English By Graham Keeley Share on Facebook Print this page MADRID - In the land that gave the world the first modern novel,
Don Quixote, the language of its creator, Miguel de Cervantes, is under threat. This is the contention of bilingual campaigners and conservative politicians who believe a new education law will erode a constitutional guarantee to teach Spanish, also known as Castilian, in schools.
Spain is a linguistically diverse country where the Catalan, Galician and Basque languages have equal status that is protected by law.
Spain s left-wing coalition government has introduced a reform, which says Castilian Spanish does not have to be the principal language in classrooms throughout the country.