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The language of the northwestern Spanish province of Galicia, i.e. the Galician language, presents an older state of linguistic development than the current Portugese language, because it has much less detached itself from the formerly common Portugese language than the modern language nowadays spoken in Portugal.

From Galicia's annexation by Spain to recent days, the Galician language had many problems to survive beside the official Spanish language and only recently has it been accepted as a self-contained regional language.

The political situation (separation from the former motherland, Spanish being the country's official language, close neighborhood with Spanish people having settled there) has been leaving its mark, and establishing an official Galician spelling close to the Spanish one (called "isolationist" because it separates Galician from Portugese), the Spanish central government has been trying to prevent too much linguistic or even political fraternization with Portugal.

Nowadays there is also a (nonofficial) "reintegrationist" spelling, which is close to the Portugese language. Thus the Galician-speaking public is divided into two parties as for written texts.

As an anecdote coming from my own approach to the problems of the Galician language, I can contribute the following electronic exchange of ideas. I do not think the linguistic situation has been fundamentally changing during the last years.

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Question I Asked a Galician Newsgroup

The following exchange of mails unintentionally demonstrates the set of problems of the Galizian language:

question and answer text 

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This was the question I asked the newsgroup in Portugese language: "Who can tell me the book references of some Galician dictionary or grammar? Thank you!"

A man who apparently was a Galician native speaker answered in a mixture of Portugese and Galician with reintegrationist spelling: "Since you are writing in Portugese, you do not really need such a dictionary nor such a grammar. If you must absolutely know something on the Galician variant, I recommend you the Dicionário Estravis (the most extensive one of all) and as a grammar, the Estudo Crítico by the Associaçom Galega da Língua (the new edition). I can send you further references.
And if you are interested in the isolationist Galician language (written the Spanish way), you can consult the Dicionário Xerais (Dicionário Gerais) and the Gramática Galega by Rosário Álvarez.
My suggestion: Visit e.g. www.udc.es/dep/lx/cac/sopirrait."

Just one more note: Xerais is the isolationist spelling and Gerais is the reintegrationist spelling of one and the same name.

Galician Film Story

When the very recommendable Film El lunes al sol (Mondays in the Sun) started in Munich in original version, I vaguely hoped (in spite of the Spanish title) that the texts of at least some of the persons would be in Galician, because the whole story played in the harbor milieu of Vigo. Far from it! All in Spanish! Market and politics going hand in hand...

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Holidays at the end of the Way of St. James?   Excellent idea!   But where to stay?

Whether you are looking for a room, an apartment, a hotel, a guest house, or any other accommodation,
with board or without it, you can find it on

BOOKING.COM.

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Internet

Be aware of our legal reservation concerning any Internet reference.

Address / Owner

Content / Subjects

Xunta de Galicia

Official site of the regional government (Xunta) of Galicia (Spanish and Galician language, some governmental announcings per video only Spanish language). All Galician texts published here are naturally written in isolationist spelling (for more details see Galician or Portugese?).

Ensino en galego (Lessons in Galician Language)

„Taboleiro de anuncios sobre o ensino en lingua galega. Nel irei presentando software e utilidades que faciliten o achegamento das novas tecnoloxías ao eido educativo."

Many links to Blogs and Websites related to lessons in Galician language. Mainly in Galician and Spanish.

Normas ortográficas y morfológicas del idioma gallego (Orthographic and morphological standards of the Galician language)

„Por normativa del idioma gallego se entiende el conjunto de normas ortográficas y morfológicas que componen el idioma gallego. Fueron aprobadas el 12 de julio del 2003 por la Real Academia Gallega y todavía están en vigor."

Official specifications concerning the spelling and the structure of the Galician language. Detailed official presentation of the history of the the linguistical standardization of the Galician language. Spanish language.

Galician Language

In the English Wikipedia.

Detailed encyclopaedic article on the Galician language and its history.

Lengua gallega (or Idioma gallego or Gallego).

In the Spanish Wikipedia.

Detailed encyclopaedic article on the Galician language, its geographic area, and its history. With many links (mostly in Spanish).

Real Academia Galega

Portal of the Real Academia Galega (Galician, English and Spanish language), with mit extensive archives, libraries (with many digitized works in the virtual library), and dictionaries (somewhat hidden under Recursos lingüísticos).

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Bibliography

Using the following links you can have a look at the offers of amazon. Arriving at the bookseller's site, you can use its search field to find expressions, titles, authors, or ISBN / ASIN numbers. You will never be obliged to buy anything.

Author / Title

Notes

Info / Purchase

Historia de Galicia: Desastre del Prestige, Tarraconense, Monforte de Lemos, Historia de La Lengua Gallega, Gallegos, Fern N Ruiz de Castro

Printed edition of the corresponding Wikipedia article, with a chapter on the Galician language (Spanish Edition).

amazon.ca, amazon.co.uk, amazon.de/at, amazon.es, amazon.fr, amazon.it.

Idioma gallego: Eonaviego, Historia de la lengua gallega, Normativa reintegracionista del idioma gallego

Printed edition of the corresponding Wikipedia article (Spanish Edition).

amazon.ca, amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.de/at, amazon.es, amazon.fr.

Ramón Mariño Paz, Historia de la Lengua Gallega

A very volumous and regrettably expensive book published in 2008, in official, i.e. "isolationist" Galician spelling.

amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.de/at, amazon.fr.

O principiño - Der kleine Prinz in Galizisch / Gallego

Translation of Saint-Exupéry's Le petit prince (The Little Prince) in Galician language. Such a short translated text offers an easy introduction to the language.

As shown by the title, this small book is written in isolationist spelling.

amazon.co.uk, amazon.de/at, amazon.es, amazon.fr

Hans-Rudolf Hower 2012

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Häufige Fragen - Webmaster

Last updated: April 5, 2016