Abstract
The monograph deals with a sociolinguistic analysis of the current situation in Spain. It starts from a detailed description of the languages and dialects of contemporary Spain and tries to outline the linguistic dimension of the conflicts that occur in this multilingual state.
It describes the history and present of the complex relationship between the official language (Spanish) and the co-official languages (Catalan, Basque, Galician) and shows that the linguistic dimension is only one aspect, albeit an important one, of a far more complex conflict and that the relationship between this linguistic dimension and the political, cultural and social dimensions is far more complicated than is usually presented. The book is based on an analysis of recent statistical data and, in addition to a detailed description of the situation in each of the bilingual territories (Basque Country, Galicia, Catalonia, Valencia, Balearic Islands), it also contains a generalised analysis that shows how the nature of linguistic conflict varies from one territory to another and how difficult it is to find solutions at a central, pan-Spanish level.