The Galician language

Please excuse my poor English. My pages are written in Galician. Galician is the language which, along with Spanish, is spoken in Galicia (the name of the country is also spelled Galiza).

The Galician language derives from Latin (as well as French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan and so on). It is very similar to Portuguese. In fact many professors think that Galician is another dialect of Portuguese, just like the Portuguese spoken in Portugal and the Portuguese spoken in Brazil.

Galician had a great literary splendor in the Middle Ages, being even the poetic language of the Castilian kingdom, but the "Catholic Monarchs" (ca. 1500) forbade its use, and this lasted for hundreds of years. Then came the Galician literature renaissance (nineteenth century). Recently, the dictator Francisco Franco (1936 - 1975) forbade again Galician language and literature.

Meet my favourite Galician writer

Galicia, my country

Galicia is an Autonomous Community (this means that there is a Self-Government Body) in the Northwest of Spain, with a population (2008) of 2 784 169 inhabitants. There are 315 municipalities in Galicia, and you have below a list with the most populated. Source: Instituto Galego de Estatística.

If you want to find Galicia on a map, you must search 43° North and 8° West.

CONCELLOSPadrón 2009Padrón 2008Padrón 2007Padrón 2006Padrón 2005
1. Vigo297 332295 703294 772293 255293 725
2. A Coruña246 056245 164244 388243 320243 349
3. Ourense107 742107 057107 186108 137108 358
4. Lugo96 67895 41693 85393 45092 271
5. Santiago de Compostela95 09294 33993 71293 45892 919
6. Pontevedra81 57680 74980 20280 09679 372
7. Ferrol74 27374 69675 18176 39977 155
8. Narón37 71237 00836 24535 66435 083
9. Vilagarcía de Arousa37 57637 32936 74336 51935 954
10. Oleiros33 44332 38131 69431 26430 467
11. Carballo30 99030 65330 09129 98529 689
12. Redondela30 00130 03629 98730 02929 863
13. Arteixo29 76228 96127 71326 73926 272
14. Culleredo28 22727 67026 70726 54725 650
15. Ribeira27 51827 43027 18127 05326 884
16. Ames26 98325 81824 55323 21922 228
17. Marín25 96925 87925 88526 19026 103
18. Cangas25 74825 53725 40225 20224 849
19. Cambre23 23122 90022 51322 09221 523
20. Ponteareas23 17222 75022 41121 99321 378
21. A Estrada21 88021 88621 90822 01322 102
22. Lalín21 25421 13020 86720 77920 732
23. Monforte de Lemos19 54619 48619 31119 41219 472
24. Moaña19 01418 70918 58718 43218 415
25. Boiro18 88318 73018 54718 55418 469
26. Nigrán18 02117 86917 66817 63117 281
27. Teo17 80717 62517 44117 16816 809
29. O Porriño17 47517 11416 74516 61716 576
28. Sanxenxo17 31517 21617 07716 91416 598
30. Tui17 26216 97216 94816 92516 680
31. Viveiro16 23816 05215 70615 57615 505
32. Poio16 04315 84215 45615 20114 889
33. Vilalba15 43715 40615 35815 45515 409
34. Noia14 97014 87514 80814 70214 637
35. Mos14 65014 50414 47114 28313 996
36. Sada14 48714 03613 60613 13412 867
37. Verín14 39114 23713 99113 94413 706
38. O Barco de Valdeorras14 21314 04013 94313 80013 700
39. Fene14 16514 16914 22214 34614 355
40. O Carballiño14 11413 98313 83813 71613 465
41. Gondomar13 84113 71313 37112 88812 685
42. Cambados13 70813 62013 59113 56213 581
43. Betanzos13 68013 52213 32813 16513 059
44. Sarria13 50813 47613 42213 35213 155
45. Tomiño13 31512 98212 65112 278n/a
46. Ordes12 75712 53412 35912 29412 272
47. Bueu12 33112 37512 44012 53712 528
48. Baiona12 091n/an/an/an/a
..................
315. Negueira de Muñiz210221222213230


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Last updated: 1 - I - 2010

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