I chose to investigate the languages of Spain because I found the lingual diversity in such a small area to be intriguing. I thought it was interesting how the languages of Spain changed throughout its history to form the languages that are used today. In learning our music for this tour we learned a little bit about the different languages in Spain, but before taking the class I didn't know much other than that there were multiple Spanish languages we would be singing in.
In the class I learned that the languages of Spain are Castillian, Galego, Euskera, and Catalan. Castillian is spoken throughout much of Spain, though there are several different dialects. The languages of Galego and Catalan are related to Castillian. These three languages evolved from Latin mixed with moorish influences. Galego is more closely related to Portuguese and Catalan is more closely related to French. Nobody really knows where Euskera came from.
While travelling in Spain I found that the Catalan people were the most likely to speak English well. It seemed like they would rather speak English to me than Castillian, which makes sense because of their cultural and regional pride.
We often sang "Segalariak," one of our pieces in Euskera, in public because it was the only Spanish piece we had memorized. We often got complimented on our Euskera. Many people came up to us thinking we spoke the language. I felt really bad because I just looked really confused and asked if they spoke any English. In Salamanca we sang this piece in a little cafe at the University and one of the guys who worked there complimented our Euskera and told us the Euskera word for "thank you." I was a little slow to catch on because he was trying to explain in Castillian, but he was very patient and understanding.
I found Euskera to be more percussive and have harsher consonants than the other Spanish languages. The choir struggled with the two different types of "s" sound present in the language. They sound very similar to our American ears and it was difficult for us to master them in the short time between meeting with the local choir director and performing our concert.