119-476: The Galician Nationalist Bloc ( Galician : Bloque Nacionalista Galego, BNG Galician pronunciation: [beˈneˈɣa] ) is a political party from Galicia , formed with the merger of a series of left-wing Galician nationalist parties. It is self-defined as a "patriotic front ". Founded in 1982 under the guidance of historical leader Xosé Manuel Beiras , the BNG calls for further devolution of powers to
238-520: A dialect continuum with Portuguese in the south, and with Astur-Leonese in the east. Mutual intelligibility (estimated at 85% by Robert A. Hall Jr. , 1989) is very high between Galicians and northern Portuguese. The current linguistic status of Galician with regard to Portuguese is controversial in Galicia, and the issue sometimes carries political overtones. There are linguists who consider Galician and Portuguese as two norms or varieties of
357-571: A Celtic revival; and Manuel Curros Enríquez , a liberal and anticlerical author whose ideas and proclamations were scandalous for part of the 19th-century society. The first political manifest asking for the officialization of Galician date to the late 19th century. An important landmark was the establishment of the Royal Galician Academy , in 1906, soon followed by that of the Seminario de Estudos Galegos (1923). The Seminario
476-420: A democratic constitution. The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry , coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within fifteen days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure
595-511: A document from the monastery of Melón , dated in 1231 —being Galician by far the most used language during the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, in substitution of Latin. Galician-Portuguese lost its political unity when the County of Portugal obtained its independence from the Kingdom of León , a transition initiated in 1139 and completed in 1179, establishing the Kingdom of Portugal . Meanwhile,
714-480: A full revolt and ended with the resignation of the local government. After the resignation, Anxo Quintana , a BNG local councilor, was elected as the mayor of the town. Since then, Allariz has been the main stronghold of the BNG (which has won all local elections since 1993 with more than the 60% of the vote). In June 1990, the Permanent Commission made public an economic document, with an analysis on
833-612: A language through elaboration, and not an abstand language , a language through detachment. With regard to the external and internal perception of this relation, for instance in past editions of the Encyclopædia Britannica , Galician was defined as a "Portuguese dialect" spoken in northwestern Spain. On the other hand, the director of the Instituto Camões declared in 2019 that Galician and Portuguese were close kin, but different languages. According to
952-586: A minor language with less capacity to counterbalance the influence of Spanish, the only official language between the 18th century and 1975. On the other hand, viewing Galician as a part of the Lusosphere, while not denying its own characteristics (cf. Swiss German ), shifts cultural influence from the Spanish domain to the Portuguese. Some scholars have described the situation as properly a continuum, from
1071-533: A mixed commission and, if the deadlock persisted, a joint sitting of both chambers would convene as a single legislative body in order to resolve on the issue by an absolute majority. Voting for the Cortes was on the basis of universal suffrage , which comprised all nationals over 21 years of age and in full enjoyment of their civil and political rights. For the Congress of Deputies, 348 seats were elected using
1190-650: A nasal consonant in the west; reduction of the sibilant system, with the confluence (except in the Baixa Limia region) of voiced and voiceless fricatives, followed by a process of de-affrication which led to different results in the west and in the east. The most important author during this period of the language was the scholar Martín Sarmiento , unconditional defender and the first researcher of Galician language (history, evolution, lexicon, etymology, onomastics). His Elementos etimológicos segun el método de Euclides (1766), written in Spanish but dealing with Galician,
1309-404: A number of sonnets and other lyric poetry, as well as other literate productions, including the forgery of allegedly mediaeval scriptures or chronicles under diverse pretensions—usually to show the ancient nobility of the forger's family—being these writings elaborated in an archaic looking Galician which nevertheless could not conceal the state of the language during this period. Middle Galician
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#17328018805911428-455: A rally in Santiago de Compostela attended by more than 10,000 people. Later on that same year, Inzar and PNG-PG joined BNG. In May 1991, local elections were held . BNG ran in 162 municipalities (out of 311), getting 107,932 votes, 8 mayors ( Allariz , Malpica de Bergantiños , Noia , Corcubión , Vilar de Santos , Ribadeo , Fene , and Carnota ) and 241 town councilors. In 1992,
1547-444: A rate of approximately one seat per each 144,500 inhabitants or fraction greater than 70,000. Ceuta and Melilla were allocated the two remaining seats, which were elected using plurality voting . The use of the electoral method resulted in an effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies. As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency
1666-472: A series of collections, and belonging to four main genres: cantigas de amor , love songs, where a man sings for his ladylove; cantigas de amigo , where a woman sings for her boyfriend; cantigas de escarnio , crude, taunting, and sexual songs of scorn; cantigas de maldecir , where the poet vents his spleen openly; and also the Cantigas de Santa María , which are religious songs. The oldest known document
1785-641: A split in the UPG, with the more radical sector forming a new political group: Collective 22 March. This collective would create a new organization in July, the Communist Party of National Liberation (PCLN), an independentist and communist party. The PCLN would remain within the BNG, despite not agreeing with its new political line. The same year (1986) the Spanish NATO membership referendum took place, and
1904-478: Is a Western Ibero-Romance language. Around 2.4 million people have at least some degree of competence in the language, mainly in Galicia , an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it has official status along with Spanish . The language is also spoken in some border zones of the neighbouring Spanish regions of Asturias and Castile and León , as well as by Galician migrant communities in
2023-520: Is a pro-independence, anticapitalist , anti-globalization , republican and anti-imperialist organization. Other groups that split were the more moderate social-democratic and autonomist Máis Galiza , Nationalist Left and the Galician Nationalist Party-Galicianist Party (PNG-PG). They formed Commitment to Galicia (CxG), a social-democratic and autonomist organization. No CxG deputies were elected at
2142-403: Is characterized by a series of phonetic processes which led to a further separation from Portuguese, and to the apparition of some of the more noteworthy dialectal features, among other phenomenons: emergence of the gheada or pronunciation of /ɡ/ as a pharyngeal fricative; denasalization of nasal vowels in most of Galicia, becoming oral vowels in the east, or a group formed by an oral vowel plus
2261-439: Is considered the dark age of Galician language. The Galician spoken and written then is usually referred to as Middle Galician . Middle Galician is known mostly through popular literature (songs, carols, proverbs, theatrical scripts, personal letters), but also through the frequent apparition of Galician interferences and personal and place names in local works and documents otherwise written in Spanish. Other important sources are
2380-767: Is different from it ]. Private cultural associations, not endorsed by Galician or Portuguese governments, such as the Galician Language Association ( Associaçom Galega da Língua ) and Galician Academy of the Portuguese Language ( Academia Galega da Língua Portuguesa ), advocates of the minority Reintegrationist movement, support the idea that differences between Galician and Portuguese speech are not enough to justify considering them as separate languages: Galician would be simply one variety of Galician-Portuguese, along with European Portuguese ; Brazilian Portuguese ; African Portuguese ;
2499-409: Is not until the 12th century that there is evidence for the identification of the local language as a language different from Latin itself. During this same 12th century there are full Galician sentences being inadvertently used inside Latin texts, while its first reckoned use as a literary language dates to the last years of this same century. The linguistic stage from the 13th to the 15th centuries
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#17328018805912618-597: Is part of a family which includes our brothers from Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique... a territory full of possibilities also for Galician. We always said that Galician is not a regional language, but is in fact part of that international project". Galician is spoken by some three million people, including most of the population of Galicia and the numerous Galician communities established elsewhere, in Spain ( Madrid , Barcelona, Biscay ), in other European cities ( Andorra la Vella , Geneva, London, Paris), and in
2737-442: Is simply called Galician ( gallego ). Dialectal divergences are observable between the northern and southern forms of Galician-Portuguese in 13th-century texts but the two dialects were similar enough to maintain a high level of cultural unity until the middle of the 14th century, producing the medieval Galician-Portuguese lyric . The divergence has continued to this day, most frequently due to innovations in Portuguese, producing
2856-654: Is the poem Ora faz ost'o Senhor de Navarra by Joam Soares de Paiva, written around 1200. The first non-literary documents in Galician-Portuguese date from the early 13th century, the Noticia de Torto (1211) and the Testamento of Afonso II of Portugal (1214), both samples of medieval notarial prose. Its most notable patrons—themselves reputed authors—were King Dom Dinis in Portugal, and King Alfonso X
2975-586: Is their primary language, with lower numbers for the younger population. Those under 45 were more likely than those over 45 to answer that they never use Galician. Use of Galician also varies greatly depending on the regions and municipalities of Galicia. While in two areas of the Province of A Coruña ( Costa da Morte and the Southeast) more than 90% of the population always or mostly speaks in Galician, only
3094-578: Is usually known as Galician-Portuguese (or Old Portuguese , or Old Galician ) as an acknowledgement of the cultural and linguistic unity of Galicia and Portugal during the Middle Ages, as the two linguistic varieties differed only in dialectal minor phenomena. This language flourished during the 13th and 14th centuries as a language of culture, developing a rich lyric tradition of which some 2000 compositions ( cantigas , meaning 'songs') have been preserved—a few hundred even with their musical score—in
3213-470: The 2012 Galician election . In 2016, as part of a self-proclaimed "refoundation" of the party, Ana Pontón was elected national spokesperson. This marked the first time a woman held such a prominent position within the party. She also serves as the party's candidate as the party's candidate for President of the Xunta de Galicia in the 2016 , 2020 , and 2024 regional elections. In each of these elections,
3332-618: The Astur-Leonese group on the one hand, and those defending it as clearly Galician varieties on the other (actually both views are compatible). The recent edition of the cartularies of Oscos in Old Common Council of Castropol and cartularies of Obona , Cornellana , Corias and Belmonte in middle west of Asturias have shown a huge difference in the medieval speech between both banks of the Navia river. An examination of
3451-742: The Chronicle of St. Mary of Iria , by Rui Vasques), religious books, legal studies, and a treaty on horse breeding. Most prose literary creation in Galician had stopped by the 16th century, when printing press became popular; the first complete translation of the Bible was not printed until the 20th century. As for other written uses of Galician, legal charters (last wills, hirings, sales, constitutional charters, city council book of acts, guild constitutions, books of possessions, and any type of public or private contracts and inventories) written in Galicia are to be found from 1230 to 1530—the earliest one probably
3570-441: The D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation , with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Spain . Each constituency was entitled to an initial minimum of two seats, with the remaining 248 fixed among the constituencies in proportion to their populations, at
3689-545: The European Parliament , being used by some Galician representatives, among others: José Posada , Camilo Nogueira and Xosé Manuel Beiras . Controversy exists regarding the inclusion of Eonavian (spoken in the western end of Asturias , bordering Galicia ) into the Galician language, as it has some traits in common with Western Asturian (spoken in the middle west of Asturias). There are those defending these linguistic varieties as dialects of transition to
Galician Nationalist Bloc - Misplaced Pages Continue
3808-544: The European elections of that year , but the talks failed. BNG then rejected a coalition offer made by Herri Batasuna , and decided to run alone, gaining 53,116 votes. The PCLN was expelled from the BNG for supporting Herri Batasuna in the election campaign, instead of its own list. After their expulsion, PCLN would create (along with Galiza Ceibe-OLN and local groups) the Galician People's Front (FPG). Later, on
3927-542: The Fala language spoken in the northwestern corner of Extremadura (Spain), and other dialects. They have adopted slightly-modified or actual Portuguese orthography, which has its roots in medieval Galician-Portuguese poetry as later adapted by the Portuguese Chancellery. According to Reintegrationists, considering Galician as an independent language reduces contact with Portuguese culture, leaving Galician as
4046-661: The Francoist regime , ongoing since shortly after Francisco Franco 's death in 1975 and promoted by his successor, King Juan Carlos I . Its aim was to elect a Constituent Cortes that was to draft a new constitution , which would ultimately lead to the repealing of the Fundamental Laws of the Realm and the culmination of the country's transition to democracy . The Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD),
4165-701: The Galician Association of Language consider Galician and Portuguese two forms of the Galician-Portuguese language , and other minoritary organizations such as Galician Academy of the Portuguese Language believe that Galician should be considered part of the Portuguese language for a wider international usage and level of "normalization". Modern Galician and Portuguese originated from a common medieval ancestor designated variously by modern linguists as Galician-Portuguese (or as Medieval Galician, Medieval Portuguese, Old Galician or Old Portuguese). This common ancestral stage developed from Vulgar Latin in
4284-672: The Galician Parliament to its second best result in 1997 when, under the leadership of Xosé Manuel Beiras , it won almost 25 per cent of the total vote and 18 seats (out of 75) at the Parliament. After the 2001 Galician elections, the BNG still was the second-largest political group in the Galician Parliament with 17 seats, slightly ahead of the Socialists' Party of Galicia (PSdG) in total votes. Yet it
4403-527: The King could appoint senators in a number not higher than one-fifth of the elected seats. The law also provided for by-elections to fill Senate seats vacated up to two years into the legislature. The death of Francisco Franco in 1975 paved the way for Spain's transition from an autocratic, one-party dictatorship into a democratic , constitutional monarchy . As per the Succession Law of 1947,
4522-673: The Parliament of Galicia and the official and unambiguous recognition of Galicia as a nation. The BNG also promotes affirmative action for the Galician language . The current leader—the president of the National Council and national spokesperson—is Ana Pontón . The BNG has strong ties with the Galician Trade Union Confederation ( Confederación Intersindical Galega , CIG), with
4641-605: The Spanish elections of 1993 with the slogan "Galiza with its own strength", obtaining 126,965 votes and getting very close to gaining seats at A Coruña and Pontevedra . Later in the same year, BNG participated in an international conference in Denmark of parties and individuals that opposed the Maastricht Treaty . In the Galician elections of October , the front gained 269,233 votes and 13 seats. Galician Unity ,
4760-579: The Spanish monarchy was restored under the figure of Juan Carlos I , who quickly became the promoter of a peaceful democratic reform of state institutions. This move was supported by western countries , an important sector of Spanish and international capitalism, a majority of the opposition to Francoism—organized into the Democratic Convergence Platform and the Democratic Junta , which in 1976 would both merge into
4879-694: The anti-Zionist group, PFLP , that has been designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the European Union , the United States , Canada , and Japan . The Galician People's Union (UPG) and the Galician Socialist Party (PSG), left-wing Galician nationalist parties, were founded in the early 1960s by anti-Francoist activists. In 1975 the Galician National-Popular Assembly (AN-PG)
Galician Nationalist Bloc - Misplaced Pages Continue
4998-406: The deindustrialization caused by the policy of "restructuring", actively participating in the three general strikes that took place in Galicia that year. The front also developed actions of protest against what was considered the appropriation and manipulation of the remains of historic Galician nationalist Alfonso Daniel Rodríguez Castelao , receiving in response a tough police crackdown. Defending
5117-455: The same language . Some authors, such as Lindley Cintra , consider that they are still co-dialects of a common language in spite of differences in phonology and vocabulary, while others argue that they have become separate languages due to differences in phonetics and vocabulary usage, and, to a lesser extent, morphology and syntax. Fernández Rei in 1990 stated that the Galician language is, with respect to Portuguese, an ausbau language ,
5236-580: The 13th and 14th centuries became notable authors, such as Paio Gomes Charinho, lord of Rianxo , and the aforementioned kings. Aside from the lyric genres, Galicia developed also a minor tradition on literary prose, most notably in translation of European popular series, as those dealing with King Arthur written by Chrétien de Troyes , or those based on the war of Troy , usually paid and commissioned by noblemen who desired to read those romances in their own language. Other genres include history books (either translation of Spanish ones, or original creations like
5355-620: The 14th century. In Spanish "lenguaje gallego" is already documented in this same century, circa 1330; in Occitan circa 1290, in the Regles de Trobar by Catalan author Jofre de Foixà : " si tu vols far un cantar en frances, no·s tayn que·y mescles proençal ne cicilia ne gallego ne altre lengatge que sia strayn a aquell " [ If you want to compose a song in French, you should not admix Provençal nor Sicilian nor Galician nor other language which
5474-535: The 15,2% of the population does the same in the city of Vigo . Some authors are of the opinion that Galician possesses no real dialects. Despite this, Galician local varieties are collected in three main dialectal blocks, each block comprising a series of areas, being local linguistic varieties that are all mutually intelligible . Some of the main features which distinguish the three blocks are: 1977 Spanish general election Adolfo Suárez UCD Adolfo Suárez UCD The 1977 Spanish general election
5593-571: The 350 seats in the Spanish Congress of Deputies . Results in the 2008 Spanish general election were slightly improved (+0.7% in Galicia), although resulting in the same number of seats. Results in local elections have traditionally been good, with a constant increase in the number of seats won, allowing BNG to govern or to, at least, take part in the government coalitions of most Galician large urban centres. BNG lost its single Member of
5712-498: The 47 peninsular provinces was allocated four seats, whereas for insular provinces, such as the Balearic and Canary Islands , districts were the islands themselves, with the larger— Majorca , Gran Canaria and Tenerife —being allocated three seats each, and the smaller— Menorca , Ibiza – Formentera , Fuerteventura , La Gomera – El Hierro , Lanzarote and La Palma —one each. Ceuta and Melilla elected two seats each. Additionally,
5831-534: The Americas (New York, New Jersey , Buenos Aires, Córdoba/Argentina, Montevideo , Mexico City , Havana , Caracas, San Juan in Puerto Rico , São Paulo, Managua , Mayagüez , Ponce , Panama City). Galician is today official, together with the Spanish language, in the autonomous community of Galicia, where it is recognized as the autochthonous language ( lingua propia ), being by law the first language of
5950-659: The Assembly decided that to participate in all elections, while the Libertarian Collective "Arco da Vella" also left due to their disagreement with the name and part of the political line. In the general elections of 1982 , the BNG (still a coalition between the BN-PG and the PSG, since the new front had not yet been registered) gained 38,522 votes and no seats. These election results generated an internal debate within
6069-404: The BNG achieved better results than in the previous one, ultimately reaching a historic total of 25 seats, a significant milestone for Galician nationalism. Ana Pontón has been recognized as a leader who blends nationalism with social issues, practicing an inclusive and moderate leadership style. BNG began its electoral history in a modest way. However, it quickly progressed from a single seat in
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#17328018805916188-698: The BNG called for a demonstration in Santiago de Compostela, attended by between 7,000 (according to the Spanish Police ) and 15,000 (according to the BNG) people, with the main slogans of "Nationalism: the solution for Galicia" and "Unity in the Anti-imperialist Struggle". The demonstration was dissolved by the police, leaving various protesters injured. Local elections were held in April of
6307-460: The BNG is not allowed. The political groups currently recognised by the BNG (via a lengthy ratification process) are: Historical parties and currents: Galician language Western Areas Central Areas Eastern Areas Other Areas Galician ( / ɡ ə ˈ l ɪ ʃ ( i ) ə n / gə- LISH -(ee-)ən , UK also / ɡ ə ˈ l ɪ s i ə n / gə- LISS -ee-ən ), also known as Galego ( endonym : galego ),
6426-693: The Democratic Coordination—and a growing part of the Franco regime itself, weary of popular mobilization after the outcome of the Carnation Revolution in neighbouring Portugal in 1974. However, as incumbent Prime Minister Carlos Arias Navarro rejected any major transformation of the Spanish political system, rather supporting the preservation of Francoist laws, he was dismissed by the King in July 1976, who appointed Adolfo Suárez for
6545-608: The Encontro Irmandinho (led by former BNG president Xosé Manuel Beiras), Movemento Pola Base (formed by grassroots members and backed by the youth section Galiza Nova ), and A Alternativa (supported by former Member of the European Parliament Camilo Nogueira). Furthermore, Anxo Quintana's leadership has been called into question after the poor results of the Galician 2009 elections. Joint affiliation with other political groups outside
6664-714: The European Parliament , Camilo Nogueira , in the 2004 European Parliament election . However, BNG's interests have continued to be represented thanks to alliances established with other parties such as the Basque Nationalist Party and the Catalan Convergence and Union . BNG maintains regular contact with its European group, the European Greens–European Free Alliance , through a permanent representative in
6783-483: The Galician "popular classes". The Estreleira was chosen as the official flag, and (after a very close voting) "Galician Nationalist Bloc" was chosen as the new name. This assembly also approved the five basic principles of BNG: 1. Galiza [Galicia], as a nation, has the rights of self-determination and of exercising its national sovereignty . 2. Defense of democracy and popular interests. 3. The need for political and social self-organization, and non-dependency in
6902-498: The Galician Nationalist Bloc campaigned in favor of leaving. Remaining would have won in Spain and in Galicia. In the Spanish elections of 1986 BNG gained 27,049 votes (2.11 of the Galician vote) and no seats. The same year, the party boycotted the official acts of remembrance of the 1936 statute of autonomy , demanding self-determination and an end to "historical manipulation". The BNG also campaigned against
7021-587: The Galician culture and language) was admitted as a consultative observer of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP). A "friendship and cooperation" protocol was signed between the Royal Galician Academy (RAG) and the Brazilian Academy of Letters on 10 January 2019. Víctor F. Freixanes, president of the RAG, stated during the ceremony that "there is a conscience that the Galician language
7140-586: The Galician forests. The 4th National Assembly of the organization took place in February 1989 in Lugo . The discussions focused on setting a political strategy to answer the economic crisis that was affecting Galicia at the time. Xosé Manuel Beiras was elected as the candidate for the presidency of Galicia . In the Galician elections of 1989 BNG gained 105,703 votes and 5 MPs. The Galician Nationalist Party-Galicianist Party (PNG-PG) and FPG failed in their attempt to get representation. Galician Socialist Party-Galician Left (PSG-EG) obtained two seats. In June of
7259-474: The Galician government, universities and main cultural institutions, such as the Galician Language Institute or the Royal Galician Academy , Galician and Portuguese are independent languages that stemmed from medieval Galician-Portuguese, and modern Galician must be considered an independent Romance language belonging to the group of Ibero-Romance languages having strong ties with Portuguese and its northern dialects. The standard orthography has its roots in
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#17328018805917378-443: The Galician nationalist parties had a relatively low electoral result. The three MPs of the joint BN-PG and PSG list were expelled from Parliament after they refused to take the oath to the Spanish constitution . The UPG and the AN-PG agreed in early 1982 to reformulate their project, in the form a left-wing nationalist front that would cover a greater political spectrum, with different currents and parties inside it. The first meeting
7497-488: The Galician variants of Portuguese in one extreme to the Spanish language in the other (which would represent the complete linguistic shift from Galician to Spanish); reintegrationist points of view are closer to the Portuguese extreme, and so-called isolationist ones would be closer to the Spanish one; however, the major Galician nationalist parties, Anova–Nationalist Brotherhood and Galician Nationalist Bloc , do not use reintegrationist orthographical conventions. In 2014,
7616-531: The Kingdom of Galicia was united with the Kingdom of León, and later with the Kingdom of Castile, under kings of the House of Burgundy . The Galician and Portuguese standards of the language diverged over time, following independent evolutionary paths. Portuguese was the official language of the Portuguese chancellery, while Galician was the usual language not only of troubadours and peasants, but also of local noblemen and clergy, and of their officials, so forging and maintaining two slightly different standards. During
7735-409: The Learned in Galicia, Castile and León, who was a great promoter of both Galician and Castilian Spanish languages. Not only the kings but also the noble houses of Galicia and Portugal encouraged literary creation in Galician-Portuguese, as being an author or bringing reputed troubadours into one's home became a way of promoting social prestige. As a result, many noblemen, businessmen and clergymen of
7854-404: The National Assembly of Amio (2012), the whole front readopted the idea of independence and the creation of a Galician republic. That same year, the BNG adopted a critical position towards the European Union . The BNG supports the State of Palestine within the context of Israeli–Palestinian conflict . They have been supportive of BDS measures against Israel and have hosted events, featuring
7973-445: The National Day of Galicia of that year with a demonstration (attended by 10,000 people) with the slogan "Common project", that wanted to summarize the renewed political line of the 3rd National Assembly. Due to the wave of forest fires that inundated Galicia that year, the BNG boosted, along with several environmentalist associations and groups, the first popular legislative initiative [ es ] in Galicia, in order to defend
8092-409: The PSG, which lead to an extraordinary Congress in January 1983, in which the party decided to leave the BNG. Despite this, a large group of members of the PSG split and continued to work inside the BNG with the name Socialist Collective (CS). In 1984 the PSG merged with Galician Left (EG), to create a new party: Galician Socialist Party–Galician Left (PSG-EG). The National Day of Galicia of 1983,
8211-433: The Permanent Managing Commission, on the grounds that the new front was at the service of the individual parties and lacked a serious minimum political program. Despite this, ANG members continued to work individually on the creation of the new front. On 25 and 26 September 1982, the founding assembly took place on the Fronton Municipal of Riazor, A Coruña . This new force was defined as "interclassist", seeking to defend all
8330-449: The Spanish Cortes were envisaged as a provisional legislature that was to approve a new constitution in a short timespan. Initiative for constitutional amendment belonged to the Congress of Deputies , as well as to the national government . Constitutional bills required to be passed by an absolute majority in both the Congress and Senate . If the Senate rejected the bill as passed by Congress, discrepancies were to be submitted to
8449-414: The chamber. The BNG regulates itself through local, regional and national assemblies in which members can vote for and be elected as regional delegates and thereafter members of the National Council. However, the internal functioning of the party has come into criticism in recent years. As a result, several new organizations calling for "transparency and internal democracy" have formed within the BNG, namely
8568-534: The constitution (but not taking the Oath). The bad electoral results culminated in an internal debate which ended with the convening of an extraordinary National Assembly, held at Santiago on 15 December. BNG ratified its political tactic of accepting the Parliamentary requirement of accepting the constitution. This led to some new internal tensions, particularly inside the UPG. In 1986 this tensions culminates in
8687-457: The creation of a Galician state was considered the main final goal. The new organization also wanted to balance institutional presence and social mobilization, to better defend the "popular and national interests". In subsequent meetings, local and regional assemblies were established. Those assemblies discussed the document adopted before the celebration of the founding Assembly. On 11 July, the Assembly of Galician Nationalists (ANG) decided to leave
8806-510: The crisis of Galicia and the solutions to it proposed by the front. In July, the BNG held a common march in Santiago de Compostela with the PNG-PG. In January 1991, the V National Assembly was held in Vigo . Galiza Nova was fully integrated into the structures of the front. BNG developed an intense campaign that year with the slogan "Galiza self-determination", which culminated on 6 December with
8925-538: The electoral coalition created to serve as Suárez's political platform in government, emerged as the largest party overall, albeit 11 seats short of an absolute majority. The election surprise was the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) of Felipe González , which—supported by the German SPD and running a campaign intended to highlight González's youth and charisma—won 118 seats and became
9044-595: The entry of Galicia in the European Economic Community . On 7 and 8 February 1987 the III National Assembly took place at O Carballiño . Party members approved the mechanisms that allowed the "updating" of the tactics and forms of political work of the front, by starting the process of opening the BNG to Galician society. The party also chose a new corporate image. The party tried to form a unitary Galician nationalist candidacy to
9163-456: The establishment of a Permanent National Managing Commission, with 22 members. In addition to the previous groups, Galician Revolutionary Students (ERGA), Nationalist Advance and independents of Vigo and O Condado would also join the new project. In spite of the unity, there were great ideological and tactical differences between the different parties. PSG gave great importance to the unity of nationalist trade-unionism and to participating in
9282-505: The front supported and actively participated in the national general strike on 2 April. During that year, the front also campaigned against the Maastricht Treaty and a group of independents within BNG created the collective Nationalist Left (IN), in an attempt to gain internal power and to lower the influence of the Galician People's Union . The 6th National Assembly was held in March 1993 at A Coruña , with no relevant changes. BNG run for
9401-510: The front, dissatisfied with its political line and the control exercised by the UPG. Encontro Irmandiño abandoned the bloc and joined with Galician Workers' Front (Fronte Obreira Galega), the Galician People's Front (FPG), Movemento pola Base and other collectives to form Anova-Nationalist Brotherhood . Anova obtained four seats in the 2012 Galician election as part of the Galician Left Alternative coalition. Anova
9520-409: The institutions. on the other hand, Galiza Ceibe-OLN defended an active boycott of all the elections and a full rupture with the constitutional system. Nationalist Advance defended that the new organization should reject all laws and seek full national independence . At a meeting held on 27 June the political program of the organization was approved, without explicitly mentioning independence , although
9639-532: The language spoken in the Northwest before the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal in the 12th century. The surge of the two languages would be the result of both the elaboration of Portuguese, through the royal court, its internationalization and its study and culture; and of the stagnation of Galician. The earliest internal attestation of the expression Galician language ("lingoajen galego") dates from
9758-494: The largest cities of Galicia is Spanish rather than Galician, as a result of this long process of language shift . However, Galician is still the main language in rural areas. The Royal Galician Academy and other Galician institutions celebrate each 17 May as Galician Literature Day ( Día das Letras Galegas ), dedicated each year to a deceased Galician-language writer chosen by the academy. Use of Galician splits by age, with over half of those over 45 indicating that Galician
9877-613: The late 15th century on, to the end of legal documents in Galician; the last ones were issued around 1530. Also, from 1480 on, notaries of the Crown of Castile were required to obtain their licenses in Toledo , where they had to prove their mastery of Spanish. In spite of Galician being the most spoken language, during the 17th century, the elites of the Kingdom began speaking Spanish, most notably in towns and cities. The linguistic situation in Galicia became one of diglossia , with Galician as
9996-801: The local administrations and governments. It is supposed by law to be taught bilingually, alongside Spanish, in both primary and secondary education, although the accomplishment of this law is allegedly doubted. It is also used at the three universities established in Galicia, having also the consideration of official language of the three institutions. Galician has also legal recognition in the Bierzo region in León , and in four municipalities in Zamora . The other languages with official status elsewhere in Spain are Spanish, Catalan (or Valencian ), Basque and Aranese . Galician has also been accepted orally as Portuguese in
10115-469: The low variety and Spanish as the high one. In reaction to the relegation of the autochthonous language, a series of literary and historical works (always written in Spanish) appeared in the 17th century through 19th century, meant to vindicate the history, language, people, and culture of Galicia. The period from the 16th century to the early 19th century, when Galician had little literary—and no legal—use,
10234-400: The main left-of-centre party by a wide margin. The Communist Party of Spain (PCE), which had been the main opposition force to the dictatorship, and the right-wing People's Alliance (AP) of former Francoist minister Manuel Fraga , performed below expectations. Turnout was high at 78.8%, the second highest for any nationwide election held ever since. Under the 1977 Political Reform Act ,
10353-538: The memory of the nationalist politician and intellectual was the main reason for the National Day of Galicia of that year, gaining (for the first time in many years) a permit to enter the historic center of Santiago de Compostela . In the Galician elections of 1985 , the front only gained one seat (occupied by Xosé Manuel Beiras ). This time, the MP was allowed to take the seat in exchange for "promising" to comply with
10472-411: The moderate nationalist party Galician Unity ( Unidade Galega ) joined the coalition. According to its former leader, Anxo Quintana, BNG at that time was not a pro-independence party, although some individuals and organizations within it continued to express a support for the idea. Nonetheless, the hegemonic UPG has supported independence again since 2011 while preserving its left-wing core. Following
10591-473: The modern languages of Galician and Portuguese. The lexicon of Galician is predominantly of Latin extraction, although it also contains a moderate number of words of Germanic and Celtic origin, among other substrates and adstrates , having also received, mainly via Spanish, a number of nouns from Andalusian Arabic . The language is officially regulated in Galicia by the Royal Galician Academy . Other organizations without institutional support, such as
10710-630: The old PSG-EG, would also join BNG after his electoral failures of that year. In the European elections of 1994 the front won a record 139,221 votes, but failed again to gain any seats. This positive electoral trend would continue in the local elections of 1995 , in which the Bloc obtained 208,098 votes, 428 local councillors and 12 mayors ( Allariz , Vilar de Santos , Fene , Corcubión , As Pontes de García Rodríguez , Cangas do Morrazo , Noia , Vilariño de Conso , Moaña , Bueu , Poio and Rairiz de Veiga ) The increasing unity of Galician nationalism in
10829-523: The old documents of the Eonavian monastery of Oscos, written from the late 12th to early 14th century to 16th century, shows a clear identification of this language with the Galician-Portuguese linguistic group; while contemporary parchments elsewhere in Asturias are written in Spanish. The two most important traits of those commonly used to tell apart Galician-Portuguese and Asturian-Leonese varieties are
10948-518: The overall majority and therefore of the Galician government . In the 2009 elections, a sharp reduction in votes for the PSdG, together with poor results for the BNG (12 seats), forced the left-wing coalition out of government to the benefit of the PPdeG. Meanwhile, the BNG won 208,688 votes (11.37 per cent of the Galician vote, 0.8 of the Spanish total) in the 2004 Spanish general election , gaining two of
11067-659: The parliament of Galicia unanimously approved Law 1/2014 regarding the promotion of the Portuguese language and links with the Lusophony . Similarly, on 20 October 2016, the city of Santiago de Compostela , the capital of Galicia , approved by unanimity a proposal to become an observer member of the Union of Portuguese-Speaking Capitals ( UCCLA ). Also, on 1 November 2016, the Council of Galician Culture ( Consello da Cultura Galega , an official institution of defence and promotion of
11186-476: The political arena also had consequences in other sectors. One of those sectors were unionism, were the old unions National Inter-Union of the Galician Workers (INTG) (aligned with the Galician People's Union -BNG) and General Confederation of Galician Workers (CXTG) (aligned with PSG-EG) merged to create Confederación Intersindical Galega (CIG). In 2012, several parties and individuals abandoned
11305-464: The post. Suárez's plans for political reform involved the transformation of Spanish institutions in accordance to the Francoist legal system through the approval of a "political reform bill" as a Fundamental Law of the Realm . This was meant as a step beyond Arias Navarro's plans to update—but preserve—the Francoist regime, with Suárez intending to implement democracy "from law to law through law"—in
11424-495: The preservation of the mid-open vowels /ɛ/ and /ɔ/ , which became diphthongs in Asturian-Leonese, and the loss of intervocalic /n/ , preserved in the latter language. Porque no mundo mengou a verdade, punhei um dia de a ir buscar; e, u por ela fui nom preguntar, disserom todos: «Alhur la buscade, ca de tal guisa se foi a perder, que nom podemos en novas haver nem já nom anda na irmaindade.» Because in
11543-440: The reign of Alfonso X , Spanish became the official language of the chancellery of the Kingdom of Castile. However, in Galicia and neighboring regions of Asturias and León in 1200–1500, the local languages remained the usual written languages in any type of document, either legal or narrative, public or private. Spanish was progressively introduced through Royal decrees and the edicts of foreign churchmen and officials. This led, from
11662-399: The relations of Galiza. 4. Solidarity, anti-imperialism , peace and international disarmament. 5. A social model that promotes the socioeconomic development without dependence and on behalf of the welfare of the whole people. Finally, AN-PG (which will cease to exist de facto after this Assembly), UPG, PSG and various independents joined the front. Galiza Ceibe-OLN decide to leave after
11781-687: The rest of Spain, in Latin America including Puerto Rico , the United States, Switzerland and elsewhere in Europe. Modern Galician is classified as part of the West Iberian languages group, a family of Romance languages . Galician evolved locally from Vulgar Latin and developed from what modern scholars have called Galician-Portuguese . The earliest document written integrally in the local Galician variety dates back to 1230, although
11900-617: The same year (1983), being the first ones to be run by the BNG. The front obtained 50,491 votes, 117 local councilors and 6 mayors ( Corcubión , Fene , Moaña , Malpica de Bergantiños and Carnota ). The II National Assembly took place in December 1984 in Santiago de Compostela . This assembly defined the political position of the BNG in fundamental aspects of its political project, such as environmentalism , feminism , education, Galician language or Galician culture. Throughout that year, BNG developed an enormous political activity against
12019-411: The same year, local elections were held , with the front obtaining 61,256 votes, 139 local councilors and 7 mayors ( Corcubión , Carnota , Noia , Ares , Fene , Ribadeo and Malpica de Bergantiños ). In July 1988, Galiza Nova , a new youth organization , is founded, fully becoming part of the BNG. Galiza Nova replaced Galician Revolutionary Students (ERGA) as its youth-wing. The front celebrated
12138-432: The same year, the second European elections in the history of Spain were held, with the BNG running alone again, as the only Galician candidacy, and gaining 46,052 votes. In October, general elections were held , with the BNG gaining 47,763 and failing to win any seat again. In 1989, there was a popular movement of protest in the town of Allariz , against the mayor Leopoldo Pérez Camba ( People's Party ), which evolved into
12257-437: The student union Erguer-Estudantes da Galiza (Stand Up–Students of Galiza), the agrarian unions Galician Peasant Union ( Sindicato Labrego Galego , SLG) and Galician Rural Federation ( FRUGA ), and with environmentalist, feminist and Galician language organizations. From 2005 to 2009, BNG was part of a coalition government along with the Socialists' Party of Galicia , in which its leader, Anxo Quintana , served as
12376-478: The subjacent Romance permeates most written Latin local charters since the High Middle Ages, being specially noteworthy in personal and place names recorded in those documents, as well as in terms originated in languages other than Latin. The earliest reference to Galician-Portuguese as an international language of culture dates to 1290, in the Regles de Trobar by Catalan author Jofre de Foixà , where it
12495-431: The territories of the old Kingdom of Galicia , Galicia and Northern Portugal , as a Western Romance language . In the 13th century it became a written and cultivated language with two main varieties, but during the 14th century the standards of these varieties, Galician and Portuguese, began to diverge, as Portuguese became the official language of the independent Kingdom of Portugal and its chancellery, while Galician
12614-537: The vice-president of the Galician regional government. The BNG is composed of a majority of grassroots independent members and a number of political parties. Traditionally, the largest party and main ideological influence has been the Galician People's Union ( Unión do Povo Galego , UPG). In origin, the UPG, and consequently the BNG, were strongly left-wing and supported the idea of Galician independence . However, since 1990 BNG had gradually abandoned talk about independence and self-determination , especially since
12733-627: The words of Torcuato Fernández-Miranda —without the outright liquidation of the Francoist system as called for by opposition parties. Thus, on 18 November 1976, the 1977 Political Reform Act was passed by the Francoist Cortes , later ratified in a referendum on 15 December 1976 with overwhelming popular support. As set out in Suárez's scheme, the Act called for an electoral process to elect new Cortes that were to be responsible for drafting
12852-439: The world the truth has faded, I decided to go a-searching for it and wherever I went asking for it everybody said: 'Search elsewhere because truth is lost in such a way such as we can have no news of it nor is it around here anymore.' Airas Nunes (B 871, V 455. 13th century) Latinate Galician charters from the 8th century onward show that the local written Latin was heavily influenced by local spoken Romance, yet
12971-554: The writing of relatively modern Rexurdimento authors, who largely adapted Spanish orthography to the then mostly unwritten language. Most Galician speakers regard Galician as a separate language, which evolved without interruption and in situ from Latin, with Galician and Portuguese maintaining separate literary traditions since the 14th century. Portuguese Early Modern Era grammars and scholars, at least since Duarte Nunes de Leão in 1606, considered Portuguese and Galician two different languages derived from old Galician, understood as
13090-466: Was devoted to the research and study of the Galician culture. It was created by a group of students: Fermín Bouza Brey , Xosé Filgueira Valverde , Lois Tobío Fernández , with the collaboration of Ricardo Carvalho Calero , Antón Fraguas and Xaquín Lorenzo Fernández . Following the victory of Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War , the written or public use of the Galician language
13209-453: Was entitled the following seats: For the Senate, 207 seats were elected using an open list partial block voting system , with electors voting for individual candidates instead of parties. In constituencies electing four seats, electors could vote for up to three candidates; in those with two or three seats, for up to two candidates; and for one candidate in single-member districts. Each of
13328-552: Was founded, as a "mass front" of the UPG to organize protests and preparate a future electoral candidacy. In 1977 the UPG and the AN-PG created the Galician National-Popular Bloc (BN-PG), that run for the first democratic elections since 1936. In October 1981, the first elections for the Parliament of Galicia were held. These elections were won by the conservative and Spanish People's Alliance , while
13447-625: Was held on 15 May, with the participation of AN-PG, UPG, PSG, Galiza Ceibe-OLN, Assembly of Galician Nationalists, Libertarian Collective "Arco da Vella" and independents of Santiago de Compostela and A Coruña . All this organizations and independents had signed an appeal for the unity of Galician nationalism ; under the basic principles of recognition of the multinational character of the Spanish State, right of self-determination , anti-imperialism , self-government , self-organization, internal pluralism and democracy. This meeting would lead to
13566-571: Was held on Wednesday, 15 June 1977, to elect the Spanish Cortes of the Kingdom of Spain . All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as all 207 seats in the Senate . It was the first free election held in Spain since 1936 , prior to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War . It was called by Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez as part of the political reform of
13685-563: Was in fact one of the first comprehensive studies on sound change and evolution of any European language. He also defended that teaching in Galicia should be conducted in Galician, since it was the common language of most people. During the 19th century a thriving literature developed, in what was called the Rexurdimento (Resurgence), of the Galician language. It was headed by three main authors: Rosalia de Castro , an intimist poet; Eduardo Pondal , of nationalist ideology, who championed
13804-424: Was not until 2005 that BNG could force a coalition government , despite losing four seats and slipping to the third place. The BNG vice-president Anxo Quintana became then the vice-president of Galicia, and BNG could directly appoint a number of conselleiros (ministers) for some government departments. Prior to that, the other major Galician party, the conservative People's Party (PPdeG), had remained in control of
13923-461: Was not until the 18th century that linguists elaborated the first Galician dictionaries, and the language did not recover a proper literature until the 19th century; only since the last quarter of the 20th century is it taught in schools and used in lawmaking. The first complete translation of the Bible from the original languages dates from 1989. Currently, at the level of rural dialects, Galician forms
14042-410: Was outlawed. Publishing of Galician-language material revived on a small scale in the 1950s. With the advent of democracy, Galician has been brought into the country's institutions, and it is now co-official with Spanish in Galicia. Galician is taught in schools, and there is a public Galician-language television channel, Televisión de Galicia . Today, the most common language for everyday use in
14161-520: Was the language of the scriptoria of the lawyers, noblemen and churchmen of the Kingdom of Galicia, then integrated in the crown of Castile and open to influence from Spanish language, culture, and politics. During the 16th century the Galician language stopped being used in legal documentation, becoming de facto an oral language spoken by the vast majority of the Galicians, but having just some minor written use in lyric, theatre and private letters. It
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