Names Given To The Spanish Language - Usage and Misconceptions Abroad

Usage and Misconceptions Abroad

This complex linguistic situation is obviously not always grasped by non-Spanish speakers (or even by Spanish speakers themselves). Some believe that the term español is not used in Spanish, or only in Spain, and that the term Spanish is therefore wrong. So, it is not uncommon in some politically correct circles to write Castilian or even Castellano in English texts, calling Spanish incorrect or imperialist. This can even lead to their rejecting the official ISO 639 code for Spanish (es) in favor of ca, with the consequence that Catalan then would have to be given ct.

Some philologists use "Castilian" only when speaking of the language spoken in Castile during the Middle Ages, stating that it is preferable to use "Spanish" for its modern form. The dialect of Spanish spoken in northern parts of modern Castile may also be called "Castilian." This dialect differs from those of other regions of Spain (Andalusia for example); the Castilian dialect is conventionally considered in Spain to be the same as standard Spanish.

Another use of Castilian in English is to distinguish between standard Spanish and regional dialects. As noted above, this distinction is made to some extent in Spanish, but not as far as some English speakers go — for example, websites with language selection screens giving the choice between Castilian Spanish and Latin American Spanish among other languages.

In the Americas, where Spanish is the native language of 20 countries, usage of castellano and español is sometimes reversed when referring to another nation. For example, a Peruvian, talking about a Uruguayan, might say Yo hablo en español peruano, él habla en español uruguayo, pero los dos hablamos castellano ("I speak Peruvian Spanish, he speaks Uruguayan Spanish, but we both speak Castilian"). This usage comes from the historical association of español with the language that was brought to America by conquistadores, and later transformed in each nation through daily usage, and castellano as the basis for all variants.