The death throes of an european language

Allegation sent to the European Committee for Regional or Minority Languages

The Advisory Council of Lawyers for Asturian
DATE: 10/11/07

This allegation also aviable in:

Asturian (AST)
Spanish (ES)

1. INTRODUCTION.

The preamble to the Constitution (“The Spanish nation…proclaims its intention to… protect for all Spanish citizens and all people of Spain concerned… their languages”), along with Article 3.3 (“The wealth of distinct linguistic modalities in Spain is a cultural heritage which will receive special respect and protection”), agree with the protective principles which form the basis for the European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages.

Based on this and going on to why Spain ratified the above mentioned agreement on February 2^nd, 2001, and that in the ratification instrument, having acknowledged Asturian as a regional language (*1), they undertake to apply this, moreover the provisions promised for the co-official languages (Catalonian, the Basque language and Galician) "all those provisions in Part III of the Charter which can reasonably be applied in accordance with the objectives and principles declared in Article 7 (*2)" will not leave one without the expectation of special support from the public powers of the Spanish state, central and regional, for the protection of the Asturian language.

But matters have developed in the opposite direction to what one was led to expect and after the ratification of the Charter, the Spanish state did no more than neglect and fail to protect the Asturian language.

2. POLITICS AND LANGUAGE IN SPAIN.

For centuries, the linguistic diversity has been treated in Spain not as a cultural wealth but rather as a political problem.

The search for a Spanish identity brings with it an intense wish in the regimes and governments which are most diverse.  The use of the expression “flamenco art” (including the most degrading variations of this) as “the national Spanish folklore” or the “bullfight” as “a national Spanish festivity”, wasting, rather than spending, huge public funds on propaganda and infrastructures with such an objective, are two examples of that perseverance in creating and imposing “one Spanish cultural identity”, completely alien to the very different cultural identities of the communities which together form the current Spanish state. 

As they would like the language to be a clear sign of identity, Castilian was chosen as the standard language - first of the kingdom, then the empire, today of the state-, the citizens became accustomed to using as synonyms (a matter certainly unconstitutional, vide Article 3 in the Spanish constitution) Castilian and Spanish, and, with the definite intent to push aside, through alienation when not through violence, the use of the languages which were given the status of official ones.

This Spanish nationalist political action was met with nationalist political reactions in some regions of Spain, principally in the Basque area and Navarra (communities which use the Basque language), Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencia (the Catalonian language) and Galicia.  A considerable part of the history of violence in Spain consists of this action-reaction.  Currently, the politico-linguistic equilibrium, more or less unstable in the above mentioned communities, has been affected by the institution of co-official status.

But in Asturias, although civic movements arose in defence of its cultural identity, which they win, inside the modernity in the 18^th century as in the Asturian Enlightenment, with Jovellanos in front, who played one of the most important leading roles, and while in the last 30 years they succeeded in mobilizing in a sustained way a remarkable percentage of the population (demonstrations by twenty five thousand persons out of a regional total of less than a million), such demands did not solidify - nor did they try to in the majority of cases- into political movements and they never played a leading part in violent actions.

This pacifism and non-politicization of the identity claims, which is what is different about the history of Asturias as compared to the other Spanish regions with a language of their own, was, paradoxically, completely harmful to our linguistic rights because while for the others, the co-official status of their own language was recognized, for us it was not.

3. THE CONCEPT OF LINGUISTIC CO-OFFICIAL STATUS.

Article 3 in the Spanish constitution, after declaring Castilian the official language of the state, adds that the other Spanish languages would also be official in their respective autonomous regions in accordance with their statutes.

Similar writing is being given two opposing doctrinal interpretations: the one which thinks that the regional languages can have co-official status in their autonomous regions, but always when as in this case it is declared in the respective autonomous statutes, and that, moreover they have to establish a relevant model of official status, and the other, which , in the opposite sense, understands that the constitution establishes the co-official status of all regional languages recognized as such  and delegates to the autonomous statutes only the adoption of the model of co-official status which may differ between some autonomous regions and others because the constitution does not impose a single, uniform model.

However much all interpretative resources lead to the “declaration of official status”, it is no more than a juridical sequence by which the one Spanish language has a legally recognized existence, distinct from the official one of the state, rooted in the territory of an autonomous region, for the legal reasons of Article 3.2  in the constitution, the acknowledgement of its co-official status, it should follow (vide paragraph 4 ” The constitution establishes the official status of the state as Castilian and that of the other Spanish languages in their respective autonomous regions in “Legal opinion regarding the linguistic conflict in Asturias”, document 1 in the attachments.) , the political reality takes the opposite path and, in the majority of cases, juridical reason has no value except to confirm the Spanish parliament’s non-compliance with the constitution (as it approves the Public General Acts of Parliament, among others the Statutes  of Autonomy, Article 81 in the constitution), because no other state power is able to oblige parliament to fulfil a duty, be it authority, be it obligation, while co-official status with respect to the statute of autonomy, is not recognized, the regional language affected will not enjoy the benefit of official status, as is happening to the Asturian language.

4. THE RIGHT OF FORCE BEFORE THE FORCE OF RIGHT.

There is no legal text in existence which defines what in Spain is understood by the official status or co-official status of the regional languages.  Nevertheless, according to the Jurisprudence of the Constitutional Tribunal (*3) it may be understood that official status is restricted to the normal (this word is very important in the context) use of the language by the political powers.  This is to say that the non-recognition of the official status does not affect at all the right of the citizens to use their language, including in front of the public services that do not want to recognize it as proper nor use it normally, and not to be discriminated against for this.  In consequence, the precepts of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages, which do not try to regulate the institution of linguistic co-official status, - rather wholly contrary to the adherence to the spirit of its Article 1.a) - if it does not respond to the necessity of an agreed action to hinder the disappearance of threatened languages –Article 7.1.c), -are equally applicable to the Asturian language as to Catalonian, Galician and the Basque language.

Nevertheless, in Spanish practice, a language is either recognized expressly as having co-official status or it is condemned to die.  Stated in another way: in Spain, a regional language either receives sufficient political defence, generally from one or various nationalist parties, or it has no rights.  For this reason, the Asturian language, lacking  protectors other than some civic movements, if not protected by a determined and urgent intervention from European institutions, is condemned to disappear unless laws of high standing ( The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The UN International Agreement on Civil and Political Rights, The Agreement of the Council of Europe for  the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Liberties, The European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages, The Spanish constitution…) speak up to protect and promote it.  The vicious circle (the public powers which do not want to recognize the co-official status deny a whole category of protection in order not to render it) is also, in this case, of necessity fatal.

The following offers good evidence of this:

a) The second periodic report to the Council of Europe about applying in Spain the European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages, produced by the Spanish government in 2006, which in its 506 pages, in its Spanish version, makes only two references to the Asturian language.  The first one, on page 12, contains an enigmatic sentence (“the process of normalization and codification of Asturian has not become completely consolidated”).  The second, on page 41, is a clear indication that  the suffering have been abandoned (“With reference to bable or Asturian, there are no new data with respect to those provided in the first report, presented in 2002, because of which a return is made to providing the data submitted for the Enquiry into Linguistic Uses made in 1991.”)

All the other references in the report, the thousands of quotations made in it, are from beginning to end, exclusively references to the co-official languages (Catalonian, the Basque language, in the communities in which it is spoken, and Galician). There is no mention of the actions of the Administration of the Principality of Asturias, while in the activity of the Administration of the State itself, is always present, like a sine qua non requirement, the recognition of co-official status for the protected language (thus, pp. 244 and 279 refer to Article 9 in the Charter, 286-300, to number 10, 404-409 to number 12; etc.)

In summary, the quoted report by the Spanish government is evidence of non-compliance with the European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages with respect to the protection due to the Asturian language or bable.

b) The “Legal Opinion about the Linguistic Conflict in Asturias” and the study into “Asturian in Education”, both written by this civic association, and attachments like documents 1 and 2 respectively, study in depth the question of “all or nothing” which  hides behind the Spanish institution of linguistic co-official status and has a more extensive bearing on those general acts of non-compliance regarding the provisions of the European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages with respect to the specific language of the Autonomous Region of the Principality of Asturias.

 c) To illustrate to what extreme lengths the decision to end the Asturian language is being taken, documentation is attached for three current and shameful cases of linguistic repression:

     The repression of a university doctoral candidate’s wish to present in Asturian the paper on his doctoral thesis in front of the examiner of the tribunal; the repression of a teacher’s wish to present in Asturian the payment relating to expenses for travel between schools; the repression of a public official who asked permission to undergo a cardiac procedure using one single sentence in Asturian, perfectly intelligible by any Spanish speaking citizen.

The appeal for protection in front of the Constitutional Tribunal which was presented firstly and the question of unconstitutionality which the judge raised in the third case (text which is certainly a highly clear example of how, outside co-official status, there is hardly any linguistic right in Spain) will lie in the offices of the Constitutional Tribunal for ten, twenty years, maybe thirty.  By then, the Asturian language will be protected by the museums of history.

In Asturias and in Asturian, in the month of November, 2007
The Advisory Council of Lawyers for Asturian

(*1) Likewise, Spain declares, to the same effect, that it also understands by regional or minority languages those that the Statutes of Autonomy protect and enshrine in the territories where they are traditionally spoken (Instrument of Ratification for the Charter by Spain) and being that Article 4 of the Statute of Autonomy of the Principality of Asturias establishes “Bable will enjoy protection” and Act 1/1998 of March 23d, on the use and promotion of Bable/Asturian qualifies that language as “traditional for Asturias” in its Article 1.

(*2) Although the writing in the instrument of ratification may be very ambiguous, its interpretation cannot be other than one: Spain promises to apply to the Asturian language the 69 paragraphs and sections which relate to the co-official languages, and moreover, all the others which are included in Part III of the Charter “which can reasonably be applied in keeping with the objectives and principles established in Article 7”.  Vide numeral 5.2.3, “An Unconstitutional Interpretation: that which the public powers make regarding the Instrument of Ratification for Spain of the European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages” in “A Legal Opinion Regarding the Linguistic Conflict in Asturias”, which is attached as number 1, and section 4.2 “Interpretation of the Instrument of Ratification” in the report “The Asturian Language in Education”, which is attached as Number 2 in the documents.

(*3) Among others, in the judgements of the Constitutional Tribunal 41/1991 and 82/1996 it is stated: “Although the Constitution does not define, but rather offers that of course there is one official language, the regulation that it makes of the matter allows one to confirm that a language is official, independently of the social reality, when it is recognized by the public powers as the normal medium for communication within and between them and in its relation to private matters, with full validity and juridical effects”.

(*4) The discrimination against the Asturian language is shown, article by article of the European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages, against the norms that the Spanish State has approved for its observance. Thus:

Article 7 .- As  the two reports of the Spanish government reflect, relative to the application of the Charter (in the years 2002 and 2006), no measure is taken to apply the content of this Article to the Asturian language, victim of the evident non-observance of its section 2 (“ The Parts it is promised to eliminate, where this has not already been done, are all unjustified distinction, exclusion, restriction and preference with respect to the use of a regional or minority whose aim is to place at risk the maintenance or development of the same”).

Article 8.- Vide the document attached as number 2, “Asturian in Education”.

Article 9.- The norms of a general character which follow (classified by ranking and date) issued by the Spanish state, exclude from its protection languages which do not have co-official status, in consequence, Asturian language:

- The Public General Act of Parliament 6/1985, on the Judiciary (the discriminatory articles: 110,  216, 231, 341, 431, 450, 483, 521, 530 and 536)
- Act 5/2002, from the official Gazette concerning the provinces (the discriminatory article: 5)
- Act 22/2003, On Bankruptcy (the discriminatory article: 219)
- Royal Decree 249/1996 , Regulations for the Organization of Corps of Officials, Assistants and  Officers in the Service of the Justice System (discriminatory articles: 5, 11, 20)
- Royal Decree 296/1996, through which approval is given to the Regulations for the Organization of  the Corps of Forensic Physicians ( discriminatory articles: 4, 20, 23 and the  2d additional provision)
- Royal Decree 1451/2005, Regulations for the Income, Positions and Professional  Promotion of Personnel in the Service of the Justice System (discriminatory articles: 8, 18, 29, 37, 44, 48 and 49)
- Royal Decree 1608/2005, Regulations for the Corps of Legal Secretaries (discriminatory articles: 100 and 109).

Article 10. -State norms which discriminate against the Asturian language ahead of other regional Spanish languages which lack the declaration of co-official status (classified by ranking and date.  In parentheses the discriminatory articles:

- Public General Act of Parliament 4/2001, regarding the Right of Petition (statement of purpose and article 5)
- Act 7/1995, on Bases for the System of Local Government (article 14)
- Act 14/1986, on the Health Service (article 84)
- Act 30/1991, on the modification of the Civil Code (article 698)
- Act 30/1992 on the Legal System with regard to Public Administration and Common Administrative Procedures (statement of purpose and articles 35 and 36)
- Act 12/2005, modifying Article 23 of the Act on the Registry Office
- Act 17/2005, on permission to drive by points (the 4^th additional provision, Act on Road Safety)
- Act 7/2007, the Basic Statute on Employees in the Public Sector (articles 54, 56 and the 2d additional provision)
- Official Gazette of the State, of May 15^th 1994, Revised Text of the Regulations of the Senate (articles 11a, 56 a.9, 191 and the 4^th additional provision)
- Royal Decree 2296/1981, on Signposting with regard to Roads, Transport and Communications (article 1)
- Royal Decree 334/1982, on Signposting for Roads, Airports and Railway Stations, Buses and Maritime Vessels, and Public Services of General Interest in the Realm of Autonomous Regions with Another Official Language Different from Castilian (article1)
- Royal Decree 1690/1986, Regulations on the Settlement and Territorial Demarcation of Local Entities (article 30)
- Royal Decree 2224/1986, Premises for Electoral Processes (statement of  purpose, and articles 1, 2, 3)
- Royal Decree 2568/1986, on the Organization, Functioning and Legal Systemof Local Entities (articles 86, 110 and 201)
- Royal Decree 628/1987, modifying article 86 in the Regulations for the Registry Office (?)
- Royal Decree 421/1999, regulates the Electoral Processes (article 4)
- Royal Decree 733/1995, Academic and Professional Degrees (article 2, attachment II)
- Royal Decree 1496/1995, Diplomas of Schools of Tourism (additional provision 3, and attachment II)
- Royal Decree 605/1999, additional regulations for the Electoral Process (article 4)
- Royal Decree 1465/1999, because it establishes criteria for the institutional image, and regulates the documentation process and  printed matter of the General Administration of the State ( preamble, Chapter III, articles 5, 6 and 11 and additional provision 3)
- Royal Decree 1428/2003, Regulations for Driving (article 138)
- Royal Decree 1598/2004, General Regulations for Drivers (additional provision 8)
- Royal Decree 1553/2005, on Delivering the National Identity Document (article   11)
- Royal Decree 905/2007 on the creation within the Administration of the State of the Council for Official Languages, and  of the Office for Official Languages
- Order of June 17^th, 1987, regulating the use of the official languages of the Autonomous Regions in relations between members of the public, public corporations and institutions for their self-government, and the military administration (the title, and articles 1, 2 and 3)
- Order of May 26^th, 1988, about models for the Civil Registry (article 2)
- Order of August 24^th, 1988, about academic and professional degrees (ordinal 9)
- Order of July 20^th, 1989, approving models for the certificate testifying that the owner is still alive, and that of civil status, and certification of Civil Registries (article 4)
- Order of July 20^th, 1990, for the provision of some functionary positions in the Peripheral State Administration, with relation to the awareness of the respective official languages in each Autonomous Region (title, statement of purpose, and ordinals 1 and 5)
- Order of November 10^th, 1999, questionnaires for the declaration of birth to the Civil Registry (ordinal 2)
- Ruling of November 6^th, 1995, on the General Management of the Registry and of Notary Offices, making public the relation between settlements where there are notary districts whose official names are different from those mentioned in  Royal Decree 2038/1984
- Ruling of May 8^th, 1996, on the General Management of the Registry and of Notary Offices, about the translation into the other official languages, using obligatory models for annual reports to be presented to the Trade Registry  for deposit. The Official Gazette of the State of May 29^th, 1996
- Circular of the General Management of the Registry and the Notary Offices, about literal certification by the Civil Registry (provision 3)

Others: Creation of an Expert Committee to analyze the use and regulation of co-official languages; the training of functionaries destined for Autonomous Regions which have a co-official language; use of the co-official languages  on the web page of the General Administration of the State (vide pp. 123-125 of the Spanish Report of 2002, about applying the European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages, and pp. 286-299 in the corresponding report of 2006)

Article 11. - Discriminatory State norms for the Asturian language.

- Act 21/1997, by which broadcasting and retransmissions of sports competitions and events are regulated (article 4)
- Act 10/2005 on Digital Cable Television, the Privatization of Television and the Fostering of Pluralism (additional provision 1)

Article 12.- State discriminations against the Asturian language:

- Act  17/1994, on Cinematography (the second paragraph of the preamble, articles 6 and 7, and additional provision 1)
- Act 30/1994, on Foundations and Patronage (article 69, and provisions 6 and 9)
- Act 54/1999, the Budget for the year 2000 (statement of purpose, and additional provision 19)
- Act 15/2001, on the Fostering and Promotion of Cinematography and of the Audiovisual Sector ( preamble, articles 2,5,6,7,  and 8, and additional provision 2)
- Royal Decree 196/2000, modifies others in order to update the norms relating to cinematographic and audiovisual production and dissemination( preamble, and articles 1 and 2)
- Royal Decree 526/2002, on Cinematography (articles 7, 10 and 13, and the first final provision)
- Order of July 7^th, 1997, on Cinematography (ordinals 2, 4 and 13, and and attachment I, number 4

Moreover, the Spanish State discriminates against the Asturian language in its aid and the subsidies of the editing, translating and disseminating of books and magazines, the recognition when awarding literary prizes, the coordination of libraries and linguistic politics in the material in museums, art, cinematography and audiovisuals (vide pages 142-147 of the first Spanish report, in the year  2002, about the applying of the European Charter of Regional and Minority  Languages, and pages 405-463 of the second one, of the year 2006.

Article 13. – State discrimination against Asturian:

- Act 18/1997, modifying Article 18 in Act 50/1980, on the Insurance Contract ( title, preamble and only article)
- Act 1/2002, on the Defence of Competition (additional provision 2)
- Royal Decree 2872/1983, on the sending of money orders (the only article)

(*4) The discrimination of Asturian language is shown, article by article of the European Letter of minority or regional languages, through the norms that the Spanish state has been passing for its fulfilment. So that:

Article 7.- As we can see  in two reports of the Spanish government, which are related to the application of the Letter (in 2002 and 2006) no measure was adapted in order to apply the content of this article to Asturian language, which is a victim of an evident breach of its Part nº 2. (“ The Parts have promised to eliminate, if they have not do it yet, any distinction, exclusion, restriction or unjustified preference related to the use of a regional or minority language which main objective could be put in danger the maintenance or its development”).

Article 8.- View appendix nº 2, “ The Asturian language in the education”

Article 9.- The following norms, which have a general character (classified by range and date) were dictated by the Spanish state; those norms exclude from their protection the no co-official languages, that is to say, the Asturian language:

- Organic Law 6/1985, of Judicial Power (discriminatory articles: 110, 216, 231, 341, 431, 450, 483, 521, 530 and 536)
- Law 5/2002, of official bulletins of the provinces (discriminatory article: 5)
- Law 22/2003, Concursal (discriminatory article: 219)
- Royal Decree 249/1996, Organic Regulation of the Official, Auxiliary and Agents Bodies to the service of the administration of justice (discriminatory articles: 5, 11 and 20)
- Royal Decree 296/1996, by that it is approved the Organic Regulation of the Forensic Doctors Body (discriminatory articles: 4, 20, 23 and second additional disposition)
- Royal Decree 1451/2005, Regulation of revenue, provision of working places and professional promotion of the personal to the service of the administration of justice (discriminatory articles: 8, 18, 29, 37, 44, 48 and 49)
- Royal Decree 1608/2005. Organic Regulation of the Judicial Secretaries Body (discriminatory articles: 100 and 109)

Article 10.- State procedures that discriminate the Asturian language opposite to the other regional languages because of not being co-official (classified by range and date, discriminatory articles in brackets):

- Organic Law 4/2001, of the right of request (exposition of reasons and article 5)
- Law 7/1995, of Bases of the Local Regime (article 14)
- Law 14/1986, of Sanity (article 84)
- Law 30/1991, modification of the Civil Code (article 698)
- Law 30/1992, of Juridical Regime of the Public Administrations and the Common Administrative Procedure (exposition of reasons and articles 35 and 36)
- Law 12/2005, modifying the article 23 of the Civil Record’s Law
- Law 17/2005, of the driving licence for points (fourth additional disposition, Law of Road Safety)
- Law 7/2007, of the basic statute of the Civil Servant (article 54, 56 and second additional disposition)
- Official Bulletin of the State, May 15, 1994; rewritten text of the Regulation of the Senate (articles 11.bis, 56.bis, 9, 191 and fourth additional disposition)
- Royal Decree 2296/1981, signposting as for roads, transports and communications (article 1)
- Royal Decree 334/1982, signposting of roads, airports and bus, maritime and train stations, and public services of general interest in the area of the autonomous communities with another language different from Castilian (article 1)
- Royal Decree 1690/1986, Regulation of population and territorial demarcation of the local authorities (article 30)
- Royal Decree 2224/1986, places for electoral processes (exposition of reasons and articles 1, 2 and 3)
- Royal Decree 2568/1986,of organization, functioning and juridical regime of the local authorities (articles 86, 110 and 201)
- Royal Decree 628/1987, modifying the article nº 86 of the Regulation of the Civil Record
- Royal Decree 421/1999, it regulates the electoral processes (article 4)
- Royal Decree 733/1995, academic and professional degrees (article 2, annexe II)
- Royal Decree 1496/1995, Degrees of school of tourism (third additional disposition and annexe II)
- Royal Decree 605/1999, complementary regulation of the electoral processes (article 4)
- Royal Decree 1465/1999, by that it is established criteria of institutional image and it is regulated the documentary production and the material that has been printing in the General Administration of the State (preamble, chapter III, articles 5, 6 and 11 and third additional disposition)
- Royal Decree 1428/2003, Regulation of traffic (article 138)
- Royal Decree 1598/2004, General Regulation of Drivers (eighth additional disposition)
- Royal Decree 1553/2005, expedition of the identity card (article 11)
- Royal Decree 905/1007, creation of The Council of Official Languages in the State’s Administration and in the Office for official languages
- Order of May 26, 1988, different kinds of Civil Record (article 2)
- Order of August 24, 1988,of academic and professional degrees (ninth ordinal)
- Order of July 20, 1989, passing models of faith of life and state and Civil Record’s certifications.(article 4)
- Order of July 20, 1990, to establish the provision of some civil servants´ working places in the peripheral administration of the state, related to the knowledge of the official proper languages of every autonomous community. (title, exposition of reasons and ordinals from first to fifth)
- Order of November 10, 1999, questionnaires for the declaration of birth to the Civil Record. (second ordinal)
- Resolution of November 6, 1995, of the General Record’s Direction and Notarial, publishing the relation of populations in which limited offices of a notary exist with different official names from those who appear in the Royal Decree 2038/1984
- Resolution of May 8, 1996, of the General Record’s Direction and Notarial, about translation to other official languages of the obligatory models of annual accounts to present in the mercantile records for its deposit. Official bulletin of the State, 29-5-1996
- Circular letter of the General Record’s Direction and Notarial, about literal certifications of the Civil Record (third disposition)
- Others: creation of a Commission of Experts to analyze the use and regulation of the co-official languages; formation of civil servants destined in Autonomous Communities with co-official language, use of the co-official languages in the web site of the General Administration of the State (view pages 123 to 125 of the inform of Spain, year 2002, on application of the European Letter of the minority or regional languages and pages 286 to 299, year 2006)

Article 11.- Discriminatory norms of the State to the Asturian language:

- Law 21/1997, by that it is regulated the emission and retransfers of competitions and sports events (article 4)
- Law 10/2005, Digital Terrestrial Television, liberation of television and promotion of pluralism (first additional disposition)

Article 12 .- State’s discriminations to the Asturian language:

- Law 17/1994, cinematography (second paragraph of its preamble, articles 6 and 7 and first additional disposition)
- Law 30/1994, Foundations and patronages (article 69 and sixth and ninth additional dispositions)
- Law 54/1999, budgets for year 2000 (exposition of reasons an nineteenth additional disposition)
- Law 15/2001, of cinematographic promotion and encouragement and audio-visual sector (preamble, articles 2,5,6,7 and 8 and second additional disposition)
- Royal Decree 196/2000, it modifies others in order to update the norms related to the cinematographic production and diffusion and audio-visual (preamble and articles 1 and 2)
- Royal Decree 526/2002, cinematography (articles 7, 10 and 13 and first additional disposition)
- Order of July 7, 1997, cinematography (second, fourth and thirteenth ordinals and annex I- numeral 4)

Besides, the Spanish State discriminates Asturian language in concepts of helps, subsidies to the edition, translation and diffusion of books and magazines, recognition in literary awards, coordination of libraries and linguistic policy as for museums, art, cinematography and audio-visuals (view pages 142 to 147 of the first inform of Spain, 2002, about the application of European Letter of the regional or minority languages and pages 405 to 463 of the second one, in 2006)

Article 13 .- State’s discrimination to Asturian:

- Law 18/1997, modifying the article nº 18 of the law 50/1980, Contract of assurance (title, preamble and the unique article)
- Law 1/2002, Defence of Competition (second additional disposition)
- Royal Decree 2872/1983, sending of money order (unique article)

Article 14.- Asturian language is used in Leon (in every town of the south part of the mountain chain, most of them from El Bierzo) and in Zamora (Sanabria), both are part of the Autonomous Community of Castilla and Leon, and in Miranda (zone North-East of Portugal) where it has recognized the condition of co-officiality. No action was realized by the Spanish State in order to facilitate the frontier exchanges among communities or States. On the other hand, the authorities of Miranda are doing a big effort in order to civic asturian organizations in defence of the linguistic rights taking part, in Asturias, in acts of recognition of the linguistic community, frequently faced the discourtesy of both, civic acts authorities of Miranda, of the public charges and institutional powers taken root in Asturias.

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