The Spanish Constitution establishes in Article 3 that Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State and that all Spaniards have a duty to know it and the right to use it. The other Spanish languages shall also be official in the respective Autonomous Communities in accordance with their statutes.
Furthermore, it sets down that the wealth of the different linguistic forms of Spain is a cultural heritage which shall be especially respected and protected. The Constitution, together with legislation of the bilingual Communities of Spain, is an advanced legal corpus regarding the acknowledgement of linguistic rights, without prejudice to the Spanish or Castilian language. The official language of the State, Castilian, is the language of the former kingdom of Castile.
When it spread across the world in the 16 th and 17 th centuries, it became increasingly referred to as «Spanish». Since then both names have coexisted. Internationally, the most widely accepted name is «Spanish», while «Castilian» tends to be used in the north of Spain and in its bilingual areas, as well as across vast regions of South America.
Like the other Romance languages, Spanish was formed over the long period ranging from the 4 th to the 10 th centuries as a result of the fragmentation of Latin. In the 13 th century it was already a language of culture. The popular epic gave rise to Cantar de Mio Cid , an anonymous 12 th century poem that suggests the existence of an old literary tradition prior to it. In the early 16 th century, Castilian had spread throughout the Iberian Peninsula and was becoming an international language.
In the dissemination of the Spanish language, its arrival in America in was to be crucial. Castilian was to be the language that travelled to the new overseas territories and, once there, it was to borrow many words from the indigenous languages. Instituto Cervantes Ministry of the Presidency Spanish is a language that has been growing virtually since the 16 th century, and time has not held it back. In the late 19 th century there were around 60 million speakers.
Over a century later, Spanish, with million native speakers, is the second most spoken language in the world as a native language after Chinese and ahead of English and Hindi. It is one of the three languages which are habitually considered an official working language in multiple international organisations and one of the six official languages of the United Nations.
Today it is the official language around twenty countries across the world. The USA, with its 50 million Hispanics, is the second country in the world in terms of the number of Spanish speakers, after Mexico, and ahead of Spain, Colombia and Argentina.
Another significant fact is that Spanish is spoken by In the Instituto Cervantes was founded to universally promote Spanish and disseminate culture in Spanish language. It is a non-profit body with the main governing body being the board of trustees, whose honorary president is the King of Spain.
The Executive Presidency corresponds to the president of the Government. Together with Castilian, Catalan is the official language of the Autonomous Communities of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands Catalan first appears in written documents in the second half of the 12 th century.
Legal, economic, religious and historical texts written in Catalan have been preserved since that time. The first great universal literary talent in this language appeared in the 13 th century: Ramon Llull. He was the first writer to use Catalan in literary prose as normal instrument of communication and as a tool for cultural expression. After the War of Succession , the use of Catalan was restricted and at times prohibited.
This means that the greater or lesser implantation and use of the language in its own territory since the 18 th century has depended more on political reasons than on strictly sociocultural reasons. Article 7 of the Statute of Regional Autonomy of Comunidad Valenciana establishes that the two official languages of the Autonomous Community are Valencian and Castilian and later states that the Generalitat Valenciana shall guarantee the normal and official use of both languages, adopting the necessary measures to ensure its comprehension.
In addition, it states that special protection and respect for the recovery of Valencian shall be afforded. It achieved its highest literary splendour in the 15 th century and part of the 17 th century. The dukes of Calabria commenced a gradual process of writing more documents in Castilian, but its presence continued in daily use. Article 3 of the above Act says the purpose of the academy is to determine and compile, if applicable, the linguistic rules of the Valencian language.
Basque is one of the oldest languages in Europe. Its origins are subject to a wide range of hypotheses; some linguists argue that it could be related to Caucasian languages, due to certain similarities with Georgian. Since then many rules have been developed and various bodies and institutions have been created in order to recover the linguistic ability, use and status of Basque.
The rules of this language have been established by the Royal Academy of the Basque Language Euskaltazindia , founded in Its literature thrived in the Middle Ages. In the 19 th century there emerged a cultural movement known as the « Rexurdimento » resurgence with the aim of preserving the distinctive features of Galicia, including its language.
In the Galician Royal Academy was established. This represented the institutionalization of the Galician language and rules regarding its idiomatic usage. The Constitution and subsequent linguistic and educational regulation of Galicia have enabled Galician to be used in schools and as a respected language in social communication. In accordance with article 6 of the Spanish Constitution, the political parties express political pluralism, contribute to the formation and expression of the will of the people and are an essential instrument for political participation.
The Constitution protects its creation and activity and determines that its structure and operation should be democratic. It sets down and specifies the constitutional requirements of organisation and functioning and of activity subject to the Constitution and to law, particularly as regards democratic principles and constitutional values which must be observed in its internal organisation and external activity.
Its aims are to ensure the functioning of the democratic system and essential freedom of citizens; prevent a political party from repeatedly and seriously jeopardising such democratic system of freedom, justifying racism and xenophobia and politically supporting the violence and activities of terrorist groups.
The system of moderate pluralist parties is characterised by the existence of regional and nationalist parties, reflecting the system of autonomous communities and the territorial organisation of the State. Some 3, parties are officially entered in the Register of Political Parties, although few have a minimum organisational capacity and even fewer have a significant national or regional parliamentary presence. Citizens of any other member country of the European Union can vote in local and municipal elections, as long as they are residents in Spain.
The Kingdom of Spain is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with the king as the head of state, the prime minister as the head of the executive branch of government, an independent system of courts as the judicial power, and the Parliament as the legislative arm of government.
The key to understanding the Spanish government lies in its name: Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy. There you have the three pillars on which Spain structures its government.
The Parliament gives it a democratic mandate. The Constitution defines the institutional and political organization of the country.
He can also ratify laws, dissolve the government, and call for new elections. Parliament elects the prime minister, the president of the Spanish government, who has no fixed term length. He or she conducts domestic and foreign policy and runs the country with help from the Council of Ministers.
Together, the Congress of Deputies and the Senate are responsible for enacting laws and maintaining a permanent open debate between all political parties. The senate has elected members and 57 members appointed by regional legislatures, while deputies make up the Congress. This is an independent power composed by a system of different courts local, regional, and national , with the Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo being the highest-ranking one.
The king appoints judges to the Tribunal Supremo. Congress of Deputies members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system. This Constitution served as a means to begin the Spanish transition to a democracy. Government Type: Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy. Coat of Arms of Kingdom of Spain. Municipalities with more than 5. Municipalities with more than Competences exercised in the conditions defined by State and Regional laws:.
Thus, there may be slight variations between the lists indicated in the general box on the division of competences and in the thematic boxes on each competence. It looks like your browser does not have JavaScript enabled. Please turn on JavaScript and try again.
Policy areas. Policies Area Spain - Summary. Spain intro. Legislative competences Procedural law; Legislation on market, criminal and penitentiary matters; Labour legislation; Civil legislation except in those Autonomous Communities where civil, foral or special law exists Intellectual and industrial property; Social insurance system; Basic legislation on environmental protection; Referenda.
Basic competences Regulation of standards ensuring equality among citizens in the exercise of their rights and compliance with constitutional duties; General planning of economic activity; Promotion and coordination of technical and scientific research; Guidelines and coordination of public health; legislation on pharmaceutics; Basic legislation on public administration and administrative procedures; Legislation and management of water of supra-regional interest; Energy resources policy; Legislation on arms; Basic legislation on communication channels; Defence of Spanish cultural and artistic heritage; State museums, libraries and archives; Regulation of standards in the field of academic and professional qualifications; Basic legislation relating to education; Statistics.
Regional level Autonomous Communities According to Article Local level[5] Provinces Provinces are responsible for: Competences in fields of supra-municipal interest; Technical, legal, and economic assistance to Municipalities with less than 5.
Municipalities[6] Municipalities must provide the following services: All the Municipalities: Public lightning; Cemetery; Waste collection; Cleaning; Drinking water supply systems; Sewage; Local public road maintenance Municipalities with more than 5. Competences exercised in the conditions defined by State and Regional laws: Urban planning, housing and heritage; Urban environment: parks and gardens, waste, protection against pollution.
Protection of the environment; Drinking water supplies; Road infrastructures; Social services, protection against social inclusion; Local police, civil protection, fire prevention and extinction; Traffic management and collective urban transport Tourism; Markets and fairs; Protection of public health; Cemeteries and funeral services; Promotion of sport and sport facilities; Promotion of culture and cultural facilities; Education; Promotion of efficient and sustainable use of IT; Promotion of gender equality and fight against domestic violence.
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