout the centuries and in present times. The majority of the populations of each island (especially Aruba) speaking Spanish at varying although often high degrees of fluency. The local language Papiamentu (Papiamento on Aruba)
3959-562: The Spanish–American War but was eventually replaced by English as the primary language of administration and education by the 1920s. Nevertheless, despite a significant decrease in influence and speakers, Spanish remained an official language of the Philippines upon independence in 1946, alongside English and Filipino , a standardized version of Tagalog . Spanish was briefly removed from official status in 1973 but reimplemented under
4066-798: The United Nations , European Union , Organization of American States , Union of South American Nations , Community of Latin American and Caribbean States , African Union , among others. In Spain and some other parts of the Spanish-speaking world, Spanish is called not only español but also castellano (Castilian), the language from the Kingdom of Castile , contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician , Basque , Asturian , Catalan/Valencian , Aragonese , Occitan and other minor languages. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses
4173-681: The Zadorra River and Bayas River . From the southern mountains to the Ebro is the so-called Rioja Alavesa , which shares the Mediterranean characteristics of other Ebro Valley zones. Some of Spain's production of Rioja wine takes place here. The Plaiaundi Ecology Park is a 24-hectare coastal wetland lying where the Bidasoa River meets the sea in the Bay of Biscay . The nature of Plaiaundi consists of
4280-464: The "NO" vote in this referendum was also higher in the Basque Country than in the rest of the state. All in all, many Basques believe that they are not bound to a constitution that they never endorsed. The Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country is an organic law but powers have been devolved gradually during decades according to re-negotiations between the Spanish and the consecutive Basque regional governments to reach an effective implementation, while
4387-583: The 19th and the first half of the 20th century. These activities decayed during the economic crisis of the 1970s and 1980s, giving ground for the development of the services sector and new technologies. Today, the strongest industrial sectors of the Basque Country's economy are the manufacturing sector , present in the valleys of Biscay and Gipuzkoa; aeronautics and logistics in Vitoria-Gasteiz; and finance and energy , in Bilbao. The biggest companies in
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4494-404: The 2021–2022 school year alone. The local business process outsourcing industry has also helped boost the language's economic prospects. Today, while the actual number of proficient Spanish speakers is around 400,000, or under 0.5% of the population, a new generation of Spanish speakers in the Philippines has likewise emerged, though speaker estimates vary widely. Aside from standard Spanish,
4601-531: The 20th century due to heavy immigration from other parts of Spain, the virtual nonexistence of Basque-language schooling, and national policies implemented by the different Spanish régimes (see Language policies of Francoist Spain ). After the advent of the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country in 1982 following Franco's death, this reductive trend was gradually reversed thanks to the Basque-language schools and
4708-574: The 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara , and to areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City . For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language . Spanish is the primary language in 20 countries worldwide. As of 2023, it
4815-452: The Basque Autonomous Community, 33.9% were fluent Basque speakers, 19.1% passive speakers and 47% did not speak Basque. The proportion of Basque speakers was again highest in Gipuzkoa (50.6%) and lowest in Álava (19.2%). The 2021 sociolinguistic survey found that 36.2% of the population above age 16 spoke Basque, 18.6% were passive speakers and 45.3% did not speak Basque. In Gipuzkoa 51.8% spoke
4922-402: The Basque Country has its headquarters in the city of Bilbao . Whilst Vitoria-Gasteiz is the largest municipality in area, with 277 km (107 sq mi), Bilbao is the largest in population, with 353,187 people, located in the province of Biscay within a conurbation of 875,552 people. The term Basque Country may also refer to the larger cultural region (Basque: Euskal Herria ), the home of
5029-497: The Basque Country are: BBVA , one of the largest financial institutions in the world and Spain's second largest bank; the multinational energy company Iberdrola (both of them have their headquarters in Bilbao); Mondragón Cooperative Corporation , the largest cooperative in the world; railway vehicle manufacturer CAF and Gamesa , the world's second largest wind turbine manufacturer. Eight out of ten Spanish municipalities with
5136-537: The Basque Country outperformed Spain in several parameters, but economic overall figures were highly variable. Spanish figures are subject to conspicuous seasonal fluctuation, relying on its tourist and services sectors, while Basque performance is rather based on mid- and long-term results, according with its more industrial focus. In the last quarter of 2017, unemployment in this autonomous community rose to 11.1% (8.43% in Gipuzkoa ), second lowest in Spain after Navarre , at
5243-639: The Basque Country still perform tax collection in their respective territories, but with limited margin in decision making under the Spanish and European governments. Under this intricate system, the Diputaciones Forales (Basque: Foru Aldundiak ) administer most of each of the provinces but are coordinated by the autonomous Basque Government (Spanish Gobierno Vasco , Basque: Eusko Jaurlaritza ). The autonomous community has its own police force (the Ertzaintza ), controls Education and Health Systems, and has
5350-443: The Basque country, 7% of the population. Roman Catholicism is, by far, the largest religion in Basque Country. In 2019, the proportion of Basques that identify themselves as Roman Catholic was 60%, while it is one of the most secularised communities of Spain: 24.6% were non-religious and 12.3% of Basques were atheist . Spanish and Basque are co-official in all territories of the autonomous community. The Basque-speaking areas in
5457-402: The Basque people, which includes the autonomous community. The following provinces make up the autonomous community: The Basque Country borders Cantabria and the Burgos province to the west, the Bay of Biscay to the north, France ( Nouvelle-Aquitaine ) and Navarre to the east and La Rioja (the Ebro River ) to the south. The territory has three distinct areas, which are defined by
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#17328842038135564-408: The Basque political process . A specific approach to the national realities in Spain was eventually diffused by a legal provision allowing for the establishment of autonomous administrations and parliaments to any region in Spain (e.g. Castile and León , Catalonia , the Valencian Community , etc.), while the Basques, Catalans, and Galicians were acknowledged historic specificity. The provinces in
5671-480: The Basque provinces of Araba , Bizkaia , and Gipuzkoa . It also surrounds an enclave called Treviño . The Basque Country was granted the status of nationality , attributed by the Spanish Constitution of 1978 . The autonomous community is based on the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country , a foundational legal document providing the framework for the development of the Basque people on Southern Basque Country . Parallelly, Navarre , which narrowly rejected
5778-404: The Catalan independence referendum and lashed out at the Spanish government's stance on the issue, denouncing any measures it may take against the vote or 'democracy' altogether. Besides supporting the vote, Basques of this community showed a preference for further self-government (43.5%), with independence and present-day status quo ranking as second and third options (22.6% and 18.9%). In 2016,
5885-523: The Equatoguinean education system and is the primary language used in government and business. Whereas it is not the mother tongue of virtually any of its speakers, the vast majority of the population is proficient in Spanish. The Instituto Cervantes estimates that 87.7% of the population is fluent in Spanish. The proportion of proficient Spanish speakers in Equatorial Guinea exceeds the proportion of proficient speakers in other West and Central African nations of their respective colonial languages. Spanish
5992-669: The French border and the A-1 motorway which links San Sebastián and Vitoria-Gasteiz with central Spain. Other important routes include the AP-68 motorway which links Bilbao with the Mediterranean. Euskal Trenbide Sarea ( Basque Railway Network ) is the Basque Government-owned company that maintains and creates the railway infrastructure in the autonomous region. Euskotren is the Basque Government-owned narrow gauge rail company that operates commuter services in Bilbao and San Sebastián, intercity Bilbao-San Sebastián service, and Euskotren Tranbia tram services in Bilbao and Vitoria-Gasteiz. Metro Bilbao operates two metro lines that serve
6099-402: The Greater Bilbao area while Euskotren operates a third which opened in 2017. Euskotren operates a metro-like service in the San Sebastián area. The Spanish government owns two main RENFE broad gauge lines that link Vitoria-Gasteiz with San Sebastián and Bilbao with central Spain. It also operates Cercanías commuter lines in both Bilbao and San Sebastián. Spanish language This
6206-577: The Iberian Peninsula. These languages included Proto-Basque , Iberian , Lusitanian , Celtiberian and Gallaecian . The first documents to show traces of what is today regarded as the precursor of modern Spanish are from the 9th century. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era , the most important influences on the Spanish lexicon came from neighboring Romance languages — Mozarabic ( Andalusi Romance ), Navarro-Aragonese , Leonese , Catalan/Valencian , Portuguese , Galician , Occitan , and later, French and Italian . Spanish also borrowed
6313-424: The Old Spanish sibilants) for details. The Gramática de la lengua castellana , written in Salamanca in 1492 by Elio Antonio de Nebrija , was the first grammar written for a modern European language. According to a popular anecdote, when Nebrija presented it to Queen Isabella I , she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire. In his introduction to
6420-443: The Royal Spanish Academy) states that, although the Royal Spanish Academy prefers to use the term español in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms— español and castellano —are regarded as synonymous and equally valid. The term castellano is related to Castile ( Castilla or archaically Castiella ), the kingdom where the language was originally spoken. The name Castile , in turn,
6527-414: The Spanish Congress from this autonomous community in the 2019 November general election in contrast with their rise and important presence in the overall Spanish results. The statute, insofar as it is addressed and provides an administrative framework for the Basque people, provides the mechanisms for neighbouring Navarre to join the three western provinces if it wishes to do so, since at least part of it
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#17328842038136634-400: The State. ... The other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities... The Royal Spanish Academy ( Real Academia Española ), on the other hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. However, from 1713 to 1923, it called the language castellano . The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (a language guide published by
6741-502: The U.S. population were of Hispanic or Hispanic American by origin. In turn, 41.8 million people in the United States aged five or older speak Spanish at home, or about 13% of the population. Spanish predominates in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico , where it is also an official language along with English. Spanish is by far the most common second language in the country, with over 50 million total speakers if non-native or second-language speakers are included. While English
6848-399: The administration of Ferdinand Marcos two months later. It remained an official language until the ratification of the present constitution in 1987, in which it was re-designated as a voluntary and optional auxiliary language. Additionally, the constitution, in its Article XIV, stipulates that the Government shall provide the people of the Philippines with a Spanish-language translation of
6955-405: The bounds to the Spanish Constitution, Basque nationalists cite the fact that in the 1978 Spanish Constitution referendum, which was passed with a majority of votes and a poor turnout in this area, the Basque Country had the highest abstention (the Basque Nationalist Party had endorsed abstention on the grounds that the Constitution was being forced upon them without any Basque input). To this,
7062-566: The classic hispanus or hispanicus took the suffix -one from Vulgar Latin , as happened with other words such as bretón (Breton) or sajón (Saxon). Like the other Romance languages , the Spanish language evolved from Vulgar Latin , which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans during the Second Punic War , beginning in 210 BC. Several pre-Roman languages (also called Paleohispanic languages )—some distantly related to Latin as Indo-European languages , and some that are not related at all—were previously spoken in
7169-407: The coast are the Bilbao Abra Bay and the Estuary of Bilbao , the Urdaibai estuary and the Bidasoa-Txingudi Bay that forms the border with France. Between the two mountain ranges, the area is occupied mainly by a high plateau called Llanada Alavesa (the Álava Plains), where the capital Vitoria-Gasteiz is located. The rivers flow south from the mountains to the Ebro River. The main rivers are
7276-446: The consonant written b (a bilabial with plosive and fricative allophones). In modern Spanish, there is no difference between the pronunciation of orthographic b and v . Typical of Spanish (as also of neighboring Gascon extending as far north as the Gironde estuary , and found in a small area of Calabria ), attributed by some scholars to a Basque substratum was the mutation of Latin initial f into h- whenever it
7383-404: The country's constitution. In recent years changing attitudes among non-Spanish speaking Filipinos have helped spur a revival of the language, and starting in 2009 Spanish was reintroduced as part of the basic education curriculum in a number of public high schools, becoming the largest foreign language program offered by the public school system, with over 7,000 students studying the language in
7490-622: The different national identities (Basque, Catalan and Galician). A negotiation between UCD 's Suárez in office and PNV led to the establishment of the Basque statute, with its first article stating that the Basque people ( Euskal Herria ) takes on an institutional personality in the form of the Basque Autonomous Community; the 2nd article goes on to establish that it may be constituted by Álava, Biscay, Gipuzkoa, as well as Navarre . Provincial councils provided with actual relevant attributions (taxation, etc.) were restored to these provinces (called therefore diputación foral ), but Navarre detached from
7597-464: The fellow neighbouring communities of Castile and León and Cantabria respectively, for which a legal connection to the Basque Country has become an on-off matter of political discussion. The Basque Autonomous Community ranks first in Spain in terms of per capita product , it's the most economically productive region of the country with a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (adjusted to purchasing power parity, PPP) being 22% higher than that of
7704-661: The following table: Spanish is marked by palatalization of the Latin double consonants ( geminates ) nn and ll (thus Latin annum > Spanish año , and Latin anellum > Spanish anillo ). The consonant written u or v in Latin and pronounced [w] in Classical Latin had probably " fortified " to a bilabial fricative /β/ in Vulgar Latin. In early Spanish (but not in Catalan or Portuguese) it merged with
7811-466: The former British colony of Belize (known until 1973 as British Honduras ) where English is the sole official language, according to the 2022 census, 54% of the total population are able to speak the language. Due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking countries and small existing native Spanish speaking minority, Trinidad and Tobago has implemented Spanish language teaching into its education system. The Trinidadian and Tobagonian government launched
7918-495: The future. The current laws configure the autonomous community as a federation of its present-day three constituent provinces. These western Basque districts kept governing themselves by their own laws and institutions even after the Castilian invasion in 1199–1200. The new king upheld their institutional system issued from the consuetudinary law prevalent in Basque and Pyrenean territories. This limited self-government, similar to
8025-584: The grammar, dated 18 August 1492, Nebrija wrote that "... language was always the companion of empire." From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Spanish-discovered America and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization of America . Miguel de Cervantes , author of Don Quixote , is such a well-known reference in the world that Spanish is often called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes"). In
8132-581: The highest rate of police per 100 inhabitants in Western Europe by 2018. As agreed with the Spanish premier Zapatero in 2004, Urkullu intends to increase the figure of ertzainas , while the Spanish PP 's Ministry of Interior rejects a pullback of Spanish police bodies, as demanded by the large majority of the political forces in the autonomous parliament, even pointing to an increase of the Guardia Civil in
8239-547: The language happened in Toledo , a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile , in the 13th century. Spanish colonialism in the early modern period spurred the introduction of the language to overseas locations, most notably to the Americas. As a Romance language, Spanish is a descendant of Latin. Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary is Latin in origin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek. Alongside English and French , it
8346-479: The language's hegemony in an intensely centralising Spanish state were established from the 18th century onward. Other European territories in which it is also widely spoken include Gibraltar and Andorra . Spanish is also spoken by immigrant communities in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom , France , Italy , and Germany . Spanish is an official language of the European Union . Today,
8453-731: The language, in Biscay 30.6%, and in Álava 22.4% did The forerunner of the Gernika Statute was the short-lived Statute of Autonomy for Álava, Gipuzkoa and Biscay, which came to be enforced in October 1936 just in Biscay, with the Spanish Civil War already raging, and which was automatically abolished when the Spanish Nationalist troops occupied the territory. Before the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and its system of autonomous communities, these three provinces were known in Spanish as
8560-463: The largest wedge in the parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community, the main Spanish parties PP and PSOE's branches occupying a 24% of the seats, and Podemos – Ahal Dugu accounting for 11 seats (14.66% of the total). However, the leading party PNV renewed its traditional alliance with the PSE to form government. During the 2017 Catalan referendum crisis, the parliament showed its sympathy and support to
8667-516: The late 1990s, Basque nationalists ideologically closer to ETA refused to turn out in the Basque parliament, a significant wedge of the parliament. Currently, the Basque Government is headed by Iñigo Urkullu ( PNV ). ETA's permanent ceasefire (2010–2011) opened the possibility of new governmental alliances and has enabled EH Bildu's electoral success and rise to governmental institutions ( Gipuzkoa , and capital city Donostia , 2011–2015). In
8774-679: The left leg at the height of his knee. As a consequence of the injuries suffered he had to leave his volleyball team, the UPV Bizkaia, where he played professionally. Two years later he received the Constitutional Merit Medal along with other victims of terrorism. The trial against the alleged perpetrators of the attack in the Supreme Court ;of Spain began on 12 November 2006. Iker Olabarrieta and Asier Arzalluz, members of ETA, were sentenced to 20 years in prison. The first
8881-404: The lowest unemployment rates were found across this autonomous community in 2015, highlighting such towns as Arrasate , Portugalete and Barakaldo with a strong manufacturing industrial make-up. The Basque Autonomous Community ranked above other communities in Spain in terms of resilience in the face of the economic crisis, going on to become a beacon and a subject of study in Europe. In 2013
8988-686: The majority of the Spanish speakers live in Hispanic America . Nationally, Spanish is the official language—either de facto or de jure —of Argentina , Bolivia (co-official with 36 indigenous languages), Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico (co-official with 63 indigenous languages), Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay (co-official with Guaraní ), Peru (co-official with Quechua , Aymara , and "the other indigenous languages"), Puerto Rico (co-official with English), Uruguay , and Venezuela . Spanish language has
9095-538: The modern-day autonomous community are set against the wider context of the Basque language, spoken to the east in Navarre and the French Basque Country. The whole Basque-speaking territory has experienced both decline and expansion in its history. The Basque language experienced a gradual territorial contraction throughout the last nine centuries, and very severe deterioration of its sociolinguistic status for much of
9202-519: The new education system. Basque has always had a strong presence in most of Gipuzkoa , central and eastern Biscay and the northern edge of Álava , while most Basque speakers in western Biscay and the rest of Álava are second-language speakers. The 2006 sociolinguistic survey of all Basque provinces showed that in 2006 of all people aged 16 and above in the Basque Autonomous Community, 30.1% were fluent Basque speakers, 18.3% passive speakers and 51.5% did not speak Basque. The percentage of Basque speakers
9309-711: The northwest of the African mainland. The Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands traces its origins back to the Castilian conquest in the 15th century , and, in addition to a resemblance to Western Andalusian speech patterns, it also features strong influence from the Spanish varieties spoken in the Americas, which in turn have also been influenced historically by Canarian Spanish. The Spanish spoken in North Africa by native bilingual speakers of Arabic or Berber who also speak Spanish as
9416-496: The one for Navarre , was partially suppressed in 1839 and totally in 1876 in exchange for an agreement on tax-collection and a number of administrative prerogatives. These in turn were suspended by Franco for Gipuzkoa and Biscay, but restored by the Spanish Constitution of 1978 . The post-Franco Spanish Constitution of 1978 acknowledges historical rights and attempts a compromise in the old conflict between centralism and
9523-463: The parliament of the autonomous community passed a Police Abuses Act spanning the period between 1978 and 1999; it was shortly repealed after challenged by the public prosecutor and appealed also by virtually all police and Civil Guard unions. Incoming Spanish premier Pedro Sanchez agreed to lift the public prosecutor's block on the law in exchange for altering its content. Right-wing parties in Spain, Vox , PP, and Ciudadanos , sent one MP out of 18 to
9630-529: The population. Many northern Moroccans have rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, with Spanish being particularly significant in areas adjacent to Ceuta and Melilla. Spanish also has a presence in the education system of the country (through either selected education centers implementing Spain's education system, primarily located in the North, or the availability of Spanish as foreign language subject in secondary education). In Western Sahara , formerly Spanish Sahara ,
9737-496: The proximity to the ocean however, the Ebro part of the Basque Country is moderate compared to areas further inland. Almost half of the 2,155,546 inhabitants of the Basque Autonomous Community live in the Bilbao metropolitan area , almost the entirety of the province of Biscay. Six of the ten most populous cities in the region form part of Bilbao's conurbation (Bilbao, Barakaldo , Getxo , Portugalete , Santurtzi and Basauri ), which
9844-658: The public debt of the Basque Autonomous Community stood at 13.00% of its GDP, totalling €3,753 per capita, as compared to Spain's overall 93.90%, totalling €20,383 per capita. The Basque Government's high-ranking officials, as well as Basque-based party leaders and personalities, have protested and voiced their concern over the detrimental effects of austerity measures passed by the Spanish Government as of 2011, overruling Basque taxation powers, may be having on industry and trade, especially export. Basque officials have strongly advocated for participation, along with Navarre, in
9951-415: The term castellano to define the official language of the whole of Spain, in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. "the other Spanish languages "). Article III reads as follows: El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. ... Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas... Castilian is the official Spanish language of
10058-592: The term español (Spanish). According to the Royal Spanish Academy, español derives from the Occitan word espaignol and that, in turn, derives from the Vulgar Latin * hispaniolus ('of Hispania'). Hispania was the Roman name for the entire Iberian Peninsula . There are other hypotheses apart from the one suggested by the Royal Spanish Academy. Spanish philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal suggested that
10165-444: The theories of Ramón Menéndez Pidal , local sociolects of Vulgar Latin evolved into Spanish, in the north of Iberia, in an area centered in the city of Burgos , and this dialect was later brought to the city of Toledo , where the written standard of Spanish was first developed, in the 13th century. In this formative stage, Spanish developed a strongly differing variant from its close cousin, Leonese , and, according to some authors,
10272-737: The third most used language on the Internet , after English and Chinese. Spanish is the official language of Spain . Upon the emergence of the Castilian Crown as the dominant power in the Iberian Peninsula by the end of the Middle Ages, the Romance vernacular associated with this polity became increasingly used in instances of prestige and influence, and the distinction between "Castilian" and "Spanish" started to become blurred. Hard policies imposing
10379-470: The transfer of many powers are still due and has always been a matter of heated political discussion. Basque nationalists often put down this limitation in the devolution of powers to concessions made to appease the military involved in the 23-F coup d'état attempt (1981). In 2003, the governing Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) proposed to alter this statute through the Ibarretxe Plan . The Ibarretxe bill
10486-656: The two parallel ranges of the Basque Mountains . The main range of mountains forms the watershed between the Atlantic and Mediterranean basins. The highest point of the range is in the Aizkorri massif (1551 m). The three areas are: Formed by many valleys with short rivers that flow from the mountains to the Bay of Biscay , like the Nervión , Urola or Oria . The coast is rough, with high cliffs and small inlets. The main features of
10593-579: The world by the Forum of Davos ( World Economic Forum ) within the YGL programme ( Young Global Leaders ). Madina was the victim of a terrorist attack when he was driving, without an escort, from his home to his job in Sestao , on 19 February 2002. A bomb placed on the underside of his car by a unit of the separatist group ETA , composed of Iker Olabarrieta and Asier Arzalluz, caused him serious injuries, including amputation of
10700-672: Was appointed Secretary General of the Socialist Parliamentary Group. After the defeat of the party in the European elections of 2014, the Secretary General of the PSOE, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba , resigned and convoked a congress to choose the new leader of the party. Madina, who was one of the first members of the party that called for primary elections with the direct vote of the militants, announced his candidacy on 14 June. He ran
10807-719: Was approved by absolute majority in the Basque Parliament after much discussion, as it was subject to lengthy legal objections—on the grounds that it contradicts the Spanish Constitution—;that were ultimately overcome. Despite its mandate of the majority of the autonomous Parliament, the main two parties in Spain (PSOE, PP) imposed a blockade on a discussion of the Plan in the Spanish Parliament ( Madrid Cortes Generales ), resulting in its rejection for debate by
10914-400: Was condemned as the material author of the assassination attempt, and the second as the instigator. Madina has been a member of Congress since 2004 when he was elected MP for Biscay . Previously, he was Secretary of Institutional Politics of the Socialist Youth of Euskadi until he became the Secretary General of the organisation between 2002 and 2005. He is currently a member of the board of
11021-630: Was developed in the cities of Toledo , in the 13th to 16th centuries, and Madrid , from the 1570s. The development of the Spanish sound system from that of Vulgar Latin exhibits most of the changes that are typical of Western Romance languages , including lenition of intervocalic consonants (thus Latin vīta > Spanish vida ). The diphthongization of Latin stressed short e and o —which occurred in open syllables in French and Italian, but not at all in Catalan or Portuguese—is found in both open and closed syllables in Spanish, as shown in
11128-604: Was distinguished by a heavy Basque influence (see Iberian Romance languages ). This distinctive dialect spread to southern Spain with the advance of the Reconquista , and meanwhile gathered a sizable lexical influence from the Arabic of Al-Andalus , much of it indirectly, through the Romance Mozarabic dialects (some 4,000 Arabic -derived words, make up around 8% of the language today). The written standard for this new language
11235-713: Was followed by a vowel that did not diphthongize. The h- , still preserved in spelling, is now silent in most varieties of the language, although in some Andalusian and Caribbean dialects, it is still aspirated in some words. Because of borrowings from Latin and neighboring Romance languages, there are many f -/ h - doublets in modern Spanish: Fernando and Hernando (both Spanish for "Ferdinand"), ferrero and herrero (both Spanish for "smith"), fierro and hierro (both Spanish for "iron"), and fondo and hondo (both words pertaining to depth in Spanish, though fondo means "bottom", while hondo means "deep"); additionally, hacer ("to make")
11342-420: Was highest in Gipuzkoa (49.1% speakers) and lowest in Álava (14.2%). These results represent an increase on previous years (29.5% in 2001, 27.7% in 1996 and 24.1% in 1991). The highest percentage of speakers was now found in the 16-24 age range (57.5%), while only 25.0% of those 65 and older reported speaking Basque. Ten years later, the sociolinguistic survey showed that in 2016 of all people aged 16 and above in
11449-462: Was revoked by Michel Temer after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff . In many border towns and villages along Paraguay and Uruguay, a mixed language known as Portuñol is spoken. Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country located entirely in Africa, with the language introduced during the Spanish colonial period . Enshrined in the constitution as an official language (alongside French and Portuguese), Spanish features prominently in
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