Modern Galician is classified as part of the West Iberian language group, a family of Romance languages. Galician evolved locally from Vulgar Latin and developed from what modern scholars have called Galician-Portuguese. Two languages are official and widely used today in Galicia: the native Galician; and Spanish, usually called Castilian.

Understanding the Context

While most Galicians are bilingual, a 2013 survey reported that 51% of the Galician population spoke Galician most often on a day-to-day basis, while 48% most often used Spanish. [16] Galician is natively spoken by approximately 2.4 million people, primarily in Spain's Galicia region. It is an Indo-European language that shares roots with Portuguese, reflecting the shared cultural and historical heritage of the two regions. You'll learn expressive Galician phrases, essential grammar, and natural speech patterns — clear, practical language you can start using immediately.

Key Insights

This course opens the door to speaking, listening, reading, and truly experiencing the Galician language and culture. Galician language, Romance language with many similarities to the Portuguese language, of which it was historically a dialect. It is now much influenced by standard Castilian Spanish. Since the end of the 20th century there has been gradual and continuing growth in the publication of Galician texts, as well as in the production of Galician-language films. Some Spanish-language newspapers have sections in the Galician language, and there are Galician radio and television stations.

Final Thoughts

The Galician language is also spoken by the Galician diaspora in various parts of the world, particularly in countries with historical ties to Galicia, such as Portugal, Brazil, and other Latin American countries. The Galician language, known as **Galego**, is a Romance language closely related to Portuguese. It is one of the official languages of Galicia and is a vital component of Galician identity.