How much regional language you will meet in your own town

Key rules

• Legal status: A co-official language has the same legal status across its whole region, but how visible it is differs from town to town.
• Formal zoning: Only Navarre and the Valencian Community divide their territory into legal language zones.
• Cities and villages: Expect the regional language more in villages and small towns than in the largest cities.

The short answer

Within a co-official region, the legal status of the language is the same everywhere. What changes is how much you see and hear it. That depends on the zone, the province, and whether you are in a big city or a small village. Navarre and the Valencian Community are the two places where the law itself divides the territory into zones.

Big city or small town

In most regions, the regional language is used more in villages and small towns, and less in the largest cities.

• Galicia: Galician is strongest in rural areas. Among young people in cities, Spanish often dominates.
• Basque Country: Basque is used most in small and mid-sized towns in Gipuzkoa and in rural Bizkaia. It is used least in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Bilbao's metropolitan area and the Ribera zone. Gipuzkoa has the highest share of speakers and Álava the lowest. Schooling means younger people speak more Basque, even in cities.
• Catalonia: The picture is more mixed. Catalan is strongest in inland and rural areas and in Girona. It is less used in the Barcelona area, Tarragona and Camp de Tarragona, though most people understand it everywhere.
• Balearic Islands: Use is higher in Menorca and rural Mallorca than in Palma. Ibiza has less.

The Valencian Community: two zones

Municipalities are divided into Valencian-speaking and Castilian-speaking zones. Most of the coast and much of the interior is Valencian-speaking. That includes Valencia city, Castellón and most of northern Alicante province. Castilian-speaking zones are in the inland west and south, such as Requena-Utiel, parts of Alto Palancia, and inland Vega Baja towns like Orihuela and the Villena area.

What this means for you:

• In a Castilian-speaking zone, the administration works in Spanish. Valencian is not required for public jobs.
• In a Valencian-speaking zone, the administration uses both languages. A Valencian certificate is generally required or scored for public jobs.

Alicante city is officially Valencian-speaking, but Spanish is dominant day to day. Orihuela is Castilian-speaking while nearby towns are Valencian-speaking, so check your exact municipality.

Navarre: three zones

• Basque-speaking zone (northern valleys): Basque and Spanish are both official, and the administration works in both.
• Mixed zone (including Pamplona and surroundings): Basque rights are recognised, and the administration offers services in Basque.
• Non-Basque-speaking zone (south, including Tudela): Only Spanish is official. Basque can be studied but has no official status.

So Basque is not official everywhere in Navarre. Your town's zone decides what you can expect from the town hall.

Borderline places

Some places do not fit the pattern. In the Aragonese border towns such as Fraga, Tamarite, Benabarre and Calaceite, people speak Catalan, but it is not co-official there. In the Vall d'Aran, Aranese is used. Check any borderline town directly with its town hall.

How to judge your own town

Use the checklist below to read a town's language profile. The questions below it cover common doubts. Start with the town hall's website and the local schools' language model, since those show what you will deal with in practice.

Checklist: how to read a town's language profile before you choose

Read a town's language profile before you choose

• Open the town hall's website and note which language the home page, notices and forms appear in first.

• Look for the option to deal with the town hall in Spanish or in the regional language, and ask for documents in Spanish if you need them.

• Walk the streets and note street signs, but do not rely on them: place names follow the law whatever residents actually speak.

• Check shop signs and menus, remembering that private businesses often use Spanish, or English in tourist areas.

• Listen to what people use in the street, the market and cafés.

• Look up the language model of the local public schools in your region's education department school search, then confirm with the school's own website or admissions office.

• Find out whether the town has local radio, TV or press in the regional language, and which language the council meetings and notices use.

• Look for language classes, language associations, local festivals and bookshops that work in the regional language.

• Compare the town with your region's latest language survey figures for its province or city, as big cities usually show lower use than rural areas.

• Check whether the town is on a language border, such as Orihuela, Elche, Alicante, Pamplona, Tudela or the Aragon border towns, and ask the town hall which language rules apply.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Valencian-speaking or Castilian-speaking zone change how I deal with the administration?

Yes, in Castilian-speaking zones the administration works in Spanish, while in Valencian-speaking zones it works in both languages. Most coastal municipalities, including Valencia city and Castellón, are Valencian-speaking.

Is Basque official everywhere in Navarre?

No, Basque is official only in Navarre's Basque-speaking zone and its mixed zone. The Basque-speaking zone covers the northern valleys, and the mixed zone includes Pamplona and its surroundings. In the southern non-Basque zone, including Tudela, only Spanish is official, though you can still study Basque.

Which Basque province has the most Basque speakers?

Gipuzkoa has the most Basque speakers, at roughly half the population or more. Bizkaia is about a third and Álava about a fifth.

Will I hear less regional language in a big city than in a village?

Usually yes, in Galicia, the Basque Country and Valencia, the regional language is heard more in rural areas and small towns than in the largest cities. In Catalonia, use is lower in the Barcelona area and Tarragona than inland, though knowledge is high everywhere.

Is Catalan official in the Aragonese border towns where it is spoken?

No, towns in the Franja de Ponent such as Fraga, Tamarite, Benabarre and Calaceite use Catalan, but it is not co-official there. Ask the town hall which language it uses for services and forms.