The Linguistic Conflict and the Problem of Spain

Abstract

Countries go through good and bad times, just like people do. And just as it happens to people, the cause is to be found sometimes in objective facts, other times in subjective reasons. The former are the most frequent cause, related to poverty, injustice or illness; the latter, among which are dissatisfaction or depression, should not be underestimated. Spain, a country which has overcome situations of apparent inequality, extreme poverty and manifest lack of freedom, finds itself, forty years after the implementation of the 1978 Constitution, in a deep crisis due primarily to symbolic and psychological reasons. The article analyzes the central role of language in the present crisis and suggests educational and communicative strategies to facilitate the empowerment of languages in Spain so that they can become languages of Spain.