Galicia, located in Spain’s northwestern corner, ranks as
one of the country’s greatest regions. When I
lived there from 2013 to 2015, I couldn’t get enough of the
glorious, fresh food, the green, lush countryside, and the grand, granite
architecture. But I could only take canned sardines with me back home, we’ve got enough humidity here in Texas, and sadly the oldest buildings in suburban Plano date back not to the 1070s but the 1970’s.
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A primavera—Spring |
But what has stuck with me the most has been
galego, the
Galician language that
I quickly picked up on after being immersed in it from day one at the
elementary school I worked at. Closely related to Spanish (and even closer to Portuguese), you can think of it as a de-nasalized Portuguese, pronounced like Spanish, and with an Italian intonation. Its endearing musical (some might say whiny) rhythm has infected my accent in Spanish, and I can rattle off more seafood and
rain-related terms in Galician than I can in English.
So, what if you’re going to Galicia and are terrified that your Spanish will be of no use? Don’t worry—everyone in Galicia speaks Spanish as well as Galician. But learning a little of the language can only help you in making friends, understanding conversations, and (most importantly!) reading menus. I’ve put together this
crash course in
galego that I hope will help you keep your head above water, whether you’re just there for a visit or moving to the region for a longer stay.
Quick overview of this post
Part I: A bit of a background
Part II: Where Galician is spoken today
Part III: 6 Galician grammar points if you already know Spanish
Part IV: 10 tricks to figuring out what a Galician word means if you already know Spanish
Part V: How to pronounce Galician
Part VI: Some basic vocabulary
Part VII: Some useful expressions
Part VIII: 3 important irregular verbs, conjugated
Part IX: Online resources
Part I: A bit of a background
The
Galician language is a direct descendant of the Latin language that the
Romans introduced to Spain’s northwest corner, just as today’s French developed from the Latin spoken in northern
France and standard Italian grew out of the Tuscan dialects in central
Italy. As the Roman Empire collapsed in the 400s CE and communications broke down, the everyday Latin in this isolated region naturally evolved into a separate language altogether.
Today known as
Galician-Portuguese, the language was spoken during the Middle Ages from the northern Atlantic shores down to the Portuguese Algarve. As the ragtag Christian kingdoms of northern Spain carried the
Reconquista south into the territory of Muslim al-Andalus, they also brought their respective Romance dialects with them. A narrow strip of Galician-Portuguese thus spread down the western edge of the Iberian Peninsula.