Let's talk about the languages in Spain. In Spain, español is aka Castellano (Castilian Spanish). Castellano is spoken by 99% of the population and is one of four languages of Spain. The other three co-official languages are: Catalan (19%, spoken in Catalonia and the Valencia Community), Galician (5%, spoken in Galicia), and Basque (2%, spoken in Basque Country and Navarre).
Spain is made up of 17 autonomous communities (and 2 autonomous cities) created between 1979-1983. Each region is unique and proud of their heritage. Andalusia (capital is Seville), Catalonia (capital is Barcelona), and the Community of Madrid (capital is Madrid) are the most populous autonomous communities in Spain.
A little history... Around the 13th century, King Alfonso X declared Castilian as the official language for government documents and decrees. Then Isabella and Ferdinand declared Castilian Spanish to be the official dialect. Castilian Spanish quickly became the official language for all educational materials and official documents. Certain regions maintained different dialects, most notably Andalusian, spoken in and around Seville. During the dictatorship of Franco (1936-1975) many of these languages in Spain were repressed. However, with the arrival of democracy these regional languages in Spain have been able to flourish again.
Sources: https://www.trustedtranslations.com/spanish-language/history-of-spanish/in-spain.asp; http://www.spainbuddy.com/spain-info/; https://www.donquijote.org/spanish-culture/history/languages-spain/; https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-autonomous-communities-of-spain.html
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