Spanish Steps - Fact file - Regional identity

In Spain, the question ¿De dónde eres? Where are you from? is loaded with cultural significance and reveals a lot about modern Spain.

Spain itself is divided into 17 Comunidades Autónomas, autonomous regional authorities, each representing the country's culturally distinct regions. Spanish people are very proud of their regional origins, and for some these will often take precedence over their national allegiance. Thus some Spanish people prefer to say Soy de Canarias, I'm from the Canary Islands, or Soy gallego, I'm Galician, rather than Soy español, I'm Spanish.

This enriching combination of cultures can create tensions, particularly where regional languages are concerned. You will no doubt encounter these regional languages in the areas where they have official status.

The Spanish language is often called castellano, Castilian (as well as español). This derives from the region of Castilla, Castille, where the language originated.

In Catalonia, the language català (or catalán, Catalan in Castilian Spanish) is widely spoken by the local population. In el País Vasco, the Basque Country, euskara (or vasco, Basque) is spoken. Most of the local population of Galicia speak a language called galego (or gallego, Galician). Natives of la Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia and its region, speak valencià (or valenciano, Valencian) and in las Islas Baleares, the Balearic Islands, you will hear mallorquí (or mallorquín, Majorcan), regarded by many linguists as two varieties of the Catalan language.

In regions that have their own language, street signs are rarely in Castilian Spanish. For example in Galicia, for calle, street, you'll see rúa, as in Rúa Ramón Piñeiro, and in Catalonia, calle is carrer, as in Carrer de Sant Joan. Place names in the vernacular have also been given official status by the Spanish Parliament. So Gerona, Ibiza and San Sebastián are also known as Girona, Evissa and Donostia in their respective local languages.