Democratic Policies for Language Revitalisation: The Case of Catalan (Palgrave Studies in Minority Languages and Communities)

Democratic Policies for Language Revitalisation: The Case of Catalan M. Strubell; E. Boix-Fuster ISBN: 9780230302426 DOI...

Author: Miquel Strubell | Emili Boix-Fuster

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Democratic Policies for Language Revitalisation: The Case of Catalan M. Strubell; E. Boix-Fuster ISBN: 9780230302426 DOI: 10.1057/9780230302426 Palgrave Macmillan

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Miquel Strubell; Emili Boix-Fuster

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Democratic Policies for Language Revitalisation: the Case of Catalan

10.1057/9780230302426 - Democratic Policies for Language Revitalisation: The Case of Catalan, Edited by Miquel Strubell and Emili BoixFuster

Palgrave Studies in Minority Languages and Communities

Worldwide migration and unprecedented economic, political and social integration in Europe present serious challenges to the nature and position of language minorities. Some communities receive protective legislation and active support from states through policies that promote and sustain cultural and linguistic diversity; others succumb to global homogenization and assimilation. At the same time, discourses on diversity and emancipation have produced greater demands for the management of difference. This series publishes new research based on single or comparative case studies on minority languages worldwide. We focus on their use, status and prospects, and on linguistic pluralism in areas with immigrant or traditional minority communities or with shifting borders. Each volume is written in an accessible style for researchers and students in linguistics, education, anthropology, politics and other disciplines, and for practitioners interested in language minorities and diversity. Titles include: Jean-Bernard Adrey DISCOURSE AND STRUGGLE IN MINORITY LANGUAGE POLICY FORMATION Corsican Language Policy in the EU Context of Governance Nancy H. Hornberger (editor) CAN SCHOOLS SAVE INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES? Policy and Practice on Four Continents Anne Judge LINGUISTIC POLICIES AND THE SURVIVAL OF REGIONAL LANGUAGES IN FRANCE AND BRITAIN Yasuko Kanno LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION IN JAPAN Unequal Access to Bilingualism Janet Muller LANGUAGE AND CONFLICT IN NORTHERN IRELAND AND CANADA A Silent War Máiréad Nic Craith EUROPE AND THE POLITICS OF LANGUAGE Citizens, Migrants and Outsiders Máiréad Nic Craith (editor) LANGUAGE, POWER AND IDENTITY POLITICS


Series Editor: Gabrielle Hogan-Brun, University of Bristol, UK

Bernadette O’Rourke ATTITUDES TOWARDS WEAK AND STRONG MINORITY LANGUAGES Galician and Irish in the European Context


Susanna Pertot, Tom M. S. Priestly and Colin H. Williams (editors) RIGHTS, PROMOTION AND INTEGRATION ISSUES FOR MINORITY LANGUAGES IN EUROPE Miquel Strubell and Emili Boix-Fuster (editors) DEMOCRATIC POLICIES FOR LANGUAGE REVITALISATION The Case of Catalan Linda Tsung MINORITY LANGUAGES, EDUCATION AND COMMUNITIES IN CHINA Glyn Williams SUSTAINING LANGUAGE DIVERSITY IN EUROPE Evidence from the Euromosaic project Forthcoming titles: Durk Gorter MINORITY LANGUAGES IN THE LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE Dovid Katz YIDDISH AND POWER Ten Overhauls of a Stateless Language Peter Sercombe (editor) LANGUAGE, IDENTITIES AND EDUCATION IN ASIA Graham Hodson Turner A SOCIOLINGUISTIC HISTORY OF BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE

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Edited by

Miquel Strubell Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain

and

Emili Boix-Fuster Universitat de Barcelona, Spain


Democratic Policies for Language Revitalisation: the Case of Catalan


Editorial selection and matter © Miquel Strubell and Emili Boix-Fuster 2011 Chapters © their individual authors 2011

No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2011 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978–0–230–28512–5 hardback This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Democratic policies for language revitalisation : the case of Catalan / edited by Miquel Strubell, Emili Boix-Fuster. p. cm. Includes index. Summary: “A collection of studies offering an up-to-date analysis of official policies to promote Catalan in a democratic framework in each of the main Spanish regions where it is spoken: Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands”—Provided by publisher. ISBN 978–0–230–28512–5 (hardback) 1. Catalan language—Social aspects—Spain. 2. Language policy—Spain. 3. Language planning. 4. Sociolinguistics. I. Strubell i Trueta, Miquel, 1949– II. Boix, Emili, 1956– PC3814.D46 2011 306.44 9467—dc22 2011002015 10 20

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 19 18 17 16 15 14 13


All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission.

2 1 12 11

Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne


List of Figures

viii

List of Tables

ix

Acknowledgements

x

Notes on the Contributors

xi

1 Introduction Miquel Strubell and Emili Boix-Fuster Notes References

1

2 La Catalanofonia. A Community in Search of Linguistic Normality Miquel Àngel Pradilla Cardona 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The Catalan-speaking community 2.3 Corpus planning 2.4 Status planning 2.5 Conclusions Notes References 3 The Legal Systems of the Catalan Language Jaume Vernet and Eva Pons 3.1 General characteristics of the legal system for languages 3.2 The legal systems of the Catalan language in the various regions 3.3 Final considerations Notes References 4 Policies Governing the Use of Languages in Relations between the Authorities and the Public Isidor Marí Mayans 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Territories in which Catalan is not an official language

15 15 17 17 17 30 39 50 53 55 57

57 60 73 76 82


Contents

84 84 84

v


vi Contents

5 Language-in-Education Policy F. Xavier Vila i Moreno 5.1 A large field with many players 5.2 Policies with a long history behind them 5.3 Language policy in education since 1978 5.4 Language-in-education policies in Catalan-speaking territories: a summary Notes References 6 Policies Promoting the Use of Catalan in Oral Communications and to Improve Attitudes towards the Language Emili Boix-Fuster, Joan Melià and Brauli Montoya 6.1 Introduction 6.2 The problem 6.3 The beginnings of official language policy (1981–95) 6.4 The changes in language policy in the second phase (from 1995) 6.5 Conclusions Notes References 7 Language Policies in the Public Media and the Promotion of Catalan in the Private Media, Arts and Information Technologies Josep Gifreu 7.1 Introduction 7.2 The general framework in Spain 7.3 Policies on Catalan in the media 7.4 The outlook for Catalan’s communicative space Notes References

89 99 102 109 112 114 118 119 119 120 125 143 144 147

150 150 152 155 164 178 179 179

182 182 183 185 193 197 199


4.3 Territories in which both Catalan and Castilian are official languages 4.4 Catalan as the sole official language: the case of Andorra 4.5 Relations with Spanish state institutions 4.6 Supranational institutions 4.7 Some conclusions Notes References


8 Language Policy in the World of Business and Consumer Affairs: from Non-Existence to Ineffectiveness Albert Branchadell and Joan Melià 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Catalonia 8.3 The Balearic Islands 8.4 Other territories 8.5 Conclusions Notes Bibliography 9 An Overview of Catalan Research into Language Policy and Planning Elena Heidepriem Olazábal 9.1 General introduction 9.2 The Catalan language: the state of affairs at the start of the twenty-first century 9.3 Language education and learning: the two keys to linguistic change in Catalonia in the final third of the twentieth century 9.4 The legal and judicial fields: the framework for the development of the language References Index

vii

201 201 202 208 215 218 220 222 224 224 225

231 238 245 247


Contents


2.1 2.2 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4

Map of Catalan-speaking territories Geographical varieties of the Catalan language ‘Let’s speak in Valencian’ ‘Encomana el català’ (‘Pass on Catalan’) ‘En Valencià, naturalment’ (‘In Valencian, naturally’) ‘Catalan is a language for everyone’

18 25 161 169 170 176


List of Figures

viii


2.1 Understanding and speaking skills: territories, population and percentages 2.2 Official population in Catalan-speaking territories 2.3 Origin of immigrant population 2.4 Geographical varieties of the Catalan language 4.1 Development in the use of languages with the public authorities between 1995 and 1999 in Andorra 4.2 Language used in documents and communications by the central authorities, 2004 4.3 Rulings in the courts of Catalonia, by language, 2000–6 5.1 School language models prevalent in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencia and eastern Aragon (la Franja) 5.2 Students in public and private schools by language in which classes are taught, Catalonia: infant and primary, and secondary education, 1999–2000 5.3 Language of teaching in infant and primary schools, Balearic Islands, 2002–3 5.4 Schools with programmes in Valencian and students following the PEV or PIL in Valencia, 2006–7 academic year 5.5 Catalan language taught in la Franja, 2004–5 5.6 Status and use of Catalan in the universities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencia 5.7 Language of teaching in master’s and postgraduate courses in universities in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencia

19 21 21 24 102 106 109 128

129 131

133 134 137

139


List of Tables

ix


The editors are grateful to Elena Heidepriem, who runs the Documentation Centre of the Catalan government’s Secretariat for Language Policy, for helping the authors to update their bibliographic sources. We are also grateful to the Secretariat for Language Policy of the government of Catalonia for providing us with both some funding and for high-quality maps and illustrations. We would like to thank the Societat Catalana de Sociolingüística for their financial support as well, which allowed us to cover the costs of translations. We would like to thank the LinguamónUOC Chair in Multilingualism which has covered the costs of indexing the book. Finally, though they remain anonymous, we would like to thank the reviewers of earlier drafts of the book for their helpful and stimulating remarks and suggestions, nearly all of which have led to what the authors hope are improvements in the text.


Acknowledgements

x


Emili Boix-Fuster is full Professor of Sociolinguistics, Department of Catalan Philology, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain. He regularly teaches sociolinguistics, language planning and applied linguistics. He is editor of the academic journal Treballs de Sociolingüística Catalana and a steering committee member of the University of Barcelona Centre of Sociolinguistics and Communication (CUSC). Albert Branchadell is a Doctor in Catalan Philology (Autonomous University of Barcelona) and in Political and Administration Sciences (Pompeu Fabra University). He is currently Professor in the Faculty of Translation and Interpretation of the Autonomous University. He is a member of the Catalan Sociolinguistics Society, a society attached to the Institute of Catalan Studies. His publications include The Catalan Language. Its Past, Its Present Reality, Its Literature (with Vicent de Melchor) and Less Translated Languages (co-edited with Lovell M. West). Josep Gifreu is emeritus Professor of Communication at the Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona), where he was the founding Dean of the Faculty of Audiovisual Communication (1993–2000) and where he founded and coordinated the UNICA research group. He is director of the journal Quaderns del CAC. He is a full member of the Philological Section (Language Academy) of the Institute of Catalan Studies. A consultant in communication policies, he has written numerous books and articles on this issue, and regularly contributes to newspapers and magazines. Elena Heidepriem Olazábal holds degrees in modern history (University of Barcelona) and in documentation (Open University of Catalonia). She has contributed to a number of Catalan and international publications specialising in social aspects of language. She is currently responsible for the Documentation Centre of the Secretariat for Language Policy of the government (Generalitat) of Catalonia, the leading centre in Catalonia and in Spain devoted to sociolinguistics, language policy and language planning.



xi


Isidor Marí Mayans is Professor at the Open University of Catalonia, where he has been Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Philology and has held the Linguamón-UOC Chair in Multilingualism. He coordinated the Scientific Committee of the Universal Declaration of Language Rights (1996). He has been a full member of the Philological Section (Language Academy) of the Institute of Catalan Studies since 1989, and currently chairs the Section. Between 1980 and 1996 he held several posts, including that of Deputy Director General, in the Directorate General for Language Policy of Catalonia. Joan Melià is Professor of Sociolinguistics and Catalan Language at the University of the Balearic Islands. His research and publications are chiefly in the fields of sociolinguistics, language teaching and language planning, especially focusing on the situation in the Balearic Islands. From 1999 to 2003 he was Director General for Language Policy of the Government of the Balearic Islands. Brauli Montoya is full Professor of Catalan Philology at the University of Alacant. He is a full member of the Philological Section (Language Academy) of the Institute of Catalan Studies. His publications are mainly in the fields of the history of Catalan, sociolinguistics and language planning. Eva Pons is tenured Professor in Constitutional Law at the University of Barcelona. As well as publications on public law, she has co-authored the book Dret linguistic and has written ‘L’estatut jurídic de les llengües a Catalunya’, ‘El principi de respecte de la diversitat lingüística i la seva projecció sobre les institucions de la Unió Europea’ and ‘International Legislation and the Basque Language’, among other articles. She belongs to the Editorial board of Revista de Llengua i Dret, where she is responsible for the section on jurisprudence. Miquel Àngel Pradilla Cardona is a Doctor in Philology and is a tenured Professor at the Rovira i Virgili University. His areas of research are basically variation, sociolinguistics and language policy and planning. He is a full member of the Philological Section (Language Academy) of the Institute of Catalan Studies, and currently directs the CRUSCAT network of the Institute of Catalan Studies.


xii Notes on the Contributors

Miquel Strubell worked for 19 years in the Catalan government’s language promotion department, before moving to the Universitat



xiii

Jaume Vernet is full Professor of Constitutional Law at the Rovira Virgili University and was previously Professor at the University of Barcelona. He has contributed to training courses at the universities of Florence, Vienna and Salzburg. He has over 100 publications, mostly in language law and on the study of compound states. He is Secretary of the editorial board of Revista de Llengua i Dret. He is currently a member of Catalonia’s Council for Statutory Guarantees. Francesc Xavier Vila i Moreno is a Doctor in Linguistics by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and tenured Professor of Catalan Language and Sociolinguistics at the University of Barcelona. Director (2004–9) of the CRUSCAT network of the Institute of Catalan Studies, he is currently director of the University’s Centre of Sociolinguistics and Communication (2010–) and also director of the Master’s degree in Language Counselling, Management of Multilingualism and Editorial Services of the University of Barcelona. He is a member of the Catalan Sociolinguistics Society.


Oberta de Catalunya, Spain. He is director of the Linguamón-UOC Chair in Multilingualism there. He has coordinated seven projects cofunded or commissioned by the EU on minority languages and foreign languages, and is a member of the Catalan Sociolinguistics Society.



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1 Miquel Strubell Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

and Emili Boix-Fuster University of Barcelona

Language planning and policy have become the subject of academic interest surprisingly recently. They were first broached in sociolinguistics (e.g. Rubin and Shuy 1973) and the sociology of language (e.g. Cobarrubias and Fishman 1983). Eastman (1983) made an early attempt to overview language planning, followed by Cooper (1989). Considerable attention is paid to language corpus planning in such publications. But scant attention was paid to Catalan, largely because the regional authorities had only recently been established in the post-Franco period. The papers edited by Cobarrubias and Fishman (1983) do not even mention Catalan. Kaplan and Baldauf (1997) mention Catalan on barely half a dozen occasions. Cooper (1989) devotes six lines to Catalan in the section on ‘promotion’ in a chapter on ‘Some Descriptive Frameworks’, mentioning a 1982–83 campaign to promote Catalan (see Boix 1985). Things changed with Fishman’s (1991) treatise on Reversing Language Shift. In his chapter on ‘Three Success Stories (More or Less)’, alongside Modern Hebrew and French in Quebec, Fishman describes the Catalan government’s efforts to promote the language, though making virtually no reference to language planning outside Catalonia. However, a contemporary book edited by Marshall (1991) contained no contribution on Catalan. Fishman invited Joan Martí (1993) to make a Catalan contribution in The Earliest Stage of Language Planning: the ‘First Congress’ Phenomenon. Catalan received further attention in a book edited by Fishman in 2001, in which Strubell devoted a chapter to ‘Catalan, a Decade Later’. More


Introduction

1


Democratic Policies for Language Revitalisation

recently, part of Spolsky’s (2003) chapter on ‘Resisting Language Shift’ compares language policies with regard to Basque, Catalan (again, in Catalonia only) and French in Quebec. And also in 2003 a book was published in French on language planning for the Catalan language (Boix and Milian 2003). Thus English-language literature has devoted increasing attention to the revival of Catalan following Franco’s dictatorship and the restoration of a democratic regime in Spain. Often, however, the depth of these reviews is limited by the fact that Galician and Basque are also covered in the same book (Siguan 1993, Mar-Molinero 1994, Turell 2001). The focus is often on sociolinguistics, not language policy and planning (Ros García and Strubell 1987, Boix and Payrató 1996, Moreno Fernández and Dorian 2007). In other works, in-depth treatments are limited to one of the territories in which Catalan is spoken (Hoffmann 2000, Strubell 2001, Pieras-Guasp 2002). Perhaps surprisingly, no overall, detailed description and comparison of the policies implemented in each territory is available in English, an essential precondition for any in-depth, international academic discussion on the topic. Attention has concentrated mainly (for reasons that readers will discover) on only one of the four territories in Spain: Catalonia. Valencia, the Balearic Islands and eastern Aragon have been the subject of far less scrutiny. This book offers an updated treatment of the subject. There is a need to exchange information on the very diverse nature of language policies around the world and on how they are applied in each society, to help cultural groups to coexist in a more peaceful, mutually enriching way. The experience of language policies in Catalan-speaking territories, given their intensity and uniqueness, may well be useful in other contexts. The Catalan-speaking community, with over 9 million speakers in eastern Spain, ‘Northern Catalonia’ (in France), Andorra in the Pyrenees and l’Alguer (the Sardinian town of Alghero/s’Alighèra, in Italy), is by far the largest linguistic minority in Europe. Though it is a medium-sized language in global terms, Catalan speakers have no officially recognised rights in the eastern strip of Aragon, Northern Catalonia and l’Alguer, while Catalan has no official status in the central authorities in Spain, France and Italy or in those of the European Union. For people who greet each other with a bon dia (‘good morning’), giving up speaking Catalan is straightforward. All Catalans learn early in life to speak another language very well – most of them Castilian, some French and a few Italian – so they can abandon their ancestral


2


3

tongue and shift to another language (often referred to as more ‘powerful’, ‘prestigious’, ‘useful’ or ‘common’) and speak the latter only to their children. This shift from Catalan is no flight of fancy: in well-attested cases of language attrition, most Catalan speakers in Northern Catalonia, in the South of France, and in l’Alguer in Italy did indeed stop passing it on to their offspring at some stage in the twentieth century, and the story is similar in the cities of Alicante, Valencia and even Palma de Mallorca. Nevertheless, many Catalan speakers state that preserving and passing on their language is a matter of dignity as a people. It would seem that families in many parts of the world seem more anxious that their offspring do not speak their heritage language than that they learn the dominant language: bilingualism often seems not to be the aim, and their choice seems to be motivated less by a rational explanation based on usefulness and social advancement, and more by the social stigmatisation of speakers of the heritage language(s) in a particular country. Research is urgently needed in this area, but is complicated in that self-reporting (the simplest source of data) is affected by rationalisation and may hide deeper causes. Political subordination and globalisation make it difficult for Catalan speakers to ensure the future of their language, though it has several cards up its sleeve. Firstly, Catalan boasts an excellent codification, its norma lingüística, which respects its internal dialectal diversity (with slight differences between the varieties spoken in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencia and elsewhere) yet provides common standards. Secondly, Catalan culture has a great tradition of openness to the outside world. This long-standing tradition (a German–Catalan dictionary was published in the early sixteenth century, for example) has been especially visible since the revival of the language towards the end of the nineteenth century, and resulted in numerous translations of Greek and Latin works (the exemplary Bernat Metge collection), Christian classics, the Koran, and the great masters of world literature: Goethe, Kafka, Shakespeare, Milton, Joyce, Flaubert, Camus, Montaigne, Dostoyevsky, Kavafis, Kundera, Ibsen, Dante among many others. Catalan also has many bilingual dictionaries: Spanish, Chinese, English, Sanskrit, Finnish, Hungarian, German, French, Italian, etc. Catalan culture may not be as extensive as its neighbours, but is by no means parochial. Catalan theatre exemplifies both this openness and a deep-rootedness in its own culture, with Shakespeare sharing billing with Catalan classics such as Guimerà and Sagarra.


Miquel Strubell and Emili Boix-Fuster



Thirdly, the demographic dimensions of Catalan-language culture make it completely viable. With around 9 million speakers and 13 million people that can understand it, Catalan-speaking culture could, with collective and political will, be totally competitive. However, Catalan speakers would need to have a common communications market with shared radio and television stations, magazines and newspapers (both digital and hard copy). Gossip, cooking, decoration and general news magazines, paperback collections, a range of radio and television channels, websites of all kinds, and more are feasible. Clearly, to achieve this goal currently dominant languages would have to be displaced in certain areas of usage. This is not easy: what kind of democratic strategy could aim to displace the centrality of Spanish-medium papers such as La Vanguardia (Barcelona’s main newspaper), or the two sporting dailies, Sport and Mundo Deportivo? How could a Catalan magazine compete successfully with Hola, the most widely read Spanish gossip magazine (published in Barcelona)? The chief problem for language planners is that new products are often launched in Castilian only (e.g. free newspapers, new banks, new kinds of food, new medical insurance companies) and ‘catalanisation’ becomes a truly Sisyphean task of struggling against the tide. In Catalan-speaking parts of Spain there are more labels in Castilian and Portuguese than in Castilian and Catalan. In Catalonia proper Catalan seems almost exclusive: high culture is in Catalan, mass culture much less so. There are, however, exceptions to this rule. For example, the announcements in FC Barcelona’s stadium are exclusively in Catalan. Catalan speakers are far from achieving such legitimate, everyday aspirations, which would put them on the same footing as other similarly sized language groups: Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian or Czech. This is mainly because Catalans lack the tools of power, a state behind them (except, that is, for the singular case of Andorra) that plays a decisive role as guarantor of their culture. Thus, when broadcasting licences were issued to Spain’s large private television channels (Antena 3 and Telecinco at the end of the 1980s, and La Sexta and Cuatro recently), nobody ensured any presence at all of non-Castilian languages. Again Spain’s immigration policy fails to inform newcomers (via the consulates in, say, Rabat, Bogotá or Quito) that where they will be going, they may have to cope with two official languages. This makes it unusual for immigrants to be motivated to learn Catalan, especially Latin Americans who speak Castilian as their mother tongue. Is it legitimate to envisage policies that attempt to redress this situation? To what extent is it legitimate to aim for linguistic security for a


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community? As we shall see below, Réaume and Green (1989) call for a secure environment in which speakers can freely make choices about language use. What is needed, we may ask, to achieve linguistic security? There are certainly limits in a democratic state, which must not interfere in a citizen’s private life. However, there are undoubtedly many aspects of public life, commercial relationships and the world of education, in which a policy encouraging the language is perfectly viable. So too is one that makes its presence and/or use compulsory, if it is devised to guarantee citizens’ rights. This being said, there are many ways of doing so, and we will see how some regional governments have not gone much beyond institutional lip-service, and have not taken effective action to slow down, far less reverse, language shift. It may be argued that citizens should be free to choose the language they use. As a bland statement, or principle, it needs to be reformulated. No one claims that all citizens (including migrants and tourists) should be free to choose any language they use, anywhere they like, and expect equal treatment in response. This discourse, as readers shall see, is propagated principally by organisations who aim to attack efforts to achieve linguistic equality in terms of rights, an objective of policies to promote Catalan or Basque (and to a lesser extent, Galician). Their views were recently expounded, in language reminding one of the Franco era, in a Manifiesto en defensa de la lengua común, which was massively disseminated by the Spanish right-wing and radical media. In the last analysis the issue is whether the linguistic model for Spain should be France or Switzerland: France, where one language is imposed on all others, with sufficient pressure to force language shift among speakers of the other languages; or Switzerland, in which speakers of each constituent language can use it freely within the areas where it is traditionally spoken, and also at federal level, but find no official facilities elsewhere. Many Catalan speakers, while preferring the second model, do not believe it will ever be viable inside Spain, because the first model is deeply engrained in most of the country. As readers will soon find out, there are frequent attacks in the media on initiatives to legislate in language matters in the peninsula’s periphery; and these are often echoed internationally. ‘Freedom’ is the catchword, and it is appropriate to recall sound judgements by two intellectuals. One is Henri Lacordaire1 (1802–61), who wrote: ‘Entre le fort et le faible, entre le riche et le pauvre, entre le maître et le serviteur, c’est la liberté qui opprime et la loi qui affranchit.’ The other is the Canadian political philosopher Will Kymlicka, who writes that ‘The question is not how should the state act fairly in governing its minorities, but what are





the limits to the state’s right to govern them?’ (1995: 118). And again, ‘Liberals should seek to ensure that there is equality between groups, and freedom and equality within groups’ (1995: 194). Most language policies related to Catalan aim to improve the circumstances in which Catalan speakers (whether native speakers or learners) can in practice enjoy rights they have on paper. Only when the presence and use of Catalan cease to be marked choices, could one legitimately discuss, say, parental language choice for children in schools. Rampant language shift away from Catalan in the middle classes living in larger Valencian cities, which began mainly in the second third of the twentieth century, can be explained in terms not of the advantages of Spanish, but rather of the perceived stigma of being a Catalan speaker, and strong official, educational and social pressures against them. What in other circumstances might have led to a stable situation of personal and social bilingualism, turned into a stampede away from Catalan, the effects of which are evident in most urban areas in the Valencian region. Throughout this book, we will be reviewing the political response to six interrelated challenges raised in Catalan-speaking lands, in its main territories. These challenges can be arranged into an elegant mnemonic listing (Branchadell 2003): disintegration, dissolution, devaluation, division, disappearance and demobilisation. Disintegration means the risk that Catalan is managed separately in each territory where it is spoken. The absence of a common communication space in Catalan, the progressive blocking of Televisió de Catalunya broadcasts in Valencia and the lack of mutual familiarisation between the language’s main dialects (Central, Balearic, Valencian and North-western), which would permit the exchange of dubbed material throughout their territories, could lead to the split of a language that has, overall, remained highly unified. Marí (2006) and others have recurrently proposed an agreement on coordination between the different Catalan-speaking territories, like the Nederlandse Taalunie of the Flemish and the Dutch. What is lacking is the political will. Many wondered why the government of Valencia did not participate in the 2007 Frankfurt World Book Fair, where Catalan culture was a guest of honour (and several Valencian authors were present as guests). Many wonder why the Valencian government does not help to shore up the worldwide network of university departments that teach Catalan, many of whose staff are themselves Valencians. Dissolution would entail the language losing features that make it unique among the languages of the world. The overwhelming presence of Castilian, constantly heard in the media and in the street, makes


6


7

many Catalan speakers pepper their conversation with loaned expressions. For example, although Catalan is a language rich in insults and imprecations, as witnessed in its medieval literature, many younger Catalans resort to Castilian imprecations such as ‘Joder!’ (‘Fuck!’) or ‘Me la suda’ (‘I couldn’t give a toss’). Or, in administrative and financial jargon, which is highly ‘Castilianised’, almost everyone says una compte corrent (current account), instead of the masculine un, because of the influence of Castilian. Devaluation means the risk of a language no longer being used in what could be called ‘prestigious’ contexts. Let us give four examples. Catalan is used in the Catholic liturgy in Catalonia, but only very occasionally – almost never, in fact – in Valencia, a fact that has had a side-effect on the (low) regard in which the language is held. Similarly, the use of Catalan is under pressure in universities (mainly because of the mobility of students and teaching staff). The use of Catalan in university undergraduate studies (Simó 2007) varies greatly: 11 per cent in Valencia, 51.3 per cent in the Balearic Islands and 63.3 per cent in Catalonia. Third: the extent to which Catalan is available in new technology, from the Internet to mobile telephones. It is technically prepared for this, and a voluntary association, Softcatalà, translates popular programs. Fourthly, the extent to which Catalan can be used in everyday communications between citizens and the Spanish central authorities. In the main, Spain still comes across as monolithic and Castilian-centred. Division means the risk that Catalan-speaking countries split internally along linguistic or ethnic lines. For example, they might have language-based political parties, for Castilian and for Catalan speakers, similar to Belgium, which has Flemish and Walloon socialist parties. In Catalonia, since the transition to democracy in the middle of the 1970s, most parties and civil organisations – the Church, neighbourhood associations, trade unions, etc. – have invoked the unifying slogan ‘A Catalan is anyone who lives and works in Catalonia’. One exception to this in Catalonia has been the emergence of a party, Ciudadanos – Partido de la Ciudadania, whose programme is mainly based on the interests of Castilian speakers. During a party conference (in June 2007) some delegates were reported as walking out simply because Catalan was one of the languages spoken there. Disappearance refers to the risk that the language no longer passes from generation to generation because parents stop speaking it to their children. After such an interruption, it is extremely difficult to reintroduce the language into the home. The complete or partial revival





of a language, as with Hebrew in Israel or in the Basque Country with Basque, requires an extraordinary level of social mobilisation, which is not visible in Valencia, for example. The final risk, demobilisation, is that, faced with the previous challenges, citizens fail to react at all, adopting a laissez-faire attitude towards the dominant language. Some politely and naturally apply a gentle, yet meaningful form of mobilisation: ‘passive bilingualism’, that is, always addressing others in Catalan, unless they are not understood. A more committed form of mobilisation comes in the form of organisations working to promote the language. There are the great long-standing associations such as Obra Cultural Balear in the Balearic Islands, Acció Cultural del País Valencià in Valencia and Òmnium Cultural, but there are also other, lesser known ones such as la Plataforma per la Llengua, Escola Valenciana (which campaigns for Catalan-medium schools in Valencia) and Immi.Cat and Veu Pròpia (which both represent people of immigrant origin who have opted for the Catalan language). And there are numerous grass-roots initiatives, such as volunteers who help teach Catalan to immigrants. Clearly, mobilisation in support of a language is most successful if it is also carried out by central state, regional and local level authorities, and when enacted through legal measures. In a globalised society, Catalan is in a delicate and fragile situation. The market favours large languages to the detriment of medium-sized and small ones. Catalan can be a viable language in the twenty-first century, but policies are needed to ensure its normal, everyday use in most domains of society if citizens’ rights are to be realised in practice: that is, to give all speakers linguistic security. According to Réaume and Green (1989: 781ff.): The point of language rights is to give speakers a secure environment in which to make choices about language use and in which ethnic identification can have a positive value (. . .). To have linguistic security in the fullest sense is to have the opportunity, without serious impediments, to live a full life in a community of people who share one’s language. Catalan speakers interested in ensuring the future of the language have to be actively involved in these issues, because the language is socially weak. To adopt a medical metaphor, diagnosis is crucial: the condition is curable if the doctor diagnoses the ailment and prescribes


8


9

the treatment, and especially if the patient understands the situation and the doctor can act effectively. This book focuses on an analysis of the three main territories, all of which form part of the Spanish state: Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands. Occasional references are made to the eastern strip of Aragon, where Catalan is spoken but lacks official status (for an overview of the sociolinguistic situation in all Catalan-speaking territories, see Boix 2008). The second chapter provides a brief historical and geographical primer on the Catalan-speaking regions of Spain and the policies that affect them as regards corpus and status planning. The outline is Heinz Kloss’s theory on the different stages of language planning. The chapter provides a briefing for readers unfamiliar with Catalan’s sociolinguistic context, which will allow them to assess its contents: the language’s features, its spread over time, and the geographical distribution of its speakers. A cursory overview of the social history of the language is presented: its beginnings in the eighth century, its geographic expansion in the tenth to thirteenth centuries, its ‘Golden Age’ in the fifteenth century, its long literary decadence between the sixteenth and the nineteenth centuries, and its revival in the twentieth century which dignified the Catalan language and culture again, despite two dictatorships preventing it from developing normally. Corpus planning measures are also presented. The chapter summarises the language reform of Catalan by Pompeu Fabra at the end of the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth, up to the Civil War, allowing the development of a standard variety while respecting its main geographical differences. The reform designs a compositional (with contributions from different dialects) and polymorphic (with alternative forms to provide equivalent solutions for certain traits) model. Despite the technical excellence of Fabra’s reform, mention is made of attempts at linguistic secession, based mainly in Valencia. The author discusses the polycentric dynamic caused by a new linguistic authority in Valencia (AVL, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua), whose scope is limited to the Valencian Autonomous Community. Catalan has a wide range of geographical varieties but it is still very unitary. Status planning measures are also presented. The levels of linguistic vitality and intervention in the territories are shown, including the steady decline of Catalan in Valencia. Three issues are emphasised: (1) the ideological debates with liberal forces which denounce so-called ‘nationalist excesses’, (2) the fact that the boosting of formal





institutional uses of Catalan does not automatically lead to increases in usages linked to the individual’s private spheres, and (3) poor levels of interregional interaction between Catalan speakers. Before continuing, the editors would like to mention the language policy situation in Valencia. It may seem surprising that the private cultural organisations that have been most active in promoting what in the region is officially called ‘Valencian’ (Acció Cultural del País Valencià, Escola Valenciana, the weekly El Temps, etc.) receive no support whatever from the Valencian (conservative) regional government; in fact their positions seem poles apart. They receive more support from the Catalan authorities than from their own. As readers will soon discover, the Valencian government – which stubbornly claims that ‘Valencian’ and ‘Catalan’ are separate languages – has been taken to court over 15 times and each time lost its case. Its position has forced hundreds of would-be teachers holding a degree, or proficiency qualifications, in the language, to look for jobs outside the region. The same government has been closing down the TV relay stations set up by Acció Cultural (mentioned above); these stations allowed people throughout the region to pick up TV3, Catalonia’s public TV channel, for over 20 years. The language conflict in Valencia, in fact, is not between Valencian speakers and Catalan speakers (that is a tautology) but rather between promoters of the language – whatever it be called – and those who have no objection to the rampant and continuing shift towards Spanish in the region. The conflict has in effect paralysed any effective policy promoting the local language. The motives and logic behind the regional government and local groups supporting its position (a few of whose more militant members claim to be behind periodical acts of vandalism against bookshops and the premises of cultural organisations) have little to do with safeguarding the language’s future. Chapter 3 compares language-related legislation and case law in each territory. It describes the official status of the Catalan language in the statutes of each regional ‘autonomous community’ and the four language-related laws in the three regions. It presents the concept of linguistic normalisation. It analyses how Catalonia’s 2006 Statute of Autonomy makes knowledge of Catalan compulsory, just as the Spanish Constitution does for Castilian. Finally, it reviews language-related case law and the role played by the courts in interpreting the law and its enforcement. The Constitutional Court and ordinary courts, for instance, have supported in various rulings the constitutionality of an asymmetrical treatment in favour of the local language in accordance with the goal of ‘normalisation’. The Council of Europe, in the context


10


11

of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML), also supports such measures. The wealth of language-related law is behind the fact that a leading journal in this field, Revista de Llengua i Dret, is published in Barcelona. The authors conclude that linguistic normalisation needs to continue because factors which threaten the local language still exist. Catalan still needs to be protected and promoted, as most of the population wants, to prevent it from disappearing. Chapter 4 studies the authorities’ policies on language use in dealings with the public. Legislation establishes, in each territory and in Spain as a whole, the use of Catalan and Castilian in government bodies (at central Spanish, regional or ‘autonomous community’, and local level), the validity of documents in each language and criteria for dealing with the public. The main differences between these policies are analysed. The difference is drawn between territories where both Catalan and Castilian are official (Catalonia, Balearic Islands and Valencia), and Andorra, where Catalan is the only official language. Catalonia’s 2006 Statute of Autonomy states that Catalan, as Catalonia’s own language, is the normal and preferential language used by the public authorities and states that ‘everyone has the right to use the two official languages and the citizens of Catalonia have the right and duty to know them’. In some regions, Catalan competence requirements in public authority recruitment processes vary when the party in power changes. In Northern Catalonia,2 l’Alguer and the eastern strip of Aragon the use of Catalan in relations between the authorities and the public is virtually non-existent. Secondly, the chapter analyses relations with Spanish state institutions, and with supranational institutions like the Council of Europe and the European Union. As regards relations with Spanish state institutions, the Spanish Constitution implements an unequal plurilingual model. Official recognition of non-Castilian languages is territorially limited to their autonomous communities, so their use in institutions outside their own territories will depend on the level of political will; there is no territorial limitation for Castilian in the state as a whole. Chapter 5 examines language-in-education policies at all educational levels. Legislation defines the rights and duties of individual citizens and the authorities as a regards the education system in each territory. These policies have changed considerably. Catalonia has adopted a unified system, whilst the government of the Valencian region has developed separate linguistic streams and the Balearic Islands have adopted a mixed model. The authors analyse differences between these policies. The main current challenge is the integration of incoming students





(from Latin America, Eastern Europe and North Africa), who tend to choose Spanish as a lingua franca. Three centuries of the ‘Castilianisation’ language policy have been successful: today, Castilian is the most highly valued language, clearly ahead of Catalan. Yet education has been the field most open to intervention in favour of Catalan since the Catalan-speaking territories achieved political devolution. Chapter 6 covers policies to promote Catalan in interpersonal oral communications and to improve language attitudes. So far bilingualism has clearly been asymmetrical. The ‘accommodation norm’, which makes Catalan speakers switch unconsciously and automatically to Spanish in conversations with Castilian speakers, is a leading obstacle to speakers of Castilian trying to learn Catalan. Passive bilingualism is encouraged by the Catalan government but faces significant psychological and political problems. Legislation leaves the ‘promotion’ of Catalan to the regional governments in a general way, so the limits of the legitimate involvement of the authorities – in a liberal democratic society – are unclear. How can substate governments ensure the spreading of linguistic usage norms that favour Catalan without creating tensions amongst ethnic groups or with the central government? Can they, for example, try to influence intergenerational language transmission in families? The efforts (mainly publicity campaigns) focusing on this use have varied greatly from region to region and also within each one following changes in the government (above all in the Balearic Islands and Valencia). The chapter breaks down activities by territory, with an initial stage from 1981 to 1994, and then a second stage, which began in Valencia in 1995, to the present day. The authors say it is hard to assess their impact. The fact that campaigns have been recurrent (‘Catalan is everybody’s business’, ‘You are a teacher’, ‘Pass on Catalan’) suggests they have not attained their goal. Such campaigns seem to amount to little more than a declaration of intent, of the ‘goodness’ of the language being promoted, without citizens being expected to change their behaviour. Significantly, many acknowledge that the accommodation norm hampers the social presence of Catalan: while appropriate in exchanges with tourists or outsiders, it reduces the visibility of Catalan, and motivation to learn and use it, when applied to non-Catalan-speaking residents. Short workshops are offered privately to those wishing to overcome the accommodation norm and subordinate language behaviour (e.g. Suay and Sanginés 2005, 2010). Chapter 7 analyses language policy in the publicly and privately owned media, the arts and information technology. Each regional government has set up radio and television channels, offering different


12


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options in each case, within a market still dominated by broadcasts in Castilian. The development of each region’s social communication media system is related to two variables: the dynamics of the region’s civil society, and the political will of those in power, more favourable in Catalonia, and inconsistent – and sometimes even unfavourable – in Valencia and the Balearic Islands. Regional policies on, for example, dubbing and the language model to be followed vary greatly, as do their policies to promote the language in other media, the arts and in information technologies. Two important lines of normalisation have become consolidated: Catalan is present in all communication sectors, in all forms of expression and in all genres; and progress has been made in defining a model for the language close to what is generally considered the standard variety. The main shortcomings are the lack of interregional intercommunication and especially the dominant position of Spanish in the communicative market. Chapter 8 describes language policies in the business world and consumer affairs, which are affected by increasingly globalised market forces. Several regional parliaments have defined consumers’ language rights, but these are often ignored. In Catalonia, for example, where language-related policies are most advanced, a customer’s right to language availability – i.e. their right to be served in the language of their choice – has yet to be guaranteed. Catalonia has also given active support to the use of Catalan in labour relations. In Catalonia, at least, private businesses have to comply with some minimum languagerelated requirements to qualify as potential suppliers to the regional government, whereas campaigns in the Balearic Islands have been scant and even negative, in Valencia, towards Catalan in a form of counterplanning. The special case of Andorra shows how Catalan can be used normally in business and consumer affairs. The presence of nationalist parties in the relevant regional government and the existence and intensity of policies promoting Catalan in the world of business and consumer affairs appear to be correlated. The main overall conclusion is that the Catalan-speaking territories are not a common politico-linguistic area and that, within Spain, there is a very close correlation between the political will of the majority and political action, or inaction, in regard to the promotion of Catalan. In the last chapter in the book several significant publications on specific or local aspects of language policy are discussed, to give a fuller picture. Three types of text have been chosen: (1) a general overview of the Catalan-speaking territories; (2) two doctoral theses, on the evaluation of the impact of language policy as applied to schools between 1980





and 1995, and on the process of learning Catalan by the adult population during the post-Franco era; and (3) two texts on legal and judicial issues. The reader may notice that some authors use the term ‘Spanish’ while others prefer the synonym ‘Castilian’. The editors have respected each author’s use of these terms. Over the years, there have been heated debates in both Spanish (Castilian) and Catalan about the most appropriate term to use. In fact, the Spanish Constitution states that ‘Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State’ so, strictly and legally speaking, ‘Castilian’ is probably the better term, though the English-speaking reader may be less familiar with it. The editors of this book are aware that there is a gap in the coverage of language policies in the territories dealt with. The Spanish government and, in general, the central authorities (including the courts), have their own language policy, which cannot but have an impact on Catalan. As the monitoring process of the implementation in Spain of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages shows,3 Spain’s linguistic ideology has over the centuries not been favourable to linguistic diversity, and heels have been dragged in the process of adapting the institutions in what is one of Europe’s most linguistically plural countries. Moreover, the prevalent linguistic ideology in Spain falls neatly under Michael Billig’s (1995) term ‘banal nationalism’, and policies promoting other languages often provoke outbursts of righteous indignation, particularly in the Spanish press. It was thus timely when a monoglot Spanish professor, Moreno-Cabrera, published his book (2008) on linguistic nationalism, in which he exposes, using hundreds of quotes, what he regards as the only existing linguistic nationalism in Spain, the one that supports the supremacy of the Spanish language in Spain. The editors are also aware that there is some degree of overlap between chapters. Each has been written as a self-contained text. They ask for the reader’s indulgence. Finally, the long-awaited Constitutional Court judgment on Catalonia’s 2006 Statute of Autonomy (in actual fact, an Organic Law adopted by the two chambers of the Spanish Parliament), came as the book was being prepared for publication (July 2010). In regard to the articles covering language, despite deeming only one word (‘preferential’) unconstitutional, the judgment affects the text in several key issues, by venturing interpretations or limitations to the wording of the text. We have preferred not to amend the texts at this stage. Nevertheless, interested readers are referred to Milian-Massana (2010).


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15

1. Quoted by Peter Leuprecht, Directeur de l’Institut d’Études Internationales de Montréal, in his address ‘La liberté qui opprime et la loi qui affranchit’ (http:// www.unesco.chairephilo.uqam.ca/LACORDAIRELeuprecht.pdf). 2. Note that the Departmental Council adopted a ‘Charter in favour of the Catalan language and culture’ on 10 December 2007, and the Perpignan Municipal Council adopted a ‘Municipal charter for the Catalan language’ on 10 June 2010. The latter, alongside French, officially recognises Catalan as a historic language of the city, and lays down policies in education, services to infants, signposting, public services and social use, and in the media. 3. See, for instance, the table of Monitoring Reports and Committee of Ministers’ Recommendations on the Council of Europe website: http://www.coe.int/t/e/ legal_affairs/local_and_regional_democracy/regional_or_minority_languages/ 2_Monitoring/Monitoring_table.asp

References Billig, M. (1995). Banal Nationalism. London: Sage Publications. Boix, E. (1985). ‘The “Norma” Campaign in Catalonia: an Attempt to Influence Interethnic Language Etiquette’. Unpublished seminar paper, Linguistic Society of America Summer Institute. Washington, DC: Georgetown University. Boix, E. (coord.) (2008). Els futurs del català. Un estat de la qüestió i una qüestió d’Estat. Barcelona: Publicacions de la Universitat de Barcelona. Boix, E. and Milian, A. (2003). Aménagement linguistique dans les pays de langue catalane. Paris: L’Harmattan, 282 pp. Boix, E. and Payrató, L. (1996). ‘An Overview of Catalan Sociolinguistics and Pragmatics (1989–1996)’. Catalan Review, IX: 317–403. Branchadell, A. (2003) ‘Algunes propostes de promoció del català. El cas de les institucions de l’Estat i el sector privat.’ Idees, 18: 32–45. Cobarrubias, J. and Fishman, J.A. (1983). Progress in Language Planning: International Perspectives. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. Cooper, R.L. (1989). Language Planning and Social Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Eastman, C.M. (1983). Language Planning. An Introduction. Chandler and Sharp Publications in Anthropology and Related Fields. San Francisco: Chandler and Sharp. Fishman, J.A. (1991). Reversing Language Shift: Theoretical and Empirical Foundations of Assistance to Threatened Languages. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters. Fishman, J.A. (ed.) (2001). Can Threatened Languages Be Saved? Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters. Hoffmann, C. (2000). ‘Balancing Language Planning and Language Rights: Catalonia’s Uneasy Juggling Act’. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 21 (5): 425–41. Kaplan, R.B. and Baldauf, R.B. (1997). Language Planning: From Practice to Theory. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters. Kymlicka, W. (1995). Multicultural Citizenship. Oxford: Clarendon Press.


Notes



Marí, I. (2006) ‘L’articulació de la comunitat lingüística catalana: alternatives i processos possibles’. In Mundialització, interculturalitat i multilingüisme. Palma de Mallorca: Lleonard Muntaner, pp. 95–102. Mar-Molinero, C. (1994). The Politics of Language: Spain’s Minority Languages. Southampton: University of Southampton. Centre for Language in Education. Marshall, D. F. (ed.) (1991). Focus on Language Planning. Essays in Honor of Joshua A. Fishman, Vol. 3. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Martí, J. (1993). ‘The First International Catalan Language Congress, Barcelona, 13-18 October, 1906’. In Fishman, J. A. (ed.), The Earliest Stage of Language Planning: the ‘First Congress’ Phenomenon. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 46–68. Milian-Massana, A. (2010). ‘Brief Discussion of the Language Regulations Contained in the 2006 Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia and Spanish Constitutional Court Decision 31/2010 of 28 June’. URL (PDF): http://www. linguapax.org/fitxer/384/Language%20regulations_%202006%20Statute%20 of%20Autonomy%20of%20Cataloni . . . . pdf. Moreno-Cabrera, J.C. (2008). El nacionalismo lingüístico. Una ideología destructiva. Madrid: Ediciones Península. Moreno Fernández, F. and Dorian, N. C. (eds) (2007). ‘Spanish in Spain: the Sociolinguistics of Bilingual Areas’. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 184 (1). Pieras-Guasp, F. (2002). ‘Direct vs. Indirect Attitude Measurement and the Planning of Catalan in Mallorca’. Language Problems and Language Planning, 26 (1): 51–68. Réaume, D. and Green, L. (1989) ‘Education and Linguistic Security in the Charter’. McGill Law Journal = Revue de Droit de McGill, 34: 777–816. Ros Garcia, M. and Strubell, M. (eds) (1987). ‘Catalan Sociolinguistics’. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 47. Rubin, J. and Shuy, R.W. (eds) (1973). Language Planning: Current Issues and Research. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. Siguan, M. (1993). Multilingual Spain. European Studies in Multilingualism 2. Amsterdam: Swets & Zeitlinger. Simó, T. (2007). ‘L’ús de la llengua catalana a l’ensenyament superior als Països Catalans’. Electronic report. http://www.vilaweb.cat/media/attach/vwedts/ catalauniversitat.pdf Spolsky, B. (2003). Language Policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Strubell, M. (2001). ‘Catalan a Decade Later’. In Fishman, J.A. (ed.), Can Threatened Languages Be Saved? Reversing Language Shift, Revisited: a 21st Century Perspective. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters, pp. 260–83. Suay, F. and Sanginés, G. (2005). ‘Un espai per als parlants d’una llengua’. Llengua i Ús, 34: 27–39. http://www6.gencat.cat/llengcat/liu/34_537.pdf [last accessed: 24 May 2009]. Suay, F. and Sanginés, G. (2010). Sortir de l’armari lingüístic. Una guia de conducta per a viure en català. Barcelona: Angle editorial. Turell, M.T. (ed.) (2001). Multilingualism in Spain. Sociolinguistic and Psycholinguistic Aspects of Linguistic Minority Groups. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.


16


La Catalanofonia. A Community in Search of Linguistic Normality Miquel Àngel Pradilla Cardona Universitat Rovira i Virgili Institut d’Estudis Catalans

2.1 Introduction This chapter sets out to provide an overview of the Catalan-speaking world. La catalanofonia, the umbrella description that we propose using, will be defined, in Section 2.2, as a territorially and sociopolitically diverse community with a history full of contrasts and with a historic language coloured by a broad spectrum of dialectical shades and a normative variety that struggles to achieve a satisfactory balance between the aforementioned diversity and the unity required by all referential models. A community that is unimaginable without the presence and impact of many other languages.

2.2 The Catalan-speaking community 2.2.1 Territorial and demo-linguistic diversity The Catalan language is spoken in four countries: Spain, France, Italy and Andorra. Spain contains the bulk of the territory in which the language is spoken and the vast majority of those who speak it (96.2 and 96 per cent, respectively). This multi-country territory covers around 68,000 km2 and its population is about 13.5 million people (see Figure 2.1). In Spain, Catalan is spoken in five autonomous communities:


2

• Catalonia (31,895 km2 and 7,134,697 inhabitants);1 • the Balearic Islands (5014 km2 and 1,001,062 inhabitants); • the Catalan-speaking part of Valencia (13,612 km2 and 4,806,908 inhabitants);2 17



• The Franja de Ponent, the Catalan-speaking part of Aragon (3672 km2 and 45,357 inhabitants), a 20-km wide strip of territory at the eastern edge of this region; and • el Carxe (300 km2 and 2500 inhabitants), a scattering of villages in the extreme north-eastern corner of the autonomous community of Murcia repopulated in modern times by immigrants from Valencia. In France, it is spoken in the region north of the eastern Pyrenees, also known as ‘Northern Catalonia’ (4166 km2 , 422,297 inhabitants).

Figure 2.1


18

Map of Catalan-speaking territories3


19

On the Italian island of Sardinia, the city of l’Alguer (Alghero/ S’Alighèra, 224 km2 , 40,257 inhabitants) is a Catalan-speaking enclave. Finally, Catalan is the language of Andorra (468 km2 , 78,549 inhabitants). Language skills also vary greatly in these territories. Table 2.1 shows a generalised drop in percentages from those who understand the language to those who can speak it. Good examples of territorial imbalances include, on the one hand, the fact that 34.7 and 24.1 per cent of people in Northern Catalonia and Valencia, respectively, do not understand Catalan: an important obstacle to communications. High percentages of people who cannot speak the language are found in Northern Catalonia (62.9 per cent), l’Alguer (38.7 per cent) and Valencia (47 per cent). All this indicates a sociolinguistic situation of great complexity that requires highly qualified analysis: in other words, weighted evaluations that can explain both the presence of language shift (which is particularly strong in Northern Catalonia and l’Alguer, and is also evident in Valencia) and general figures, such as the more than 9 million people that can speak Catalan, putting it in 88th place in the world.4 As we shall see, the specific sociohistorical nature of the different Catalan-speaking territories makes characterising their communicative dynamics even harder. Migratory movements were the basis for demographic growth in Spain’s Catalan-speaking territories during the first three-quarters of the twentieth century. These movements were especially intense between 1950 and 1971: Catalonia’s population, for instance, increased by 1.5 million people. At the same time, the arrival of a young population with a high birth rate spawned rapid natural growth. The linguistic repercussions of demographic change were soon felt. This avalanche of non-Catalan-speaking in-migrants had a negative impact on Catalan Table 2.1 Understanding and speaking skills: territories, population and percentages Territory

Total population

Can speak Catalan(%)

Understand Catalan(%)

Andorra Catalonia Balearic Islands Valencia Eastern strip (Aragon) Northern Catalonia (France) L’Alguer (Sardinia) Total

78,549 7,134,697 1,001,062 4,806,908 45,357 422,297 40,257 13,529,127

78.9 84.7 74.6 53.0 88.8 37.1 61.3 9,118,882

96.0 97.4 93.1 75.9 98.5 65.3 90.1 11,011,168


Miquel Àngel Pradilla Cardona



because it shattered the traditional processes of cultural reproduction. Interbreeding and increasingly ‘Castilianised’ cultural interactions formed new popular classes who could not be a mainstay of cultural continuity. Most of those who settled in Catalan-speaking territories came from Spain itself, and brought with them the cultural baggage of the Castilian language which, during Franco’s dictatorship, enjoyed a monopoly of official recognition. Spanish was learnt, en masse, by Catalan speakers in a school system where it was the only language allowed. Catalan, which was barred from the education system, excluded from official communications and enjoyed scant presence in colloquial inter-group interactions, had few interpellant contexts to grant newcomers significant exposure to it. Furthermore, the representation of the language that was being consolidated showed a fairly deficient value matrix. As a result, the social predominance of Castilian gained its support from a clear asymmetry in the abilities of the language groups in contact: whilst most Catalan speakers became effective bilinguals, Castilian speakers, whilst not being impermeable to Catalan, often showed a significant resistance to incorporating it into their repertoire. The predominant social norm of accommodating to Castilian in inter-group conversations made the presence of Catalan invisible in its historical homeland. This subordination norm limited the social usage of the language and restricted it to private intra-group contexts. At the same time, mass literacy programmes and a boom in audiovisual communications provided a context that was highly favourable to the cultural homogenisation being officially promoted. Looking back, it is remarkable that, under such adverse ecolinguistic circumstances, Catalan managed to hold on (with varying degrees of territorial vitality) until the return of democracy allowed the implementation of language normalisation processes which would undo the usurpation of functions to which it had been subjected. The end of the Franco dictatorship opened up new horizons of normality for Spain’s banned languages. In the case of Catalan, the territorial structural system of autonomous communities agreed during the democratic transition led to three (supposedly) normalising processes being activated, in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencia (with Catalan-speaking Aragon and Murcia’s el Carxe district falling by the wayside). Nevertheless, in some cases and at some times, behind the public discourse, some policies have ranged from indolence to outright hostility (see Section 2.4.1). It is also worth mentioning the demo-linguistic changes wrought in recent years thanks to the massive arrival of newcomers in the Catalan-speaking territories in the past ten years. Little demo-linguistic


20


Miquel Àngel Pradilla Cardona Official population in Catalan-speaking territories

Catalonia Valencia Balearic Islands Total

1986

1995

2006

5,978,638 3,732,682 680,933 10,392,253

6,226,869 4,028,774 787,984 11,043,627

7,083,618 4,772,403 986,333 12,842,354

Source: Spain’s National Statistics Institute.

research has yet been done on the so-called ‘new migrations’. Available estimates show a kaleidoscope of linguistic groups that threatens to upset the precarious communicative position of Catalan in its own historical homeland. The population, especially in recent years, has risen very significantly (see Table 2.2) for different reasons in different territories. The official population figure increased by almost 21 per cent between 1995 and 2005. Given that birth rates have stabilised, the increase can only be attributed to the massive arrival of new citizens. The real population, if one bears in mind the (significant, according to some specialists) number of unregistered illegal immigrants and retired residents not included in the census, is even greater. Broadly speaking, mobility can be broken down into employmentrelated and residence-related sub-types. Despite its ecolinguistic impact on tertiarised societies such as ours, tourism-based mobility will not be dealt with here. The economic model prevalent in each territory helps explain the differing scale of each linguistic group (see Table 2.3). Catalonia is Table 2.3

Morocco Ecuador UK Germany Peru Romania Argentina Bolivia Colombia Bulgaria Ukraine

Origin of immigrant population (thousands) Catalonia

Valencia

Balearic Is.

Total

181 81 16 18 27 49 34 34 39 8 11

50 51 105 36 3 72 19 16 38 21 13

15 9 17 26 1.2 4 9 3 6 3 0.7

249 141 138 80 31.2 125 62 53 83 32 24.7


Table 2.2

21

Source: Spain’s National Statistics Institute.



noteworthy for the unskilled labour immigrants from Latin America and Africa, whereas Valencia has a predominance of residential immigration, particularly from Great Britain, together with an increasing amount of Romanian employment-related immigration. In the Balearic Islands, there are almost equal numbers of residential immigrants, employment-related immigrants from Latin America and Africa and other employment-related immigrants from Eastern Europe. Highly qualified persons are a new feature of employment-related immigration to the islands. These demographic changes have led to a spectacular increase in the linguistic diversity of Catalan-speaking territories. Quantifying the number of languages present is a complicated task, quite apart from the theoretical problems of conceptualising the object of study to be classified. The University of Barcelona’s Threatened Languages Study Group has already catalogued more than 200 of the 300 languages now spoken in Catalonia. The catalogue of the exhibition Llengües a Catalunya (Languages in Catalonia, 2005) provides a detailed view of this linguistic mosaic. Multilingualism, then, is a highly salient feature of people’s everyday lives.

2.2.2 A diverse language and a sociocultural history full of contrasts With its Latin roots, Catalan is a Romance language of the Western branch, together with Castilian, French, Galician, Portuguese, Occitan and Rheto-Romance. There was a lengthy and fascinating dispute between those who classify it as an Ibero-Romance language and those who regard it as belonging to the Gallo-Romance family. Given its geographic location, it undoubtedly sits astride a crossroads between these two language blocs, and this has led to disagreements and even to a conciliatory theory that regards it as a ‘bridge language’ (Baldinger 1972). Research by Colón (1976) has led to widespread consensus on classifying it as essentially Gallo-Romance, the greater emphasis being put on the period between the birth of the language and the fifteenth century. Nevertheless, this position also underlines an important historical and linguistic fact: events in the fifteenth century (especially the accession to the Catalano-Aragonese throne of a Castilian dynasty, the Trastámara, thanks to the 1412 Compromise of Caspe, and the geostrategic change brought about by the dynastic union of the Catalano-Aragonese and Castilian kingdoms in 1479) turned the language away from influences north of the Pyrenees and towards those of the Iberian peninsula.


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23

These new circumstances pushed Catalan in a new direction, above all, under the strong pressure exerted by Castilian in a context of political dominance. Identifying the current intra-linguistic limits of the Catalan language by segmenting the continuity of linguistic traits is not easy. Unlike the clear limits of Spanish-speaking territories (in the Iberian peninsula) and Sardinian-speaking areas (on the island of Sardinia), having Occitan and Aragonese as the neighbours of Catalan leads to some imprecision.5 Moreover, the official status of French (in Northern Catalonia), Italian (in l’Alguer) and Castilian (elsewhere)6 favours a form of language contact in which interference is even stronger. As happens to all languages, Catalan has geographical varieties, though few Romance languages are as unitary. This is partly due to the intermediate size of the territory in which it is spoken and the strong unifying influence exercised by the medieval Royal Chancellery. Dialectal fragmentation (and linguistic interference) increased only after the fifteenth century, due to a lack of effective support following the move of the royal court to the centre of the Iberian peninsula and, above all, to the repression that began in the eighteenth century (via the Nueva Planta decrees) following the occupation by King Felipe V of the Catalano-Aragonese lands during the War of Spanish Succession. As regards intralinguistic delimitation, despite some debate among philologists, the classification of the geographical varieties proposed by Veny (1978) is generally accepted (see Table 2.4 and Figure 2.2). Even a cursory look at the social history of the Catalan language needs to start in the eighth century, when the language spoken in the Frankish counties of the Spanish March became clearly differentiated from Latin. Once the spoken language (Catalan) had split from the written one (Latin), the first written examples of Catalan appeared: the Catalan translation of the Forum Iudicum, a Visigothic codex of laws, dating from the second half of the twelfth century; the Homilies d’Organyà, a collection of sermons from the end of the twelfth or beginning of the thirteenth century, etc. By way of contrast, poetry was written essentially in Occitan (the Langue d’oc) until the fifteenth century, thanks to the troubadours’ prestige throughout Europe. During the Middle Ages, the position of Catalan strengthened and achieved the status of a language of culture, thanks to several factors. Some were historical or political, such as the independence of the counties of ‘Old Catalonia’ (la Catalunya Vella) and the subsequent process of territorial expansion (Lleida, Tortosa, Majorca, Valencia, Sardinia, Naples, Sicily, etc.). Others were cultural: Ramon Llull laid




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Democratic Policies for Language Revitalisation Table 2.4

Geographical varieties of the Catalan language Rossellonès or Northern Catalan

Capcinès

Northern transitional Central

Xipella Barceloní

Eastern Catalan

Tarragoní Mallorquí Balearic

Menorquí Eivissenc

Alguerese Ribargorçà North-western Catalan Western Catalan

Pallarès Tortosí Northern Valencian

Valencian

Apitxat or Central Valencian Southern Valencian

Source: Adapted from Veny (1978 [1983: 28]).

the foundations for cultured Catalan prose with his immense literary production, and wrote the first philosophical and scientific tracts in a Romance language, whilst four ‘chronicles’ (those of Jaume I, Ramon Muntaner, Bernat Desclot and Pere el Cerimoniós) – historiographical works of great importance – were written. The fifteenth century was Catalan literature’s Golden Age. Novels of great quality were written, such as Tirant lo Blanc, by Joanot Martorell, l’Espill, by Jaume Roig, and Curial e Güelfa, whose author is unknown. Ausiàs Marc was the language’s most representative poet, and was the first to employ a poetical language free from Occitan influence. He wrote a vast range of works with a great internal unity that made him the most important ancient lyric poet. Roís de Corella, an outstanding humanist, poet and prose writer, both sacred and profane, was active in the last third of the fifteenth century. Unfavourable social and political circumstances led to a sharp decline in cultured Catalan literary output in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The death of the heirless king Martin I ‘the Humane’ in 1410 led to the Compromise of Caspe in 1412. As a result, the government of the lands of the Catalano-Aragonese kingdom fell into the hands of the Castilian Trastámara dynasty. An incipient process of Castilianisation


Salat


Figure 2.2

25

Geographical varieties of the Catalan language

Source: Josep Nuet, Com ensenyar català als adults, No. 6 (1989).

of the aristocracy and part of the intellectual class emerged in the sixteenth century. The fact that European culture revolved around the royal courts during this period was highly detrimental to Catalan literature. Nevertheless, the lower and middle classes (and some nobles, especially in rural areas) continued to use the language orally, and in writing, at least until the beginning of the nineteenth century. The scant





literary output worth highlighting from the sixteenth century includes Los col·loquis de la insigne ciutat de Tortosa (The colloquia of the distinguished city of Tortosa), by Cristòfor Despuig, and seventeenth-century production includes the poems of Francesc Vicent Garcia, ‘The Rector of Vallfogona’. By way of contrast, the output of popular literature was abundant, since the lower classes, who did not understand Castilian, produced and consumed a great deal of poetry and went to plays derived from medieval dramas. At the same time, given the demise of the Royal Chancellery and its unifying linguistic influence, the language began a process of dialectalisation. The War of Spanish Succession, given the opposition of the CatalanoAragonese territories to Philip V, had devastating economic, political and cultural consequences. The victorious monarch promulgated the Nueva Planta decrees (in 1707 for the former kingdom of Valencia, in 1715 for the Balearic Islands and in 1716 for Catalonia), which made the repression of the use of Catalan official policy. This involved the prohibition of the territory’s own language and the imposition of Castilian; though the use of Catalan sharply declined, especially in formal communications, it also led to an attitude of resistance which was to form the basis for the nineteenth-century literary revival movement. The multiple editions of the Instruccions per a l’ensenyança de minyons (Instructions for the teaching of children, 1749) by Baldiri Reixach, despite these prohibitions, clearly exemplifies the staunch resistance of certain sectors of society. In the first half of the nineteenth century the predominance of Castilian increased in all manner of high-level publications. At the same time, the Catalan language suffered heavy linguistic interference, a process that occurred in parallel with the gradual castilianisation of the middle classes. Only the lower classes remained unaffected and proved most loyal to the language. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the appearance of the European Romantic movement led to support for national cultures and the exaltation of the splendour of medieval times. The awakening of cultural pride, together with a new spirit that formed part of the industrial revolution, was to become the basis for a political and cultural movement known as the Renaixença (Rebirth), that contrasted with the Decadència (Decadence), the name given to the three previous centuries of literary decline. The Renaixença movement had its roots in the bourgeoisie, which was particularly powerful in Catalonia, and began in 1833, the emblematic year Bonaventura Carles Aribau’s ode La Pàtria (The Fatherland) was published. In Valencia, the point


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of reference was the publication of the poetry of Tomàs de Vilarroya in 1841, whilst the movement reached the Balearic Islands some time later. Significantly, although the Renaixença movement arose with the aim of dignifying the literary language, in the last third of the century it evolved differently in each territory. The greatest contrast could be seen between the desire to normalise the language in all spheres in Catalonia, where language-related and cultural goals went hand in hand with the so-called ‘political Catalanism’, and the spreading of a bilingualist ideology in Valencia which, far from slowing the historical process of Castilianisation of Valencian society, offered a new excuse for linguistic defection by people who believed that adopting the Castilian language would ensure upward social mobility. Initially, the poetry contests known as the Jocs Florals were the forum for a large part of literary production. They became a platform for popularising authors such as Fr. Jacint Verdaguer, who helped forge the contemporary cultured language, Narcís Oller, who was to lead the novel genre to its consolidation, and Àngel Guimerà and Frederic Soler (‘Pitarra’), the leading Catalan playwrights. However, the shortage of a readership used to reading in its own language and the absence of moves to overcome the orthographic and grammatical anarchy prevalent in the language were the main obstacles to Catalan appearing in the press. The first newspaper, the Diari Català, and satirical magazine, La Campana de Gràcia, both appeared in 1870. From this moment on, production increased, both quantitatively and qualitatively, at a healthy rate. The Modernisme7 movement picked up the artistic and cultural baton at the end of the nineteenth century. As its name indicates, this movement proposed the modernisation of Catalan culture, which had become bogged down in the regionalism of the Renaixença. This national movement opened up to European cultural models, with a clear vocation for universality. New literary figures appeared, such as Raimon Casellas, Joaquim Ruyra, Joan Maragall, Santiago Rusiñol, Prudenci Bertrana, Caterina Albert (‘Víctor Català’), Ignasi Iglésias, etc. It was a brief period, yet its political impact was great: it shaped the regionalist movement that formed the basis for the political nationalism of the twentieth century. Political Catalanism reached the public institutions at the start of the twentieth century. Its most outstanding political figure was Enric Prat de la Riba, who first chaired the Diputació de Barcelona8 and then, in 1914, the newly founded Mancomunitat de Catalunya. Catalanism went through great upheavals in the first third of the twentieth century. Firstly, dictator General Primo de Rivera (1923–30) closed





the Mancomunitat in 1925. Secondly, during Spain’s Second Republic, Catalonia’s Statute of Autonomy was enacted in 1932. Political Catalanism helped consolidate the Catalan language by codifying the language; moreover, its importance as a language of cultural expression considerably increased, and it was used once again by the authorities. Buoyed by success, Catalan was used more and more. Twenty-seven daily newspapers were published in Catalan in 1933 (including El Poble Català (1906–18), La Publicitat (1922–39) and La Veu de Catalunya (1899–1937)) as were numerous magazines (En Patufet (1904–38), Papitu (1908–37), El Be Negre (1931–36), etc.). It was also used in the new field of radio broadcasting (Ràdio Associació de Catalunya, 1930–39). In the cultural sphere, Noucentisme, firstly, and Avantguardisme (the Avant-garde), later, were the movements of the time. Noucentisme was an aestheticist, classicist and elitist movement, which, with the backing of political institutions, looked to Europe as its aspirational goal. Among its leading figures were writers such as Eugeni d’Ors (Xènius), Jaume Bofill i Mates (Guerau de Liost), Josep Carner, Josep M. López Picó, Carles Soldevila, Carles Riba and Ventura Gassol. The leading representatives of Avantguardisme, a literary movement at the service of creative originality, were Josep V. Foix, Joan Salvat-Papasseit and Joan Oliver (Pere Quart). In Valencia and the Balearic Islands, literary output was much smaller. Worthy of note are Eduard López Chavarri and Llorenç Villalonga, respectively. The Spanish Civil War (1936–39) led to the Franco dictatorship, under which the public presence and use of Catalan were banned. Cultural and educational activities in the language ceased immediately throughout the territory. The exiling of a large part of the political and intellectual classes led, paradoxically, to the restarting abroad of some activities publicly promoting Catalan: for instance, the magazines Catalunya (Buenos Aires), Poble Català (Paris) and Revista dels catalans d’Amèrica (Mexico) were started in 1939. The cultural outcome of the dictatorship’s first two decades was utterly desolate, except for a handful of successful publishing initiatives, such as the Catalan Library of ‘Els Nostres Clàssics’ (Our Classics, Editorial Selecta) and the ‘Fundació Bernat Metge’ (Editorial Millà). A turning point occurred in the 1960s. Little by little, civil society began to build a political opposition movement to Franco’s regime. In this process, cultural output, taking advantage of the regime’s relaxation of its implacable persecution of preceding decades, played a significant role. Good examples are magazines such as Serra d’Or (1959–) and Cavall Fort (1961–), publishing houses such as Edicions 62 (1962–) and Editorial Estel (1962–), the appearance of groups singing in Catalan


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as part of the Nova Cançó (New Song) movement (1959) and the group Els Setze Jutges (1961). An incipient publishing industry in the second half of the twentieth century was to provide a platform for a long list of writers covering every literary genre: poets, such as Salvador Espriu, Joan Oliver, Josep V. Foix, Agustí Bartra, Joan Vinyoli, Miquel Dolç, Marià Villangómez, Blai Bonet, Gabriel Ferrater, Vicent Andrés Estellés, Miquel Martí Pol and Jordi-Pere Cerdà; prose writers, such as Josep Pla, Mercè Rodoreda, Llorenç Villalonga, Manuel de Pedrolo, Pere Calders, Sebastià J. Arbó, Xavier Benguerel, Avel·lí Artís Gener, Vicenç Riera Llorca, Maria Aurèlia Capmany, Jaume Vidal Alcover and Montserrat Roig and many others, led an excellent cultural renaissance. Following General Franco’s death in November 1975, a transitional period opened the way, with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, to a new democratic parliamentary system. During this period the Spanish state was regionalised into ‘autonomous communities’. Thanks to the Statutes of Autonomy of Catalonia (1979), Valencia (1982) and the Balearic Islands (1983), Catalan became an official language in these territories,9 alongside Castilian, the official language of the Spanish state. Catalan thus has a range of legal statuses, from being the sole official language of Andorra to being legally ignored in the Catalan-speaking parts of Aragon and France’s Northern Catalonia. More recently, the legal status of Catalan in the Sardinian city of l’Alguer (L’Alghero/S’Alighèra) was enhanced thanks to the 1998 regional Promotion and Appreciation of the Culture and Language of Sardinia Act (Legge Regionale 15 ottobre 1997, n. 26. Promozione e valorizzazione della cultura e della lingua della Sardegna).10 Under this legal umbrella, recently modified by the reforms to the Statutes of Autonomy of Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands, communicative dynamics displaying varying degrees of vitality with regard to the Catalan language can be traced in each territory, spanning almost 30 years. In Section 2.4, on status planning, we detail the itineraries followed by language planners in these three large administrative units in the Spanish state. The contrasting conclusions to be drawn therefrom bear witness to the extraordinary complexity involved in making an overall assessment of the sociolinguistic position of Catalan. It benefits from situations of real excellence, such as the normality seen in its participation as guest culture in the 2007 Frankfurt Book Fair or the 2010 Expolangues fair in Paris, yet is subject to highly negative processes, such as the seemingly irreversible progress of intergenerational shift in Northern Catalonia and l’Alguer.




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2.3 Corpus planning

Popular tradition has given us a saying which neatly summarises the territorial distribution of the Catalan language: ‘De Salses a Guardamar i de Fraga a Maó’ (north–south from Salses to Guardamar, and west–east from Fraga to Maó, or to l’Alguer according to another version). Nevertheless, the recent social history of the Catalan language is full of disaggregating strategies. The particularist ways of naming the language (‘valencià’, ‘mallorquí’, etc.) have seriously damaged unitary linguistic and cultural awareness. The referential fragmentation thereby achieved, sometimes backed by autonomous community legal texts, should not be underestimated. Nevertheless, the best antidote to this centrifugal dynamic has doubtless been the historical continuity of a cultural tradition spanning all the territories. Despite administrative divisions and adverse sociopolitical factors, the progressive increase in interregional cultural links is undeniable. This shared linguistic and cultural tradition, despite the weakness it has shown in some periods of history, has never been interrupted. Reliable evidence of this cultural cohesion is to be found in the constant will to draw up a common supradialectical variety of the language. The most important historical milestones in this process have been: (a) the establishment of a medieval koine based on the language model disseminated by the Royal Chancellery and put into practice by the great authors of the time (from Ramon Llull to Bernat Metge) and the historiographical prose of the Chronicles; and (b) the consolidation of Fabra’s guidelines in the 1930s, following the practical end to resistance to standardisation in Catalonia with the agreement of Barcelona’s Acadèmia de Bones Lletres (1931), the disappearance of the anti-Fabra movement in the Balearic Islands following Antoni-Maria Alcover’s death in 1932 and the acceptance of the codification of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans in Valencia with the signing of the Normes Ortogràfiques de Castelló (the Orthographic Norms of Castelló, 1932). Today, the imposing intellectual edifice based on this unitary codifying strategy has left cultural output based on secessionist codifying positions, which are especially active in Valencia, in a merely anecdotal position. Nevertheless, as discussed at the end of this section, the setting-up of a standards body in Valencia, the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (the Valencian Academy of the Language, 1998), adds a new codificatory dynamic, with the risk of divergence (which is beginning to be visible) from the standards


2.3.1 From the medieval koine to the codification of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans


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issued by the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (IEC) for all Catalan-speaking territories. The origins of the modern normativisation process in Catalonia are to be found in the goal of Catalan literary recovery set by the intellectual elite of the Renaixença from the second third of the nineteenth century on. With a new, fresh anti-bourgeois attitude this movement carried on into the turn of the century with Modernisme. However, the biggest thrust came from the cultural ideology promoted by Noucentisme (1906–23). This movement provided the aegis for the revival, codification and modernisation of the language led by Pompeu Fabra at the IEC, which was founded by Enric Prat de la Riba in 1907 as part of a national cultural strategy in which Catalan had to recover all the functionality it had been deprived of by the adverse political and social situation in force since the sixteenth century. The fresh Catalanist approach adopted by Catalonia’s governing classes, backed by a great social consensus, created the perfect framework for the huge codificatory enterprise required to overcome orthographic and grammatical anarchy and the omnipresent Castilianisation of formal uses of language. This task was undertaken by the Philological Section (SF) of the IEC (founded in 1911), from where Pompeu Fabra dictated the main guidelines to be followed in the codification programmes. The IEC was established in 1907, shortly after the First International Congress of the Catalan Language, an academic and civic encounter promoted and chaired by a Majorcan cleric, Fr. Antoni-Maria Alcover. This Congress played host to a large number of ideas on a wide range of subjects connected with the Catalan language. These issues and suggestions found, in the newly created research body, a perfect setting for being addressed. In 1911, the IEC set up a specific section which, according to its statutes, had as its mission the carrying out of research into the Catalan language, the establishment and updating of its norms and the extension of its use. Thus the modern codification of Catalan began to progress, with the acquiescence of those in power and significant social consensus behind it, in the hands of a body that enjoyed both moral and academic authority, thanks to its members’ scientific stature. The cornerstones of this process were (a) the IEC’s Normes ortogràfiques (Orthographic Norms, 1913), slightly modified in the Orthographic Dictionary (1917), (b) Fabra’s Gramàtica catalana (Catalan Grammar, 1918), and (c) the Diccionari General de la Llengua Catalana (General Dictionary of the Catalan Language, 1932), also by Fabra.




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The goal of the process of linguistic codification was clear: to give Catalan a single set of stable norms, modernising its lexicon and giving its syntax clarity, to make it a cultural language limitlessly suited to the expressive requirements of modern life, in the manner of other European languages; to offer a model of reference to all members of the Catalan-speaking community; in short, to give back to the Catalans their pride and dignity in belonging to a differentiated national community, possessing a national language with a glorious past and, above all, an ability to look to the future. [. . .] Formally, for Fabra, the work of linguistic restitution and depuration – in short, of reconstruction of literary Catalan – had to consist of recovering the status and physiognomy that the language would have enjoyed had it not suffered from a pronounced literary decadence, if the community that spoke it had not been politically subordinated to other nations and if an overwhelming cultural pressure had not subjected it to the influx of other languages over the course of four centuries. It could not merely sanction spoken Catalan disfigured with foreign influences and the effects of not having being taught at school and a lack of formal elaboration, nor could it be a mere return to its archaic form. Needless to say, for Fabra, using the ancient tongue as a source of renewal is possible, as is resorting to cultured usages, but both the former and the latter are always subsidiary.11 The specific conditions affecting the normativisation of the Catalan language (the social, cultural and political dispersion of its territories, the lack of a common linguistic awareness, prejudice against the unity of the language, the great differences in cultural development and the social and literary importance of the different regions, etc.) led to the rejection of a ‘unitarist’ standardisation based on the medieval language or on the language spoken in a single geographical region. As is well known, the model chosen for codification was based on diasystematic and historicist criteria. It was (a) monocentric, i.e. basically established by a single codifying centre (the IEC); (b) compositional, i.e. with contributions from various dialects and (c) polymorphic, i.e. with alternative forms to provide equivalent solutions for certain traits (which were mainly morphological). Without going into whether these criteria were appropriate, it is worth mentioning the ideology underlying certain critiques which complain,


Joan Argenter (2002: 15–16) provides an excellent summary of the goals and itinerary of the project:


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as regards the model’s polymorphism, of an alleged pre-eminence of the morphological and lexical options of Central Eastern Catalan. In fact, compositionality clearly favoured western (and especially Valencian) varieties in establishing the written form. Although the lexical complaint can be partly accepted, once again the user’s identification with – or rejection of – the formal model leads us to non-language-related considerations closely linked to the centrifugal dynamics that have become installed in the Catalan linguistic community. Current changes to the original monocentric approach in favour of a polycentric focus in line with the autonomous community-based territorial ordering of Spain’s Catalan-speaking territories are undeniable evidence of this referential fragmentation. Let us briefly look at this situation. The IEC, having worked clandestinely and at a lower than acceptable level due to the abolition of Catalan institutions following the advent of Franco’s dictatorship in 1939, recommenced its activities with the return to democracy after Franco’s death in 1975. According to Royal Decree 3118 of 1976, the IEC is officially recognised as the language authority for all Catalan-speaking areas. Nevertheless, the legislation arising from the Statutes of Autonomy of the Balearic Islands and Valencia has reduced its legal scope of operations to Catalonia (where it was included in Catalonia’s Statute of Autonomy by Act 8/1981 and again in the 2006 Statute), despite the Institute’s desire to cover all Catalan-speaking lands. The Statute of the Balearic Islands grants the University of the Balearic Islands a consultative function in Catalan language-related matters, while that of Valencia gives it to the Valencian Academy of the Language (AVL), which has to oversee the codification of ‘valencià’. As noted above, while harmony with the IEC is guaranteed in the Balearic Islands, the formal model promoted by the AVL raises doubts as to the degree of convergence. This new period of the IEC has had as its major milestones in codificatory work: the publication, in 1995 and 2007, of two editions of the Diccionari de la llengua catalana. The latest – and significantly revised – edition has become the new reference point for lexicographic standards. Additionally, the drafting of a new Gramàtica catalana, to complete the updating of the rules of Fabra’s prescriptive corpus for the written language, is reaching its final stages. In our opinion, the authority should tackle the issue of pronunciation rules without delay given that, with the passage of time, communicative dynamics have changed spectacularly. Today, the holders, shapers and users of the standard variety of the language are no longer members of the ‘fauna plumífera’ (pen-bearing fauna) (Lamuela and Murgades, 1984: 39): Marconi’s inventions have





ensured that the oral dimension of the language plays an unshakeable leading role. Up to now, the IEC has issued two proposals (Proposta per a un estàndard oral de la llengua catalana. I Fonètica, Proposal for an oral standard for the Catalan language. I Phonetics, 1990; Proposta per a un estàndard oral de la llengua catalana. II Morfologia, Proposal for an oral standard for the Catalan language. II Morphology, 1992). Work has also been carried out to establish the official forms of names, giving rise to the Nomenclàtor oficial de toponímia major de Catalunya (Official Nomenclature of Catalonia’s Major Toponyms, 2004) and the Nomenclàtor toponímic de la Catalunya del Nord (Toponymic Nomenclature of Northern Catalonia, 2007). Furthermore, the Philological Section (SF) of the IEC oversees several important research projects, such as the Diccionari del Català Contemporani (Dictionary of Contemporary Catalan) and the Diccionari descriptiu de la llengua catalana (Descriptive Dictionary of the Catalan Language) which draw on data gathered in the initial stages of the Corpus Textual Informatitzat de la Llengua Catalana (Computerised Textual Corpus of the Catalan Language). Another very important database is the Base de Dades de les Oficines Lexicogràfiques (Lexicographic Offices’ Database), from which both the prescriptive dictionary and the Diccionari manual de la llengua catalana (Concise Dictionary of the Catalan Language) are drawn up. The SF thus has plenty of rigorously researched material, which allows the charting of the history of the development of Catalan’s modern and contemporary lexicon. The Atles Lingüístic del Domini Català (Linguistic Atlas of the CatalanSpeaking Lands) is a vast project, of which three volumes have already been published. It aims to chart dialectal variations on the basis of data gathered from questionnaires distributed in 190 towns and villages through the Catalan-speaking territories. This project includes the publication of ‘ethnotexts’ and of a summarised version designed for the non-specialist public. Another magnum opus is the Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis Cataloniae (a project carried out in conjunction with Spain’s Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Higher Council for Scientific Research). The letter F has already been reached, and the research offers extremely valuable information on medieval Latin and pre-literary Catalan. Pompeu Fabra’s Obres Completes (Complete Works) is another ongoing project, with three volumes already published. Further evidence of the boost given to research by the SF in recent times can be gleaned through other projects: the letters of Josep Sebastià Pons (published in collaboration with the University of Perpignan); the publication of the complete grammatical works of Antoni Febrer i


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Cardona (together with the Menorcan Institute of Studies and the Abbey of Montserrat publishing house); the vocabulary of medieval Catalan, drawn up using material by Lluís Faraudo de Saint-Germain; and the computerisation and phonetic adaptation of Alcover and Moll’s tenvolume Diccionari català-valencià-balear in line with the International Phonetic Alphabet. The SF also pays close attention to the establishment of neologisms and the orthography of specialist vocabularies. To these ends, it collaborates with the Catalan Terminology Centre Termcat and the Neology Observatory of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra’s Applied Linguistics University Institute IULA. Let us conclude by mentioning a promising new area of work: Catalan sign language, a means of communication in dire need of descriptive and prescriptive materials.12

2.3.2 The Valencian Academy of the Language. A polycentric dynamic with unforeseeable consequences Territorial segmentation (see Section 2.2.1) and the varying sensitivities of the political parties in power in each area regarding the goal of normality desired for the Catalan language (see Section 2.4) are the bases for sectorialised functionality. This centrifugal dynamic is a real problem, since it hampers the creation of a shared communicative area and of a cultural market structure at the service of the entire Catalan-speaking community. The shortcomings in establishing a real sociolinguistic community with the advent of democracy and in moving towards a new linguistic normality were taken advantage of by certain deeply reactionary sectors to encourage secessionist linguistic ideologies in territories with weak national awareness. Despite the unanimous opinion of international Romance language scholars (e.g. Gulsoy 1989, Kremnitz 2006) and the courts of law (see Esteve et al. 2005), the conservative governments of Valencia (Strubell 1994) and, to a lesser extent, the Balearic Islands, have supported disaggregating particularism, keenly aware of its harmful effects on the revival of the native tongue. Behind these false philological debates is a clear strategy of maintaining the status quo that has made linguistic defection and the adoption of Castilian a class symbol. In short, behind the façade of alleged language-based disagreements lie true social and identity-based disputes. The region in which the secessionists have achieved most is Valencia. The campaign in favour of a Valencian language with absolutely no links to the Catalan diasystem is based upon: (a) a philological theory that claims that the language originated from an ancient Mozarabic





Romance language that absorbed the Catalan speakers who repopulated the region in the thirteenth century and (b) an ‘anti-Catalanist’ ideology purporting to defend the region against the supposedly expansionist aims of Catalonia. The so-called ‘Valencian language dispute’, caused by the indecision of autonomous community bodies that have never clearly supported the dignification of their historical tongue, has caused great problems in the formal study of the language and has proved an obstacle to its normalisation throughout the entire democratic period. Paradoxically, it was the conservative government of the People’s Party (PP) that, over a decade ago, began the process that should have led to the resolution of the confrontation between unionists and secessionists in Valencia. In September 1997 the then President of the Valencian Generalitat, Eduardo Zaplana, implemented a strategy dubbed the ‘language pact’ (pacte lingüístic). First, an apparently neutral body, the Consell Valencià de Cultura (CVC, Valencian Cultural Council), was charged with issuing a ruling on the language spoken by Valencians. The most important result of this ruling, affected by the political dynamics caused by the ideological devotion of the members of the CVC, was the proposal to create a new regulatory institution of reference. A year later, the Valencian Academy of the Language (AVL) Creation Act 7/1998, of 16 September, was adopted, though the autonomous community elections of 1999 held up the process for almost three years. Eventually, the People’s Party (PP) and the Partit Socialista del País Valencià (PSPV-PSOE, Socialists) agreed on the 21 academics to be appointed to the new authority, as published in Decree 8/2001, of 27 June. During the first two years of the AVL’s activities, several highly controversial documents were published. Firstly, Resolution 10/2002 of 4 April 2002 made official a range of written, lexical and phraseological uses ‘so as to prioritize and reclaim genuine linguistic solutions’. This first regulatory agreement was quickly used by Valencian minister M. Tarancón to urge the Council to adopt them as Valencia’s ‘own’ (DOGV – Valencia’s official journal – of 26 April 2002). This exclusive interpretation promoted by the Valencian government led to a new ruling by the AVL (Resolution 12/2002 of 31 May) which, on the one hand, distanced it from the actions of the minister but, on the other, repeated the initial error and broadened the number of items included in the first Resolution. Finally, the 9 September 2002 meeting adopted the document ‘Guidelines and suggestions for the drawing up of curricular material written in Valencian’. This document, which was hotly contested in a range of cultural sectors, returned to the listing of doublets and made


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a proposal for distribution by educational level. In conclusion, the process in this first phase betrayed a clearly localist standardising tendency and, worryingly, ignored demands made by cultural sectors historically committed to the dignification of Valencian (teaching, publishing, universities, etc.). Thus consensus was not a guiding principle behind the rulings. Multiple objections can be made to this period (Pradilla 2004: 111–12): the debate as to the language’s name, the term ‘Catalan language’ being deliberately ignored, remained unchecked; the elliptical formulation that (allegedly) backed the unity of the language, leaving in the interpretation of the word ‘system’ an unnecessary degree of ambiguity; the promoted model did not really correspond to ‘consolidated normativisation’ based on the Castelló Norms; and, finally, the appointment of several secessionist members caused a great deal of anger. The new codifying body is certainly not having it easy. Political and social pressures have placed it at the epicentre of debates that continually question its independence. The second stage began with an episode that clearly reveals the existing tensions, this time between the AVL and the Valencian government itself. Valencian minister Font de Mora made an intimidatory outburst at the plenary session of the AVL of 22 December 2004. This session was to issue a ruling that would unambiguously confirm the unity of the language and promote, in a number of fields, the name valencià/català. After this remarkable exhibition of disrespect for democracy, the ruling, adopted on 9 February 2005, was stripped of part of its initial forcefulness, particularly with regard to the compound name. The body’s position on the onomastic dispute came down in favour of the traditional valencià (Valencian) – but without meaning that this excluded the use of the name català (Catalan). On the other hand, the formulation of the unity of the language – which the Valencian government must, compulsorily, obey – was clear and should, in our opinion, be regarded as a truly historic event, since the previously criticised ambiguity disappears with the listing of the territories belonging to the ‘linguistic system’: In accordance with the most reliable contributions made by Romance scholars from the 19th century until today (historico-grammatical, dialectological, syntactical, lexicographical and other studies), the historical tongue of the Valencians is, from a philological standpoint, also that shared by the autonomous communities of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands and the Principality of Andorra. It is also the historical language of other territories of the former Kingdom of Aragon (the eastern strip of Aragon, the Sardinian city of l’Alguer and France’s




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However, the next part of this paragraph raises a new debate as to how the AVL’s codificatory proposal fits within the general framework of the Catalan language: Within these forms of speaking, Valencian has the same hierarchy and dignity as any other territorial modality of the linguistic system, and has its own characteristics, which the AVL will preserve and boost in accordance with Valencia’s own lexicographical and literary history, its linguistic reality and consolidated normativisation based on the Norms of Castelló. At present two publications allow for a more accurate characterisation of the AVL’s standardising philosophy and the normative divergences with the prescriptive corpus of the Catalan language of the IEC: the Diccionari Ortogràfic i de Pronunciació (Orthographical and Pronunciation Dictionary, 2006) and the Gramàtica Normativa Valenciana (Valencian Grammatical Norms, 2006). This new codificatory focus is based on three basic criteria, which alter the praxis of the current norms: (a) the colloquialisation of norms (especially the lexical ones); (b) an extreme openness to the incorporation of Castilianisms; and (c) the reassignment of forms in the linguistic repertoire. The intermeshing of the three criteria makes it difficult to evaluate them separately: on the one hand, colloquialisation is the basis for incorporating Castilianisms and, on the other, the territoriality of a word will be one of the main criteria in rearranging the repertoire. In summary, the AVL’s model, which emerges from the constant and arduous negotiations between the different (socio-)linguistic sensitivities that coexist within the body, is a synthesis, bringing on board the basic principles of secessionism (referential individualism, colloquialisation of norms and the legitimation of linguistic interference) and grafting them on to Fabra’s codification. This operation, the technical difficulties of which are evident, has ended up conflicting with the prescriptive corpus of the IEC, which makes the outlook for linguistic convergence with the rest of the diasystem rather bleak. Moreover, in terms of standardisation, a disturbing aspect of this model is the


Département des Pyrénées-Orientales). The different forms of speaking of all these territories constitute a language, that is, the same ‘linguistic system’, according to the terminology of the first structuralism (Annex 1) included in the ruling of the Valencian Cultural Council, which is featured as the preamble to the AVL Creation Act.


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confusion created by the stylistic readjustment it promotes. By raising to the highest level of formality forms that were previously classified as colloquial, and making linguistic interference acceptable, the linguistic sections of the cultural players who had led the struggle for the dignification of the language have been radically challenged. It is common knowledge that for the normal working of any language the connotations of the diverse linguistic forms of its communicative repertoire have to be clearly catalogued. This universe of connotations needs to be shared by all the members of a linguistic community and has to contribute to the configuration of a well-defined stylistic system. The existence of different codifying centres for the same language, with dissonant standardising approaches, is an anomaly that a language such as Catalan, with evident signs of minoritisation, can ill afford. So convergence of the models promoted in the various Catalan-speaking territories is an inescapable priority in the common cause of linguistic normality.

2.4 Status planning 2.4.1 Language policies13 As noted above, even today some Catalan-speaking territories have (almost) no powers for political involvement in the reordering of the native tongue’s ecosystem. The case of Northern Catalonia is the most extreme, for France refuses to officially acknowledge linguistic diversity,14 to the point of not ratifying the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.15 In the Franja de Ponent, the long-awaited Language Act has only recently come into effect, under the auspices of a Catalan-speaking Autonomous Community President, Marcelino Iglesias. The Act grants Catalan (and Aragonese) some territorial status. Some legislative events at the turn of the millennium have changed the outlook in Andorra and l’Alguer, despite the substantial differences between the two. The case of the Principality of Andorra is especially important in clearly showing how being the only official language is no iron-clad guarantee for the pre-eminence of Catalan in overall social usage. To counter the negative trends it had observed, the Andorran parliament adopted the 1999 Official Language Usage Act.16 For its part, significant steps have been taken towards recognising Italy’s linguistic mosaic and the Catalan of l’Alguer has benefited from this. The first sign of the new direction taken was the entry into force of the regional





Promozione e valorizzazione della cultura e della lingua della Sardegna (Promotion and Appreciation of the Culture and Language of Sardinia) Act in 1998. Shortly afterwards the same parliament adopted the Norme in materia di tutela delle minoranze linguistiche storiche (Regulations regarding the protection of historical linguistic minorities) on 17 June 1998.17 Unlike the Andorran government, however, the Sardinian political authorities do not seem to have the right tools or the decisive willpower to use the new legislation to its full potential. Spain’s three large autonomous administrations deserve a separate analysis. In these three regions, Catalan shares its official status with Castilian. This legal status has, on the one hand, been consolidated with the reforms of the Balearic and Valencian Statutes of Autonomy and, on the other, increased with the reforms to that of Catalonia.18 However, before examining legal developments and official actions, readers should be aware that this situation is based on a clearly asymmetrical constitutional position with regard to the legal regulation of state-wide multilingualism, in which Castilian alone enjoys the rank of a statewide language. This is the basis for the options chosen by autonomous community authorities, which fall halfway between the principles of ‘territoriality’ (the priority of Catalan in official communications) and ‘personality’ (the right of users to be dealt with in the language of their choice). Catalonia is where Catalan displays the greatest (although far from optimal) levels of vitality and use. This fact reveals a correlation between the health of a language and the degree of national consciousness of those speaking it. We refer, with all necessary provisos, to the conviction that one belongs to a group sharing historical and cultural points of reference based around one’s own language. Despite the fact that the language-related practice of those in power has often not been consistent with what they preach, the repeated success of the political party Convergència i Unió (1980–2003) provides evidence of the central role played (at least in terms of election manifestos) by language in the political and social dynamics of this territory. The ‘tripartite’ government (Partit Socialista de Catalunya, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya and Iniciativa per Catalunya-Verds), which took over power from the nationalist coalition in 2003, shows that for any political formation aiming to play more than a merely token role in Catalonia, support for language-related and national aspirations is a core issue. It has thus been the political institutions of Catalonia that have tackled the language normalisation process most wholeheartedly and rigorously. Any outline of the language policy followed by the Generalitat de


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Catalunya since the adoption of the Statute of Autonomy in 1979 needs to begin with the creation, in 1980, of the Directorate-General for Language Policy. In 1983 the Language Normalisation Act in Catalonia was adopted, with the consensus of all parliamentary groups. It acknowledged the precarious state of Catalan and proposed to invert its minoritised position as the territory’s ‘own’ language, and official alongside Castilian. Catalan became the language used by the Generalitat and the other public bodies that reported to it, and the right of citizens to carry on their activities and address the authorities, public and private enterprises and the courts in the language was recognised. The right to issue public documents in Catalan was recognised and place names were normalised. The right of children to receive primary education in their language was regulated and it was decided to create Catalan-language media to promote the language. In 1989, the Consortium for Language Normalisation was created to extend normalisation to all areas of society by means of language promotion and advisory services and adult education courses. In the 1990s the Social Council of the Catalan Language was established, in response to the desire of the majority of society to continue progressing along the road of language normalisation. The Council began to draw up a General Language Normalisation Plan in 1991. This plan was adopted by the government in 1995. It was to provide an organisational framework that would permit ‘the continuous updating of the vital social consensus between the public authorities and key social players in the process of returning to a normal use of Catalan’ (Pla General de Normalització Lingüística, 1995: 10–11). This would allow the sociocultural changes which were the goal of language normalisation to be adapted in line with contemporary realities. A new legislative milestone occurred in 1997 when, again jointly between all parliamentary groups, a new Bill was debated. The need for a new legal framework had over time become increasingly clear. However, not all parties were of the same view, and the new Language Policy Act (1998) was passed with a large majority (80 per cent) but not with the complete consensus of that of 1983. The 1998 Act is structurally and conceptually different from its predecessor. The fundamental difference is that the 1983 Act refers solely to part of Article 3 of the 1979 Statute, whilst that of 1998 covers the entire article. Consequently, it stresses the concepts of the territory’s ‘own’ language and official language, making it very clear that Catalan and Castilian are equally valid for all official purposes. Furthermore, the Act notes that all Catalan citizens are guaranteed language-related individual rights, but given that,





legally, Catalonia’s own language is Catalan, it lays down criteria for public authorities. The language-related consequences of the concept of the territory’s ‘own’ language are threefold: (a) institutional: if Catalan is Catalonia’s ‘own’ language, it is that of all its official bodies, including not only the Generalitat and municipal councils (as contemplated in the 1983 Act) but also professional institutes, chambers of commerce, academies, universities, etc.; (b) territorial: Catalan must be the language in which, preferentially, the activities of the country are carried out; and (c) dissemination: encouraging proficiency, support for culture, creation and communications in the Catalan language.19 There have been initiatives in the latest political situation, which has not been in place long enough to allow an evaluation of its conduct or results with perspective. The former Directorate-General for Language Policy was replaced by a Secretariat of Language Policy which, from the President’s (later, Vice-President’s) Office, aims to implement transversal actions in all areas of government. Also worthy of note, despite the paucity of the results obtained to date, are efforts being made to improve the legal standing of Catalan in Spain and Europe. With regard to this, the adoption of the 2006 Catalan Statute of Autonomy20 modifies and substantially broadens the language-related provisions of its predecessor. According to Pons (2006), important provisions of the 2006 Statute include the proclamation of the duty to know Catalan (Art. 6.2), echoing the Spanish constitutional provisions regarding Castilian; the raising to statutory rank of some of the provisions of the Language Policy Act, such as the definition of general sectoral language rights, including those relating to education (Arts. 32–36); the clearer stipulation of the Generalitat’s powers over language-related issues (Art. 143 E); the detailing of the Spanish state’s commitment to the encouragement and foreign promotion of the Catalan language, specifically in central bodies, the European Union and international organisations such as UNESCO (Arts. 6.3, 33.5 and 50.7); and the proclamation of the principle that court officials in Catalonia, as well as notaries and registrars, must have a proper and sufficient knowledge of Catalan to be able to carry out the duties inherent in their office or job (Arts. 33.3 and 102). The case of the Balearic Islands provides a paradigmatic example of the dynamic nature of planning processes and of the importance of government action in the progress or reversal of language normalisation. After more than 15 years (1983–99) of government by the People’s Party (Partido Popular, previously Alianza Popular), the 1999 autonomous community elections led to a change, control of the islands’ government and of the three island councils passing to a coalition made up


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of the Partit Socialista Obrer Espanyol, Partit Socialista de Mallorca, Esquerra Unida and Unió Mallorquina. This new leadership allowed the nationalist parties, PSM and UM, to give a boost to the islands’ language regulation that would doubtless not have occurred in such a decisive way had power been monopolised by a party such as the PSOE, which answers to its Spanish leaders.21 This period of government was ended by the re-election of the PP from 2003 to 2007, which used language policy as its chief weapon. With the return to power of the leftist coalition in 2007, the path taken eight years previously was reopened. The Balearic Islands’ Statute of Autonomy was adopted in 1983 and established Catalan and Castilian as official languages. After the regional elections in the same year, the islands’ government implemented a sort of liberal, non-interventionist language policy. This approach was of no help to the Catalan language, because of the inertia and prejudices its historical marginalisation has instilled in most of the population. Within this framework of abandonment of responsibilities, Parliament adopted the 1986 Balearic Islands’ Language Normalisation Act, which holds the dubious honour of being the last to be passed. However, the best example of the authorities’ lack of interest during this first stage in the normalisation of the islands’ ‘own’ language was the slow workings of the Directorate-General of Language Policy, which formed part of an umbrella body called the Directorate-General of Culture and Language Policy.22 In short, progress made by Catalan has been weak, and the potential of language legislation has not been developed. The lack of some particularly important powers (such as those over education and the media) has also been a negative factor, but this cannot account for the timid degree of Catalanisation observable in institutional usages (appropriate language training for civil servants, signage, etc.). Between 1999 and 2003, the new government made a commitment to decisively tackle the challenge of making good a fairly deficient sociolinguistic situation. Positive actions began to be seen. We would like to highlight, on the one hand, the creation of a normalising structure organised around a renewed Directorate-General of Language Policy and, on the other, some emblematic moves, such as the drafting of a plan for urgent actions in the field of language normalisation and the requirement, for the first time, of Catalan language competence in a call for applications for civil service positions in the autonomous community government. After the interval caused by the political situation arising from the regional (i.e. autonomous community) elections of 2003, from 2007 one could expect a return to the language normalisation process begun in 1999.





The sociolinguistic situation of Valencia has one thing in common with that of the Balearic Islands: during the greater part of the democratic period it has been strongly affected by its institutions ignoring their responsibilities with regard to language policy and planning. The PP’s rise to power in the Valencian government in 1995 ended a 12-year period (1983–95) of socialist governments (PSPV-PSOE), marked by a timid approach to institutional involvement. It also opened up a new period which has been described as ‘linguistic counter-planning’ (Pradilla 2004: 69–97).23 The adoption of Valencia’s Statute of Autonomy in 1982 paved the way for the autonomous community’s first elections in the same year. Despite the negative opinion merited by the normalisation-related policy implemented by successive socialist governments, it is only fair to acknowledge some good points which can even be interpreted as truly historic events. Essentially, this refers to making the use of Valencian legal, and the universalisation of its teaching in education (in the public sector, at least). During this period, the two most important milestones in language planning were the adoption of the 1983 Valencian Use and Teaching Act and the 1990 Three-Year Plan for the Promotion of the Use of Valencian in the Autonomous Community of Valencia. The Act limits the official nature of Catalan to teaching and the autonomous community’s government and makes a passing reference to the media; while the Three-Year Plan was little more than a well-meaning statement of intent. At the same time, a planning infrastructure was created to provide a response to the new legal framework, firstly via the Valencian Use Office and, from 1991 on, via the Directorate-General of Language Planning. Several studies have assessed the sociolinguistic data from this period and one interpretative thread has been to regard the government as stuck, unable – due to a lack of commitment – to change the structural mechanisms governing the social use of the language. From 1995 on, the government of Valencia’s Generalitat has been in the hands of the People’s Party. This party, which had previously abstained in the vote which passed the Valencian Use and Teaching Act, represents the social sectors most reluctant to see a recovery in the public functions of Catalan. Moreover, the slim victory of the PP led to the entry of Unió Valenciana into the government. Language disputes were inevitable with a party that made linguistic secessionism an obsessive slogan, which was used to making the formal usage of Catalan a subject of controversy, to reduce its social functionality. During this period the fragile planning structure inherited from the previous government was dismantled. The electoral failure of UV in 1999 and the PP’s three


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outright majorities (1999, 2003 and 2007) have done little to change matters. To summarise, in the field of status planning, the strategy has been a lack of intervention that has underscored the lack of effective functional planning. The impact of this institutional approach must be evaluated in the light of the sociolinguistic reality of Valencia. The author of this chapter has repeatedly denounced the behaviour of its government for actions such as hiding demo-linguistic data (Pradilla 2004). With the PP’s accession to power in 1995, the aforementioned dismantling led to the hibernation of the Valencian Ministry of Culture’s Sociolinguistics Research and Studies Service (SIES). As is well known, without objective data it is impossible to meaningfully evaluate official language policy. The continued complaints regarding this situation of obscurantism must have had something to do with the dissemination of languagerelated data from Valencia’s Population and Housing Census of 200124 and the performance of two institutional surveys, the surveys on the Social Usage of Valencian of 2004 (by the AVL) and on Knowledge and Use of Valencian of 2005 (by the Valencian Generalitat). For the purposes of this chapter, we have chosen to compare the data from the two most recent surveys carried out by the Generalitat: the aforementioned one, SIES 2005, and SIES 1995 (Survey on the Usage of Valencian). Ten years separate the two, a period with the same government in charge of language policy and planning. For the time being, it is enough to highlight the trends followed by the two main languages in contact. With regard to the different abilities inherent in linguistic competence – those of understanding, speaking, reading and writing – in the period under review (1995–2005), only the latter two have increased: +4.3 in reading ability (SIES 1995: 46.5 per cent; SIES 2005: 50.8 per cent) and +9.5 in writing (SIES 1995: 20.3 per cent; SIES 2005: 29.8 per cent). The increases in these abilities are linked to the access to Valencian provided by the education system. By way of contrast, there have been significant decreases in communication skills as important as those of understanding and speaking: −14. 1 in understanding abilities (SIES 1995: 87.4 per cent; SIES 2005: 73.3 per cent) and −10. 5 in speaking (SIES 1995: 62.6 per cent; SIES 2005: 52.1 per cent). These latter figures reveal a very significant decline in competence in the territory’s historical language and, as we shall see below, point to a correlative fall in usages. At present, figures for only three spheres of the Valencian-speaking region have been made public – ‘at home’, ‘in large retail outlets’ and ‘with one’s friends’– and in all three there have been important falls in the use of Valencian: −13. 6 per cent at home (SIES





1995: 50 per cent; SIES 2005: 36.4 per cent) and −11. 4 per cent in large retail outlets (SIES 1995; 31.4 per cent; SIES 2005: 20 per cent); the use of Castilian between friends, which was slightly below that of Valencian in 1995, rose by +7.7 (SIES 1995: 44.8 per cent; SIES 2005: 52.5 per cent). Available demo-linguistic data corroborate the fact that the historical process of linguistic shift continues to steadily win ground in Valencia. We would venture to suggest that, unless decisive official action is taken to reverse these communicative dynamics that are so damaging to the region’s historical and territorial language, the decline of the Catalan language there may prove irreversible.

2.4.2 Conflictive ideological dynamics The discourses in support of the above language policies, although sharing some central points in the period immediately after the end of Franco’s dictatorship in Spain, have taken different courses in different territories. And the ideological collisions between the language-related and cultural strategies promoted by those in power and the demands of more or less numerous sectors of civil society have also led to different territorial manifestations. Nevertheless, we would like to make a couple of general observations. Firstly, we would like to note a paradoxical fact: although Spain enjoys an a priori favourable democratic institutional framework, which – it is only fair to point out – has led to some historic achievements, one cannot hide the feeling of social sectors most committed to the Catalan language that the language normalisation processes undertaken have not lived up to expectation. Needless to say, the message from those in power is one of triumph, if not of ‘excessive’ normality. ‘Top-down’ language planning has not, in short, met the expectations of the part of civil society that is much more committed to the revival of the language and culture of the different territories than the governing elites thereof. Thus it is that the ‘bottom-up’ demands for the management of the linguistic ecosystem made by the most active sectors of society have either encouraged at least some official actions or have denounced their irresponsiveness. The second observation focuses attention on the impact of the (neo)liberal ideological offensive in the field of the linguistic management of the different autonomous communities’ communicative ecosystems. The conflictive dynamic has taken different directions: in Catalonia, a social minority (but one with a great influence in the media) has used liberal arguments to question an interventionist official


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language policy which, in their view, minoritises the Castilian language. In the Balearic Islands and Valencia, where liberalism is the dominant ideology, the challenge to official policy comes from those sectors of society that oppose institutional linguistic Darwinism which, by way of contrast, minoritises the Catalan language. In these territories, then, citizens’ action has proved to be a significant element of pressure. Voluntary organisations such as Obra Cultural Balear and Acció Cultural del País Valencià have, in highly adverse and even hostile environments, led language normalisation projects in direct opposition to the official policy. For the purposes of this chapter, we will focus on the different discourses making up the linguistic ideologies of Catalonia. In our view, the official strategy for the normalisation of the Catalan language in this territory is seen as a model to be followed by linguistic militants in the other Catalan territories. Consequently, the progress of this ideological debate is doubtless of general interest. In Catalonia, the hegemonic discourse has, for many years, been identity-based. This began in the nineteenth century and was especially important during Noucentisme. It forms part of a national process of restoring the freedoms lost as a result of the Nueva Planta decree of 1716. Catalan thus had a pre-eminent role in nationalist theory at the beginning of the twentieth century: it needed to become a national language. However, the more pressing need to establish its norms made the goal of broadening it functionally a secondary priority. Later, during the resistance to Franco, the recovery of linguistic and national freedoms was to be a key priority of broad social sectors. Thus, with the arrival of democracy, this discourse re-emerged with renewed vigour. The codification of the Catalan language having been achieved in the first third of the twentieth century, the mission of ensuring new usage contexts would be undertaken immediately. However, there was a new variable that represented a substantial break with the ethnolinguistic conditions of the beginning of the century: between 1950 and 1970 Catalonia received a contingent of immigrants that changed its demographic structure: a significant influx of Castilian-speaking immigrants, who almost until the 1980s did not have the opportunity of coming into contact with the formal variety of Catalan (oral and written) and even less so of achieving literacy in it. This new context therefore required not only increasing the usage contexts of the language but also increasing the number of its users. And the identity-based discourse began to show cracks. The first phase of the official management of the communicative ecosystem in Catalonia was presided over by a discourse of integration. Nevertheless, the identity-centred discourse continued to have a





significant presence in more militant sectors and, in our view, at least in the 1980s, influenced the new hegemonic discourse. During this period, the bilingualisation of the newly arrived population and the completion of the competence-related abilities related with the communicative formality of the entire group took on particular importance. Although campaigns emphasising an improvement in usages (passive bilingualism) were begun, priority at this stage was given to actions to enhance understanding and acquisition of the language. The political consensus around the Language Normalisation Act of 1983 symbolised the lack of dispute in a period in which the only noteworthy proclamations came, for diametrically opposed reasons, from the Manifest dels Marges (the 1979 ‘Els Marges’ Manifesto) and the Manifest dels 2300 [‘intellectuals’] (‘Manifesto of the 2300’, 1981). Whilst the former denounced the watered-down programme of the new elites in power with regard to language-related issues, the latter, supported by language market professionals, was a reaction against the foreseeable upsetting of the status quo. In the 1990s there was a new phase, in which official support for expanding the use of the language increased. In this stage, in some communicative spaces such as the socio-economic world and leisure activities, the presence of Catalan was still very low. Nevertheless, despite the will to intervene in these areas (with the 1995 General Language Normalisation Plan), the need to bring the legal framework in line with new goals became clear. With the adoption of the Language Policy Act of 1998, these demands for intervention were addressed. However, the political consensus would be broken by two sides with very different motivations: on the one hand, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya broke ranks because it felt the Act was not ambitious enough whilst, on the other, the People’s Party voted against it, viewing it as too interventionistic. This legislative disagreement ran in parallel with the fact that, since 1993, language-related disagreements had been stirring up Catalan society. ‘Gloto-political’ analysis of this new situation is imperative if one seeks to correctly interpret the lack of direction that was being suffered from. The key is to be found in the support CiU (Convergència i Unió, the coalition of moderate Catalan nationalist parties) provided to the PSOE in the governability of Spain during the period from 1993 to 1996. The virulent attacks by the PP found in the language issue an unbeatable way of chipping away at the socialist government. The irresponsibility of this temporarily convenient strategy was clearly demonstrated by the change in attitude of the main opposition party when it gained power in Spain in 1996, again with the support of CiU.


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The conflictivist (neo)liberal discourse provided support for arguments that denounced nationalist ‘excesses’ while legitimisation of the Castilian language was shamelessly promoted. Several authors have linked the progress of liberal philosophies to a supposed crisis in the concept of a territory’s ‘own’ language. Branchadell (1997), for example, has sought a line of argument in the theoretical space of liberalism itself (e.g. Will Kymlicka) and concludes that progress must be made towards a non-axiomatic formulation of Catalan language policy. According to Branchadell, this formulation should be the result of democratic deliberation and not the deduction of a higher principle associated with history. Additionally, a cursory look at the archives shows how the 1990s were a time of criticisms, from the ranks of nationalism itself, of identity-based philosophies. The argument has often been made that political Catalanism needs to abandon its strictly ethnic outlook, focused on language and culture, to take into account aspects essential to modern communities such as the economy and social cohesion. Be that as it may, during this period, (neo)liberal discourse managed to undermine the perception of legitimacy of official language policy and improved the symbolic position of Castilian. The third stage began with the new millennium and reveals some of the variables which had previously only been hinted at. The new context began with the appearance of new factors – chiefly two – regarded by some as potentially dangerous: the ecolinguistic changes wrought by globalisation – with a growing impact upon information and communication technologies – and the demo-linguistic effects of new immigration. The preoccupation caused by the uncertainty of the new situation has repositioned the perception of the vitality of Catalan and Castilian. Also, despite yet another chapter of the discourse on the persecution of Castilian in Catalonia,25 the lack of interest of a great deal of society in a commitment to Catalan is perceived to be beginning to disappear. The debate on the future of Catalan has thus reappeared in Catalonia with renewed vigour. Nevertheless, although the apocalyptic discourse that is always present in a form of fatalist determinism shows traces of previous periods,26 the most important innovation in this debate comes from the authorities. Lest it be forgotten, these authorities have, since the end of 2003, been controlled by a tripartite government whose language policy is in the hands of the ERC. However, the discourse adopted by those in power has been developed by a Catalan sociolinguistic sector that, having empirically identified the precariousness of the Catalan usages, has warned of the need to change the course of language





normalisation.27 Or, put another way, the strategic line arguing that the boosting of formal institutional uses of Catalan (in the authorities, education, the media, the socio-economic and recreational worlds, etc.), would spill over into usages linked to individuals’ private spheres has not produced the expected results. This does not mean that this strategy, which drew its inspiration from the Quebecois tradition (Corbeil 1980), was not the right one. In a situation of linguistic conflict such as ours, it would have been difficult to make progress in any other way. Nevertheless, we would like to highlight some of the deficiencies that have led to the poor level of results: (a) the language skills of most Castilian speakers reveal a clearly asymmetrical mastery of Catalan and Castilian; (b) despite the awareness-raising campaigns, the norm of the subordination of Catalan in multilingual conversations still predominates; (c) the programme’s goal of pre-eminence in formalised communications still requires a great deal of intervention (in the socio-economic and recreational worlds, secondary and higher education, the legal world and the armed forces, the oral and traditional written media, information and communication technologies, etc.); (d) the (almost) total lack of official actions concerning private interpersonal communications, especially in the oral sphere, ignores the weakening of usages that, under normal conditions, would be the norm in our ecosystem. In our opinion, in Catalonia, the official goal of shifting the priority of language policy towards colloquial communications is coherent if the goal is to make the Catalan language the basis of inter-group relations within the framework of a new multilingual reality. This goal, let it be said in passing, should be shared by all Catalan-speaking territories that have the ability to intervene in domestic communicative dynamics. Nevertheless, in Valencia and to a lesser extent the Balearic Islands (multilingual ecosystems similar to that of Catalonia), thought has not been given to the negative impact – which may be definitive for the future of Catalan in these territories – that the massive settlement of Castilian-speaking newcomers may bring to the usages of their own language.

2.5 Conclusions After overcoming the phylogenetic confusions affecting the language at the end of the nineteenth century, Catalan is today a fully consolidated member of the international Romance scene. One has the feeling (if not the conviction) that secessionist processes have been definitively neutralised. Doubtless, one of the main reasons is that


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the linguistic and cultural traditions shared by the different territories have never been broken, despite their fragility in certain periods. This has been possible, amongst other reasons, because the common codification promoted by Fabra and the IEC at the beginning of the twentieth century was based on a polymorphic model that has guaranteed the cohesion of cultural production within a framework of collectively accepted territorial linguistic specificities. Nevertheless, the division of Spain into autonomous communities has modified one of the foundations of the aforementioned codificatory strategy, i.e. its original monocentrism, understood as the management of the normativisation process by a single body imbued with the appropriate auctoritas (the IEC). A regional polycentrism has emerged, and the vitally important convergence is plagued with numerous questions, especially in Valencia. Needless to say, the proliferation of deeply tribalising models could have a devastating effect in a market which would not accept the circulation of hyperdifferentiated products. In short, in a context of communicative autonomisation and defective interregional interaction between its speakers, the standardisation of the Catalan language is torn between the necessary user identification in its different territories and the balance required by a common model. The clear inexistence of a common set of usage norms and attitudes towards the language makes us conclude that there is no true sociolinguistic community for the Catalan language. A large variety of centrifugal dynamics, with a long history behind them, has enabled (disguised as philological debates) the proliferation of socio-identity disputes of differing regional intensities. Against this disaggregating backdrop, the establishment of a common referential framework for the Catalan-speaking community has found in the assignation of identity a constant source of problems whose potential for conflict has often been skilfully exploited to delay the achievement of a synergic solution. Our most recent history has led to a demo-linguistic situation in which the linguistic and identity challenges must be tackled with great conviction. The (basically Castilian-speaking) migrations of the 1950s and 1960s altered traditional identity schematics, while new waves of immigration, which are multicultural and multi-ethnic in nature, hold part of the key to the future of the Catalan language. In the field of planned intervention by the authorities, official leadership in achieving language normalisation has been different in scale from territory to territory. Especially noteworthy is the lack of legislative measures defending Catalan in Northern Catalonia and, until very recently, the Franja de Ponent. New legislation in Italy opens up new





prospects for Alguerese. In Andorra, meanwhile, the decline in the social use of Catalan, which is the country’s only official language, has led to a change in governmental legislative behaviour. The three great administrative regions of the Spanish state deserve separate analysis. To begin with, autonomous community legislation is based on constitutional criteria that are clearly asymmetric with regard to the legal regulation of Spain’s multilingual situation. Each territory or, more accurately, the different governments, has applied languagerelated legislation with different levels of conviction: if a league table were to be drawn up, it would be headed by the government of the Generalitat de Catalunya, and that of Valencia would bring up the rear, with the slight distinction of having moved from a situation of linguistic ‘underplanning’ during the period of socialist government (1983–95) to one of ‘counterplanning’ under the People’s Party (1995 to date). The linguistic planning of the government of the moment has not, however, met the expectations of those parts of civil society most committed to recovering the linguistic and identity roots of the different territories. The management of the linguistic ecosystem demanded by these social sectors has either encouraged a good part of official actions or has denounced their irresponsiveness. Public activism has thus been a decisive source of pressure. This has been particularly visible in the Balearic Islands and Valencia, where bodies such as Obra Cultural Balear and Acció Cultural del País Valencià have, in highly adverse and even hostile environments, led language normalisation projects in direct opposition to official policies. On the other hand, in Catalonia, a conflict-based discourse of a (neo)liberal nature in the field of the legitimisation of Castilian has emerged, alongside the lack of interest of a civil society that has historically been very active in claiming its language-related rights, due to a perception that normality is a task for official action. International circles, which sometimes confuse a part of the situation (Catalonia) with the scene as a whole, often present Catalan as a successful example of language normalisation, despite the historical retreat of the language that continues today. The two territories in which the process of linguistic shift is most advanced are Northern Catalonia and l’Alguer. The interruption of intergenerational transfer of the language is strongly present in Valencia, especially in the provincial capitals and the extreme south. Linguistic defection is also reported in the Balearic Islands, especially in Palma. The demo-linguistic situation and the communicative norms that are the legacy of a politico-social environment as adverse as that


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in existence before the death of Franco affected, to a large extent, the sociolinguistic results of the new direction followed by territorial governments, irrespective of the degree of conviction with which they have taken it. The asymmetry of competences in the two large language groups in contact has been mitigated, particularly in the case of the youngest generations, by compulsory education in Catalan, but most inter-group relations still occur in Castilian. This is basically because, on the one hand, a fair proportion of those whose first language is Castilian have not learned enough Catalan and, on the other, the habit of automatically changing the language spoken to Castilian is still very widespread among native Catalan speakers. As has been repeatedly noted, the acquisition of competence is a requirement for a change in language usage norms but does not guarantee that they will change. Going back to this chapter’s title, the data gathered and the considerations made in this book allow one to state that la catalanofonia still has a long way to go to achieve a normality that would ensure that its language enjoys complete functionality and predominant social use, within the framework of a multilingual future. Despite the uncertainties affecting the new situation arising at the dawn of this new millennium, we believe that the key lies in accepting the existence of the current failings and undertaking linguistic intervention with renewed vigour and with the conviction that the language’s future (at least in most Catalan-speaking lands) still lies in our hands.

Notes 1. These figures ought to exclude data for the Vall d’Aran, home to Aranese, a Gascon variety of Occitan. It was integrated into Catalonia through a 1411 agreement, after a number of changes of ownership following its first annexation through the 1175 Treaty of l’Emparança. Its 620 km2 are home to 10,295 inhabitants (2009). 2. The western part of the former Kingdom of Valencia was reconquered from the Moors and colonised mainly by Aragonese speakers from around 1235, but their descendants shifted to Castilian in the fifteenth century. Also Castilian-speaking, due to a process of language shift caused by Murcian repopulation in the eighteenth to nineteenth centuries, are the Baix Segura and Vinalopó Mitjà districts; so too, due to their being in Castile until 1851 and 1836 respectively, are the la Plana de Requena-Utiel and l’Alt Vinalopó districts inland. 3. Adapted from ‘Catalan, Language of Europe’ (http://www20.gencat.cat/docs/ Llengcat/Documents/Publicacions/Catala%20llengua%20Europa/Arxius/ cat_europa_angles_07.pdf). The authors are grateful to the Secretaria de




4. 5.

6.

7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

17.

18. 19.

20.

21. 22.

23.

Democratic Policies for Language Revitalisation Política Lingüística (Generalitat de Catalunya) for permission to reproduce this figure (and Figure 2.2). According to Ethnologue’s Top 100 languages by population ranking (http:// www.ethnologue.com). The language variety of the Benasque Valley, benasquès, clearly exemplifies the complexity (and even the futility) of trying to establish classificatory taxonomies in areas of linguistic transition. From this viewpoint, Andorra is fairly unique: Catalan is the only legally official language, yet Castilian and French enjoy a very privileged position in the education system. ‘Art nouveau.’ The provincial council of Barcelona, the largest of the four provinces of Catalonia. Aranese (Occitan) also acquired official status with the passage of Act 16/1990, of 13 July, by the Catalan Parliament. See Chapter 3. Translated from the French original by the editors. It received official recognition, in Catalonia, in 2010. These are described in much greater detail elsewhere in this book. Beyond the recent constitutional amendment, as yet not developed. France signed the Charter on 7 May 1999. Amongst the goals of the Act, Article 2 sets that of ‘guaranteeing the official use of Catalan’ and ‘generalising the understanding of Catalan’, provisions of a clearly normalising nature. Article 2 of this states: ‘In accordance with Article 6 of the Constitution and in line with the general principles established by European and international bodies, the Republic shall protect the language and the culture of the Albanian, Catalan, German, Greek, Slovenian, Croatian and French-, Franco-Provençal, Friulian-, Ladin-, Occitan- and Sardinian-speaking communities.’ Though seriously curtailed by the Constitutional Court rulings in mid-2010. With regard to the institutional activities of the government of the Generalitat, see the annual reports published by the former DirectorateGeneral for Language Policy and the current Secretariat for Language Policy. This approval took its support from a broad-based political consensus that did not include the People’s Party, which voted against the Statute in both the Catalan and Spanish parliaments and presented an appeal alleging unconstitutionality. During the People’s Party’s time in government, it was Unió Mallorquina that provided the impetus behind the few normalising actions. The Directorate-General was created in 1995 by Cristòfol Soler, who, during the short period he was in charge, showed a commitment to normalisation previously unknown in the islands. What the author of this chapter means by ‘linguistic counter-planning’ is institutional actions which, while often framed in noble and often grandiloquent language, hide a practice that is in the best of cases indolent if not clearly hostile to the aim of restoring the status of a formerly minoritised language.


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24. In the former case, the Census of 2001 returned to a five-yearly serial analysis of the understanding of Valencian that began with the Census of 1986 and was interrupted in 1996. 25. On this occasion, on 6 June 2005, a number of self-proclaimed ‘enlightened intellectuals’ (Félix de Azúa, Arcadi Espada, Francesc de Carreras, Albert Boadella, Ivan Tubau, etc.) presented a new manifesto which, in addition to the traditional criticisms of conservative Catalanism, attacked a left-wing government that, in their view, toed the line of ‘the Catalan extreme-right wing of the ERC’. The goal was once again to create a political party that reflected their philosophies. This goal was realised with the appearance of the political formation Ciutadans- Partido de la Ciudadanía. Perhaps significantly, this mise en scène arose during the debate on Catalonia’s new Statute. 26. Two good examples of this are provided by Larreula (2002) and Casanova (2003). 27. The Workshops on Interpersonal Usages, organised by the Grup Català de Sociolingüística (Catalan Sociolinguistics Group) in Barcelona in November 2001, were a significant milestone in this area. Their contributions can be analysed in the journal Treballs de Sociolingüística, 17 (2003).

References Argenter, J. (2002). ‘Le processus de standardisation et de modernisation du catalan’ Terminogramme, 103–104 (Boix, E. and Milian-Massana, A. (eds), Aménagement linguistique dans les pays de langue catalane): 11–22. Baldinger, K. (1972). La formación de los dominios lingüísticos en la Península Ibérica. Madrid: Gredos. Branchadell, A. (1997). Liberalisme i normalització lingüística. Barcelona: Empúries. Casanova, E. (2003). Viatge a les entranyes de la llengua: de la riquesa a l’agonia del català. Lleida: Pagès. Colón, G. (1976). El léxico catalán en la Romania. Madrid: Gredos. Corbeil, J.C. (1980). L’aménagement linguistique du Quebec. Montreal: Guérin. Esteve, A., Esteve, F. and Teodoro, M. (2005). El nom, la unitat i la normalitat. Informe sobre el reconeixement del català com a llengua oficial i pròpia del País Valencià. Barcelona: Observatori de la Llengua Catalana. Gulsoy, J. (1989). Llibre blanc sobre la Unitat de la Llengua Catalana. II Congrés Internacional de la Llengua Catalana. Barcelona: Barcino, pp. 129–60. Kremnitz, G. (2006). ‘Català, valencià, balear: Respostes científiques a qüestions polítiques? Reflexions sobre la unitat i la diversitat de l’espai lingüístic català’. In Cap a on va la sociolingüística catalana? II Jornada de l’Associació d’amics del professor Antoni M. Badia i Margarit (Barcelona, 20 October 2005). Biblioteca Filològica, LVI. Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans, pp. 63–76. Lamuela, X. and Murgades, J. (1984). Teoria de la llengua estàndard segons Fabra. Barcelona: Quaderns Crema. Larreula, E. (2002). Dolor de llengua. Valencia: Edicions 3 i 4. Pons, E. (2006). ‘El estatuto jurídico de las lenguas en Cataluña’. In Pérez, J. M. (coord.), Estudios sobre el estatuto jurídico de las lenguas en España. Barcelona: Atelier, pp. 281–321.





Pradilla, M. À. (2004). El laberint valencià. Apunts per a una sociolingüística del conflicte. Benicarló: Onada Edicions. SIES (Servei d’Investigació i Estudis Sociològics) (1995). Enquesta sobre l’ús del valencià. Valencia: Generalitat Valenciana. SIES (2005). Enquesta 2005. Coneixement i ús social del valencià. Síntesi. Valencia: Generalitat Valenciana. Strubell, Miquel (1994) ’Catalan in Valencia: the Story of an Attempted Secession’. In Lüdi, G. (ed.), Sprach-standardisierung. Schweizerische Akademie des Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften/Universitätsverlag Freiburg, pp. 229–54. Veny, J. (1978). Els parlars. Barcelona: Dopesa.


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The Legal Systems of the Catalan Language Jaume Vernet Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona

and Eva Pons University of Barcelona

3.1 General characteristics of the legal system for languages Catalan is a linguistic reality with a social presence in four European states. As explained elsewhere in this volume, there are citizens who use Catalan as a family language in particular areas of Italy, France, the Principality of Andorra and Spain. In the case of Spain, they are distributed in various political–administrative divisions, referred to in the Constitution as ‘autonomous communities’ (i.e. Murcia, Aragon, Valencia, the Balearic Islands and Catalonia). The established legal– linguistic system differs considerably across regions, not only because of sociological factors (e.g. the number of languages in contact, the demographic significance of each language, the extension of use or the sense of community among its group of speakers), but also, and especially, because of political factors (e.g. the political will of states and sub-state authorities to recognise and protect, to varying degrees, the plurality of languages present in their territory) and, consequently, legal factors (e.g. the constitutional framework and the principles inherent to the applicable legislation). States have adopted various regulations that aim at granting the language official status, at establishing a system to protect diversity or at patently ignoring linguistic plurality (see Vernet 2003: 45–61, on the different models of linguistic legislation). The set of statutory regulations on the use of languages, in addition to their legal interpretation


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and application, is referred to as the legal system (or legal statute) of a specific language. The Catalan language (and, therefore, the people and institutions that use it) is subject to different legal systems, according to the legislation that is applied to it. In Spain, the basic concept employed for the initial legislation concerning Catalan was linguistic normalisation. In generic terms, this notion refers to a sociocultural process through which a language or a dialect is subject to orthographic, lexical and grammatical regulations (the idea of standardising or normalising a language), and at the same time, it widens its scope of linguistic use to areas where other variants of the language or other languages were previously dominant. Although it is connected to the above-mentioned definition, in legal and political terminology linguistic normalisation has its own meaning, namely the planned implementation of a gradual process aimed at extending the use of the language to be normalised so that it improves its preceding sociolinguistic situation. Article 3.1 of the 1978 Spanish Constitution (hereinafter, SC) establishes the official status of Spanish (referred to as Castilian in the Constitution); it specifies some of the contents inherent to this declaration.1 The official status of Catalan is established in Article 3.2 of the SC, which provides that other Spanish languages shall also have official status in accordance with the corresponding ‘Statutes of Autonomy’ (equivalent legislation in sub-state or regional constitutions). The Statutes of Autonomy are defined as a ‘basic institutional legislation of the autonomous community’. They are attributed the rank of state organic law (hereinafter, OL), which is directly subordinate to the Constitution and subject to a special process of reform (Arts. 81 and 147 of the SC), in which consultation with citizens may be mandatory. The Catalan language has been declared official by the Statutes of Autonomy of three autonomous communities (Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Community of Valencia (on the linguistic legislation in the Statutes of Autonomy, see Vernet and Punset 2007: 36–9). For its part, Article 3.3 of the SC determines that the richness of different linguistic forms in Spain is cultural heritage and shall be protected and respected in a special way. The linguistic referent for this section is all Spanish languages, including their dialectal variations. This article gives the constitutional coverage of the legal protection of Catalan within the Autonomous Community of Aragon – where Catalan does not have an official status – in addition to the measures of recognition and promotion of the Catalan language outside the autonomous communities where it is official.


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However, the mere declaration of official status of languages other than Castilian Spanish (and even more so their treatment as ‘legal linguistic forms’, Vernet 2003: 110–14), based on the Constitution and sanctioned by the respective Statutes of Autonomy, is on its own wholly insufficient to reverse an inherited situation that does not favour the knowledge and use of such languages. With the exception of the brief interval during the Second Republic (1931–39),2 contemporary Spain has assumed Castilian Spanish to be the only official or national language. However, since the last third of the nineteenth century, the issue of granting official status to Catalan had already been linked to the demands for the autonomy of Catalonia (Pla 2005: 195–203). The Francoist dictatorship (1939–75) banned all official use of Catalan and its teaching within the educational system. This was the reason why the legislative process of linguistic normalisation started, under the protection of the new constitutional framework. Consequently, the linguistic legislation passed by the Autonomous Communities in the early 1980s is nothing else than the result of different attempts to reinforce languages other than Castilian Spanish,3 which had varying degrees of knowledge and use. Thus, the process of linguistic normalisation involves the adoption of a series of legislative, political and administrative measures, applicable at different moments in time, aimed at promoting a specific language that is considered to suffer from discrimination and/or requires special protection, or which, in any case, finds itself in a disadvantageous or undesirable situation, by the legislator. The Statutes of Autonomy of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands initially identified the language to be protected as their own language in an explicit way (on this concept, Vernet 2003: 103–7), while the first Statute of Autonomy of the Community of Valencia did so in a more indirect way. In general terms, the general aim of this legislation – with formulations of varying intensity – is to give equivalent status to both official languages, for which it is necessary to give real official status to both languages. In the case of Andorra, the constitutional provisions do not play the same role in promoting and limiting the process of normalisation, given that they do not seek any form of parity with another language, Catalan being the only official language in the entire Principality. Thus, the aim of the linguistic legislation is not to achieve equivalent status with an existing language in the region, but for Catalan to develop many of its social and official uses, in accordance with its constitutional status. In other states where the Catalan language has historically existed until now, it is not possible to speak of a process of linguistic


Jaume Vernet and Eva Pons



normalisation. In the case of France, the state has refused to grant defined legal status to so-called regional languages, and the sparse initiatives that favour the use and promotion of Catalan in Northern Catalonia emerge among civil society or local authorities. In Italy, following a lengthy political–legal debate, the passing of a general Law on Linguistic Minorities (1999) has given express legal coverage to measures for the recognition and use of the Catalan language, which is only spoken in the city of L’Alguer (in the island of Sardinia). However, the ambiguities concerning the aims and scope of this legislation, and the lack of coordinated action in its application, make it impossible to speak of a process of linguistic normalisation, despite the existence of a legal framework for the Catalan language. Consequently, in most of the Catalan-speaking regions, the current legislation responds to the need to adopt positive measures in favour of their local language, in order to bring about a change of direction to a situation that has been consolidating for centuries. In the Spanish context, both the Constitutional Court and ordinary courts have supported the constitutionality of an asymmetrical treatment in favour of the local language, in accordance with the normalisation aim.4 This is also supported by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (hereinafter, ECRML), in force in Spain since 1 August 2001,5 by virtue of the status of Catalan as a regional or minority language (see Art. 7.2 and the specific measures envisaged by this international instrument; on the Charter, Agirreazkuenaga 2006: 105–44). The need for such positive actions will persist over time, especially if the other languages in contact, or spoken in the same region, are languages with a greater demographic power and stronger governmental support, as is the case of Castilian Spanish, French and Italian.

3.2 The legal systems of the Catalan language in the various regions In legal terms, the politico-administrative divisions within Catalan’s linguistic domain have translated into the application of eight different legal–linguistic systems. Such a fragmented legislative regulation has numerous implications, which are briefly referred to in the final section. However, we first need to examine the contents of the different legal frameworks of Catalan in the current legislation, both


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inside and outside Spain, in addition to secondary legislation and its jurisprudential application.

The 1993 Andorran Constitution6 states that Catalan is the official state language in Article 2.1. Subsequently, on 16 December 1999, the law governing the use of the official language (hereinafter, the LOULO)7 was adopted. It states that language is one of the main factors that define the identity of the Andorran people. It also argues that ‘its proximity with two languages of major demographic proportions, the tradition of teaching these two languages in the Principality of Andorra, the impact of the mass media and, more recently, the strong immigration linked to the Andorran economy and society in recent decades may endanger the vitality of our language’; for this reason, the Andorran public powers have continued to pass various laws that favour the use of the official language, which aim at establishing that, as a state language and as a means of collective expression among the Andorran society, ‘Catalan has to be the language of general use’. The LOULO is not defined as a law for linguistic normalisation, although it is evident that it shares its normalising character with other provisions that we will analyse, since among its objectives (Art. 2) it seeks to prevent a decline in the knowledge and use of a native language (see Pujol 2001: 66–70). Besides, through the recognition of certain linguistic rights and obligations, the LOULO seeks to re-establish the official, public and social uses, institutional promotion and the regulation of breaches and the corresponding penalties. Consequently, it initiates a process aimed at allowing the native language of the Andorrans (‘our language’, according to the preamble of the LOULO) to overcome the current situation and be capable of implementing all the functions of a state language. Since the LOULO was adopted, the use of Catalan has increased in schools (though education legislation compromises this, teaching being in French and Castilian Spanish in the French and Spanish school systems present, besides the Andorran schools) and in public administrations and services. Conversely, in the commercial sector the shortcomings are more evident. Hence the explicit legal provisions, which aim at extending the use of Catalan to certain socio-economic domains (for example Arts. 15, 17, 20, 21 and 22 of the LOULO), sometimes without being able to prevent certain ambiguities (for example, Art. 16 of the LOULO, with regard to labelling).


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In the European context, few countries have as many languages spoken in their territory as the Italian Republic. Furthermore, such linguistic diversity is subject to different legal systems throughout the geography of Italy. The Italian Constitution of 1947, in Article 6, established that: ‘The Republic protects minority languages with specific laws.’ This precept gave rise to a theoretical discussion on whether its mandate should be interpreted as referring only to German- and French-speaking minorities – who had already been previously recognized at the end of the Second World War – or, in accordance with its literal meaning, to all population groups using a language other than Italian. In the end, the latter interpretation prevailed, with the result that all other languages (including Catalan), were covered by a system that protects linguistic minorities established by State Law 482/1999, of 15 December (Pizzorusso 2000: 251–8). This system can be individualised for every language depending on whether there are international treaties on exogenous minorities and on whether or not the Italian regions can politically and legislatively intervene in linguistic aspects. Catalan is used by part of the population of L’Alguer, on the island of Sardinia. The legal system applicable to Catalan in this region is the general one, which protects minority languages (as opposed to regimes of official status; Vernet 2003: 51–5). Article 1.2 of the Law 428/1999 declares that the Republic values the linguistic and cultural heritage of the Italian language,8 and at the same time it promotes the recognition of languages and cultures protected by this law. The system of protection envisaged for such languages and cultures seems to grant the speakers of such languages certain prerogatives linked to official language status, but in practice these prerogatives are undermined by continual legal limitations and preventions (e.g. the non-compulsory use of the minority language in education or the possibility of publishing official Acts in the minority language without legal implications). The Law also establishes the possibility of using minority languages in the municipal councils and administrations; in recording names and surnames on the civil register; subsidies to the press, radio and television for using the protected language; and the creation of institutes for the protection of linguistic and cultural traditions. The application of this legal system depends on the will of the regional and local communities, with different criteria on language policy, which fragments the conceptual approach of the subject matter.9 As regards Catalan in L’Alguer, the establishment of compulsory schooling in Italian, the mass media and the scarce communication


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with the rest of the Catalan-speaking regions have resulted in a decline in the use of the native language, in spite of the strong voluntary support for its promotion. The Sardinian Law No. 26, of 15 October 1997, for the promotion and recognition of the Sardinian culture and language, includes provisions in favour of the Catalan language of L’Alguer.10 Nevertheless, this Sardinian law requires a statutory development for its compliance, which has not been decreed to date. It also refers back to the pluralistic principles contained in the ECRML, even though Italy has not ratified this international instrument yet (although it has ratified the 1995 Framework Agreement for the Protection of National Minorities11 ). The 1996 Statute of the Municipality of L’Alguer12 includes, as a priority of municipal action, the protection, promotion and dissemination of the knowledge of Catalan, in its Algherese variant. Despite this, the above-mentioned legislation is too weak to reverse the predominant status of Italian or to strengthen the linguistic fabric of L’Alguer in order to guarantee the linguistic rights of its speakers or to offer them real possibilities. 3.2.3 Northern Catalonia The situation concerning Catalan in the French Republic is conditioned by the paradigmatic case that France represents with regard to use of the French language as an integrating factor of the ‘French nation’. Such an objective has been considered incompatible with the grant of constitutional or legal status to the various linguistic minorities historically present there. Until 2008 the so-called ‘regional languages’ were, in general terms, the object of no more than factual recognition. There is no specific legal system for the Catalan language, despite general constitutional provisions included this year. Article 2.2 of the current French Constitution states that ‘the language of the Republic is French’ based on a constitutional amendment of 1992. Doctrine and jurisprudence, with an excessively formalist stance and an undeniably ideological component, consider that the legislator cannot adopt provisions that contradict the declaration of French as the language of the Republic – such as envisaging the use of a language other than French in dealings with the authorities in some parts of the territory. Thus, in 1994 the Loi Toubon was passed, which imposed the obligatory, but not exclusive, use of French. And in 1999 the Conseil Constitutionnel considered that France could not sign the ECRML since, according to their opinion, this would be unconstitutional.13 This does not allow the implementation of a public policy to protect the Catalan language in France.





However, the exclusive and excluding attention of public powers with regard to French has not prevented people from recurringly raising the issue of whether it is necessary or not to provide so-called ‘regional languages’ with a legal statute. As a result of this pressure, the new Article 75.1 of French Constitution14 includes the following amendment: ‘The regional languages belong to France’s heritage.’ What the inclusion of ‘regional languages’ in the Constitution, as belonging to the heritage of France, means in practice remains to be seen. Before this, the only legislative recognition, in the educational domain, was introduced by the Loi Deixonne on 11 January 1951, for the teaching of languages and local dialects, which has now been repealed. According to the law, public education authorities had to establish the appropriate means to favour the study of local languages and dialects within the regions in which they were used.15 The breaching of such mandates led to the fulfilment of those educational needs through the aid of private initiatives (Bressola or Arrels schools), although optional Catalan courses are offered from pre-school to secondary education in certain state schools. More recently, regional and municipal initiatives aim at promoting the use and dissemination of Catalan in the fields of education, culture, media and signposting in the territory of Northern Catalonia.16 But, from a more general perspective, there is a policy aimed at defending French, and the absence of a statutory regulation for regional languages means that there is no onus on the state to protect them (Vernet 2003: 47–51). According to the dominant legal literature, attributing such languages with a legal statute is an issue of mere political opportunity, in face of which a certain reticence or a somehow concealed rejection (formally covered by the principles of equality and uniqueness of the Republic) prevails. This discourse excludes official legislation on the uses of Catalan and associated linguistic rights, among others, the right to know the language. 3.2.4 El Carxe (Murcia) In Murcia, in Spain, Art. 8 of the Statute of Autonomy of Murcia states that: ‘The Autonomous Community (. . .) shall protect and promote cultural peculiarities, as well as its popular customs and traditions, respecting local and regional variants in all cases.’17 Although there is no specific reference to Catalan in the current legislation, its use, at least in the El Carxe area, in the boundary with the Valencian Community, dates back to the Middle Ages (Viladot 2001: 47–60) and is currently protected in Article 3.3 of the Spanish Constitution. Consequently it is


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‘only’ necessary to establish the specific boundaries of the region that should be subject to a protection regime (Navarro 2006: 495–6), apart from its specific status, which is still not regulated or debated.

The Catalan language is widely spoken in the eastern area of the Autonomous Community of Aragon. The Statute of Autonomy of Aragon (hereinafter the SAA),18 following the amendment of 1996, provided in Article 7 that ‘the linguistic languages and forms native to Aragon shall enjoy protection’ and ‘their teaching and the speakers’ right to use them shall be guaranteed in the manner established by a law of the Courts of Aragon in the regions in which they are predominantly used’.19 Although Catalan is not explicitly mentioned, it is understood that Catalan – together with Aragonese – were the languages for which specific protection legislation was demanded. This precept has been replaced by the more recent statutory reform of 2007. While the new statute still fails to mention Catalan and Aragonese explicitly as manifestations of Aragonese cultural heritage, it reinforces the mandate to the legislator by stating: A law of the Courts of Aragon shall establish the regions of predominant use of the languages and forms native to Aragon; it shall regulate the legal provisions, the speakers’ rights of use in those regions; it shall promote the protection, recovery, teaching, promotion and diffusion of the linguistic heritage of Aragon, and it shall favour, in the regions of predominant use, the use of local languages in the relations between Aragonese citizens and public administrations. (New Art. 7.2 of the SAA) In spite of the repeated demands of public instances (the Declaration of Mequinensa of 1 February 1984, signed by the mayors and councillors of 17 Aragonese town councils in the Catalan-speaking region, or the proposal of the Justice of Aragón – the regional Ombudsman – of 27 January 1993) and social organisations, the law implementing the protection for Catalan was not adopted until 2009. Before this, the only legislative recognition originates from Aragonese Law 1/1999, of 24 February, on inheritance (that gives validity to wills drafted in Catalan); Aragonese Law 3/1999, of 10 March, on linguistic heritage (that in final provision two) and the ECRML. These legislative provisions have not materialised in a public action that favours the use of Catalan, which is only present in place names,20 signposting21 and certain public


3.2.5 ‘La Franja’ of Aragon



and private documents, apart from voluntary instruction followed by a broad majority of pupils in Catalan-speaking municipalities. The previous legal situation of Catalan, far from the undertakings assumed by Spain under the ECRML, has been improved by the recent Aragonese Law 10/2009, of 22 December, on the use, protection and promotion of Aragon’s own languages. The Law does not grant official status to Catalan (and Aragonese), but recognises the right to study these languages in primary and secondary schools and the right to use them in relations with public administrations in their ‘areas of predominant historical use’ or ‘mixed areas’, and also in the place names. The main drawback that has been criticised is that, beyond proclaiming linguistic rights, the Law does not facilitate positive dynamics that promote institutional and public uses of Catalan, while Castilian is still the only recognised official language. 3.2.6 Community of Valencia The Statute of Autonomy of the Community of Valencia (hereinafter, the SACV)22 and Valencian Law 4/1983, of 18 April, for the use and teaching of Valencian (hereinafter, LUTV; Alcaraz et al. 2005) established the basic requirements of the linguistic systems of Catalan in Valencia. Article 7 of the SACV of 1982 already stated that Valencian and Castilian Spanish were official languages of the Autonomous Community and that everyone had the right to know and use them, in addition to other provisions (Asensi 1985: 73–87). The drafting of this statutory regulation was somewhat ambiguous and insufficient – in comparison to those of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands – although the legislation did introduce certain improvements (Alcaraz 1999: 91ff.), initiating in this way a normalising process particularly based on administration and on education (Art. 7.5 of the SACV of 1982). The recent reform of the Statute of Autonomy of Valencia in 2006 replaced the previous precept with the new Article 6 of the SACV. One new feature is the direct definition of Valencian as ‘Valencia’s own language’, even if one cannot extract from this concept the same consequences explained in other linguistic regulations applied in other regions.23 Article 6.2 of the SACV reiterates the joint official status of Valencian and Castilian Spanish and that ‘everyone has the right to know and use them, and to receive education in and of the Valencian language’, even though such rights are partially subject to the establishment, by the law, of the application criteria for the local language in the Administration and in education (Art. 6.6 of the SACV). Furthermore, the Statute allows some form of territorial modulation of the official


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status of Valencian in the Autonomous Community region, as did the text of 1982.24 Other Statute sector-based provisions are the bilingual publication of laws in the Diari Oficial de la Generalitat (the official bulletin of the Autonomous Government) and the envisaging that knowledge of Valencian would be taken into account in the selection and entrance exams to cover vacant legal posts as well as other posts in the justice administration. The use of Valencian would also have to be guaranteed in notaries’ offices. The LUTV (which was the only linguistic normalisation law that was not challenged before the Constitutional Court, despite the partial coincidences with the rest of autonomous community laws), is not usually considered to be compliant with normalisation laws (Pueyo and Turull 2003: 125), since it does not propose the normalisation of the local language as an explicit aim, but the regulation of dual official status. But this legal regulation is also justified by reasons connected with the commitment of the Autonomous Government of Valencia to defend the cultural heritage of the Autonomous Community and, in particular, ‘to restore our language to the category and place it deserves, bringing an end to the situation of neglect and deterioration in which it finds itself’. Therefore, ‘the ultimate aim of the law is to ensure, through the promotion of Valencian, its effective equivalence to Castilian Spanish and to guarantee the normal and official use of both languages under conditions of equality, by banishing any form of linguistic discrimination’. In short, normalising is one of the unexpressed aims of the law (Art. 2),25 even though the insufficient legal developments have impeded in various domains the implementation of the normalisation process. In that sense, in the Community of Valencia there has been a certain degree of institutional neglect of the local language during most of the democratic period. The first socialist government passed the aforementioned LUTV, while the subsequent governments of the People’s Party did little to help the full promotion of the Valencian language.26 The normalisation of Catalan in Valencia faces a serious political conflict, which is also presented as a linguistic conflict,27 based on the unity of Catalan or its segregation from a new official Valencian language different from Catalan. For this reason, the Valencian Academy of the Language was established by law in order to reach an agreement on Valencian.28 Plenty of clarification was provided by the Sentence of the Constitutional Court (hereinafter SCC) 75/1997, of 21 April, which explains that the official name of the language is ‘Valencian’, in accordance with the Statute of Autonomy, yet in the academic domain it is also valid to call it ‘Catalan’.29





The provisions of the LUTV establish a parallelism between Valencian and Castilian Spanish in many of its precepts (for example, Art. 19 of the LUTV in the domain of education and, implicitly, Art. 17 of the LUTV when it mentions the right to use Catalan, with certain exceptions to the promotion of Valencian (Arts. 25 or 27 of the LUTV), which constitutes the first legal example of considering only Valencian as the local language of the Autonomous Community. Article 7 of the LUTV could be interpreted as calling for the normal utilisation of Catalan on the part of the autonomous and local administration, as it states that Valencian, as the language of the Community, ‘is also the language’ of these administrations. This would represent the second legal example which sets Valencian as the local language. By contrast, other precepts sanction an inequality in favour of Castilian Spanish, even if they aim at correcting such an inequality (Art. 18 of the LUTV) or mitigate it (Art. 29 of the LUTV), occasionally with insufficient measures, if not generalised (Art. 30.3 of the LUTV). One of the unique features of the law, in relation to other autonomous regulations, is the declaration of municipalities of Castilian Spanish predominance (Art. 36 of the LUTV), which implements the former Article 7.7 of the SACV, maintained as Article 6.7 of the SACV of 2006. 3.2.7 The Balearic Islands The Statute of Autonomy (hereinafter, the SABI)30 and Balearic Law 3/1986, of 29 April, for the linguistic normalisation of the Balearic Islands (hereinafter, LLNBI)31 are the basic laws that established the legal system of the Catalan language in this region (Segura 1984: 235–50; Segura 2004: 117–27; Colom 2006: 325–46). The current Article 4 of the SABI states, as before, that Catalan of the Balearic Islands, together with Castilian Spanish, shall have the status of official language32 and that everybody has the right to know and use Catalan. It also maintains the addition provision, according to which ‘the institutions of the Balearic Islands shall guarantee the normal and official use of both languages, take the necessary measures to ensure the knowledge of them, and create the conditions that allow the full equality of both languages with regard to the rights of the citizens of the Balearic Islands’ (Art. 4.3 of the SABI). Following the latest statutory reform of 2007, the rest of the linguistic provisions remain unchanged in Articles 35, 97.2 and 99.233 of the SABI. The only substantial modification is the listing of ‘forms’ of Catalan, based on a geographical reference.34 The LLNBI proposes a sector-based objective (Colom 1987) to implement the progressive and normal use of Catalan in the official and


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administrative domain, to guarantee the knowledge and progressive use of Catalan as a vehicular language in teaching, to promote the use of Catalan in all domains of social communication and to increase social awareness of the importance of its knowledge and use by all citizens (Art. 1.2 of the LLNBI). The text sets out the linguistic rights and their protection by the courts, as well as the regulation of the Catalan language in the administration, education and the media, among others. Other than the normalisation law, more decided linguistic provisions35 have been introduced in other sector-based laws, in addition to their mandatory implementation. As far as institutional promotion is concerned, under the early governments of the People’s Party, linguistic policy neglected its duties to a certain extent, even though basic laws such as the aforementioned law of linguistic normalisation were passed, in addition to the law of public office and the decree on the linguistic uses in the autonomous administration36 and numerous linguistic regulations of a local nature (although the General Directorate of Linguistic Policy was not created until 1995). Once the autonomous powers for education were granted in 1996, first the Rotger decree and subsequently the so-called decree of minimums,37 which adopted the model of linguistic conjunction, aimed at ensuring that at least 50 per cent of education was in Catalan. This percentage could be increased by the school board at each education establishment, in accordance with the normalising aim. The regional elections of 1999 led to the creation of a centre-left government that made further progress,38 through a more rigorous application of current legislation and an increase in promotional measures.39 The new government majority of the People’s Party, from mid-2003, passed legislation covering education40 and public office41 which, without involving a review of the preceding linguistic legislation, could slow down or impede the normalising process. With regard to the media, in 2004 the bilingual Balearic public television channel was created, while one of the few Catalan-speaking radio stations closed down owing to issues related to administrative authorisation. The socio-economic sector is highly influenced by the Castilian Spanish-speaking in-migration from the peninsula and German and English tourism. Such influences make the recovery of the local language very difficult, particularly in the capital (Palma). The last regional elections, in May 2007, led to the formation of a new centre-left government, which may reactivate the linguistic policy for the normalisation of Catalan in television, public administration, education and health sectors.




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In Catalonia, the significance of normalising can initially be found in Article 3.3 of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia (hereinafter the SAC),42 which describes normalisation as a process which must culminate in full equality as far as the linguistic rights and obligations of the citizens of Catalonia are concerned (Milian 1988: 171–90). In fact, the precept states that ‘The Autonomous Government shall guarantee the normal and official use of both languages, take the necessary measures to ensure their knowledge, and create the conditions that permit their full equality with regard to the rights and obligations of the citizens of Catalonia’, in virtually identical terms to those used in the Balearic precept. The statutory aim will be fulfilled in successive stages, in such a way that Catalan Act 7/1983, of 18 April, for normalisation (hereinafter the LLNC) covered the first stage, while the second corresponds to Catalan Act 1/1998, of 7 January, for linguistic policy (hereinafter the LLP), still in force, which incorporates certain principles and precepts of the sector-based legislation enacted since 1983.43 The overall reform of the SAC of 2006, which granted statutory rank to the basic principles of the LLP, opens a third stage within the same process, which grants such basic principles a greater stability, given the more rigid nature of the statutory regulation and due to the fact that it is now a law approved by the state. The first normalisation Act (the LLNC) initiated a legal process that aimed at recovering the use of Catalan throughout Catalonia. According to the explanation of the reasons for the LLNC, the problem to overcome was that the Catalan language had been ‘for some years in a precarious situation, mainly characterised by its lack of presence in the domains of official usage, education and social communication’. The preamble of the LLNC also states that:

The reestablishment of Catalan to its rightful place as a local language of Catalonia is an irrefutable right and obligation of the Catalan people, which must be respected and protected. In this sense, it is necessary to interpret its knowledge, at the heart of the Catalan society, among all its citizens, regardless of the language they usually speak, as part of an overall conception in which all citizens accept the use of both languages, learn Catalan and accept the recovery of the Catalan language as one of the fundamental factors of the reconstruction of Catalonia.


3.2.8 Catalonia


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And it continues: ‘For this reason this Law proposes to overcome the current linguistic inequality by promoting the normalization of the use of Catalan throughout Catalonia.’ The Act states as an aim the presence of both languages in the education system; it balances them in the social communication media, eradicates any discrimination on linguistic grounds and specifies the forms of institutional promotion of linguistic normalisation in Catalonia. The LLNC proposes an aim for Catalan to become a ‘normal’ language; in other words, for it to be commonly used, with ‘normality’ in all domains. The Constitutional Court, in Ruling 337/1994 (legal base 21), rejected the unconstitutionality of the precepts of the LLNC on education since they pursued a ‘normal’ use of Catalan that was not derived from an obligation or an imposition, which, in the latter case, could have justified doubt with regard to its unconstitutionality. The Court stated that the normal and common use of Catalan does not create a ‘forced language environment’, since ‘if Catalan is the joint official language of Catalonia and the usual language of the Catalan society, it is difficult to attribute education establishments, given the normal and common use of Catalan, with the creation of an environment different from the actual society it serves’.44 The institutional promotion of Catalan is in no way contrary to the doctrine of the Constitutional Court. In particular, with regard to the aim of the normalising provisions, the Constitutional Court understands that their general objective is to guarantee respect for and encourage the use of the local and jointofficial language of the Autonomous Community and, to this end, to remedy in a positive way a historical situation of inequality regarding Castilian Spanish. Thus it allows, in a progressive way and within the demands imposed by the Constitution, an increased knowledge and use of the aforesaid language in its region. (SCC 337/1994, legal base 7) Subsequently, the preamble of the new Act of 1998 states that it seeks, within the objectives of the LLP, to consolidate the process promoted by the Law of linguistic normalization [LLNC of 1983] (. . .) with the aim at advancing in the generalisation of the full knowledge and normal use of Catalan, which must provide a new stimulus towards the social use of the





language. The modification and updating of the Act of 1983 also had to allow the consolidation of the statutory commitment to reach full equality in terms of linguistic rights and obligations. In particular, those of knowing both official languages and using them, which, in accordance with the present statutory framework, would result in the citizens of Catalonia having to know Catalan and Castilian Spanish and having the right to use them. The LLP reinforces the regional control and application of the established linguistic system (unlike the LLNC, which refers almost exclusively to local and regional administrations).45 The specific option in the LLP in favour of the ‘normal’ use of Catalan on the part of the Catalan institutions is compatible with the Constitution, according to the aforementioned constitutional jurisprudence, provided this option does not exclude the possibility of using the other official language, and acknowledges the citizens’ freedom of choice.46 Nowadays, there are areas in which Catalan has overcome the lack of respect it suffered from at the end of the Francoist dictatorship, such as regional,47 university48 and local49 administration as well as in education, especially in its initial stages. However, it has not progressed so much in other areas, such as in the justice administration, leisure or advertising. Consequently, some of the provisions of the LLP touch upon these sectors. Thus, the LLP refers to judicial actions (Art. 13), to civil and commercial documents (Art. 15), to collective work agreements (Art. 16), to public registers (Art. 17), to cultural industries (Art. 28) and to public attention in companies and establishments engaged in the sale of products or the provision of services (Art. 32). The LLP is also important because it has clarified the significance and the legal effects of the concepts of local language and official language (Arts. 2 and 3),50 which were somewhat confusing in the LLNC. It also attempts to list the linguistic rights (Art. 4 of the LLP) and specifies the institutional uses in chapter I of the LLP, with particular regard to the administrations in Catalonia (Arts. 9 and 10 of the LLP) and those of the state (Art. 12 of the LLP). The legislature of the Parliament of Catalonia which ended in 2003 approved the commencement of a process to improve self-government (with the support of most of the parties – Convergència i Unió, Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya and Iniciativa per Catalunya-els Verds – with the exception of the People’s Party).51 This process culminated in the passing of the SAC of 2006, which completely replaced its predecessor of 1979.52 The new statutory


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text increased the linguistic regulation considerably, with the consequent extension of the legal guarantee provided by statutory rank. The normalisation of the Catalan mandate is explained in Article 50.1 of the SAC, according to which ‘The public powers must protect Catalan in all areas and must encourage its use, diffusion and knowledge’, and it later states that the state must support the application of such principles. The most significant provisions of the SAC of 2006 include: the proclamation of the right and the duty to know Catalan (Art. 6.2 of the SAC), by making a parallelism with the literal meaning of the constitutional text that refers to Castilian Spanish; the elevation to statutory rank of certain provisions of the LLP, such as the definition of local language and official language (Art. 6, sections 1 and 2, and 32 SAC); and the general sector-based linguistic rights, including those related to education (Arts. 32–36 of the SAC); the clearest establishment of the exclusive power of the Autonomous Government with regard to language (Art. 143 of the SAC); the explanation of the state commitment to the external promotion and projection of the Catalan language, specifically in central institutions of the state, the European Union and international organisations such as UNESCO (Arts. 6.3, 33.5 and 50.7 of the SAC); and the proclamation of the principle that legal personnel as well as other staff in the justice administration in Catalonia, in addition to notaries and registrars, must have an adequate and sufficient knowledge of Catalan that makes them suitable to fulfil the duties of their post or employment position (Arts. 33.3 and 102 of the SAC).53

3.3 Final considerations The notion of normalisation includes the idea of process. It is an evolution in stages that aims at achieving a specific objective. If this is so, a moment may come when the foreseen objectives are met, as a result of the normalising process. In this theoretical case, would it be necessary to halt the process? Would we have to repeal the normalising laws and suspend the promotion measures? In fact, a normalisation process is not only an attempt to redress a situation and recover certain social and official uses for a local language, but to reverse a trend which is contrary to the normal use of a language, and to safeguard the progress obtained. The causes that have impeded the normal development of the Catalan language may have less impact, and some factors that impeded this language from being used may have disappeared altogether, such as the political persecution of the Franco regime. However, there are still factors of a different nature that are detrimental to the language, which





is why it is necessary to continue adopting measures of protection and promotion. If we take Catalonia as an example, there are domains in which Catalan has advanced during the last 25 years, such as education and local administrations. On the other hand, there are other areas which are clearly deficient (or in some cases clearly reluctant) with regard to their use of Catalan as a means of communication: the justice administration, leisure and cultural industries, the socio-economic world and new migrations. In addition to this, the monolingualism of Castilian Spanish remains the modus operandi of the central or general institutions of the Spanish government, which in general terms do not recognise the use of the other official languages of Spain.54 Since Spain joined the European Union in 1986, the only official Spanish language in the European institutions is Castilian Spanish. Following numerous demands emerging from the political institutions of the Catalan-speaking regions, which reappeared during the debate on the new Constitutional Treaty, in 2005 the European Council accepted the possibility of certain official uses of Catalan, which could be extended to the rest of the institutions and organs of the European Union.55 In spite of this, Catalan has not been registered in the linguistic system of the EU, which is made up of 23 official languages and their treaties.56 It is possible that, over time, Catalan will progressively advance in the domains that have appeared rather reluctant or simply passive, and achieve greater recognition in the national and European sphere. However, the potential of Castilian Spanish, in addition to other languages (currently, and in particular, English) calls into question whether the Catalan language covers all the functions a language can deploy. Consequently, in order to prevent the decline of the Catalan language in favour of more widely spoken languages or languages that are more powerful in certain domains (commerce, science, etc.), it is necessary to continue protecting and promoting the language, and to guarantee certain areas where the Catalan language is predominant, in order to make it necessary and prevent it from disappearing. Thus, in the most favourable scenario for the Catalan language, it will be necessary to continue establishing normalising policies and regulating social and official uses. As we have seen, in the first stage, this primarily involves extending knowledge from the school to the university, in addition to using the local language in the maximum number of public, private, social and official areas, at least in the local and regional administrations. Along these lines, it would be useful to evaluate the progress made by linguistic


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legislation, in addition to its adaptation to the sociolinguistic context and its compatibility with the will of the legislator. In other words, we should examine the proportionality of the normalising measures with the declaration of official status. In the second stage, it is possible to extend the promotion of its use in less normalised sectors, in particular the peripheral state administration, the justice administration and the socio-employment area. This would make them receptive to social transformations and therefore able to deal with the social changes brought by new migrations and the introduction of new technologies. It is also necessary to update the legislative and statutory instruments to the continually changing circumstances. On the other hand, we should not forget the political undermining that often accompanies normalisation as it progresses, even when this leads to merely timid improvements. Normalisation is often criticised as being contrary to the principle of equality and individual rights. Such observations, often expressed from a position of monolingual predominance, are not consistent with the desire for all languages and all speakers to enjoy the same opportunities. Consequently, there is a need for positive measures in favour of a language that has been banned for years (centuries, even), and these must also make it possible to strengthen individual rights, the rights of communities, democracy and pluralism. With regard to the implementation of linguistic normalisation, the process began in various regions almost simultaneously. Since the 1980s, various normalising projects have got underway in Spain, in the framework of the Constitution that was adopted in 1978. Furthermore, other countries such as Andorra and Italy have also started to normalise the Catalan language, the exception being France, which has explicitly opposed the different initiatives promoted at the heart of the Council of Europe, leaving aside the new standards enacted by international instruments in order to protect languages and national and linguistic minorities. In fact, this involves a broader movement of recognition that goes beyond the strict re-establishment of the Catalan language, since various new European and Latin American constitutions have recently incorporated linguistic provisions that are more respectful towards the existing historical plurilingualism as well. In fact, worldwide concern for linguistic diversity goes back to the first third of the twentieth century and has continued to impregnate constitutions and international legislation until it has become commonplace in the last ten years (Vernet 1999: 11–42). It is true that never before has there been such a rapid and centralising process of globalisation in which a single language, English, has been adopted as a communicational





reference, suddenly creating the knock-on effect of a growing concern about national signs of identity, one of which is often the local language. So we must not lose sight of the global nature of the recognition of linguistic pluralism and the promotion of linguistic minorities, as well as the increased prestige attributed to the demands for the protection of local features. Another problem that should also be prevented is the excessive administrative and political fragmentation of the public powers that regulate and intervene in the Catalan language. State and regional administrative divisions create a disparity of citizens’ linguistic rights depending on the region in which they live, in such a way that these states could infringe Article 7 of the ECRML. This article, on the one hand, determines the respect for the geographical area of each language, so that states that have signed the Charter will guarantee that existing or new administrative divisions will not represent any obstacle to the promotion of the local language (section 1.b). On the other hand, it promotes the maintenance and development of relations between the groups that use the same language and other groups of the same state that speak a language used in an identical or similar manner (section 1.e). It is therefore a matter of taking advantage of the opportunities offered by greater linguistic and population potential, based on the singular characteristics of the speakers in each region. Therefore, it has been very important to multiply the relations between the regions in which Catalan is present, in order for them to be seen as a strong cultural area, where diversity, respect and peaceful coexistence are values accepted by the citizens, and to encourage exchanges and the promotion of social and official uses in the common language.57 The various Catalan-speaking regions therefore need to take advantage of the international synergies that favour pluralism and the opportunities that encourage the unity of the language within the linguistic domain, while respecting and promoting the peculiarities of the various dialects. In this context, the continuity of the normalising process must allow local languages to be used in a normal way in all domains and it must guarantee that the linguistic rights of citizens are scrupulously observed by institutions, administrations, companies and the speakers of other languages.


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Notes 1. Specifically, the right to use it and the obligation to know it. These have a statutory precedent in Article 4 of the Second Spanish Republic Constitution


2.

3.

4.

5.

6. 7. 8.

9.

10.

11. 12. 13.

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from 1931, which includes them ‘without prejudice to the rights that state laws recognise in favour of languages of the provinces or regions’. During the republican era, the 1932 Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia declared in Article 2 the official status of Catalan and Castilian Spanish in Catalonia, and specified this with regard to the publication of laws, the relations between citizens and the courts, authorities, civil servants and public notaries. It is worth noting that, in Spain, the following are also official languages in the respective Statutes of Autonomy: Galician (Galicia), Basque (Basque Country and Navarra) and, more recently, Occitan (the reform of the 2006 Statute of Catalonia includes the official status of Occitan in Catalonia, such status being previously envisaged by Article 2 of Catalan Law 16/1990, of 13 July, on the special regime for Vall d’Aran, although restricting it to this area). Among others, with regard to the Constitutional Court (http://www. tribunalconstitucional.es), the ruling of the Constitutional Court Tribunal (SCC) 46/1991, of 28 February (on the public office of the autonomous Administration) and SCC 337/1994, of 23 December (with regard to the educational model of linguistic conjunction). The Supreme Court, a superior organ of ordinary justice, ruled on this in the Ruling of 2 June 1998 (on linguistic normalisation in the cinema) and in the Ruling of 4 October 2002 (on the educational linguistic model in the Balearic Islands). The ECRML can be found at http://conventions.coe.int./. Of particular interest is the first report of the Committee of Experts on the application of the Charter in Spain, which may be consulted at: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/ education/minlang/Report/default_en.asp http://www.andorra.com/portal/infogen/govern.asp http://www.bopa.ad/ This Article 1, in the first paragraph, also served to declare Italian as the official language of the Republic, a statute which was implicit until then and which has been transferred to Article 12 of the Constitution through the 2007 reform: ‘Italian is the official language of the Republic as far as the guarantees envisaged by the Constitution and the constitutional laws are concerned’ (www.gazzettaufficiale.it/). Decree No. 345, of the president of the Republic, of 2 May 2001, elaborates upon this protective orientation of minority languages (www. gazzettaufficiale.it/). http://consiglio.regione.sardegna.it/sito/legapp/lr97-26.asp. Literally, Article 2.4 of this Sardinian law states: ‘The same value attributed to the Sardinian culture and language is recognised, with regard to the corresponding region, for the Catalan culture and language of L’Alguer.’ http://conventions.coe.int/ http://www.comune.Alghero.ss.it/ In the Ruling of 15 June 1999, relative to the ECRML, the Conseil Constitutionnel stated that ‘as citizens everybody is French-speaking, in such a way that other languages are tolerated within the context of private relations, but without having access to the Republic, to citizenship and to the law’ (http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/).





14. Article 40 of Loi constitutionnelle no. 2008-724 du 23 juillet 2008 de modernisation des institutions de la Ve République (Journal Officiel de la République Française, 24 juillet 2008). 15. The subsequent laws include the so-called Savary law of 1982 and the Bayrou law of 1995, both on bilingual French – regional language teaching (http:// www.legifrance.gouv.fr/). 16. See specially the Charte en faveur du Catalan adopted on 10 December 2007 as a declaration of the General Council of the ‘Pyrénées Orientales’ Department. URL: http://blocs.mesvilaweb.cat/media/Y2hhcnRlX2NhdGFsYW4= _ 94370_1_3029_1.pdf 17. OL 4/1982 of 9 June (not affected in this point by the modification of the precept in OL 1/1998, of 15 June). http://www.boe.es/g/es/iberlex/normativa/ estatutos_autonomia.php 18. OL 8/1982, of 10 August, the language-related articles of which were amended by OL 5/1996, of 30 December, and by OL 5/2007, of 20 April (http://www.boe.es/g/es/iberlex/normativa/estatutos_autonomia.php). See Fatas and Bermejo (1985: 68–74). And more recently, López (2006: 215–48). 19. The original draft of 1982 established that ‘the different linguistic forms of Aragon shall enjoy protection as elements that are an integral part of its cultural and historical heritage’. 20. Aragonese Law 7/1999, of 9 April, on the local Administration of Aragon permits the normalisation of place names and establishes that local councils may regulate and accept that minority languages are used by the inhabitants of the municipality in written documents addressed to them. 21. The general regulation for the highways of Aragon, Decree 206/2003, of 22 July, envisages the bilingual signposting of highways, taking into consideration ‘the linguistic languages and forms’ of Aragon (Art. 108.1). 22. OL 5/1982, of 1 July, the language-related articles of which were amended by OL 1/2006, of 10 April (http://www.boe.es/g/es/iberlex/normativa/estatutos_ autonomia.php). 23. See J. Ochoa (2006: 349–86). In contrast to the ambiguity of the above Article 7 when dealing exclusively with Valencian without clarifying whether it is a variant of the Catalan language, it is possible to observe a manifestly secessionist will that the language of the Valencian people is not Catalan. 24. According to Article 6.7 of the SACV: ‘The law shall delimit the regions in which the use of one language or another predominates, and those which may be excluded from the teaching and use of the language of the Community of Valencia.’ 25. On this question, see Alcaraz (1999: 101–5). 26. This stage, in which the People’s Party formed a government coalition with the blaverista party Unió Valenciana (a political movement opposed to initiatives that involve the cultural or political unity of Catalan-speaking regions), has been described as ‘linguistic counterplanning’. See Pradilla (2004: 73 and 103). 27. That this is a sociopolitical conflict and not merely a linguistic one can be observed in the confrontation between the Valencian right- and left-wing parties since the beginning of the transition era when, with the debate established, they discussed, in addition to the name of the language, that of the autonomous community and its symbols. See Mollà (2001).


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28. Law 7/1998, of 16 December (http://www.gva.es/). The current Article 6.8 of the SACV of 2006 states that: ‘The Valencian Academy of the Language is the regulatory institution of the Valencian language.’ See the contribution to this volume by Pradilla. 29. During the years 2004–5, on the basis of SCC 75/1997, the Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (a superior jurisdictional organ within the autonomous region) declared in various rulings (for example Ruling 330/2004, of 4 March) that ‘no legal grounds exist to sustain that a degree in Catalan philology is not a sufficient qualification (. . .) to exempt the sitting of an exam to test one’s knowledge of the Valencian language’ (this legal doctrine has been confirmed by the Supreme Court in rulings of 27 May, 29 June and 10 December 2009). At the same time, the Autonomous Government of Valencia has continued to reject the statutes of Valencian universities (rules with statutory rank that have to be published officially) which mention Valencian as a denomination of Catalan. Another ruling of the Supreme Court of 15 March 2006 repealed the Order (regulation) of the Valencian government of 1995 which removed the recognition of administrative certificates of proficiency in Catalan, issued by the Catalan and Balearic autonomous communities, as equivalent to Valencian certificates. 30. OL 2/1983 of 25 February reformed by OL 3/1999 of 8 January and again by OL 1/2007 of 28 February. http://www.boe.es/g/es/iberlex/normativa/ estatutos_autonomia.php 31. SCC 123/1988, of 23 June, is the one that applied to the LLNBI. 32. Official status basically means that communications are valid and effective in any language declared as official, without the need for translation or bilingual publication (SCC 82/1986, of 26 June, legal base 2). 33. The last two precepts envisage that knowledge of the Catalan language will receive preferential treatment in resolving competitions for filling the posts of magistrates, judges, notaries and property and commercial registrars. 34. The current Article 35 of the SABI states that: ‘The insular forms of Catalan, of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera will be the object of study and protection, without prejudice to the unity of the language.’ This precept also declares the University of the Balearic Islands the official consultative institution for all issues relating to Catalan. 35. By way of example, Articles 43 and 44 of Balearic Law 3/2003, on the legal system of the administration of the autonomous community (inspired by Arts. 9 and 10 of the Catalan Law on Linguistic Policy, repealing Art. 10 LLNBI); Article 14 of Balearic Law 1/1998, of 10 March, on the Consumers’ Statute; Article 8 of Balearic Law 11/2001, of 15 June, governing commercial activity; and Article 5 of Balearic Law 5/2003, of 4 April, on Health, which includes linguistic rights specific to the area of health (http://boib.caib.es/). 36. See Article 57 of Balearic Law 2/1989, of 22 February, on the public office of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands (amended by Law 1/1996, of 23 February) and Balearic Decree 100/1990, of 29 November, governing the use of official languages in the Administration of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands (http://boib.caib.es/). 37. Decree 92/1997, of 4 July (http://boib.caib.es/). 38. We should highlight the creation of the Ramon Llull Institute, through an agreement signed with the Autonomous Government of Catalonia and




39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46. 47.

Democratic Policies for Language Revitalisation formalised on 5 April 2002, which promotes the external projection of the Catalan language and culture. Subsequently, in May 2004, the Balearic government (which in the meantime had changed hands, from the leftist Pacte de Progrés to the rightist Partido Popular, which in the islands, as in Valencia, regards relations with Catalonia as a threat) left the Ramon Llull Institute, and did not return until the Partido Popular lost the following regional elections, held in May 2007. See Pradilla (2004: 72). The case of the Balearic Islands ‘became a prime example of the dynamic nature of the processes of linguistic planning and of the importance of government action in the progress or decline of linguistic normalization’. Decree 52/2006, of 16 June, known as the Decret de trilingüisme (the Trilingualism Decree) with effects on the educational model of linguistic conjunction (http://boib.caib.es/). Decree 162/2003, of 5 September, which approves the statute that governs the requirement for knowledge of Catalan in the selection procedures to access public office and to occupy posts that are announced in the domain of the administration of the autonomous community. This new decree was repealed by the Ruling of the Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands of 4 February 2004, and replaced by the new decree 176/2003, of 31 October, which does not resolve all the problematic points (http://boib.caib.es/). OL 4/1979, of 18 December, which was the object of overall reform in OL 6/2006, of 19 July (http://www.boe.es/g/es/iberlex/normativa/estatutos_ autonomia.php). In addition to the LLP, it is necessary to refer to legislative provisions such as Catalan Law 8/1991, of 3 May, on the linguistic authority of the Catalan Studies Institute; Catalan Law 3/1993, of 5 March, on the Consumers’ Statute; Catalan Legislative Decree 1/1997, of 31 October on the consolidation of the current texts on public office; and Catalan Law 22/2005, of 29 December, on the audio-visual communication of Catalunya, among others (http://www6.gencat.net/llengcat/legis/index.htm). An aspect of this constitutional jurisprudence that is clearly worthy of criticism is that it seems to identify ‘normality’ with the absence of coercive measures as well as of indirect requirements that affect the citizens’ freedom of choice, without taking into account that the same situation would be applicable to Castilian Spanish, contrary to what seems to derive from Article 3.1 of the SC. In any case, the non-imposition of linguistic obligations on citizens is not incompatible with demanding language skills in administrations or from their employees, so that citizens are able to express themselves in whatever language they wish. In SCC 82/1986, of 26 June, the Constitutional Court affirmed that the official status of the local language of autonomous communities places an obligation on all the administrations present in the region, including the state administration, while allowing each public body to adopt the necessary measures for the gradual adaptation to the requirements derived from the official status. On the LLP, see Herrero de Miñón et al. (1999). Decree 107/1987, of 13 March, which governs the use of official languages by the Administration of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia (http:// www6.gencat.net/llengcat/legis/index.htm).


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48. The status of Catalan in universities is governed by Catalan Law 1/2003, of 19 February, on Universities in Catalonia (http://www6.gencat.net/llengcat/ legis/index.htm). 49. Catalan Legislative Decree 2/2003, of 19 April, which approves the consolidated text of the municipal law and the local regime of Catalonia (http:// www6.gencat.net/llengcat/legis/index.htm). 50. This was one of the reasons why the reform of the LLNC was proposed: see Mirambell (1987: 117–31). 51. For a study of the different programmes of the political parties, see Vernet and Pla (2004: 141–74). Similarly, for a review of 25 years of self-government, see Milian (2005: 321–59) and Vernet (2005: 143–56). 52. The new statutory linguistic regulation achieved broad political consensus in Catalonia, even though various precepts were amended during the debate prior to the final approval of the Statute by the State Parliament, which the People’s Party voted against. Subsequently, this political party lodged an appeal on the grounds of unconstitutionality before the Court, which challenged many of the statutory linguistic prescriptions. Also the Defensor del Pueblo – the State Ombudsman – lodged an appeal on the grounds of unconstitutionality against the Statute, which included linguistic aspects. See Pons and Pla (2007). 53. See Pons (2006b: 281–321). 54. One exception is the Regulation of the Spanish Senate, which following the reform of 2005, allows citizens to send communications there and use such official languages in the debates of the General Committee of the Autonomous Communities (http://www.senado.es). On the tendency of the state towards monolinguistic policy, see Vernet (2002: 129–49). A timid step in a more pluralist direction can be found in the recent Decree 905/2007, of 6 July, approved by the Spanish government, which created the Official Languages Council of the General State Administration, and the Official Languages Office, so that ‘the citizens of Autonomous Communities with their own official language may exercise their full right to address the General State Administration in this language, within the terms established by the laws’. 55. Agreement of the EU Council of Luxembourg of 13 June 2005 (2005/C 148/01), published in Official Bulletin C 148, of 18 June 2005 (http://europa. eu.int/eur-lex). Subsequently, agreements have been signed between the Spanish government and the Council (7 November 2005); the Committee of the Regions (16 November 2005); the Commission (21 December 2005); the Economic and Social Committee (7 June 2006); the Ombudsman (30 November 2006). The European Parliament, through an agreement of the Committee of 3 July 2006, agreed to allow citizens to address it in Catalan. 56. See Milian (2001: 161–202) and Pons (2006a: 65–102). 57. Thus, with regard to Catalonia, this is stated in the new Article 6.4 of the SAC, which establishes: ‘The Autonomous Government of Catalonia must promote communication and cooperation with other communities and other regions that share a linguistic heritage with Catalonia. To such effect, the Autonomous Government of Catalonia and the State, as applicable, may sign accords, treaties and other mechanisms of collaboration for the external promotion and diffusion of Catalan.’ Furthermore, with regard to the Balearic Islands, Article 35 of the SABI envisages that the autonomous




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References Agirreazkuenaga, I. (2006). ‘La Carta Europea de Lenguas Regionales o Minoritarias del Consejo de Europa como Derecho interno’. In J. M. Pérez (coord.), Estudios sobre el estatuto jurídico de las lenguas en España. Barcelona: Atelier, pp. 105–44. Alcaraz, M. (1999). El régimen jurídico de las lenguas en la Comunidad Valenciana. El Ejido: Universidad de Alicante. Alcaraz, M., Isabel, F. and Ochoa, J. (eds) (2005). Vint anys de la Llei d’Ús i Ensenyament del Valencià. Alzira: Bromera. Asensi, J. (1985). ‘Comentario al artículo 7o del Estatuto de Autonomía de la Comunidad Valenciana’. In Comentarios al estatuto de Autonomía de la Comunidad Valenciana. Madrid: IEAL, pp. 73–87. Colom, B. (1987). Els principis de la llei de normalització lingüística a les Illes Balears. Palma de Mallorca: Obra Cultural Balear. Colom, B. (2006). ‘Estatuto jurídico del catalán en las Illes Balears’. In J. M. Pérez (coord.), Estudios sobre el estatuto jurídico de las lenguas en España. Barcelona: Atelier, pp. 325–46. Fatas, G. and Bermejo, J. (1985). ‘Comentario al art. 7’. In Comentarios al Estatuto de Autonomía de la Comunidad autónoma de Aragón. Madrid: IEAL, pp. 68–74. Herrero de Miñón, M. et al. (1999). Estudios jurídicos sobre la ley de política lingüística. Madrid/Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Autonòmics/Marcial Pons. López, J. I. (2006). ‘Estatuto jurídico de las lenguas en Aragón’. In J. M. Pérez (coord.), Estudios sobre el estatuto jurídico de las lenguas en España. Barcelona: Atelier, pp. 215–48. Milian, A. (1988). ‘Ordenament Lingüístic (EAC 3)’. In Comentaris sobre l’Estatut d’Autonomia de Catalunya. Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Autonòmics, pp. 171–90. Milian, A. (2001). ‘El régimen lingüístico de la Unión Europea: el régimen de las instituciones y la incidencia del Derecho comunitario sobre el mosaico lingüístico europeo’. In Público y privado en la normalización lingüística. Cuatro estudios de derechos lingüístico. Barcelona: Atelier, pp. 161–202. Milian, A. (2005). ‘L’ordenació lingüística: Estudi jurídic de vint-i-cinc anys de normalització del català a partir de l’article 3 de l’Estatut d’Autonomia de Catalunya. Virtuts i dèficits d’aquest precepte’. In Vint-i-cinc anys d’Estatut d’autonomia de Catalunya: balanç i perspectives. Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Autonòmics, pp. 321–59. Mirambell, A. (1987). ‘La necessitat de modificació de la llei 7/1983, de 18 d’abril, de normalització lingüística a Catalunya’. Revista de llengua i Dret, 9: 117–31. Mollà, T. (ed.) (2001). Ideologia i conflicte linguistic. Alzira: Bromera. Navarro, A. C. (2006). ‘Estatuto jurídico del patrimonio lingüístico de la cuenca del Segura’. In J. M. Pérez (coord.), Estudios sobre el estatuto jurídico de las lenguas en España. Barcelona: Atelier, pp. 473–98.


community may participate in an institution aimed at safeguarding linguistic unity, made up of all the communities that recognise the official status of the Catalan language.


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Ochoa, J. (2006). ‘El estatuto jurídico del valenciano’. In J. M. Pérez (coord.), Estudios sobre el estatuto jurídico de las lenguas en España. Barcelona: Atelier, pp. 349–86. Pizzorusso, A. (2000). ‘La reciente ley italiana sobre protección general de las minorías lingüísticas’. Revista Vasca de Administración Pública, 58: 249–58. Pla, A. (2005). ‘L’ordenació de la qüestió lingüística a Catalunya de 1982 a 1936: el procés de reconeixement de l’estatut d’oficialitat del català’. Revista de Llengua i Dret, 43: 195–203. Pons, E. (2006a). ‘Los derechos lingüísticos en el marco internacional y comunitario’. In J. M. Pérez (coord.), Estudios sobre el estatuto jurídico de las lenguas en España. Barcelona: Atelier, pp. 65–102. Pons, E. (2006b). ‘El estatuto jurídico de las lenguas en Cataluña’. In J. M. Pérez (coord.), Estudios sobre el estatuto jurídico de las lenguas en España. Barcelona: Atelier, pp. 281–321. Pons, E. and Pla, A. M. (2007). ‘La llengua en el procés de reforma de l’Estatut d’autonomia de Catalunya (2004–2006)’. Revista de Llengua i Dret, 47: 183–225. Pradilla, M. A. (2004). Calidoscopi lingüístic. Barcelona: Octaedro-EUB. Pueyo, M. and Turull, A. (2003). Diversitat i política lingüística en un món global. Barcelona: UOC-Pòrtic. Pujol, M. (2001). ‘La llengua catalana al Principat d’Andorra. Situació actual i evolució’. Llengua i Ús, 22: 66–70. Segura, L. J. (1984). ‘Comentario sobre el régimen jurídico lingüístico del Estatuto de Autonomía de las Islas Baleares’. Revista Vasca de Administración Pública, 8: 235–50. Segura, L. J. (2004). ‘Introducció al marc legal de la llengua catalana a les Illes Balears’. Treballs de Sociolingüística catalana, 18: 117–27. Vernet, J. (1999). ‘Principios y derechos constitucionales en un estado plurilingüe’. In Consejo General del Poder Judicial, Derechos de las minorías en una sociedad multicultural. Madrid: Consejo General del Poder Judicial, pp. 11–42. Vernet, J. (2002). ‘La politique et la législation linguistiques de l’État espagnol et la langue catalane’. Terminogramme, 103–104: 129–49. Vernet, J. (coord.) (2003). Dret lingüístic. Valls: Cossetània. Vernet, J. (2005). ‘Fet diferencial i règim jurídic de la llengua catalana’. In Vint-i-cinc anys d’Estatut (1979–2004). Barcelona: Parlament de Catalunya, pp. 143–56. Vernet, J. and Pla, A. M. (2004). ‘La llengua catalana i un nou estatut d’autonomia per a Catalunya’. Revista de Llengua i Dret, 41: 141–74. Vernet, J. and Punset, R. (2007). Lenguas y Constitución. Madrid: Iustel. Viladot, M. À. (2001). ‘El català a Múrcia’. Revista de Catalunya, 164: 47–60.




Policies Governing the Use of Languages in Relations between the Authorities and the Public Isidor Marí Mayans Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

4.1 Introduction Developments over the last 30 years in the legal status of the Catalan language, especially in the Spanish state following its democratic transition, have caused substantial change in the use of official languages in relations between the authorities and the public. Nevertheless, the wide range of situations arising from the new legal framework, and the political fragmentation between different states and administrative levels, make up a context of great complexity, in which people have different language rights with regard to the use of Catalan depending upon where they live. This chapter will provide an overview of the changes that have taken place in recent years with regard to the use of Catalan and the other official languages in relations between the public and the authorities and a description of the current position in each territory, based on the applicable legal regime. Our description will include not only the territorial differences, but also the existence of different politico-administrative levels, each with their own specific regulations, i.e. relations between the public and local and regional authorities, whilst state-wide (both central and territorial) and supranational European institutions merit separate consideration.

4.2 Territories in which Catalan is not an official language


4

4.2.1 L’Alguer (Alghero/S’Alighèra, Sardinia, Italy)1 As noted by Rafael Caria (2006: 59), the timeline of the legal status of Catalan in l’Alguer has been as follows: 84


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1. The passage of l’Alguer’s Municipal Statute (1991). 2. Passing of Sardinian Regional Act No. 26, of 15 October 1997: Promozione e valorizzazione della cultura e della lingua della Sardegna (Promotion and Appreciation of the Culture and Language of Sardinia). 3. Passage of Italy’s Act No. 482, of 15 December 1999: Norme in materia di tutela delle minoranze linguistiche storiche (Regulations regarding the protection of historical linguistic minorities). It is interesting to note that l’Alguer’s municipal statute2 had no preceding higher-ranking legal basis, which explains why, as Caria notes, it is excessively ambiguous and undefined. The Communal Statute of the City of l’Alguer3 states that ‘The Municipality [. . .] shall carry out the necessary actions to safeguard the language of l’Alguer’ (Art. 8.1), but makes no provisions for its use in relations between the public and the authorities. Sardinian Regional Act No. 26, of 15 October 1997, on Promotion and Appreciation of the Culture and Language of Sardinia, grants the culture and Catalan language of l’Alguer the same value as Sardinian (Art. 2.4). By virtue of this equivalent status, equally applicable to the Catalan of l’Alguer are the provisions of Title V of this Act, referring to the use of the Sardinian language in the public authorities, i.e. in local collegiate bodies, in correspondence and oral relations between the public and the regional and local authorities (Art. 23.3)4 and in toponymy (Art. 24). As stated in Chapter 3, Italy’s Act 482/1999, of 15 December, on regulations regarding the protection of historical linguistic minorities5 includes Catalan amongst its protected languages (Art. 2) and contemplates (Art. 7) that members of collegiate municipal bodies use the protected language in these bodies’ activities, but requires that a version in Italian be immediately guaranteed should any other member not understand the minority language. Article 9 specifies that the use of the protected language is permitted in oral and written communication with the public authorities of the corresponding municipality, and also before magistrates, but expressly excludes from this the armed forces, Italian state police and other judicial bodies. The authorities must take due measures to ensure that they have staff capable of putting this possibility into practice. Finally, Articles 13 and 14 empower regional and provincial institutions to adopt the provisions within their competences with regard to use of the protected languages. As noted by Pons and Vila (2005: 96, 98–9), Catalan is only ever used occasionally or on a supplementary basis by the authorities in l’Alguer.


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4.2.2 ‘Northern Catalonia’ (France) The position of the Catalan language in France and the possibilities of using it in relations with the authorities have not improved much over the last 30 years.6 Official policy has instead tended to bolster French’s exclusive position in official institutions (Pons and Vila 2005: 38). Catalan, like France’s other ‘regional’ languages, does not therefore have a defined legal regime. The current Constitution’s declaration that French is ‘the language of the Republic’ makes the administrative use of other languages difficult. The French Constitutional Council itself, in its ruling of 15 June 1999 on the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, states that other languages ‘are tolerated in private relations, but without having access to the Republic, the citizenship or the law’. Given this context, the use of Catalan in relations between the authorities and the public is practically non-existent and restricted to some non-official activities, normally of a cultural nature, and a presence alongside French in some procedures, in signs and in the toponymy of some public signposts. For example, the municipal authorities of Perpignan, the capital of a département, have for some time adopted a political image focused around its ‘Catalanness’, and have a website in which the Catalan language has a large presence.7 Nevertheless, the section given over to administrative procedures8 only offers the possibility of using Catalan alongside French in a few procedures (under the heading L’ús del català als ajuntaments, The Use of Catalan in Municipal Councils),9 despite it providing information, by means of a legal study,10 on the possibilities of promoting the use of Catalan in municipal activities, and its will to do so.11 Perhaps influenced by this context and by a previous initiative taken by the Conseil Régional de Bretagne, which in 2004 voted to provide more decisive measures in support of its regional languages, the Conseil Général des Pyrénées-Orientales passed, on 10 December 2007, a Catalan Language Charter,12 in which ‘the Conseil Général des PyrénéesOrientales officially recognises, alongside the French language, Catalan as a language of the département’ (Art. 1). Article 4 of the Charter makes more explicit reference to relations with the public: ‘Generally, all the département’s structures (services,


It has some presence in municipal signposting, but is used only very rarely, on a token or emblematic basis, in administrative activities, below the extent permitted by the legal framework.


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administrations, associated bodies) integrate the dimension of the Catalan language in their functions and attributions, with particular regard to communications with the public and signing.’ Article 7 once again stresses relations with the public: ‘the Conseil Général develops the presence of Catalan in its services, in the documents it produces (invitations, newsletters, programmes, the Internet, etc.), campaigns and communication actions’. Other articles also mention specific aspects of administrative communication with the public. Article 6, for example, refers to bilingual signage, and Article 8 adds that the Conseil ‘develops its own communications tools in Catalan (magazines, web sites, etc.) and guarantees its presence’. As can be seen, the communications with the public that it mentions are not of an official nature, and it is still premature to carry out any assessment of the real effectiveness of the measures it announces; it nevertheless represents a significant milestone in French policy towards Catalan. Nevertheless, little seems to have changed after the amendment introduced in the French Constitution in July 2008, with a new article, 75-1, stating that ‘Les Langues régionales appartiennent au Patrimoine de la France.’ 4.2.3 El Carxe (Murcia, Spain) This small Catalan-speaking area of the Autonomous Community of Murcia does not enjoy any specific legal recognition.13 Its minority position in the three municipalities in which it lies – Iecla (Yecla in Castilian), Jumella (Jumilla) and Favanella (Abanilla) – makes the use of Catalan in municipal activities imperceptible. The respect for and protection of linguistic modalities established by Article 3.3 of Spain’s Constitution or the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages have not yet led to any effective provision to facilitate the administrative use of Catalan in this area. 4.2.4 La Franja de Ponent (Aragon, Spain) As stated in Section 3.2.5, the lack of development of the language regime contemplated by Aragon’s Statute of Autonomy has prevented the normal use of Catalan in relations between the authorities and the public in La Franja. Although the 1982 Statute of Autonomy contemplated (in Art. 7) that the different languages of Aragon would enjoy protection as forming


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part of its cultural and historic heritage and, since the Declaration of Mequinensa in 1984,14 there have been a succession of social and institutional demands for the recognition of Catalan, the Aragonese Parliament had not even begun to examine a draft language law until the end of 2009, when a law on the usage, protection and the promotion of Aragon languages was passed.15 According to this law, Spanish remains the sole official language, and Catalan and Aragonese are only recognised as ‘original and historical languages’ of Aragon, but the citizens’ right to use them inside their respective territories is accepted, especially in the relations with local public institutions (Arts. 2 and 4 b). It must be stressed that these rights remain virtual and will only be effective after a High Council for the Languages of Aragon is created and the areas where the usage of Catalan language can be accepted are determined by it. Some previous Aragonese laws, such as the Territorial Management Act of 1998 and the Aragonese Cultural Heritage Act of 1999, made express mention of Aragonese and Catalan as minority languages of the autonomous community, but not even the reform of the Aragonese Statute of Autonomy (2007) had meant progress in recognising Catalan or the right to use it in relations with official institutions.16 Consequently, the possibilities of using Catalan in official relations with the authorities have been very restricted, being limited to making one’s will in the language (Aragon’s Inheritance Act 1/1999), road signposting17 and in some other local authority actions governed by the Aragon Local Authorities Act 7/1999, of 9 April: in toponymy (Art. 23) or in the admission of documents by municipal councils who so establish (Art. 153.3). The fact is that these possibilities have only rarely been put into practice and that the use of Catalan in relations between the Aragonese public and the public authorities has been practically non-existent, even in purely informational activities by its municipal authorities.18 This is in sharp contrast with the levels of understanding and social use of Catalan in this area, which are amongst the highest of all Catalan-speaking territories. In this case too, as noted by Pons and Vila (2005: 31), the ambiguous provision for implementation in the Spanish state of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages – in the case of languages which ‘the statutes protect and cover in the territories in which they are traditionally spoken’ (a reference that includes Catalan in Aragon) adhesion is limited to ‘all those provisions of Part III of the Charter that can reasonably be applied in accordance with the objectives and principles


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4.3 Territories in which both Catalan and Castilian are official languages19 4.3.1 Catalonia The fact of having Catalan and Castilian as its two official languages, established by its 1979 Statute of Autonomy, introduced two principles which have served as the basis for the subsequent implementation of legislation and the policies on usage of the official languages in relations with the public in Catalonia: • The consideration of Catalan as Catalonia’s ‘own’ official language (Art. 3.1)20 • The express mandate for the Generalitat de Catalunya to guarantee the normal and official use of Catalan and Castilian and their equality with regard to the public’s rights and duties (Art. 3.3) Catalonia’s Language Normalisation Act 7/1983, in developing these provisions, gave concrete form to everyone’s right to address in Catalan, verbally and in writing, the authorities, public bodies, and public and private enterprises (Art. 2.1) with the same effects as if in Castilian, and without this providing justification for any kind of difficulty, postponement, requirement for translation or other demand (Art. 2.2). Title I to this Act, which covered the official use of the language, deferred to more detailed regulations on the regime for the usage of official languages (Art. 7), but established that ‘within the territorial scope of Catalonia, any citizen is entitled to have relations with the Generalitat, the civil administration of the State, the local authorities and other public bodies in the official language of their choice’ (Art. 8.1), a right that Article 9 extended to the courts.21 The Language Policy Act 1/1998 subsequently updated and expanded this legal framework, reiterating in Article 3.2 that ‘Catalan and Castilian can, as official languages, be employed without distinction by the public in all public and private activities, without discrimination. Legal acts carried out in either of the two official languages have, with regard to language, full validity and effect.’


established in Article 7’ – do not inspire much confidence in a generous interpretation encouraging progress in the recognition of Catalan in this area.



More specifically, Article 9, which deals with the language of the Catalan authorities, states that the Generalitat, local authorities and other public corporations of Catalonia, institutions and enterprises reporting to them and holders of concessions for their services, must normally employ Catalan in their communications and notifications addressed to individuals and legal entities residing in Catalan-speaking territories, without prejudice to the public’s right to receive them in Castilian, should they so request. In other words, the authorities use Catalonia’s ‘own’ official language in communications addressed to the public, but must respect the latter’s free option to receive them in Castilian, by virtue of the system of two official languages. The same article entrusts the regulation of language usage to the Generalitat, local and other public corporations, within the scope of their powers.22 Specific regulation of the use of the official languages in relations with the public had been begun with Decree 107/1987 which, with some subsequent updates,23 still represents the regulation of reference for the Generalitat and the bodies depending upon it. Article 2.1 of this decree establishes the general use of Catalan by the Generalitat, which Title V details with regard to relations with the public. These are the main criteria: Communications and notifications addressed to individuals or legal entities resident in Catalan-speaking territories shall be made in the Catalan language, without prejudice to the public’s right to receive them in Castilian if they so request. (Art. 9.1, which coincides with the aforementioned criteria of Art. 9 of the Language Policy Act) The administration of the Generalitat shall accept communications addressed to it in Castilian or, as the case may be, in another official language of the territory of the sender. (Art. 10) Printed forms shall be offered in their Catalan version, without prejudice to the right of individuals to complete them in Castilian. Castilian versions shall be available to those interested. (Art. 11) Documents and forms that must have effect in and outside of Catalonia shall be drawn up in a dual Catalan/Castilian version (Art. 12.1). Bilingual forms for use within the territorial scope of Catalonia may be made when special circumstances make this recommendable [. . .] [but] the text in Catalan shall be located in a preferential place. (Art. 12.2)


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Case documentation authentications shall be issued in Catalan or, if the applicant so requests, in Castilian. (Art. 13)


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Magazines, posters and, in general, the publications of the Generalitat shall be in Catalan, except for those specifically designed for foreign promotion. (Art. 18.1) Notices, public announcements and publicity of all manner issued by the Generalitat and the bodies depending upon it shall be in Catalan in Catalonia and, if required, shall be reproduced in Castilian, although, in general, avoiding the simultaneous double version of the same text. (Art. 19.1) Office-holders of the administration of the Generalitat shall normally express themselves in Catalan in public events held in Catalonia, provided that their involvement is due to said office. (Art. 20) Finally, Article 22 charges the heads of all departments with the adoption of ‘the measures necessary so that, in each administrative unit of the Generalitat, staff who deal with the public have the required knowledge of Catalan and Castilian to guarantee the public’s right to choose the language of their relations with the authorities’. Logically, the habitual use of Catalan (as the ‘own’ official language) in the authorities’ activities and communications, together with respect for the public’s right to choose one or other of the official languages in their relations with these authorities (called the ‘principle of availability’) means that their staff must, generally speaking, know Catalan and Castilian (and Aranese in the Vall d’Aran).24 Legislative Decree 1/1997, rewording the legal texts on the public function, and Decree 161/2002, on accreditation of the knowledge of Catalan and Aranese in staff recruitment processes and the provision of jobs in the public authorities of Catalonia, establish as a general rule the requirement of accrediting knowledge of Catalan to work in the public sector. Nevertheless, as Pons and Vila (2005: 108) note, there remain gaps in the implementation of this requirement, and some of the autonomous community’s staff have still not accredited sufficient knowledge of Catalan.25 At local level, use of the Catalan language in relations with the public is the norm. The Language Policy Act of 1998 and Legislative Decree 2/2003, which approved the reworded text of the Catalan Municipal and Local Regime Act, have consolidated an effective legal framework, to which can be added the strong support of local bodies, which have


In their oral communications, civil servants shall normally address the public in Catalan, and shall respect the choice of the latter with regard to the language in which they wish to be dealt with. (Art. 14)



actively promoted Catalan in their activities. The majority of municipal and district councils have approved language usage regulations, following the indications of Article 9.3 of the Language Policy Act (Pons and Vila 2005: 96). According to the 2006 Secretaria de Política Lingüística report, published in 2007 (VII, 6), 523 local bodies have their own regulations. The publication Estadística d’usos lingüístics a institucions públiques (EULIP, Statistics on language usages in public institutions, 2004)26 is very clear on the issue: in written communications addressed to the public, 91.3 per cent are in Catalan and 7.4 per cent in Castilian; in personalised documents the percentages do not change much – 90.3 per cent in Catalan and 9.7 per cent in Castilian; in oral communications, the use of Castilian rises to 28.8 per cent whilst Catalan stands at 70 per cent. As far as staff with sufficient knowledge of Catalan is concerned, the percentage in the local authorities stands at 90.2 per cent (in 85.3 per cent of recruitment processes, Catalan is a job requirement. See EULIP 2004 and Castaño and Solé 2005: 45).

The special regime of the Vall d’Aran As stated in the preamble to Act 16/1990, on the special regime for the Val d’Aran, this area stands apart from the rest of Catalonia due to the fact of it being linked ‘due to its geographical location, historical origins, its language and culture, to Gascon lands and the great Occitan family, yet freely joined, by agreement, to the Principality of Catalonia. It formed part of the Catalano-Aragonese Crown since 1175, due to the Treaty of Emparança, which the Aranese signed with King Alfons I.’ Catalonia’s Statute of Autonomy of 1979 already gave special recognition to the Aranese variant of Occitan, indicating in Article 3.4 that it would be the object of teaching and special respect and protection. Act 16/1990 goes further and declares (Art. 2.1): ‘Aranese, a variety of the Occitan language and that of Aran, is official in the Val d’Aran. Also official are Catalan and Castilian, in accordance with Article 3 of Catalonia’s Statute of Autonomy.’ By virtue of this declaration of three official languages, Article 2.2 specifies that the use of Aranese must be guaranteed in the administration of the Generalitat. In 1994, the Conselh Generau d’Aran (Aran’s main governing institution) approved the language regulations that govern the use of the official languages.


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Catalonia’s new Statute of Autonomy (Act 6/2006) confirms and broadens the legal framework for the use of the languages we have analysed. Article 6, for example, again stresses that Catalan, as Catalonia’s ‘own’ language, is the normal and preferential language of use of the public authorities (6.1) and states: Catalan is the official language of Catalonia. So is Castilian, which is the official language of the Spanish state. Everyone has the right to use the two official languages and the citizens of Catalonia have the right and duty to understand them. Catalonia’s public powers must establish the measures necessary to facilitate the exercising of these rights and compliance with this duty. In accordance with the provisions of Article 32, there cannot be any discrimination due to the use of either of the two languages. (6.2)27 Later on, Article 33 is of especial importance in defining the language rights of the public before the public authorities and state institutions: 1. Citizens have the right to choose their language. In relations with public institutions, organisations and authorities in Catalonia, everyone has the right to use the official language of their choice. This right is binding upon public institutions, organisations and authorities, including the electoral authorities in Catalonia and, in general, private entities reporting to them when exercising public functions. 2. Everyone, in their relations with the courts, prosecutors, notaries and public registers, has the right to use the official language of their choice in all judicial, notary- and registry-related activities, and to receive all official documentation issued in Catalonia in the language requested, and without it being possible to suffer from lack of proper defence or improper delay due to the language chosen, nor any form of translation be demanded from them. 3. To guarantee the right of language choice, judges and magistrates, prosecutors, notaries, property and mercantile registrars, Civil Registry management and judicial authority staff must, to provide their service in Catalonia, demonstrate in legally established form that they have a proper and sufficient knowledge of the official languages, thereby making them suitable for carrying out the duties inherent in their office or job.


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5. The citizens of Catalonia have the right to deal in writing with Spanish state-wide constitutional and jurisdictional bodies in Catalan, in accordance with the procedure established by applicable legislation. These institutions must accept and process the documents submitted in Catalan, which have, in all cases, full legal effect.28 With regard to the right to use Aranese in relations between the public and the authorities, Article 36 of the new Statute provides broader recognition than previous regulations: 1. In Aran, everyone has the right to understand and use Aranese and to be dealt with, orally and in writing, in Aranese in their relations with the public authorities and the public and private entities that depend on them. 2. The citizens of Aran have the right to use Aranese in their relations with the Generalitat. 3. Other Aranese-related rights and duties must be established by law. 4.3.2 The Autonomous Community of Valencia Valencia’s new Statute of Autonomy (2007) substantially retains the language-related criteria of its predecessor (the 1982 Statute). The current Article 6 refers to future legislation for the specifics of the usages of Castilian and Valencian in the authorities (Section 6.6) and repeats the delimitation of territories in which either Valencian or Castilian is linguistically predominant (Section 6.7). Both the use of the word valencià (Valencian) to refer to the Catalan language29 and this territorial differentiation constitutes serious obstacles to the extension of the normal use of Catalan in relations between the authorities and the public of different territorial areas. The law of reference governing these relations is the 1983 Use and Teaching of Valencian Act,30 which has the stated aim of guaranteeing the normal and official use of Valencian (Art. 1.2.b) and the right of the


4. To guarantee the right of language choice, Spanish state authorities located in Catalonia must demonstrate that the staff working for them have a sufficient knowledge of the two official languages, thereby making them suitable for carrying out the duties inherent in their job.


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public to use it, orally and in writing, in relations with the public authorities (Art. 2) with full legal effect (Art. 3) and without discrimination (Art. 4). The authorities are charged with adopting the measures required to guarantee the use of either of the two official languages (Art. 5) and the public may go to court in defence of their language-related rights (Art. 6). Chapter I of the same Act specifies the principles governing the official use of Valencian, which, as the ‘own’ language of the Autonomous Community of Valencia, is also that of its Generalitat and its public authorities, of the local authorities and of other public bodies and institutions that report to them (Art. 7). The Acts passed by the Valencian Parliament are drawn up and published in Valencian and Castilian (Art. 8). All actions by the authorities and documents in Valencian have full legal effect (Art. 9). In the territory of the Autonomous Community of Valencia, all citizens have the right to address and deal with the Generalitat, local bodies and others of a public nature in Valencian (Art. 10). In addition to other procedural stipulations, worth highlighting is the fact that this Act recognises the right of all citizens to address the courts in the official language of their choice, without them being required to give any kind of translation and with no delay or postponement in the processing of their case being permitted (Art. 12.1). In the case of official toponyms, Article 15 contemplates the possibility of them being in Valencian, Castilian or in both official languages. Additionally, public enterprises, as well as public services directly depending upon the authorities, must guarantee that employees with a direct relationship with the public have sufficient knowledge of Valencian to provide with normality the service with which they are charged (Art. 16). Title IV to the Act rounds off these provisions with criteria on language training (Art. 29) and positive consideration of knowledge of Valencian in staff recruitment in the authorities (Art. 30). Title V defines the municipalities in which Valencian or Castilian are predominant and, whilst Article 37 stresses that this distinction should be no obstacle to the use and teaching of Valencian governed by this Act being carried out and, particularly, to securing the effective right of all citizens to understand and use it, the fact is that, as Pons and Vila (2005: 36) note, ‘this territorial division weakens and, in practice, almost eliminates the effectiveness of citizens’ language rights in the territories classified as predominantly Castilian-speaking’. In this legal context, lack of support by the autonomous community government for the use of Valencian in relations between the


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authorities and the public is the norm. Those addressing the Valencian Generalitat in Valencian often receive replies in Castilian,31 a practice that reduces the official nature of Valencian to mere passive acceptance of the public’s use of it. The leading authorities of the autonomous community make almost anecdotal use of Valencian in their public speeches, thereby giving a poor example that also clashes with the objectives of the legal framework. At local authority level, despite the approval by numerous municipalities of regulations on the use of the official languages32 that include the right of the public to use Valencian and Castilian, the fact is that most public policies in this area are characterised by a considerable degree of passivity. A good example of this is the implementation of the assessment of applicants’ knowledge of Valencian to secure a job in the public sector.33 As Pons and Vila (2005: 100–1) stress, the casuistic of calls for applications for jobs in Valencia’s local authorities range from forgetting to give consideration to knowledge of the language, through it being positively viewed as a non-essential merit, to being a prerequisite. In these latter cases – which are still currently in the minority – the resolutions of the local bodies contemplating this are frequently challenged by applicants who have not been able to demonstrate the specified level of Catalan. It is also highly significant that these challenges are often upheld by the ordinary courts, even in the case of jobs involving direct contact with the public, thereby hampering the possibility of the normal use of Valencian in these relations. This leads to the assessment of Pons and Vila (2005: 97) being that ‘in practice, the use of Catalan by local bodies can be described as highly uneven. The ambiguity and deficiencies of the legal framework mean that, in many municipalities in Valencian-speaking territory, the Catalan language has been left languishing in a clearly marginal position in the local authorities.’ As the authors themselves state, particularly, ‘one must lament the practice of large Valencian municipal councils, whose use of their own language is well below the minimum that should be required by the official nature of Valencian. This disdain for the country’s language spreads to municipal enterprises and the initiatives promoted by local corporations’ (ibid. 97–8).


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As with the case of the Autonomous Community of Valencia, the new (2007) Statute of Autonomy of the Balearic Islands makes no significant change to the legal framework of two official languages established by the previous Statute (of 1983), reformed in 1999 and developed by the Islands’ Language Normalisation Act 3/1986. Article 14.3 of the new Statute establishes the public’s right to language choice in their relations with the autonomous community’s authorities: ‘The citizens of the Balearic Islands shall have the right to address the authorities of the Autonomous Community in either of its two official languages and to receive a response in the same language.’ Articles 97.2 and 99.2 also contemplate knowledge of the Catalan language being a preferential merit in the provision of jobs as magistrates, judges, notaries and registrars.34 The Balearic Islands’ Language Normalisation Act 3/198635 develops the criteria for the use of the official languages in relations between the public and the authorities. Indeed, one of its goals is ‘to ensure the progressive and normal use of the Catalan language in official and administrative circles’ (Art. 1.2.a). The right of the public to use Catalan ‘involves being entitled to address in Catalan, orally or in writing, public authorities, public bodies and private enterprises’, without the use of Catalan meaning any requirement for translation or justification for delay or discrimination (Art. 2). The public authorities must make these rights effective (Art. 4) and the public shall have recourse to the courts to protect the exercise thereof (Art. 5). Title I to this Act specifies the principles of use of the official languages in the authorities, giving Catalan the nature of the authorities’ ‘own’ language and repeating the fact that ‘the public has the right to use the Catalan language, orally or in writing, in their relations with the public authorities within the territorial scope of the Autonomous Community’ (Art. 8) and charges the different authorities with regulating the normal use of Catalan within the scope of their powers (Art. 9). Article 11 adds that the public may also use the official language of their choice before the courts, with full effect and without this involving delays or requirements for translation. Other articles detail the conditions for using Catalan in public registries (Art. 12), toponymy (Art. 14) and signing (Art. 15). Finally, Article 16 establishes the commitment to ensure adequate language abilities of the authorities’ staff through appropriate training and recruitment criteria. Articles 34 and 35 (in Title IV of the Act, covering the normalisation function of the authorities) stress their responsibility to ensure the use of the Catalan language in


4.3.3 The Balearic Islands



all administrative functions and activities, by including express reference to knowledge of the Catalan language in job advertisements and guaranteeing the teaching of Catalan to all staff.36 Use of the official languages by the Balearic Islands’ authorities is governed by Decree 100/1990,37 which stipulates the normal use of Catalan in oral communications with the public, whilst respecting their right to choose their language (Art. 3), and the use of Catalan by office holders of the authorities in their public speeches (Art. 4). Signage must also be in Catalan (in first place if the use of other languages is required, Arts. 7 and 8). With regard to written communications with the public, Article 13 of the Decree stipulates that, within Catalan-speaking territory, communications and notifications addressed to individuals and legal entities shall be in Catalan, without prejudice to the public’s right to receive them in Castilian if they so request. The authorities accept the use of either official language in communications addressed to them (Art. 14). Forms are made available in a Catalan version, while individuals may complete them in Castilian; Castilian versions are also available (Art. 15). If the forms have to be effective outside the Balearic Islands or other reasons so justify, a double Catalan/Castilian version shall be produced, with Catalan coming first (Art. 16). Authentications of case documentation shall normally be in Catalan, but shall be in Spanish if the interested party so requests (Art. 18).38 The regulations of the authorities shall be published in Catalan, attaching a Castilian version when deemed fit (Art. 19). In fact, the autonomous community’s official journal is published in a double Catalan/Castilian version. In other non-official communications, the habitual or preferential use of Catalan is also established – in magazines, posters, publications, sponsored radio and television programmes, notices and announcements, etc. (Arts. 21 and 22) – although versions in other languages may be produced with due cause. Articles 24–27 of this decree establish some general provisions for the language regime of staff, with the aim of ensuring they have sufficient language abilities to carry out their duties, but they do so in very general terms.39 Fluctuating requirements for knowing Catalan in public authority staff recruitment processes have been one of the clearest signs of the opposing stances of the conservative governments of the People’s Party40 and the brief periods of centre-left government.41 In this context, both the Island councils and most local councils have adopted regulations inspired by Decree 100/1990 (Segura-Ginard


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the use of the Catalan language in the Balearic Islands’ local authorities (municipalities and Island Councils) does not fully correspond to its statutory and legal nature as an ‘own language’ [. . .]. Despite a significant presence of Catalan, written and oral practices reflect a fairly high degree of Castilianisation or, in the best of cases, of bilingualisation, in these authorities. Once again, the differences tend to be due to the political leanings of each local council.

4.4 Catalan as the sole official language: the case of Andorra In Andorra, Catalan is the official language of the state (Art. 2.1 of the 1993 Constitution). The 1999 Official Language Usage Management Act details the language regime for communications between the authorities and the public.42 The goals of the Act (set out in Art. 2) include the official use of Catalan (Section a) and preserving and guaranteeing the general use of Catalan in all areas of public importance (Section d). Article 3, which details general language-related rights, states that ‘Everyone has the right to be dealt with and replied to in Catalan in their oral and written relations with any public authority and the entities and bodies reporting to it; with the healthcare and social services.’ Additionally, Article 4 indicates that all Andorrans have the duty of understanding the Catalan language and using it in the cases contemplated by law. Title I of the Act, entitled ‘The Official Language’, specifies (in Art. 8) that: Catalan is the language employed by all of Andorra’s public institutions, in accordance with the law. It is also the language of public companies and all those enterprises or entities in which the public authorities hold a stake. It is therefore the language of:


2005: 120) and normally use Catalan in their communications with the public. Nevertheless, as Pons and Vila (2005: 97) point out,

a) Laws, regulations and all other official texts; of all administrative and judicial activities and, in general, of the authorities, public companies and para-public entities.



b) All documents issued by the Andorran public authorities. c) The oral relations of the public authorities, without prejudice to the use of other languages with regard to foreigners who do not understand Catalan. d) Public documentation. e) Entries in public registries and documents that are recorded therein or issued thereby, with the legally authorised exceptions. f) Official Andorran stamped papers and forms. Exceptionally, the authorities may issue multilingual forms in addition to Catalan, after the compulsory report from the Ministry in charge of language policy. g) All letters, plans, budgets and documents in general addressed to any Andorran authority. In the case of reasonable difficulties in submitting the documents in the official language, the relevant authority may dispense with this obligation, unless it is planned to make them public.

2. The preceding paragraphs are not applicable to foreign relations, which shall be governed by international regulations. In these relations, the Andorran authorities must undertake to use the formula of having a version in the Catalan language, written on official paper, and its corresponding translation, written on white paper. The version in the Catalan language is the only one to be signed and stamped.

Similarly, it governs the use of Catalan by companies working for the public authorities (Art. 9):

1. Companies awarded contracts by the public authorities must use Catalan in all matters related to the performance of the contract. 2. Similarly, other companies or entities that establish any agreement or collaboration with the public authorities must use Catalan in all matters related to the agreement or collaboration.


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3. In the terms, clauses, agreements, specification sheets and other documents governing concessions, the public authorities must include the proper stipulations to implement the preceding sections.


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Additionally, Articles 10 and 11 contemplate recruitment and training systems for public authority staff to ensure their knowledge of the official language and that it is correctly used.43 Other articles of the Act cover more specific issues. Article 14 establishes the official nature of the Catalan version of toponyms and their use in signage, advertising, labelling, documentation and other public authority uses; Article 18 guarantees the knowledge and use of Catalan by social facility staff – while allowing the use of other languages when necessary; and Article 19 establishes the use of Catalan in public transport – in forms, notices and communications both internal and with users, verbal and written, again while allowing the use of other languages when providing individualised services for users. This Act obliges the government to oversee the use of the official language (Art. 32.1) and charges the ministry in charge of language policy with the coordination of the sectoral responsibilities of other ministries in this matter and the monitoring of language-related actions carried out by other authorities (Art. 32.2). Article 35 details the forms and purposes of this coordination and contemplates complementary systems of coordination between the public authorities. The system of penalties contemplated by the Act in Title VI defines infringements of the aforementioned articles as serious (except with regard to Art. 14.2, which is considered minor) and these, in the case of activities subsidised or financed by the authorities, can lead to their suspension and reimbursement (Art. 38.3). Consequently, the Andorran authorities in general, both state and local (the comuns) use Catalan almost exclusively in written relations with the public, and on a clearly predominant basis in oral relations, even if the latter allow for the use of other languages with foreigners who do not understand the official language (Pons and Vila 2005: 96). The scale of the immigrant and foreign population exerts constant pressure towards a change in language (Pons and Vila 2005: 110) and though documents addressed by the public to the authorities must be written in Catalan, when there are reasonable difficulties in doing so, the authorities may dispense with this requirement when said documents need not be made public. Pons and Vila (2005: 129) provide a graph summarising trends in language use in the Andorran public authorities between 1995 and 1999, displayed here in tabular format (Table 4.1). As they stress (ibid: 133), the increase in the use of Catalan was highly significant, despite the arrival of many people who do not understand the official language.


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Table 4.1 Development in the use of languages with the public authorities between 1995 and 1999 in Andorra (%)

Always in Catalan In Catalan and Spanish Always in Spanish Always in French Other situations

Spoke in

1995 in . . .

1999 in . . .

1995 in . . .

1999 in . . .

80.5 6.8 8.7 2.2 1.9

82.9 9.9 4.2 0.4 2.6

72.7 3.1 19.1 3.0 2.1

69.7 14.5 11.1 1.1 3.6

Source: Pons and Vila (2005, Graph 14, p. 129).

4.5 Relations with Spanish state institutions44 In a system of division of powers between the state and sub-state authorities – as is the case with Spain’s ‘state of the autonomies’ – the possibility of using official languages in relations between the public and authorities reporting to the state is clearly of considerable importance, alongside the examples analysed until now with regard to regional and local authorities. When talking about state bodies, a distinction needs to be drawn between central or general state bodies – its central legislative, executive and judicial bodies – and the territorial administration of the state, i.e. the administrative bodies located in areas with two official languages. Furthermore, the courts, with their self-organising capacity, merit separate consideration. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 makes Castilian the sole official language of the Spanish state (Art. 3.1), thereby granting it a legal status above that of other Spanish languages declared official by their respective statutes (Art. 3.2). As noted by Pons and Vila (2005: 30), ‘the constitutional text thus implements an unequal plurilinguistic model, in which neither Catalan nor other languages than Castilian are the object of specific recognition’. Official recognition of these other languages ‘is territorially limited to their respective autonomous communities, whilst there is no territorial limitation for Castilian in the State as a whole’. Nevertheless, as noted by some studies (Vernet 2003: 39), ‘the declaration of a language as official does not mean that languages not declared as official cannot enjoy certain official usages, even outside their areas of greatest use’. Their use in institutions outside their own territories will therefore depend on the level of political will.


Served in


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The current situation regarding the use of official languages other than Castilian in central Spanish state institutions clearly demonstrates the lack of political will to progress towards linguistic pluralism: 30 years after the enactment of the Constitution (which was, by the way, distributed in all the languages of Spain before the referendum to ratify it, on 6 December 1978), the presence of Catalan in the central bodies of the state is non-existent or merely token (Pons and Vila 2005: 120).45 This situation often forces people to translate documents that have to be effective outside their autonomous community into Castilian, and thus Spain’s linguistic model ‘cannot by any means be classed as linguistic federalism, since such a model – in force in Canada, Belgium and Switzerland, amongst other examples – recognises all official languages at state level’ (Pons and Vila 2005: 120). 4.5.1 Parliamentary bodies In the Cortes Generales (the Spanish Parliament), Castilian is the only working language of all its internal bodies and, prior to 2005, no language other than Castilian could be employed, except for three cases: • In the first speech by the Senate Speaker before the house • In the special session on the state of autonomies, which is meant to be held every year inside the Senate’s General Commission of the Autonomies46 • In documents addressed to the Senate by citizens and institutions The 2005 Reform of the Senate Regulations (BOE – Spain’s official journal – of 5 July) broadened this possibility to include all the sessions of the General Commission of the Autonomies (although the Diario de Sesiones – Spain’s Hansard – will have to include a version in Castilian alongside the original) and the submission of motions, interpellations and questions before the Senate (again, the Castilian version will have to be attached). In the lower house, the Congress of Deputies, which is the decisionmaking body in parliamentary procedures, not even these restrictive possibilities have been opened up, despite insistent demands by some political parties and repeated interventions in Catalan by some MPs, which are always stopped by the Speaker. The same attitude of restriction and subordination is present in the limited possibility of publishing laws and general provisions in official


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languages other than Castilian, opened up by Royal Decree 489/1997, which to start with still calls these languages ‘vernaculars’. As Pons and Vila (2005: 123) highlight, these versions in Catalan do not have complete official validity, exclude laws prior to 1998 and lower-category provisions, are published up to six months late and appear in separate versions for Valencian and Catalan, as if they were different languages. 4.5.2 Executive bodies With regard to the government and central authorities of the state, legislation continues to confirm Castilian’s position as the sole language of internal workings and relations with the public. So, the Public Authorities and Common Administrative Proceedings Act 30/1992, of 28 February, establishes the duty to translate documents and case documentation which must have effect outside of the autonomous community, the costs of which are to be borne by the issuing authority (Art. 36.3). (Pons and Vila 2005: 121) Also highly significant is the host of difficulties that held up versions of state-issued identity documents (ID card, driving licence, etc.) being in official languages other than Castilian. A bilingual version of the ID card was not achieved until 2004, but is issued only in territories with two official languages and reserving pride of place for Castilian (Pons and Vila 2005: 122). The Right to Petition Act 4/2001 opened up the possibility of the public using any official language to address central institutions, but foresees that the state’s peripheral administration will translate such communications. More recently, Royal Decree 905/2007 created the Council for Official Languages and the Office for Official Languages, new bodies charged with coordinating and promoting the use by Spanish state authorities of the official languages of the autonomous communities and also with promoting respect for plurilingualism in society. The first, constitutive, meeting of the Council for Official Languages did not take place until six months after its creation and, surprisingly, gave a highly positive assessment of compliance with language-related regulations.47 The most important item on the agenda was improving computerised translation systems. The Office for Official Languages was also charged with updating the evaluation of the level of compliance with current language


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regulations, through a questionnaire to be sent to government representative offices in autonomous communities with two official languages, covering the availability of normalised documents, signs, road signposting, informational posters and the ability of staff to deal with the public in the respective official language. The Citizens’ E-Access to Public Services Act 11/2007 extends to the electronic media the right to use official languages established by Act 30/1992, but only from 31 December 2009 and provided that resources are available. After 30 years of official languages, there are still important limitations on communication between the public and the Spanish state authorities in official languages other than Castilian.

4.5.3 The Spanish state’s territorial administration Castilian is the normal working language of the Spanish state’s territorial administration wherever Catalan is official and, particularly in some areas of the administration and in some territories, the public faces considerable difficulties when trying to deal with them in Catalan. As Pons and Vila (2005: 111) note, Spanish state legislation does not respect the authority of autonomous community language-related law, despite the Constitutional Court acknowledging the autonomous communities’ powers to govern the principle of twin official languages in all public authorities, and Spanish state agencies do not respect the public’s right to communicate normally with them in Catalan. Articles 35 and 36 of Spain’s (i.e. state-wide) Public Authorities and Common Administrative Proceedings Legal Regime Act 30/1992 acknowledge the public’s right to use the relevant official languages, as does Article 10 of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, which has been adopted by Spain, but the normal language of communications of the Spanish state’s territorial administration is Castilian, even though Spanish state regulations contemplate the use of bilingual forms and documents. Only electoral documentation makes systematic use of both languages. According to the EULIP study for 2004, the percentage figures for the use of official languages in Catalonia were as shown in Table 4.2. The implementation (or lack thereof) of the principle of staff’s language skills provides a good example of the lack of concern about the official use of Catalan with the public. The Public Function Reform Measures Act 30/1984 obliges the authorities to recruit civil servants with abilities in both official languages, but the requirements for most civil service jobs fail to test applicants’ language skills. Lack of compliance with the


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Catalan Spanish Others Basis

Signage

General written communications

Oral communications

Personalised written communications

42.3 53.8 3.9 26

36.3 63.7 0 26

47.4 52.6 0 23

29.8 70.2 0 25

1990 Order of the Ministry of Public Administrations on regulations for job recruitment requirements regarding proficiency in the official languages was so widespread that, in 2003, less than half the selection processes included any accreditation of Catalan competence (Pons and Vila 2005: 112). The result, in practice, of this policy is that Catalan speakers either waive their language rights or their attempts to have them respected end up in personal disputes with the civil servant dealing with them. Pons and Vila (2005: 113ff.) give a number of examples of the areas in which non-compliance with the legal framework is most flagrant: • The State Attorney’s Office requires documents to be translated into Castilian. • Spanish state registries frequently ignore the official nature of Catalan. It remains to be seen how effective Act 12/2005 is: it allows the use of the official languages of autonomous communities in civil registers. • The police, the security forces and military authorities have almost no knowledge of Catalan.48 • Catalan personal and place names are often Castilianised, despite accreditation of the official nature of their Catalan version. • Public announcements and information are often in Castilian only. • Public service companies owned by the Spanish state or governed by Spanish-state regulations often ignore the official nature of Catalan, or make a minimal use thereof, such that their staff and hotlines often do not facilitate the use of Catalan by their customers or clients. The privatisation of public services without a Spanish state-wide regulation establishing respect for the use of official languages often means a step backwards in this regard. The state post and telegraph company changed its name in 2003 from that in the four official


Table 4.2 Language used in documents and communications by the central authorities, 2004 (%)


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4.5.4 The courts The possibility of using Catalan in relations between the public and central jurisdictional bodies is also very limited. The Constitutional Court requires the use of Castilian in suits and only randomly accepts the inclusion of the odd document in Catalan. In its rulings, the Supreme Court has even regarded as anomalous the fact that a case file includes documents in Catalan, once again stressing Castilian’s position as the sole, exclusive official language in its activities. The General Council of the Judiciary – Spain’s highest judicial governing body – has shown itself as barely respectful of plurilingualism – quashing in June 2004 the warning penalty issued by the Catalan High Court against a judge from Gavà for not admitting in Catalonia a document written in Catalan, which is against the law (being a breach of public duties), or by opposing the language knowledge requirements for judges working in territories with two official languages (Pons and Vila 2005: 122). No wonder that Pons and Vila (2005: 115) describe the courts as ‘a sector that is impregnable to language normalisation’. Far from zealously protecting the language rights of all citizens and scrupulously guaranteeing compliance with language-related legislation, as might be expected, ‘the courts have, for a long time and in many ways helped protect the position of monolingual Castilian speakers, so that they feel free to advance their career throughout the Spanish state under no pressure to learn the language of their place of work’ (Pons and Vila, ibid.) Article 231 of the Judiciary Act 6/1985 contains the entitlement to use the official languages of the autonomous communities, despite the habitual use of Castilian as the language of proceedings, but this possibility depends upon the discretional assessment of judges to ensure that the right to a proper defence is not infringed in any part of the proceedings. The result is that the public can only very rarely use Catalan before the courts. As Pons and Vila (2005: 116) note, these obstacles are in contrast with the provisions of Article 9 of the European Charter for Regional


languages and adopted the Castilian one – Correos y Telégrafos – exclusively, alleging that it was a brand name. Given its repeated lack of respect for the public’s language rights, in 2004, the Generalitat de Catalunya gave it a ¤30,000 fine (the largest to date) for breaching language legislation.



or Minority Languages, which obliges the Spanish state to guarantee that jurisdictional bodies carry out, at the request of one of the parties, civil, criminal and administrative proceedings in Catalan. Initiatives by Catalan lawyers demanding the application of this article have made clear the opposing attitude of the courts. Rulings by Spain’s Constitutional and Supreme courts already significantly limit the right to use Catalan, since this does not include the right to see statements gathered in said language, nor to be heard by a judicial body without an interpreter or, as mentioned above, the possibility of using Catalan before central jurisdictional bodies (Pons and Vila 2005: 117). So in judicial practice there are repeated and direct violations of legally recognised language rights. In 2004, several courts in Catalonia ordered the translation into Castilian of suits lodged in Catalan, or prevented people from making statements in Catalan (Pons and Vila 2005: 117). Members of the public dealing with the courts, and court officials themselves, do not clearly understand their rights, or fear that demanding them would be prejudicial to their interests. The lack of knowledge of Catalan on the part of the judicial authority staff 30 years after Catalan became an official language is yet another incomprehensible difficulty blocking the normal use of Catalan in dealings with the public. The legislation of Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands establishes that knowledge of their ‘own’ official language will be considered a merit in awarding positions as judges and magistrates, but this does not guarantee any real knowledge or subsequent use of the language: instead, it is usually taken advantage of merely to gain easier access to a particular post. Moreover, acknowledgement of this merit is frequently challenged before the courts, and often rejected by them, on the basis that knowledge of the official language being considered a merit is disproportionate. The General Council of the Judiciary itself has not taken into consideration knowledge of Catalan in some of its recruitment procedures (Pons and Vila 2005: 117–18). A bill submitted before the Spanish Parliament on 2 April 2004 by its Catalan counterpart, to amend the Judiciary Act to include the duty of judges working in Catalonia to know its own language and laws, was rejected by the General Council of the Judiciary as unconstitutional, stating that judges and magistrates formed a single national body and language skills could only be regarded as a non-determinant merit (Pons and Vila 2005: 118). Only in the case of staff of judicial offices under the power of the autonomous communities can knowledge of Catalan be considered a requirement (Act 19/2003). In Catalonia, the support of


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Isidor Marí Mayans Rulings in the courts of Catalonia, by language, 2000–6

Year

Total rulings

Rulings in Castilian

Rulings in Catalan

% rulings in Catalan

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

206,311 192,289 195,736 204,785 206,493 216,858 216,311

203,715 180,400 169,630 169,780 163,896 173,245 177,086

2,596 11,889 26,106 35,005 42,597 43,613 39,225

1.26 6.18 13.34 17.09 20.63 20.11 18.13

the Catalan government has ensured the presence of Catalan in a small number of rulings, but the trend is not clearly positive, as shown in the 2006 Catalan Ministry of Justice report (Table 4.3). In the Balearic Islands, Catalan is used even less before the courts while in the Autonomous Community of Valencia, the position of the Catalan language within the judiciary is one of absolute lack of protection (despite the provisions of Article 12 of the Use and Teaching of Valencian Act), which, in practice, makes practically impossible its use by the judiciary and the public, and it is very difficult to find any ruling written in Valencian. (Pons and Vila 2005: 120) The passing of the new Statutes of Autonomy has not changed the situation substantially. As we shall see below, the implementation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is an area in which the Spanish state most flagrantly breaches its undertakings.

4.6 Supranational institutions 4.6.1 The Council of Europe In 2001, the Spanish state ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, specifying in the ratification instrument (BOE no. 222, of 15 September) that it defined regional or minority languages as those recognised as official in its statutes of autonomy and also those protected and covered by the statutes in their respective territories. However, the protection that the Spanish state undertakes to provide in the first and second cases is different. We have already noted how, in situations in which Catalan is not official in nature, the vagueness of the


Table 4.3

109



undertaking adopted by the Spanish state (‘all those provisions of Part III of the Charter that can reasonably be applied in accordance with the objectives and principles established in Article 7 shall be applied’) has no practical effectiveness. In autonomous communities in which Catalan is official, the Spanish state’s undertakings with regard to Articles 9 and 10 of the Charter, relating (respectively) to the courts and the administrative authorities and public services (and thus related to our topic), are as follows: Article 9: • Paragraph 1, Sections a.i; a.ii; a.iii; a.iv; b.i; b.ii; b.iii; c.i; c.ii; c.iii; d. • Paragraph 2, Section a. • Paragraph 3 Article 10: • • • • •

Paragraph 1, Sections a.i; b, c. Paragraph 2, Sections a, b, c, d, e, f, g. Paragraph 3, Sections a, b. Paragraph 4, Sections a, b, c. Paragraph 5.

In reaction to the first report of the Spanish government on the implementation of the Charter, a range of Catalan organisations, including the Council of Catalan Lawyers’ Institutes, the Balearic Institute of Lawyers and the Catalan Language Observatory, published reports making clear some important breaches. Recommendation RecChL (2005) 3 of the Committee of Ministers to the Spanish government49 strongly recommends (in Points 1 and 2) that an adequate proportion of court staff posted in the autonomous communities have working knowledge of the official languages, and that the protection of Aragonese and Catalan in Aragon be strengthened, with the appropriate legal framework (Point 6). The second report was submitted in April 2007, and Recommendation RecChL(2008)5, adopted on 10 December 2008 was largely a repetition. Violations of language rights by the authorities reported to the Spanish state normally go unnoticed (Pons and Vila 2005: 131–2), but they are often coercive and vexatious in nature, and even at times violent. In some of these cases, the authorities apologised and promised


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that such incidents would not reoccur, but there has been little real change.

In 2004, the proposal for the European Constitution led to renewed demands for Catalan to become an official language. Demands have been frequent, ever since Spain joined the European Community in 1986. The petition for it to become an official language, submitted by the Balearic and Catalan parliaments in 1987 and 1988, with widespread popular support, led to Resolution 1235/90 of the European Parliament, which just requested, amongst other measures, that the Council and Commission publish the Community’s treaties and basic texts in Catalan, the use of Catalan for disseminating public information concerning the European institutions, the use of Catalan by the Commission’s offices in its written and oral dealings with the public in the autonomous communities in question. It noted that Catalan could already be used by witnesses and experts in the European Court of Justice. The Catalan and Balearic parliaments repeated their demand for Catalan to become official in resolutions in 2001 and 2002, again without achieving the desired result. The Catalan Convention for debate on the future of the European Union, which involved a broad swathe of Catalan civil society, again made the demand in 2003, on the basis that languages that were official in their territory and that had more speakers than those of some member states also deserved to be official EU languages. As Pons and Vila (2005: 124) note, at the EU summit held in [Thessalonika on June 19–20] 2003, the more than 100,000 messages sent to the then Presidency meant that the request for Catalan to be made an official language was the subject that most European citizens requested be dealt with (at over 90% of all messages received), but the Spanish Prime Minister (José María Aznar) and the French President (Jacques Chirac) disdainfully ignored the subject, which was not debated at the summit’s sessions. Despite the change in power after the 2004 elections, in the drafting of the (later thwarted) Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, the new Spanish government only managed to achieve Council Conclusion 2005/C 148/01, of 13 June, which opened up the possibility that languages recognised in their Member State Constitution could be used by


4.6.2 The European Union



the public in relations with European institutions, provided the relevant Member State established arrangements to this end with each of the institutions, and bore the cost of any translations. Spain has arrangements with the Council,50 the Committee of the Regions,51 with the Economic and Social Committee,52 with the Commission53 and with the European Ombudsman, all of which allow the public to address these institutions in Catalan and to receive a reply in the same language, by means of translation services provided by the Spanish government. Nevertheless, this possibility is little known by the public: indeed, the documentation available on the European Ombudsman’s website on procedures for making complaints makes no reference to the possibility of using Catalan. And the European Parliament, apparently due to the opposition of the Spanish right, has not accepted an arrangement similar to that reached with the other institutions, and agreed only after long negotiations to accept communications from citizens in the official languages of Spain. As a result Catalan is scarcely used in relations with European institutions, and this lack of complete recognition makes Catalan less than fully official in its own territory. This situation of inequality and exclusion has led to growing Euroscepticism in the Catalan-speaking territories, who had always supported European integration in the hope that it would nudge the Spanish state towards egalitarian plurilingualism.

4.7 Some conclusions Given the different situations the Catalan language faces in each of the territories in which it is spoken, it can be seen that: • It is only in the small country of Andorra, where Catalan is the sole official language, that it can be used in relations between the public and the authorities without limitation. • In areas in which it is one of two official languages, when the autonomous community authorities decisively promote the official use of Catalan, the public can make normal use of it in their relations with local and autonomous community authorities, but not with Spanish state ones, especially the courts. If the autonomous community offers insufficient support, as particularly occurs in Valencia, the public finds it hard to use Catalan even before the local and autonomous community authorities, and all the more so before central state bodies.


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• Where Catalan has no official status, there is no guarantee the public can use it before any authority. • The possibility of using Catalan before the general institutions of the state is very limited in Spain and non-existent in Italy and France. • European institutions allow the public to address communications to them in Catalan, but keep Catalan in an unequal and democratically unjustifiable position of official exclusion. • In all these deficiencies, the position of the Spanish state is decisive: – The limitations on using Catalan before general Spanish state institutions are a pretext for not giving Catalan full official status in European institutions. – The flagrant insufficiencies of the territorial administration of the Spanish state and of its courts regarding citizens’ language rights lead to a combined situation of inhibition and conflict, which damages social confidence in one’s ‘own’ language. – The Spanish state authorities not only do not favour the adoption of unitary criteria as regard the administrative use of Catalan, but often hold ambiguous positions with regard to the unity of the Catalan language, presenting Valencian as if it was a different language, ignoring the fact that even the Valencian Academy of Language acknowledges that Valencian is a variety of Catalan. The importance of institutional use for the social prestige of a language calls for an effort on the part of all authorities to progress in the official recognition of Catalan and in the possibility of using it before all the authorities that cover this linguistic community. The severe limitations still to be found in some territories amount to a serious obstacle to citizens’ free choice of language and may induce them to abandon Catalan and not to pass it on to their offspring. Finally, the increase in societal linguistic diversity caused by the arrival of large numbers of immigrants in the Catalan-speaking area, where the rates of immigration are well above the Spanish and European averages, is yet another challenge. Both local and regional (‘autonomous’) authorities have begun to adopt measures to receive these new citizens, including the opportunity of learning the two official languages. In public educational, health or social assistance services, measures to accommodate as far as is reasonable to cultural diversity have also been adopted; they include printed information in a variety of languages and the incorporation of intercultural mediators and/or telephone interpretation systems, to facilitate communication between


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Notes 1. Cf. Section 3.2.2 for a general overview of Catalan minority protection in Italy. 2. Passed in deliberation No. 91 of the Plenary Session of the Municipal Council on 11 October 1991, with subsequent modifications in 1992. 3. Downloadable in Catalan (http://www.ciutatdelalguer.it/statuto.pdf) from the l’Alguer Municipal Council website (http://www.ciutatdelalguer.it/ comune_alghero.htm, accessed in June 2008). This Catalan version of the municipal website is a result of the desire to use Catalan in communications with the public, but also of the influx of tourists from other Catalan-speaking regions. 4. Section 23.4 details the requirement for the authorities to come into line with this provision: ‘Within one year of the entry into force of this law, these authorities shall bring the affected structures into line with the practical requirements arising from aforementioned purpose, employing to this end refresher and skills courses that the regional authorities create up within three months of the same date.’ 5. Consultable online at: http://www.ciemen.org/mercator/butlletins/38-04. htm (accessed in June 2008). 6. Cf. Section 3.2.3 for a more detailed overview of language policy in France. 7. http://www.mairie-perpignan.fr/index.php?andlg=CA (accessed in June 2008). 8. http://www.mairie-perpignan.fr/index.php?np=2andlg=CA (accessed in June 2008). 9. http://www.mairie-perpignan.fr/index.php?np=1328 (accessed in June 2008). 10. http://www.mairie-perpignan.fr/pdf/mairiesentier.pdf (accessed in June 2008). 11. More recently, on 10 June 2010, the Perpignan City Council passed a Municipal Charter for the Catalan Language, stating that every municipal service must use Catalan when communicating with the citizens (Art. 3). See http://www.vilaweb.cat/media/continguts/000/010/107/107.pdf (accessed June 2010). 12. Consultable online: http://www.cg66.fr/culture/patrimoine_catalanite/ catalanite/charte.html (accessed in June 2008). 13. Murcia’s Statute of Autonomy only mentions (in Art. 8) general protection for cultural peculiarities and tradition. See also Section 3.2.4. 14. In said declaration, the majority of municipalities of la Franja demanded a legal framework that would make possible the normal administrative use and teaching of Catalan. 15. LEY 10/2009, de 22 de diciembre, de uso, protección y promoción de las lenguas propias de Aragón. Boletín Oficial de Aragón n. 252 (30/12/2009). http://www.consello.org/pdf/lailuengas_boa.pdf (accessed June 2010).


the new citizens and public bodies.54 This trend will doubtless become generalised and systematic in coming years, as in other countries that receive immigration.


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16. Article 7 of this new Statute once again failed to mention the names of the languages and repeated in 7.2 the undertaking to put a Languages Act before the Aragonese Parliament. 17. Decree 206/2003. 18. Aragon’s Ombudsman is surely the only institution in the autonomous community with which the public can use Catalan. 19. A broader view of legislation on Castilian and Catalan as official languages is offered in Chapter 3. 20. As explained in other chapters of this book (Chapter 2 for instance), the consideration of Catalan as the society’s ‘own’ language is close to the concept of national or territorial language, stressing its historical links to the Catalan-speaking community. 21. Other articles of the Act detail specific aspects of the public use of the official languages. For example, Article 12 establishes that the Catalan form of toponyms is the only official one in Catalan-speaking territory (in the Vall d’Aran, the Occitan one will be) and their use in signing. Article 13 obliges public enterprises to guarantee that their staff have the necessary knowledge of Catalan to provide their service. Title IV, on institutional support, stresses the need to ensure that public authorities’ staff learn Catalan. Some transitional provisions establish a period of two years for the authorities to come into line with the obligations established. 22. Some other points of the 1998 Language Policy Act are worthy of comment. Article 10 specifies the use of the official languages in administrative procedures, in which the Catalan authorities use Catalan, without prejudice to the right of the public to submit documents, make declarations and, if they so request, receive notifications in Castilian. Article 11 establishes the language ability criteria for staff at the service of the Catalan authorities in fairly precise terms. Articles 12 and 13 again confirm the right of the public to deal, orally or in writing, in either of the two official languages with the Spanish state and courts, with full validity, without any delay or requirement for translation. Articles 14 and 15 govern language options in the drawing up of public deeds and civil or trading documents. Article 17 covers public registries. Articles 18 and 19 detail the official nature of toponyms and anthroponyms in Catalan, and so forth. 23. Decrees 254/1987, 161/2002 and 162/2002. 24. The next section of this chapter is devoted to the special regime of the Vall d’Aran and the origin of this Occitan variety. 25. The Generalitat report on language policy for 2003 counted 33,305 staff members who had accredited knowledge of Catalan, out of a total of 40,803. 26. See an introduction to this in Castaño and Solé (2005). 27. Article 6.5 adds: ‘The Occitan language, called Aranese in Aran, is the own language of this territory and official in Catalonia, in accordance with the provisions of this Statute and language normalisation laws.’ Article 11.2 confirms acknowledgement of the unique position of the Aranese language and of the specific regime governing it. 28. Article 50.5 again stresses the Generalitat’s mandate, local authorities and other public corporations in Catalonia, institutions and companies reporting


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29.

30. 31.

32.

33.

34.

35. 36.

37. 38.

39.

Democratic Policies for Language Revitalisation to them and concessionaires of their services, to employ Catalan in their communications and notifications addressed to individuals or legal entities resident in Catalonia, without prejudice to the right of the public to receive them in Castilian if they so request. One should note the express recognition of the unity of the language on the part of the Valencian Academy of the Language, which the Statute itself (in Art. 6.8) recognises as the standards-setting body. See the 2005 Accord on the name and the entity of the language: http://www.avl.gva. es/img/EdicionsPublicacions/AcordsGenerals/NOMENTITAT.pdf (accessed in June 2008). Consultable online at: http://www.gva.es/cidaj/val/v-normas/4-1983.htm (accessed in June 2008). This was noted by Valencian MP Glòria Marcos (in the newspaper Levante of 12 September 2007) after she herself had received a reply in Castilian to a question in Valencian addressed to the Valencian government’s Department of Economy, Finance and Employment. In 2005, the Valencian Municipal Council itself updated the regulations it had passed in 1996. See: http://www.valencia.es/twav/ordenanzas. nsf/vCategoriasv/0678F746AFEAA382C12571A90040716B/$file/R_us%20 valencia.pdf?openElementandlang=2andnivel=4 (accessed in June 2008). Governed, in addition to the Valencian Use and Teaching Act of 1983, by the Legislative Decree of 24 October 1995, which approved the reworded text of the Valencian Public Function Act. Transitional Disposition Two also makes reference to knowledge of Catalan of staff working for the public administration, albeit in non-specific terms. Accessible online: http://dgpoling.caib.es/user/menuweb/cursos/recull%20 de%20normativa/llei3-1986.pdf (accessed in June 2008). As can be seen, this framework is fairly similar to that of the Autonomous Community of Valencia, but with a more specific mandate for action on the part of the public authorities. Transitional Disposition One even sets a deadline of three years for the authorities to ensure that they implement effective use of Catalan. Consultable online: http://www.caib.es/sacmicrofront/archivopub.do?ctrl= MCRST90ZI28580andid=28580 (accessed in June 2008). Act 3/2003, of 26 March, on the legal regime of the administration of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands, confirms the criteria of the normal use of Catalan in communications and notifications addressed to individuals or legal entities resident in Catalan-speaking territories, without prejudice to their right to receive them in Castilian, should they so request (Art. 43.1). Shortly before, Act 2/1989, on the public function of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands, had established (in Art. 45) that, in the job application tests for public authority staff, there was a need to accredit oral and written knowledge of Catalan proportional to the nature of the duties to be carried out in each case. Nevertheless, there was no specification of the nature of the accreditation, nor whether the level of ability to be accredited was a requirement or would be considered a merit. Similarly, civil servants transferred from other authorities who did not accredit knowledge


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40. 41.

42. 43.

44. 45.

46. 47.

48.

49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54.

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of Catalan only had a commitment to accredit it subsequently. This explains why, as pointed out by Pons and Vila (2005: 105), the most significant problems in the use of Catalan in relations with the authority arise in the areas of health and employment, which were transferred by the Spanish state to the autonomous community in 2002. From 1983 to 1999 and from 2003 to 2007. From 1999 to 2003 and from 2007 to date, the Balearic Islands have been governed by left-wing and centrist parties, which are more in favour of the use of Catalan. Decree 25/2001 established, after laxer regulation by the preceding conservative government (Decree 132/1996), precise and consistent regulations on the levels of Catalan required in each particular case. When the conservatives again returned to power, Decree 162/2003 went back to a laxer system of language requirements, which was also clear in Decree 176/2003, which was challenged before the courts and quashed by a ruling of the Balearic High Court (Segura-Ginard 2005: 122). Currently, the centre-left coalition, in power since 2007, is contemplating returning to the criteria it had previously upheld. Act 2/2007, on the public function of Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands, does not specify what the level of language knowledge must be nor the methods of accrediting it. A broader view of Andorran legislation is offered in Section 3.2.1. Transitional Disposition One of the Act also contemplates the immediate organisation of courses for public authority staff who have direct relations with the public and who do not have sufficient knowledge of Catalan. Cf. Chapter 3 for a general comment on language legislation in Spain. This attitude, as Pons and Vila (2005: 120) note, is counter to Article 9.2 of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, signed by Spain, which undertakes ‘not to deny the validity of legal documents drawn up within the State solely because they are drafted in a regional or minority language’. The only occasion on which the use of other official Spanish languages is permitted (Pons and Vila 2005: 121). This is stated in the official press release on the meeting: http://www.map. es/prensa/notas_de_prensa/notas/2008/01/20080128.html (accessed in June 2008). Despite the fact that, in this latter case, Order 35/1987 governs the use of the official languages of the autonomous communities in relations with the military authorities and lays down that the public may communicate therewith, orally or in writing, in the official language of their choice. http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/minlang/Report/Recommendations/ SpainCMRec1_en.pdf (accessed in June 2008). Arrangement 2006/C 40/02. Arrangement of 16 November 2005. Arrangement of 7 June 2006. Arrangement 2006/C 73/06. In Catalonia, apart from the programmes of intercultural education, students who are interested are also offered the opportunity to learn some of the languages most widely spoken by the new citizens.


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Caria, R. (2006). El català a l’Alguer: apunts per a un llibre blanc. Revista de Llengua i Dret, 46 (2006). Castaño, J. and Solé, J. (2005). Enquesta sobre usos lingüístics a institucions públiques (EULIP). Llengua i Ús, No. 32 (2005). Consultable online: http:// www6.gencat.cat/llengcat/liu/32_519.pdf (accessed in June 2010). EULIP (2004). Estadística d’usos lingüístics a institucions públiques 2004. Dades sintètiques. Generalitat de Catalunya: Secretaria de Política Lingüística. Available online: http://www20.gencat.cat/docs/Llengcat/Documents/Dades%20origen %20territori%20i%20poblacio/Altres/Arxius/est2004_eulip.pdf (accessed in June 2010). Pons, E. and Vila, F. X. (2005). Informe sobre la situació de la llengua catalana (2003–2004). Barcelona: Observatori de la Llengua Catalana. Available online: http://www.observatoridelallengua.cat/arxius_documents/informe6_ok.pdf (accessed in June 2010). Secretaria de Política Lingüística (2007). Informe de política lingüística 2006. Generalitat de Catalunya: Secretaria de Política Lingüística. See particularly Chapter VII, L’ús del català a les administracions de Catalunya. Segura-Ginard, Lluís J. (2005). ‘Introducció al marc legal de la llengua catalana a les Illes Balears’. Treballs de Sociolingüística Catalana, 18: 117–27. Vernet, J. (coord.) (2003). Dret Lingüístic. Valls: Cossetània.


References


5

F. Xavier Vila i Moreno University of Barcelona

Pero España no tiene política lingüística. Tiene, hasta cierto punto, política educativa, y puede que tenga incluso política cultural; pero carece de política lingüística. (. . .) el Estado, confiado y generoso, delega el mandato constitucional en las Comunidades Autónomas . . [But Spain does not have a language policy. It has, up to a point, an education policy and may even have a cultural policy, but it lacks a language policy. (. . .) the State, trusting and generous, delegates its constitutional mandate to the Autonomous Communities.] Xavier Pericay, ‘Cuestión de Estado’, Opinión, ABC, 5 March 2007 No societies exist without a language policy, although many policies exist implicitly and in the absence of planning. Eastman (1983: 6)

5.1 A large field with many players Language policies, i.e. ‘the establishment of the role to be played by language varieties in social competition in a given community’ (BoixFuster and Vila i Moreno 1998: 274), involve the input of numerous players, including state, sub-state and supra-state powers2 – executive, legislative and judicial – from the very top to the most humble levels of the bodies that report to them. In addition to these public players are the media-based, economic and business powers that be, all the players in Spain’s political system (parties, trade unions, lobbies, etc.) and the academic and intellectual world, not to mention churches or voluntary organisations.


Language-in-Education Policy1

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Analyses of contemporary language policies in Catalan-speaking territories, educational or otherwise, have a strong tendency to focus on the actions of autonomous bodies. This restricted approach ignores the actions of many of the leading players, and turns tendencies that are the consequence of easily identifiable policies, often arising from the powerful ‘banal nationalism’ (cf. Billig 1995) of contemporary Spain, based on Castilian hegemony, into ‘spontaneous’, ‘natural’ and ‘apolitical’ phenomena. In practice, the autonomous authorities act within a framework that is severely limited by the other players. Analyses of language-in-education policies tend to show another bias. Normally, these analyses tend to concentrate on policies for schools. But alongside these are a great number of other, increasingly important, language-in-education policies such as those covering the universities and language learning for adults. This chapter aims to analyse language policy as it affects Catalanspeaking territories under the administration of the Spanish state.

5.2 Policies with a long history behind them 5.2.1 Three centuries working in a single direction The area in which Catalan is spoken has been a field on which two more or less discernible teams compete: one struggles to enshrine Castilian3 there whilst the other strives to ensure that Catalan regains ground.4 This encounter between the two sides has lasted almost three centuries – or even 500 years in some ways. However, the most crucial moment took place during the War of the Spanish Succession (1700–15). It was at this point that Philip of Bourbon, with the support of a Franco-Castilian army, defeated the armies of the Habsburg pretender and occupied the kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon. The new king built a unitary, absolutist state following the example of his protector and grandfather, Louis XIV of France. Philip V abolished, by right of conquest, the political structure of the occupied territories and dismantled their main organs of government – and even, in the Kingdom of Valencia, private law – and the universities, suppressed dissidence and crushed their elites. In practical terms, the kingdoms that had made up the Crown of Aragon were annexed to Castile and the current unitary Spanish state was born. From that moment on, the new Spanish state assumed the principle that, by definition, Castilian was its common language. As a result, those who could not speak it – note that the immense majority of the inhabitants of the Catalan-speaking territories of the time spoke not one


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word – would have to learn it. In this new situation, those who did not speak Castilian not only remained far from the absolute power of the monarch, but also became a demographic minority in a united Spain. After the dismantling of the structures that made Catalans, Valencians and the inhabitants of the Balearic Islands citizens of kingdoms and autonomous principalities, and the abolishment of their institutions, those opposing Castilian assimilation had few possibilities of successfully resisting a state machinery that would become a veritable machine for the minoritisation of the Catalan language. Many of the policies implemented focused on the education system. The common denominator of these policies was the imposition of the teaching of Castilian, and teaching in Castilian, and the exclusion of Catalan as a language of teaching and as a taught subject (cf. Ferrer i Girones 1985, Pueyo 1996). Beginning with the Royal Order of Aranjuez of 23 June 1768, in which Charles III imposed the mandatory use of Castilian in the secular courts of Catalonia and in its education system, and even in ‘the teaching of the first letters’ banished the use of both Catalan and Latin (Ferrer i Girones 1985: 37). Or the Order issued by the Council of Castile in 1773 preventing the University of Cervera from publishing books in Catalan (Ferrer i Girones 1985: 56). Or the Ley Moyano, the Public Education Act of 1857, which introduced universal compulsory education – in Castilian. Or the Royal Order signed by Alfonso XIII at the proposal of the Minister for Public Education and the Fine Arts in 1926, which threatened to investigate, dismiss or deport to Castilian lands those national teachers who taught Catalan or in Catalan. Not to mention the unwillingness to accept the introduction of Catalan into schools during the Second Republic (see below) or the banning of the language from the education system during Franco’s dictatorship. Language-in-education policies were not limited to schools and universities. Other bodies have perhaps played just as important a role as that of the school in impacting upon the communicative repertoire of Catalan speakers. Worthy of note in this regard are the policies applied in the Spanish armed forces. Unlike those of other countries, such as the United Kingdom or Belgium, the Spanish armed forces do not have Catalan, Basque or Galician units. Instead, all their units are fed with soldiers from throughout Spain and all of them, without exception, use Castilian as their sole language of internal communication. Furthermore, traditionally, a good number of recruits carried out their service far from the area from which they hailed. Thus it was, at least following the introduction of compulsory national service in 1875, with the


F. Xavier Vila i Moreno



Recruitment and Replacement Act, that the non-Castilian male population found in the ranks a forum for the practical learning of the language of the state. In la mili, as in the armed conflicts in Cuba, the Philippines or Sidi Ifni, many young Catalan speakers entered into daily contact with Castilian and learned it, whilst all of them absorbed the ideology that made this language the language of power – a total, irascible power that was not to be made light of – and, often, of their fellows-in-arms. In addition to the authorities, the unitary state worked to ensure that other large social organisations joined it in the task of ‘Castilianising’ its population. These efforts have had differing degrees of impact, depending upon the individual case and the point in history. Take the Catholic Church as an example: in Valencia and the eastern strip of Aragon, the Church played an important role in the dissemination of the use, understanding and positive view of Castilian, to the detriment of Catalan. In Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, on the other hand, the Church continued to use educated Catalan in the majority of cases – often functionally distributed with Latin, in prolongation of the traditional model – and thus encouraged a positive view of the language. However, this state and para-state machinery was not enough to modify at a single stroke the linguistic inertia of the society which it was dealing with. It should be remembered that, during the second half of the nineteenth century, schooling was received by, at the very most, 40 per cent of a population which was ethnolinguistically homogeneous and for whom Catalan was the only language of daily interaction. This it was to such an extent that the immigrants who began to arrive in Catalonia towards the end of the century spontaneously made it theirs: ‘. . . these people arrive speaking the Castilian language and that of Vasconia and that of Galicia, they start up families, all of whose children born here speak the Catalan language’ (speech by Àngel Guimerà to the Ateneu Barcelonès, 30 November 1895; see Boix-Fuster 2004: 17; the bold is ours). However, as the deployment of the unitary Spanish state advanced, state language policy meant that Catalan monolingualism became an increasingly important obstacle to social or economic progress, or even participation in public life.5

5.2.2 Efforts to react against the state’s policies


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It was not until the second half of the nineteenth century that one could really talk of initiatives in favour of Catalan. Before that time, it makes little sense to talk of ‘responses’. With an almost monolingual


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Catalan-speaking population throughout the territory and without a generalised school education system, in a state which permitted scant popular participation and a Church that was restricted to imparting doctrine to the faithful, the very idea of public education was of little importance. Educators such as Baldiri Reixach could well argue that it was useful for children to learn Castilian – after Catalan and Latin, it should be noted – because it was the Kingdom of Spain’s most important language. In practice, however, Castilian remained remote from the immense majority of people. However, in the second half of the nineteenth century, with an expanding education system that aimed to teach Catalan speakers in a language that was, practically speaking, foreign, things changed. Demands from educators to introduce Catalan into teaching became more frequent, for example from Salvador Genís in El auxiliar del maestro catalán (The Catalan Teacher’s Assistant, 1869), Marià Brosa in Guía del instructor catalán (Guide for the Catalan Instructor), Agustí Rius in the Tratado de educación (Treatise on Education, 1888) and even from the National Educational Congress held in Barcelona in 1888. All of them argued that teaching in an unknown language harmed the learning process (cf. Monés 1996: 316, Marquès 2001: 97). The same argument was made before the parliament in Madrid in 1896 by the Deputy for Valencia, Manuel Polo y Peyrolón, who asked that teachers working in non-Castilian-speaking territories be required to speak the language of that territory (see Ferrer i Girones 1985: 80): ‘. . . it is impossible to teach in certain regions, especially the Basque provinces and Catalonia, because children aged up to 12 have no knowledge of Castilian. If teachers who do not understand the local dialect are placed there to teach them, it will be impossible for them to learn anything.’ Needless to say, his proposal was not passed. The desire to reinstate Catalan in education only began to become partially realised as the Catalan national political movement attained a certain degree of political power at the beginning of the twentieth century. Municipal councils such as that of Barcelona, the Diputació de Barcelona6 and, especially, the Mancomunitat7 promoted the introduction of Catalan into schools, whilst the Association for the Protection of Catalan Education would coordinate the actions of civil society. But it was not until the Bilingualism Decree of 29 April 1931, approved 15 days after the proclamation of the Second Republic,8 that Catalan would once again spread throughout primary education, although to a much lesser degree in secondary education. It was also then that Catalan speedily gained importance at the University of Barcelona.




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The attitude of Spain’s Second Republic towards the issue is especially interesting. The Spanish state could have evolved towards a plurilingual model, similar to that of Switzerland, Belgium or Finland. In fact, the Statute subject to a plebiscite by the people of Catalonia on 2 August 1931 made Catalan the sole official language of Catalonia. Their hand forced by circumstances (the support of Catalan parties being crucial in the fall of the monarchy and to forestall the risk of secession of Catalonia), the new authorities officially recognised the Catalan language. Nevertheless, the Republic clung to the goal of making Castilian the common language of all its citizens, and made it a constitutional principle: Article 4 Castilian is the official language of the Republic. Every Spaniard has the obligation to learn it and the right to use it, without prejudice to the rights that the Laws of the State acknowledge in respect of the languages of the provinces and regions. Except for the provisions of special laws, no one can be required to understand or use any regional language. To make sure of this, in Article 50 of its constitution, the young Republic reserved for itself a vital role in the organisation of the education system: The autonomous regions may organise the teaching of their respective languages, in accordance with the powers granted them in their Statutes. Studying the Castilian language is compulsory, and it shall also be used as an instrument of teaching in all the primary and secondary education centres of the autonomous regions. The State may keep or create therein teaching centres of all levels in the official language of the Republic. The State shall have supreme powers of inspection throughout the entire territory of the nation to ensure compliance with the provisions hereof . . .


5.2.3 Clear goals, insuperable limits?

Thus, even during the time of greatest political freedom represented by the Second Republic, when Catalonia recovered a level of political autonomy, the central Spanish state required proficiency in Castilian


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and made it usable everywhere, ordering that it be learned in all centres of education and imposing it as the language of teaching. The remaining historical languages are marginalised, with their learning and use being optional, always provided that they do not interfere with Castilian. Pluralism? Yes, but in a limited form. And saddling non-Castilian speakers with the onus of bilingualism. In any case, the Second Republic would not last long: from 1931 to 1936 it survived in relative peace, whilst from 1936 to 1939 it waged open war against the rebellious fascist-sympathising generals and Catholic and nationalist extremists who would end up handing power to General Francisco Franco. Franco’s long dictatorship, lasting almost four decades (1936/39–1975), marked a return to the most assimilationist tradition of the state in all fields, abolishing teaching in any language other than Castilian, and, as has been widely documented, seeking consummation of the linguicide of Catalan (cf. Benet 1995). His regime would have a profound effect on two of the most significant sociolinguistic changes of the twentieth century and indeed of the entire history of Catalan-speaking territories: the implementation of the mass media (above all television) and the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Castilian-speaking immigrant speakers from southern and central Spain, all against a backdrop of the generalisation of universal and compulsory education in Castilian. By the time of Franco’s death in 1975, Catalan-speaking societies had undergone substantial change. On the one hand, proficiency in Castilian had become generalised. On the other, the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Castilian speakers had profoundly altered the demolinguistic make-up of the territory and significantly weakened the native tongue (cf. Chapter 2 by Pradilla Cardona). It was against this backdrop that the transition to the new democratic regime occurred.

5.3 Language policy in education since 1978 5.3.1 A real paradigm shift? The 1978 Constitution and the new social, democratic state resulting from it, together with Spain’s progressive incorporation into the international community, led to the introduction of some significant changes in language policy. These included both the official nature of Catalan alongside Castilian and its impact upon education policies and also the redistribution of powers over language and education between the central state authorities and those of the new ‘autonomous communities’.





As far as the first issue is concerned, it should be noted that the new Spanish state is not based upon an egalitarian language regime (see Chapter 3 by Vernet and Pons). Therefore, the Spanish education system starts from the basis that Castilian must be mastered by all its inhabitants. In fact, as was the case with all preceding Spanish legislation on languages, the current Education Act (the LOE, in its Castilian – and Catalan – initials) not only does not provide for any exceptions to the mastery of Castilian, but does not even contemplate the possibility that the requirement to learn Castilian be modified in any way in those territories in which it is not the native tongue. Thus it is, for example, that the LOE requires that all secondary school students be able to correctly express themselves in Castilian, orally and in writing (Art. 23.h). Nevertheless, alongside this duty to learn Castilian, in those territories of the Spanish state in which there is another official language, the latter must be learnt compulsorily not only by its native speakers but also by those students whose mother tongue is Castilian. In fact, the LOE itself sets forth the requirements for mastery of other official languages in terms similar to those of Castilian, although always limiting these to the relevant territories. In other words, current legislation does contemplate that non-Catalan-speaking students attending school in territories in which Catalan is an official language must become fluent in Catalan. Therefore, unlike the situation in other areas, in education, Castilian-speaking students do not have the right to remain monolingual. As far as the redistribution of powers over the education system is concerned, it should be borne in mind that in the Spanish ‘state of the autonomies’, a large part (but not all) of them have been transferred to the governments of the autonomous communities. The Constitution reserves for the central Spanish state the ‘basic elements of the curriculum’ (Arts. 149.1.30 and 27). Not without some controversy, the current LOE makes these elements equivalent to 55 per cent of class hours in autonomous communities that have their own language other than Castilian. This time must be devoted to the so-called ‘basic content of the minimum curriculum’ (Art. 6.3 LOE), which includes both Castilian language and literature. In other words, then, the language models existing in Catalanspeaking territories are the result not only of the actions of the governments of their autonomous communities, but also of the limits imposed, with especial regard to the learning of Castilian, by the central state authorities. It should be noted that these central state authorities have never expressed the slightest concern about students’ level of


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understanding of Catalan. Yet in recent years there have been a number of manoeuvres by both the conservative governments of the PP and the current social democratic PSOE administration to increase the number of lessons in which Castilian is taught and/or that are taught through the medium of Castilian (cf. Pons 2004). So the governments of the autonomous communities only have a certain amount of room to manoeuvre, rather than complete freedom; they have nevertheless been able to develop different language models in education. Where the autonomous community governments are in favour of Catalan, policies ensuring the bilingualism not only of Catalan speakers but also of non-Catalan speakers have been developed. Where they are less favourable to Catalan, Castilian speakers have been given more room to remain, de facto, monolingual. It is within this general organisational and interpretative framework that we shall review recent language-in-education policy in the Catalan-speaking territories of the Spanish state, focusing on three areas in turn: • School-related language policy • University-related language policy • Adult language-in-education policy. 5.3.2 School-related language policy Each autonomous community government has developed its languagein-education policy, to the extent that one could talk of four9 different school subsystems classifiable according to three criteria (see Table 5.1): • The existence of one or more language models within the same system: this permits differentiation between systems with a single model and those with so-called ‘streams’. • Whether studying Catalan is compulsory or optional. • The language in which classes are taught. 5.3.2.1 School language models in Catalonia The definition and the implementation of Catalonia’s language-ineducation model were initially based on Article 14 of Catalonia’s 1983 Linguistic Normalisation Act. Towards the end of 1994, a ruling of Spain’s Constitutional Court declared that the model de conjunció en català (‘conjunction-in-Catalan model’) was constitutional,10 which sped up its implementation, until the Language Policy Act of 1998




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Table 5.1 School language models prevalent in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencia and eastern Aragon (la Franja)11 Single or ‘streaming’ model

Studying Catalan

Catalonia

Single model

Compulsory

Catalan

Balearic Islands

Unstable single model (which depends on the school and the parliamentary majority)

Compulsory

Catalan (variable but strong presence of Castilian)

Valencia

Progressive incorporation programme

Compulsory

Castilian

Teaching in Valencian programme

Priority language of instruction

Catalan

Linguistic immersion programme Eastern Aragon

Single model

Optional

Castilian

consolidated the model de conjunció en català as the sole school-related language policy in Catalonia. Essentially, this model declares that Catalan is the language of normal use in education, the language of teaching and that of learning, and establishes that the two official languages must have a proper presence in curricula and that their normal and correct use by all students is assured by the end of compulsory education. On a complementary basis, those schools with more than 70 per cent of students that are not Catalan speakers may take advantage of language immersion programmes that are designed to help provide education basically to Castilian-speaking infants. As a result of this policy, the education system in Catalonia has progressively been adopting Catalan as its language of teaching, especially in primary education: official figures (see Table 5.2) place teaching in Catalan at above 90 per cent of primary schools and at practically 50 per cent in secondary schools. These figures should, of course, be viewed with a reasonable degree of scepticism but, whatever the exact case, they show the bestever situation in terms of the presence of Catalan in the country’s classrooms. In 2003 there was a change in the government of Catalonia. The Catalanista liberal–Social Christian coalition of Convergència i Unió


Territory



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Table 5.2 Students in public and private schools by language in which classes are taught, Catalonia: infant and primary, and secondary education, 1999–2000

In Catalan Predominantly in Catalan In Catalan and Castilian No information Total

Primary

Secondary

92 2 2 4

49 36 15

100

100

Source: School census drawn up by the Catalan Teaching Service of the Department of Education of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

was replaced by a tripartite alliance of Socialists, leftist separatists and eco-socialists. This new government did not substantially modify the conjunction-in-Catalan model, although it did make a series of changes of some importance, especially in connection with the growing numbers of alloglot, immigrant children. In 2006, after an incident-filled negotiation process, Catalonia approved by referendum its new Statute of Autonomy, Article 35 of which consolidates the essential elements of the model de conjunció en català in a number of areas, above all with regard to the refusal to separate students according to their everyday language of use and to the use of Catalan as the normal language of teaching. Furthermore, the Statute recognises the right of newly arrived students to receive special help with the language. The early elections of November 2006 resulted in the return of the leftist coalition to government, and the presence in the Catalan Parliament of a party, Ciutadans, that made opposition to the model de conjunció and the policies promoting Catalan the main features of their manifesto. In 2007, the model de conjunció once again became the subject of controversy when the Spanish government announced its intention to increase the minimum number of class hours of and in Castilian – the ‘third weekly hour’ of Castilian, as it became known – and Catalonia’s coalition government saw lively debate between its partners, some of whom were in favour and others against this move. Secondly, in response to the dispute regarding the third hour of Castilian, the Catalan government announced that it would implement the immersion programmes in secondary education, thereby definitively making Catalan the language of teaching there. Thirdly, on 5 June, a number of pressure groups opposing the normalisation of Catalan handed over a petition


Language in which classes are taught



of 55,000 signatures demanding that the Catalan Parliament debate a proposal in favour of ‘teaching in the mother tongue and bilingualism in schools’ which, among other things, would have made mastery of Catalan optional for teachers. This initiative was debated in the Catalan Parliament on 19 December 2007, and rejected by 111 against and only 13 in favour.12 Finally, the Department of Education announced a raft of measures to increase the level of English amongst teachers, both primary and secondary, and to introduce teaching in English on a massive scale. As was to be expected, all these measures were the subject of great social debate. 5.3.2.2 School language models in the Balearic Islands The definition of the school language model in the Balearic Islands occurred much more recently than in Catalonia, and is much more unstable. Article 20.1 of the Islands’ Language Normalisation Act of 1986 requires that schoolchildren be able to use Catalan and Castilian correctly at the end of their compulsory education, but the government of the Balearic Islands did not assume powers over education until 1998. It was not until 1997 that, after large-scale popular mobilisations, the autonomous government, in the hands of the People’s Party, passed the so-called ‘Decree of Minimums’,13 requiring that all teaching centres teach at least half their subjects in Catalan, with the possibility of increasing this percentage in each centre’s language plans. However, it was not until the time of the ‘Pact of Progress’ government (1999–2003) that the measures to ensure effective compliance with this decree were implemented. During its term, it was made properly compulsory for all centres to use, in at least half of their subjects, Catalan as the language of teaching, and for all teachers to demonstrate a mastery of Catalan, and a number of regulations on language-in-education policy were drawn up (cf. Pons and Vila i Moreno 2005: 141–3). In theory, by the 2002–3 academic year there were no longer any infant or primary schools that did not meet the 50 per cent minimum of teaching in Catalan, and 57 per cent of centres at this level carried out all their teaching in Catalan (see Table 5.3). As far as secondary education was concerned, Catalan was used to teach between 60 and 80 per cent of subjects, depending upon the centre in question.14 The same period also saw a growth in centres using the language immersion method. In 2003, the People’s Party returned to government in the Balearic Islands, but its approach to language issues had by then changed: if


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Language of teaching in infant and primary schools, Balearic Islands,

Language of teaching

Number of schools

%

Catalan More Catalan than Castilian Compulsory minimum in Catalan (50%)

181 84 55

57 26 17

Total

320

100

Source: Dept. of Education and Culture, Government of the Balearic Islands.

before it had been indifferent, it now played an active role against Catalan, with the aim of garnering votes from the thousands of Castilian speakers from the mainland attracted by the property and tourist boom. To achieve this, it combined two basic strategies: on the one hand, it raised the standard of freedom of parental choice and, on the other, it passed a law – the Trilingualism or Fiol Decree15 – designed in principle to encourage the use of foreign languages in teaching, but which in passing allows for a reduction in the use of Catalan to only one-third of teaching hours. These and other initiatives have encountered strong opposition from the school education community and few centres have taken their provisions on board. In 2007 the Balearic Islands’ Statute of Autonomy was reformed. Knowledge of Catalan was not made compulsory. Article 35 states that the Islands’ government has sole responsibility over the teaching of their own language, and makes the normalisation of the language compulsory. The Islands’ parliamentary elections of 27 May 2007 led to another change in government. The new centre-left government implemented a more favourable Catalan language policy, especially bearing in mind the large number of foreign language-speaking and Latin American immigrants that had come to the Islands in recent years. 5.3.2.3 School language models in Valencia In the case of Valencia, although the goals of Catalan-related legislation are practically identical to those of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands,16 the approaches adopted in school language policy have been radically different. To begin with, the Valencian Use and Teaching Act (LUEV, in its Catalan/Castilian initials)17 confirms a division between Catalan- and Castilian-speaking territories.18 In the former, a school system organised


Table 5.3 2002–3

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132


1. The Progressive Incorporation into Valencian Programme (PIP, in its Catalan/Castilian initials), which is predominant in numerical terms, in which Castilian is the language of teaching and Valencian is a compulsory subject and that of teaching in some areas of knowledge; 2. The Teaching in Valencian Programme (PEV), in which Valencian is the language of teaching and Castilian is a compulsory subject and the language in which some areas of knowledge are taught; 3. The Linguistic Immersion in Valencian Programme (PIL), aimed at students whose first language is not Valencian and in which teaching is carried out in Valencian, with Castilian being introduced progressively from the third year of primary school as a language of teaching. In secondary education, however, only the first two models (i.e. the PIP and the PEV) are applied. For their part, in the Castilian-speaking areas, there is only one school language mode, called the Basic Programme, in which the language of teaching is Castilian and the teaching of Valencian is declared compulsory.20 (In practice, however, the teaching of Catalan in this area has become optional and is carried out only if the school community is interested.) Assessing the importance of the PEV and the PIL in the overall Valencian education system is a difficult task, since the region’s Department of Education provides no direct information on the matter (see Table 5.4). According to the Report on Teaching in Valencian – 2007, by the Valencian Education Workers’ Union, schools teaching in Valencian (i.e. following the PEV and/or PIL) only cover 23.5 per cent of students in Valencia. These figures show a sharp drop from primary to secondary education, due more to the lack of availability in both the public and private sectors than to any lack of demand. Furthermore, teaching in Valencian is much more common in public than in private schools. Early education in foreign languages has been introduced by means of the Enriched Bilingual Education Programme (PEBE),21 which is combined with one of the existing ones (PIL, PEV or PIP).22 In the 1998–99 academic year, 53 schools implemented it, and by 2006–7 this figure had risen to 278. It is worth noting that, in this latter year, most of the schools applying the PEBE (160) were public schools included in


along linguistic lines has been implemented, in accordance with three school language models:19



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Table 5.4 Schools with programmes in Valencian and students following the PEV or PIL in Valencia, 2006–7 academic year

Schools with programmes in Valencian Students taught in Valencian

Secondary

724

289

122,241

47,612

Source: Valencian Department of Culture, Education and Sport, Valencian Teaching Service. http://www.cult.gva.es/sedev/

the programmes in Valencian (PEV/PIL) (source: http://www.cult.gva.es/ sedev/). The 2006 reforms of Valencia’s Statute of Autonomy did not involve significant changes to education language policy. In addition to establishing Valencian as the territory’s own language, it recognises that ‘everyone has the right to understand and use them [Valencian and Spanish] and to receive teaching in and of the Valencian language’ (Art. 6.2) and contemplates exemption from the understanding and use of Valencian in the case of Castilian-speaking territories (Art. 6.7). 5.3.2.4 School language models in la Franja The status of Catalan in education in la Franja is determined by the lack of any official nature on the part of the Catalan language in this eastern strip of the autonomous community of Aragon. The community’s reformed Statute of 2007 still does not give the language any official status and leaves to a future law provisions on its use in education (Art. 7.2). It is by no means a coincidence that any initiatives have progressed very slowly. In 1985, within the framework of the collaboration agreement with Spain’s Ministry of Education and Science,23 schools in la Franja began to teach Catalan on a voluntary and optional basis. The agreement, which was extended automatically until the full entry into force of the powers over education contained in Article 36 of the Statute (assumed from 1 January 1999 on), allows for a progressive expansion of Catalan teaching, with the result that, today, almost all primary school students and half of secondary ones take Catalan classes. Catalan classes began in the 1984–85 academic year with 700 students, whilst by


Infant and primary (and 1st year compulsory secondary curriculum in primary schools)


Democratic Policies for Language Revitalisation Table 5.5 Level

Catalan language taught in la Franja, 2004–5 Taking Catalan

% of total

Total

Primary Secondary

2,612 884

87 68

3,007 1,297

Total

3,496

81

4,304

Source: Aragon’s Dept. of Education.

2004–5 they were being taken by around 3500 (see Table 5.5). Additionally, a number of secondary schools have some experience of teaching partially in Catalan. Although they are followed by a majority of the school population, the fact is that few hours of Catalan classes are given (two to four a week). In fact, bearing in mind that Catalan is not an official language and has little written or formal presence, these few hours of teaching do not even guarantee that native Catalan speakers will be able to properly read or write their own language. 5.3.2.5 Language-in-education policies vis-à-vis alloglot students Since the late 1990s, the Catalan language territories have attracted thousands of ‘new immigrants’ from all over the world. At the same time, thousands of foreign residents – mostly well-off central and western Europeans – have moved to the Catalan language area in search of a better climate. These population movements have implied a significant increase in the numbers of foreign children attending the schools of the Catalan language area. Thus, if at the beginning of the 1990s foreign children were less than 1 per cent of the school population, by the beginning of the 2008–9 school year, foreign students in preprimary, primary and compulsory secondary education in Catalonia’s schools amounted to almost 150,000, i.e. 13.5 per cent. This increase implies a significant transformation of the educational landscape in the area, for, although a large percentage of these newcomers – 43 per cent during the 2006–7 school year – come from Latin American countries and have Southern American varieties of Spanish as their first or second language, a majority of newcomers arrive from other origins, mostly Africa and Asia, and do not have either Catalan or Castilian in their repertoire (data from Departament d’Educació, see Galindo Solé 2008: 37). Language-in-education policies for these newcomers differ from territory to territory. In the territories where Catalan is placed in a weak


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position within the educational system, foreign children enter Castilianmedium schools and little if any attention at all is paid to their effective learning of Catalan. This is the case in la Franja, where no special arrangements are made to linguistically integrate these foreign children, or in Valencia, where a large majority of newcomers attend Castilian-medium streams and have little contact with the local language. In contrast, in Catalonia and to a certain extent in the Balearic Islands, the arrival of the newcomers has meant a significant transformation of language-in-education policies in many respects, to the extent that the whole policy paradigm has been reoriented towards attention to, and integration of, newcomers. The example of Catalonia is, in this respect, quite illustrative. At the end of the 1990s, Catalonia’s school system began to put in place measures for the integration of late arrivals, through several language and culture teaching programmes (Purtí 2006). But the increase in immigration and the political changes in the early 2000s gave rise to an injection of dynamism in the treatment of newly arrived pupils in Catalonia, which led to the adoption in 2004 of the Plan for Language and Social Cohesion, updated in 2007 (Departament d’Educació 2007a[2004]). In highly schematic terms, the Catalan school authorities designed a system for integration which combined the principle of conjunció – according to which children should not be separated into different classes on the basis of their first language – with the intensive teaching of Catalan language and culture to the new arrivals. The result of this model is to be seen in the system of aules d’acollida (‘welcoming classes’, also translated as ‘insertion classes’) (Departament d’Educació 2007b, c). In accordance with this system, the newly arrived pupil is assigned to a class in a mainstream school, and studies alongside his or her schoolmates from the very first day, though being separated from them for several hours every day in order to attend Catalan language and culture lessons together with other new arrivals. This system attempts to combine the beneficial effects of integration with schoolmates and essential language support so that new arrivals can follow the school activities. The system is accompanied by a host of measures, the most striking of which is the duty every school has to design its school language project,24 which defines its learning objectives for the languages present, as well as the educational strategy to be used in each case. Moreover, so that language learning is not limited to the school environment and in order to prevent (as far as possible) the emergence of language ghettos, schools also have to design and implement their environmental education plan.25 These plans try to take advantage of the learning





and socialisation resources of local institutions, both public and private, and though their origin is to be found in the conception of schools as tools for the integration of new arrivals, in actual fact they encompass the whole of the educational community, including native pupils. There is as yet insufficient research to allow an adequate evaluation of the outcome of all these measures. The welcoming class reports (see Vila et al. 2007a, b) suggest that these classes have a beneficial effect on the newcomers’ learning rates and school integration. However, the successful learning of Catalan depends on several factors, the most important of which is interpersonal contact with native Catalan-speaking classmates (see Vila Mendiburu 2008 on kindergarten schoolchildren). And this contact is not always straightforward, for several reasons. Firstly, the tendency to switch to Castilian as a lingua franca with outsiders, imposed during the Franco regime, continues to reproduce itself in the younger generations (Galindo Solé 2008), so that a significant proportion of foreign schoolchildren face the contradiction that the school receives them in Catalan, while adults – and even a fair proportion of their classmates (above all, but not only, native Spanish speakers) mostly speak to them in Castilian. Secondly, throughout the country a high proportion of foreign schoolchildren tend to be concentrated in public schools located in the same districts in which Spanish immigration concentrated between the 1950s and the 1970s, which means that their contacts with native Catalan speakers are much less frequent than with Castilian speakers. Finally, despite forceful policies of desegregation of immigrant schoolchildren by the authorities, there is still a strong tendency for such pupils to be concentrated in particular schools, which makes integration measures (both social and linguistic) considerably more complicated (Síndic 2008).

5.3.3 Language policy in higher education Universities are autonomous institutions which form part of a single, Spain-wide constituency, such that students from anywhere in Spain can be admitted to any Catalan, Balearic or Valencian university, whether or not they understand Catalan. The language model followed by universities in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands can be defined as one of ‘conjunction’, with twin official and one ‘own’ territorial language, and ‘speakers’ freedom to use the language of their choice’. This means that the working language – internal and external – of the universities is Catalan, but that, unlike in the case of primary and secondary schools, at university, each student and


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lecturer enjoys the right to choose which of these two official languages they use to communicate with other members of the university community. By way of contrast, universities in Valencia follow a ‘streams’ model similar to that of primary and secondary schools, with the same problems and even more deficiencies. The Catalan streams are even more of a minority and very often courses in Catalan cover neither all of the demand nor all of the education options. Language usage varies greatly between territories and universities (cf. Pons and Vila i Moreno 2005: 163, Simó 2007: 23): Catalan is in the majority, in oral teaching, and above all in undergraduate studies, in Catalonia, where it is present in around two-thirds of classes, and in the Balearic Islands, where slightly more than half of the classes are given in the language. By way of contrast, in postgraduate studies, it is in a minority when compared with Castilian. In Valencia, it is very much in the minority, with great differences between universities: those in the centre and north of the region have a much greater presence of Valencian, but in the Alacant/Alicante region there is very little teaching in the language indeed, to the point that none whatsoever is given in Catalan in the Universidad Miguel Hernández. A summary is provided in Table 5.6. The model applied in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands has the advantage of reducing costs, since it avoids having to systematically duplicate all the courses. Additionally, this structure discourages the formation of ethno-linguistically homogeneous class groups. Nevertheless, Table 5.6 Status and use of Catalan in the universities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencia Status of Catalan

Written use in research

Language model

Use as language of teaching

Catalonia Own and official with Castilian

Conjunction and free choice by students and teaching staff

Predominant Significant but in the minority

Balearic Islands

Own and official with Castilian

Conjunction and free choice by students and teaching staff

Predominant Significant but in the minority

Valencia

Own and official with Castilian

‘Streams’

Minority

Small minority



Source: Pons and Vila i Moreno (2005: 163).



this model also has a number of disadvantages that should be borne in mind. Firstly, freedom of teaching language implies the de facto possibility of one of the languages having scant presence in a field, or none at all. This is relatively common in subjects that only have one lecturer and group. If this happens in too many subjects, it may lead to one of the languages not being used in a certain field. This is not so important for Castilian since, in practice, students wishing to study in this language can always do so in another Spanish or even Latin American university. However, if a field is taught only in Castilian in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, it is unlikely to be found taught in Catalan anywhere else in the world. The language would thus be excluded from an entire field of knowledge and students would be deprived of being able to study it in their own language. A second challenge for the conjunció university model involves the integration of ‘outside’ students, both from the rest of Spain and the rest of the world. The vast majority of these students attending university in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands26 tend to choose Castilian as their lingua franca and even often ask for their classes to be given in Castilian so they can follow them.27 Obviously, such a request goes against this university model, which allows one to choose one’s language but not impose one’s preferences, but it occurs relatively frequently in practice, with the non-Catalan-speaking students getting their way, so the class ends up being given in Castilian. This places in doubt the official nature of Catalan, creates a bad atmosphere amongst the class members and ends up denying those students who wish to study in Catalan their right to do so. The above two challenges come together with especial significance in a highly important area: the internationalisation of universities. Universities in Catalan-speaking territories participate in the process of creating a European Higher Education Area, within the framework of the socalled ‘Bologna process’. Driven by the need to secure funding, they look to gain a higher profile abroad and attract foreign students. Both circumstances involve a certain amount of incorporating languages other than Catalan, above all in master’s and postgraduate programmes, as summarised in Table 5.7. It is worth noting that the last of these options (other languages) is growing, and is especially popular in some subjects, such as natural and physical sciences and international business schools. The experience of doctorates, master’s and postgraduate courses has, in general, been highly negative for the Catalan language, especially in


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Table 5.7 Language of teaching in master’s and postgraduate courses in universities in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencia Percentage of teaching

Totally or predominantly in Castilian Totally or predominantly in Catalan Approx. same in Catalan and Castilian Other languages

78.9 9.8 8.7 2.5

Source: Data from Simó (2007: 31), statistically treated by the author.

distance and ‘virtual’ (i.e. computer-based) courses, in which Castilian has a great lead. In fact, the Catalan government created the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya28 in 1994 so as to guarantee the presence of Catalan in distance learning higher education. Finally, the university conjunció model has some problems when it comes to staff language policy. Unlike the cases of primary and secondary education, university teaching staff have not, until recently, had any duty to be able to speak Catalan. By way of contrast, they do have to master Castilian, not only because Spanish legislation so requires, but also because the process of recruiting the entire teaching body is organised around oral and written testing, which must, almost by default, be carried out in Castilian.29 This disparity of criteria goes against the official, ‘own’ nature of Catalan in Catalonia, and can easily degenerate into conflicts and the infringement of rights in which a lecturer restricts the freedom of choice of the student body. It is by no means easy to provide the right response to these challenges, but the fact is that a great deal of planning is being carried out to do just this. Firstly, the 2003 Catalan Universities Act30 states that teaching staff will have to know (actively and passively) both official languages, although it remains unclear how this obligation will be put into practice. Secondly, each university’s language services carry out a remarkable task in promoting the Catalan language and supporting plurilingualism.31 As far as understanding is concerned, they provide courses for all levels, from beginners to the most advanced, including specialist courses in Catalan for specific areas of knowledge (so that foreign students can follow classes taught in Catalan), distance and computerbased courses, specific and even ad hoc courses for those applying for places at universities, terminology, specialist oral expression and writing courses, etc. They have also drawn up a range of bilingual conversation guides for foreign students such as those for speakers


Languages employed



of German, English, Tamazight, Arabic, etc. These language services also provide support for language exchange and language volunteer programmes. They also carry out tasks alongside the promotion of language understanding, providing correction and advisory services to assist with the drawing up of university teaching materials and preparing specialised terminology glossaries in association with university researchers. The autonomy enjoyed by universities provides greater room for manoeuvre than that available to lower levels of education. However, this room is severely restricted by the general framework arising from the limits set by the Spanish Constitution of 1978, by the respective Statutes of Autonomy and the language- and/or university-related legislation of the different governments. For it should not be forgotten that governments have an impact on university language policy. An example of this is provided by the introduction of the ‘single district’. In 2000, the conservative government under José María Aznar abolished administrative restrictions and allowed students from anywhere in Spain to apply to any university, without ever taking into account the various universities’ own language.32 Many viewed this measure as another in the long history of homogenising actions by the Spanish state, since a large influx of students could affect the position of Catalan in universities; however, to date its impact has been rather weak. In fact, the impact of student mobility is one of the great concerns caused by the Bologna process and the creation of the European Higher Education Area, being implemented throughout the continent. Still in the field of university language policy, there are a number of entities involved in promoting the learning of Catalan in universities around the world, both university bodies themselves, as well as governmental authorities and foreign promotion institutes (see below).33 5.3.4 Language policy in adult education 5.3.4.1 Non-university adult education for non-(or not solely) linguistic purposes Included under the heading of non-language-related adult education are all those teaching activities in the fields of occupational training, art, leisure, sports, etc., not included in university education and aimed at the adult population. This is an extremely broad sector that ranges from music to driving schools, occupational courses, etc., and which, for the most part, is found in the hands of private companies and


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bodies, sometimes self-financed and other times dependent upon public funding. It is, at the moment, quite impossible to define – even approximately – a language model for these courses, due both to their heterogeneity and to the lack of available information. Outside of Catalonia, there are almost no regulations on the use of Catalan in this sector. In Catalonia, occupational training is fully affected by the provisions of the 1998 Language Policy Act, which means it should move towards a conjunció en català model. However, awareness that this is far from being the case is made clear by the actions of the authorities themselves who, in 2000, published an Order34 which incorporated the requirement of giving in Catalan at least 50 per cent of the occupational training actions promoted by the Catalan Jobs Service of the Department of Employment and Industry of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Although some of these areas appear to show an above-average level of ‘Catalanisation’ (e.g. private music schools in Catalonia), overall the sector shows quite the opposite trend. For instance, there have been numerous complaints to the effect that it is practically impossible to take driving lessons in Catalan, due both to a lack of ability on the part of driving instructors and to the discouraging attitude of the driving schools. 5.3.4.2 Non-university adult language education Non-university adult language-in-education policy is one of the least regulated, and least studied, fields of language-in-education policy. This chapter shall restrict itself to explaining some general issues. With regard to Castilian, activities are concentrated in two areas: education for adults and recently arrived immigrants. In the case of the former, the main aim is to teach reading and writing skills to immigrants who arrived in the country decades ago including, most recently, Latin American immigrants. Powers over this are spread between education and social welfare departments. A substantial amount of language teaching activities are carried out by private initiative and/or voluntary concerns, who can take advantage of aid from the central Spanish authorities. It is usual for the Red Cross, parish organisations, NGOs, Castilian teacher training students or simple volunteers to carry out this work. The teaching of Catalan to adults has a much more notable presence, above all in Catalonia. Private Catalan courses have historically been one of the most popular forms of cultural activism due, amongst other reasons, to the difficulty state policies have in repressing them. In overall




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• Official language schools • Public adult Catalan teaching networks, particularly the Catalan Consortium for Language Normalisation and the Consortium for the Promotion of the Catalan Language and the Foreign Promotion of the Culture of the Balearic Islands (COFUC). • Public and private universities’ language services • Language activism associations, such as Òmnium Cultural, Obra Cultural, Acció Cultural, etc. • Adult schools and reading and writing centres • Public and private specialist training centres, such as the Catalan School of Public Administration, the Balearic School of Public Administration, Education Sciences Institutes, the Rosa Sensat Association, amongst others • Private language schools • Professional organisations, such as institutes, guilds, companies and trade unions • Private cultural associations, such as ateneus, churches, casals, etc. • Parents’ associations • Immigrants’ associations As is only to be expected, both the nature of the courses and their goals, teaching materials, etc., are also extremely wide-ranging, and change over time. For a long time, Catalan courses were much the same thing as reading, writing and linguistic correction courses for native speakers who had been taught in other languages. Such courses are still quite common in areas in which Catalan has achieved less official recognition. However, alongside these, a wide range of course types has developed: • • • •

Preparatory courses for official levels and certificates Catalan for new speakers of the language Catalan for professional purposes Catalan for professionals in the language, above all in the field of correction • Courses in literary creation and oral expression


terms, the following types of centres and bodies that, in some way or other, promote Catalan teaching can be identified:

It is impossible to summarise in the space we have available all the actions throughout the Catalan-speaking territories by all the bodies carrying out the non-university teaching of the language to adults. Let


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it not be forgotten that, on its own, the Catalan Consortium for Language Normalisation, the body covering centres teaching Catalan to adults and reporting to the local and regional authorities in Catalonia, had 111,000 enrolments on 4582 language courses at different levels during the 2007–8 academic year.35 Figures outside of Catalonia are considerably more modest. Finally, there are a range of bodies promoting Catalan abroad. The most important of these, by volume of activities, is the Institut Ramon Llull,36 backed basically by the governments of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Andorra. Also acting in the same field is the Institut d’Estudis Baleàrics.37

5.4 Language-in-education policies in Catalan-speaking territories: a summary Since at least the time of the creation of the unitary Spanish state at the beginning of the eighteenth century, language-in-education policy in Catalan-speaking territories has rested on the principle that Castilian had to become the common language of all subjects/citizens. In certain periods, these policies have been applied in a strictly linguicidal way. In others, they have been more varied, with more players, and more pluralist, leaving more room for the Catalan language. Three centuries of language policy towards this end, aided by population movements, have to a large degree been successful in achieving the aforementioned goals. Castilian is, today, the most highly valued language, clearly ahead of Catalan. It is ubiquitous in Catalan-speaking territories, predominating in all public administrations, except at local and autonomous community level in Catalonia. It is the main lingua franca of inter-ethnic contacts. It has complete dominance of the mass media. It has monolingual speakers in probably all the towns and cities of the Catalan-speaking territories. Finally, almost all the native and resident population is able to express itself in this language, with a greater or lesser degree of ease. A century ago, immigrants became ‘Catalanised’, even though Catalan was not taught. Today, Castilian is the first language you must learn to join the employment market, and those monolingual in it cannot only live, but also prosper. Language-in-education policies have been key in achieving the supremacy of Castilian in Catalan-speaking territories over the course of the last 100–200 years. Today, having achieved this goal to a significant extent, the Spanish state – and the social and political groups that share its objectives – can allow themselves the luxury of leaving a good deal of the administration of language-in-education policy in





the hands of autonomous community and local authorities. However, this change in position does not by any means imply that the Spanish state has left its plaything in the hands of its naughty grandchildren. It is simply that, once the sociolinguistic situation has been set on the ‘right’ course, the Spanish state needs only higher-ranking legislation and occasional involvement to guarantee that its objectives are not interfered with. If there is a great difference with the past with regard to the management of (education-related) language policy, it is that this does not now depend exclusively on Madrid. The modernisation of society, internationalisation and the implementation of the autonomous communities have eroded the central government’s room for action when it comes to imposing its own language agenda. At the very least, the Spanish government now has to take into account other political, social, economic, etc., powers. And sometimes, these powers have other agendas. Above all in Catalonia, but also, to a lesser degree, in the Balearic Islands, societies and authorities have taken decisive action to win back ground for the local language. Education has been the field most open to intervention, to the point that both territories have school language policies in which Castilian has effectively lost the supremacy it had enjoyed for many years. However, one must not be deceived by appearances: as far as the results of the system are concerned, the game is still only being played in one half of the field: everyone must still master Castilian. Basically, for the Spanish state, what is negotiable – and irrelevant – is learning Catalan, which is still, in fact, optional in la Franja and very weak in the majority of the Valencian system. By way of contrast, mastery of Castilian is a prerequisite everywhere, and both the central Spanish state and the entirety of the social and political players of Spain’s Castilian heartland keep a close watch on things to ensure this remains the case. The fact that a state such as the Kingdom of Spain, so jealous of its linguistic unification, has left it in the hands of substate authorities is, in fact, little more than a sign of the point to which language-in-education policies have lost importance in the process of making citizens feel part of a nation when compared with other means, such as the mass media.

Notes


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1. I would like to express my thanks to Eva Pons, Joan Melià, Josep Maria Baldaquí and Natxo Sorolla for their contributions to the original draft of this chapter.


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2. In the Kingdom of Spain, the terms ‘nation’ and ‘national’ are the subject of political dispute. This chapter shall therefore avoid using them with reference to Spain, the ‘Catalan countries’, Catalonia, etc. The same rule shall apply to the complementary terms ‘region’ and ‘regional’. Today, Spain is not a federal, but rather – to use the British term – a devolved state, and one cannot, consequently, use the term ‘federal’ authorities. The term ‘state’ shall therefore be used for general, ‘Spain-wide’ dynamics and bodies and the terms ‘sub-state’ and ‘autonomous’ for everything related to Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands. Readers can feel free to replace the above terms with those they prefer in each individual case. 3. The traditional name given to the main language of the Kingdom of Spain is castellano or Castilian, and it is under this term that it spread and continues to be known in most of the lands in Europe and America in which it is spoken. The increase in the use of the term español or Spanish appears to be more recent and, in the Spanish state at least, is promoted for essentially anti-pluralist political purposes. This chapter therefore uses the traditional form, Castilian. 4. This dispute is not strictly linguistic in nature (being so only vicariously), but one of ideas and political organisation in general, and, as could hardly be otherwise, involves the distribution of resources and collective freedoms. The conflict is between those who view the population of the Spanish state in essentially unitary terms, grouped around Castile and its language, and those who believe that each of the peoples currently making up the Kingdom of Spain have the right to decide how they wish to be governed. This is a fairly classic form of national conflict, with the peculiarity that, until now at least, Catalan nationalists have not, in the main, been secessionist, but rather federalist or confederalist in nature. 5. A significant number of today’s Castilian intellectuals have offered an indulgent, even complacent, reading of these efforts to replace Catalan with Castilian (cf. Lodares 2000). They try to present the process described herein in terms of a mere ‘modernisation’, as if the destruction of languages other than Castilian was a necessary prerequisite for achieving modernity. Above and beyond the lack of understanding betrayed by this position of the experience of other countries such as Switzerland, Belgium and Finland, the main problem with this interpretation is that the attempt to conceal the actions of the state leads to a completely indefensible viewpoint. This was the case, for example, when the King of Spain was made to say, during his speech at the Cervantes Prize ceremony of 23 April 2001, that ‘Ours (i.e. Castilian) was never a language of imposition, but rather one of encounter: no one was ever forced to speak Castilian anywhere in the world.’ 6. One of the four provincial councils in Catalonia proper. 7. The consortium of the four provincial councils (1914–25). 8. The Decree abolished provisions contrary to the use of Catalan in primary schools, imposed by the dictator Primo de Rivera, and permitted the use of Catalan as a language of teaching. 9. Given that they do not fall within a separate administrative entity, the schools in la Franja, the eastern strip of Aragon, form part of Aragon’s educational system, which allows only a small amount of flexibility with regard to the teaching of Catalan.





10. Constitutional Court Ruling 337/1994, of 23 December. 11. This table only covers numerically – or socially – significant school language models in each of the territories. It does not therefore include language models of foreign education centres in Catalonian territory. 12. http://www.parlament.cat/portal/page/portal/pcat/IE06/IE0602?STRUTS ANCHOR1=detallExpedient.do&criteri=202-00078/07&ad=1 13. Decree 92/1997, of 4 July, confirmed by a ruling of the Spanish Supreme Court of 4 October 2002. 14. As with the case of Catalonia, these figures should be taken with a pinch of salt. 15. Decree 52/2006, of 16 June, on measures to encourage the linguistic competence in foreign languages of students of non-university centres of the Balearic Islands supported with public funds. BOIB [Official Journal of the Balearic Islands] of 20 June 2006. 16. Article 19.2 LUEV states: ‘(. . .) at the end of the cycles in which the incorporation of Valencian into teaching is declared compulsory, and whatever their habitual language at the commencement of their studies, students must be capable of using Valencian in oral and written form in equality of conditions with Castilian’. 17. As noted in Chapter 2 by Pradilla Cardona, Valencian is the name most commonly used in the Autonomous Community of Valencia when referring to Catalan. 18. Some inland districts of Valencia are, historically, Castilian-speaking. 19. Decree 79/1984, of 30 July, on non-university education. 20. Article 18.1 LUEV states that: ‘The incorporation of Valencian in teaching at all educational levels is compulsory. And, in the Castilian-speaking territories listed in Title V to this Act, this incorporation shall be carried out progressively, given their special sociolinguistic situation, in the manner to be established in the associated regulations.’ 21. Order of 30 June 1998. DOGV [Official Journal of the Valencian Generalitat] No. 3285, of 14 July. http://www.ua.es/uem/legislacio/ordre300698.html 22. This programme can also be applied in Castilian-speaking districts. This means that, in addition to teaching in a foreign language, the school must carry out a minimum amount of teaching in Catalan. This is the Enriched Basic Programme (PBE, in its Castilian/Catalan initials). 23. Resolution of 1 October 1985, of the Ministry of Education and Science, which publishes the agreement on the teaching of Catalan in the eastern strip of Aragon. 24. http://www.xtec.cat/lic/projecte_ling.htm 25. http://www.xtec.cat/lic/entorn/index.htm 26. In the 2004–5 academic year 2.6 per cent of the 198,282 students enrolled in Barcelona’s universities, which account for up to 85 per cent of the Catalan total, came from the rest of Spain and 9.2 per cent were foreign: http://www10.gencat.net/dursi/AppJava/noticies_fitxa. jsp?idnoticia=26799&area=0&idioma=0 27. Just such a scene was portrayed in Cédric Klapisch’s 2002 film Pot Luck (L’auberge espagnol). 28. http://www.uoc.edu/


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29. The requirement that university teaching staff master Castilian is an excellent example of how apparently non-language-related policies have an undeniable impact upon language policy. The panels judging these tests are chosen on the basis of lecturers of the relevant level from throughout Spain. This means that, except for the case of Catalan philology lecturers, where – by definition – all the members speak Catalan, in all other areas of knowledge, the possibility that all members of the panel speak Catalan is remote. All candidates thus have no choice but to prepare their applications and argue their case in Castilian. 30. The Catalan Universities Act 1/2003, of 19 February (LUC, in its Catalan initials). 31. The Intercat website http://intercat.gencat.cat/en/index.jsp provides more information on these activities. 32. Royal Decree 69/2000 of 21 January, BOE [Spain’s Official Journal] 22 Jan. 2000. 33. http://www.llull.cat/llull/estatic/cat/quisom/lectorats-mapa.shtm, http:// www.gencat.net/dursi/lectorats/entrada.htm 34. That of 9 October 2000. 35. Source: Balanç de les activitats del CPNL 2006-2008 Dossier de premsa. http://www20.gencat.cat/docs/Llengcat/Documents/Actualitat/2009/Arxius/ 09_dossier_CPNL2006_2008.pdf 36. http://www.llull.cat/llull/ 37. http://www.iebalearics.org/

References Benet, J. (1995). L’intent franquista de genocidi cultural contra Catalunya. Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat. Billig, M. (1995). Banal Nationalism. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage. Boix-Fuster, E. (2004). ‘El camí fins a la situació contemporània del català i del castellà a Catalunya: entre la complexitat i la fragilitat’. In Payrató, L. and Vila, F. X. (eds), Les llengües a Catalunya. Cicle Joan Coromines III. Barcelona: Fundació Caixa de Sabadell, pp. 13–27. Boix-Fuster, E. and Vila-Moreno, F. X. (1998). Sociolingüística de la llengua catalana. Barcelona: Ariel. Bourdieu, P. (1982). Ce que parler veut dire. L’économie des échanges linguistiques. Poitiers: Fayard. Castelló, R. (2006). Els estudis sobre la situació sociolingüística al País Valencià. Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans. Cercle 21 (2006). ‘El català a la universitat. Anàlisi i propostes per a la normalització social de la llengua catalana a la universitat.’ Butlletí virtual, vol. 4. http://www.cercle21.cat/butlleti/04/index.html [last accessed 9 July 2010]. Departament d’Educació (2007a [2004]). Plan for Language and Social Cohesion. Education and Immigration. Barcelona: Departament d’Educació, Generalitat de Catalunya, 25 pp. http://www.xtec.cat/lic/intro/documenta/Pla_lic_english. pdf [last accessed 9 July 2010].





Departament d’Educació (2007b). Plan for Language and Social Cohesion. Education and Immigration. Annex 1: Insertion Class. Barcelona: Departament d’Educació, Generalitat de Catalunya, 35 pp. http://www.xtec.cat/lic/intro/documenta/ annex1_aula_angles.pdf [last accessed 9 July 2010]. Departament d’Educació (2007c). Plan for Language and Social Cohesion. Education and Immigration. Annex 2: Protocol for Extracurricular Classes in Foreign Pupils’ Languages and Cultures of Origin. Barcelona: Departament d’Educació, Generalitat de Catalunya, 11 pp. http://www.xtec.cat/lic/intro/documenta/ annex2_extracurricularclasses.pdf [last accessed 9 July 2010]. Eastman, C. (1983). Language Planning: an Introduction. Novato, CA: Chandler & Sharp Publishers.. Ferrer i Gironès, F. (1985). La persecució política de la llengua catalana. Història de les mesures preses contra el seu ús des de la Nova Planta fins avui. Barcelona: Edicions 62. Galindo Solé, M. (2008). Les llengües en joc, el joc de les llengües. L’ús interpersonal del català entre els infants i joves de Catalunya. Lleida: Pagès editors. Lodares, J. R. (2000). El paraíso políglota. Madrid: Taurus. Marquès, S. (2001). ‘Els educadors’. In Vallverdú, F. (ed.), Enciclopèdia de la llengua catalana, Barcelona: Edicions 62, pp. 97–9. Monés i Pujol-Busquets, J. (1995). ‘Les colònies escolars’. In de Riquer i Permanyer, B. (ed.), Història, Política, Societat i Cultura dels Països Catalans. Volum 8. L’època dels grans moviments socials. 1900–1930. Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, pp. 312–15. Monés, J. (1996). ‘El liberalisme: escola i societat’. In de Riquer i Permanyer, B. (ed.), Història, Política, Societat i Cultura dels Països Catalans. Volum 7. La consolidació del món burgès. 1860–1900. Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, pp. 314–29. Pons, E. (2004). ‘La llengua catalana a l’escola després de la Llei de Qualitat a l’Educació’. LSC – Llengua, Societat i Comunicació, 1: 16–28. http://www.raco. cat/index.php/LSC/article/view/40443/40919 [last accessed 9 July 2010]. Pons, E. and Vila i Moreno, F. X. (2005). Informe sobre la situació de la llengua catalana (2003–2004). Barcelona: Observatori de la Llengua. http://www. observatoridelallengua.cat/arxius_documents/informe6_ok.pdf [last accessed 9 July 2010]. Pueyo, M. (1996). Tres escoles per als catalans. Lleida: Pagès editors. Purtí, Eulàlia. (2006). ‘La incorporació tardana de l’alumnat al·loglot. L’experiència dels primers programes adreçats a l’alumnat extracomunitaris a Catalunya’. In Vila i Moreno, F. X., Boix-Fuster, E. and Alturo, N. (eds), Integrar, des de la fragilitat? Societats plurilingües davant els reptes de les immigracions multilingües: Suïssa, Brussel·les, Luxemburg, Quebec i Catalunya. Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans, pp. 83–7. Reixach, B. (1749). Instruccions per l’ensenyança de minyons. Girona: Anton Oliva Estamper i llibreter. Simó, T. (2007). ‘L’ús de la llengua catalana a l’ensenyament superior als Països Catalans’. URL: http://www.vilaweb.cat/media/attach/vwedts/catala universitat.pdf [last accessed 9 July 2010]. Síndic – el Defensor de les Persones (2008). La segregació escolar a Catalunya. Barcelona: Síndic de Greuges. URL: http://www.sindic.cat/site/unitFiles/2266/ segregacio_escolar_web.pdf [last accessed 9 July 2010].


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Subdirecció General de Llengua i Cohesió Social (coord.) (2006a). L’aula d’acollida. Col·lecció Caixa d’eines. Llengua, interculturalitat i cohesió social, vol. 4. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, Department of Education. http://www. xtec.cat/lic/intro/documenta/caixa%20eines/caixaeines4%20.pdf [last accessed 9 July 2010]. Subdirecció General de Llengua i Cohesió Social (coord.) (2006b). Els plans educatius d’entorn: una resposta integral i comunitària. Col·lecció Caixa d’eines. Llengua, interculturalitat i cohesió social, vol. 5. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, Department of Education. http://www.xtec.cat/lic/intro/ documenta/caixa%20eines/caixaeines5.pdf [last accessed 9 July 2010]. Vila, I., Perera, S., Serra, J. M. and Siqués, C. (2007a). L’avaluació de les aules d’acollida a l’Educació Primària de Catalunya. Curs 2005–2006. Barcelona: Servei d’Ensenyament del Català de la Generalitat de Catalunya. Vila, I., Perera, S., Serra, J. M. and Siqués, C. (2007b). L’avaluació de les aules d’acollida a l’Educació Secundària Obligatòria de Catalunya. Curs 2005–2006. Barcelona: Servei d’Ensenyament del Català de la Generalitat de Catalunya. Vila, I. and Siqués, C. (2006). ‘Infància estrangera i coneixement de la llengua de l’escola’. Articles de Didàctica de la Llengua i la Literatura, 38: 29–37. Vila i Moreno, F. X. (2008). ‘Language-in-Education Policies in the Catalan Language Area: Models, Results and Challenges’. AILA Review, 21: 31–48. Vila i Moreno, F. X. (2010). ‘Making Choices for Sustainable Social Plurilingualism: Some Reflexions from the Catalan Language Area’. In Petrovic, J. (ed.), International Perspectives on Bilingual Education: Policy, Practice, and Controversy. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing series. Vila Mendiburu, J. I. (2008). ‘Lengua familiar y conocimiento de la lengua escolar en Cataluña al finalizar la Educación Infantil’ [Home Language and Knowledge of the School Language in Catalonia at the End of Nursery School]. Revista de Educación, 346: 401–24. http://www.revistaeducacion.mec.es/re346/re346_ 15.pdf.




Policies Promoting the Use of Catalan in Oral Communications and to Improve Attitudes towards the Language Emili Boix-Fuster University of Barcelona

Joan Melià University of the Balearic Islands

and Brauli Montoya University of Alacant/Alicante

6.1 Introduction Ever since the establishment of Spain’s ‘autonomous communities’, each of these communities with a native tongue other than Castilian in a part or all of its territory has carried out specific recognition of its own linguistic diversity and has implemented a unique language policy model based, fundamentally, on two interrelated variables that have been referred to in previous chapters. These are, firstly, social and political mobilisation in defence of each autonomous community’s own language and the nationalist, language and identity-related commitment of their respective governments. This political process also explains how it is that, in Spain, no language communities are recognised, except for the Castilian-speaking one (which enjoys this recognition implicitly) and that, consequently, speakers of the same language may enjoy different degrees of recognition of rights and linguistic security from one autonomous community to another. Thus it is, for example, that the Catalan-speaking community is subject, within the


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Spanish state alone, to five language policies and five different language rights systems: those of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Aragon and Murcia (Bodoque 2007). The above situation revealed by Bodoque shows how impossible it is to talk of one single Catalan language policy, without territorial restriction. The three main Catalan-speaking territories, which will be the subject of attention in this chapter, can be broken down into two groups. On the one hand there is Catalonia, which has always had favourable governments and a language policy of ‘normalisation’, according to the terminology employed by this author and, on the other, there are the Catalan-speaking areas of Valencia and the Balearic Islands, with governments which have been less favourable to policies of ‘promotion’. As is well enough known, in Catalonia, social modernisation, cultural renaissance and nationalist mobilisation made it possible for the twentieth century to witness brief periods of political autonomy (during the Mancomunitat of 1914–23/1925 and the Second Republic of 1931–39) and for the regulation of the language to achieve an important landmark with the acceptance of the reforms of Pompeu Fabra. In contrast, neither Valencia nor the Balearic Islands achieved their own political power, although Pompeu Fabra’s reforms were broadly accepted across the spectrum of those using Catalan as a form of educated expression. Franco’s long dictatorship (1936/39–1975), with its associated political and cultural oppression, consolidated the trend towards diglossia in a significant proportion of the population and, by means of both generalised schooling (firstly) and, later, the mass media, completed the process of making native Catalans bilingual, so that Castilian put down strong social roots (Vila-Pujol 2007, BlasArroyo 2007, Gimeno-Menéndez and Gómez-Molina 2007). It is to be supposed that, due to the pressure exerted to this end by the political powers that be, this period also saw consolidation of the habit of switching to the language of the Castilian speakers they were conversing with. The revival of Catalan since 1975 has led to an uneven degree of bilingualisation of the population. All native Catalan speakers can also speak Castilian. However, the reverse is not true: not all Castilian speakers (the great majority of whom come from non-Catalan families) can speak Catalan, even though the new Catalan statute of 2006 establishes this as a duty for the entire population. Such an obligation is not, however, included in the new statutes of either Valencia (2006)1 or the Balearic Islands (2007).2


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For important segments of the Catalan community, the Catalan language remained a language of prestige during Franco’s dictatorship. Nevertheless, some observations based on impressions and important ethnographic studies (Calsamiglia and Tuson 1984, Woolard 1983, 1985) have indicated how the so-called ‘accommodation norm’ has been the predominant unwritten rule in the majority of social environments. This norm, described by Howard Giles in his psycho-sociological research (Giles and Johnson 1981, Street and Giles 1982), indicates that, in inter-ethnic relations, Catalans have to change language when conversing with Castilian speakers. They speak to fellow Catalans in Catalan in the presence of Castilian speakers, but change to Castilian when addressing the latter or the group as a whole. Likewise, interactions with foreigners involve similar adaptive choices, with subtle hints (such as the physical appearance and accent of the interlocutor, where the interaction takes place, etc.) causing an apparently automatic and unconscious convergence (Genesee 1982) into Castilian by Catalan speakers – the result, in reality, of long periods in the past of social and political subordination. Generally speaking, for Catalan speakers to decide to converse in the language with their interlocutors, it is not enough that the latter understand it, nor that they have a minimum command of the spoken language: it has to be their first language or they must speak it relatively fluently. Exceptions to this rule are provided by Catalan speakers who make a conscious, militant choice of language: in such instances, cases of ‘passive bilingualism’ may arise. This type of behaviour has been promoted by the media in the hands of the Generalitat de Catalunya, and has doubtless given it legitimacy and caused its spread. Nevertheless, it is still only carried out by a minority. Around half the population of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands is ‘Castilian’, in the sense that its everyday language is Castilian and the majority of its family roots lie outside Catalan-speaking territory. By way of contrast, in Valencia, two-thirds of inhabitants use Castilian as their habitual language of communication, but the majority of them are local. We are distinguishing this Castilian-speaking population from more recent immigrants from Latin America, Eastern Europe, North and sub-Saharan Africa, whom we shall not be dealing with. In fact, the former are not now usually called ‘immigrants’. Compulsory education (above all in experiences of mass immersion) and the ‘Catalanisation’ of local and autonomous community authorities and of some media


6.2 The problem


have allowed for a significant dissemination of knowledge of Catalan, which in the Catalonia of the 1990s approached the level of complete bilingualisation of the population, at least on a passive basis. New immigration has led to an increase in the number of residents speaking Castilian but not Catalan, since integration tends to be carried out in the former language. Despite this, Catalan has, on a secondary basis and in certain sectors, a relative importance (in infants attending school in certain areas of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, and even Valencia). Whatever the case, ‘Castilians’ rarely learn Catalan in the same proportion that ‘Catalans’ learn Castilian. The current accommodation norm of turning to Castilian in interactions between ‘Catalans’ and ‘Castilians’ is one of the main obstacles to speakers of Castilian or other languages learning Catalan. Calsamiglia and Tuson (1984) concluded that this linguistic norm ‘facilitated communication but made it more difficult for Castilian speakers to become actively bilingual, because they have no need to speak Catalan’. Woolard (1983: 165) added that this linguistic norm fulfilled the role of keeping up the linguistic barriers between the two groups (see a discussion in Vallverdú 1989 and Cabré 2003). Thus it is that ‘Catalans’ use Catalan in situations classified as ethnically Catalan. In such conditions, it is extremely difficult for newcomers (Castilian speakers or otherwise) to feel any need to learn Catalan. We can see many examples of the application of usage norms in a range of communication situations. Those in which it is stipulated or understood that one should address an audience in Catalan show us how the rule can be broken when there is involvement from the public in Castilian. Then, given that there will be personalised attention, it appears legitimate for the teacher or speaker to change language. However, this ‘breaking’ of the rule occurs more frequently amongst Catalan-speaking members of the audience, who have greater freedom to not continue speaking Catalan with their Castilian-speaking colleagues, even after unsuccessful, if at times explicit, attempts by the latter to express themselves in Catalan. At the beginning of the 1980s, Calsamiglia and Tuson (1984: 119) noted that a ‘bilingual norm’ appeared to be emerging, which competed with the ‘accommodation norm’. Clearly, there are far more complex ‘mixed’ strategies. A Catalan speaker may consciously mix the two languages when addressing a Castilian speaker, or slow down their speech, or make use of a vocabulary that is closer to Castilian. This is a case of asymmetrical psychological divergence, however, because Castilian speakers who cannot speak Catalan cannot really diverge. It is




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(a) Firstly, many Catalans addressing Castilians find it strange and unusual to speak to them in Catalan, because they have to overcome the fear of being mistakenly viewed as threatening, provocative or rude, with a lack of politesse, by carrying out a face-threatening act. (b) The ethnic divisions between Castilians and Catalans in Catalonia are, broadly speaking, parallel to those of social status: it is more probable that Catalans are on the higher steps of the social ladder. Catalan has connotations of a ‘select’ language. By way of contrast, in the Balearic Islands, Catalan is associated with the native inhabitants and older individuals, and is less linked with the top and bottom social levels, reserved for Castilian. As so well described by Woolard, the hypothetical internal conflict between ‘Catalans’ and ‘Castilians’ is interlinked with the conflict between the Catalan and Spanish governments, in which the latter tends to defend Castilian speakers. This interlinking explains why Catalan politicians aim to keep up a sort of ‘Catalan unity’, avoiding any kind of internal division in Catalan society. This division is a sort of sword of Damocles, invoked only to deny its existence. Both CiU (Convergència i Unió) and the PSC (Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya) share this position, with small variances, which had previously been preached by the PSUC (the Catalan Communist Party) during the time of its greatest influence. (c) Meanwhile, in the Balearic Islands and Valencia, the political party which has been longest in government (the conservative PP, People’s Party) denies that there is any language ‘problem’, simply because, outside of education, its policy is, as noted in other chapters of this book, to ensure that the non-Catalan-speaking population can avoid understanding or using Catalan. To put it succinctly, the problem lies in establishing how ‘regional’ governments (in the sense of them being subsidiary powers dependent upon a higher central government) of a linguistically divided population can ensure the spreading of linguistic usage norms that favour Catalan without creating tensions amongst ethnic groups or with the central government (Branchadell 2005; see also his contribution to this volume). Intervention in private interpersonal usage is complex because:


no wonder that this ‘passive bilingualism’ faces significant psychosocial and political problems:


1. Legislation cannot be directly involved. It is true that Spain’s supreme legislative text, its Constitution, makes understanding Castilian compulsory, as does the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia for Catalan. Nevertheless, in all three territories, civil servants, given the language-related requirements for accessing their job, may be required (in theory, at least), to deal with the public in the relevant language. Except in these cases, the choice is exclusively individual in nature (cf. the controversy caused by a memo issued by a minister of the Generalitat de Catalunya making the use of Catalan by civil servants compulsory (Rossich 1991)). Interpersonal usage does not take place in institutional organisations, making intervention more difficult. 2. In the case of the Balearic Islands and Valencia, the difficulties in promoting the language – in all areas – are greater due to questions of nomenclature, which some political forces are interested in keeping unresolved. In the Balearic Islands, although ‘Catalan’ is the official name for the language, promotional campaigns tend to avoid using it, resorting to phrases such as ‘our language’ or using names derived from those of the islands or even some of their towns or cities. In Valencia, the name always used, except in university circles, is ‘Valencian’ (valencià), as included in the community’s Statute of Autonomy. Set out below is a breakdown by territory of the activities carried out, at an initial stage, to promote the interpersonal use of Catalan, which began in 1981 in Catalonia and ended in 1994 in Valencia (with a briefer period in the Balearic Islands), followed by a second stage, which began in Valencia in 1995 and has continued to the present day in all three Catalan-speaking territories.

6.3 The beginnings of official language policy (1981–95) The first campaigns in favour of the use of Catalan began in Catalonia and Valencia, where they were linked with the promulgation of the first language laws. Thus it was that, in Catalonia, the ‘la Norma’ campaign (1981) preceded the Language Normalisation Act (1983) and, in Valencia, the equivalent legislation, the Valencian Usage and Teaching Act (1983) was followed by the ‘Let’s speak Valencian’ campaign of 1984. In the Balearic Islands, the later implementation of the autonomous system delayed the commencement of the Islands’ official language policy and, when this policy was finally implemented, the language




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6.3.1 The ‘la Norma’ campaign (1981): ‘Catalan belongs to everyone’ Catalonia’s autonomous government organised its first language normalisation campaign between 1981 and 1982. Its goal was to extend the ‘bilingual norm’ and make people aware of the need to progress towards so-called ‘sociolinguistic normality’ in Catalonia, defined as the point in history when ‘all the inhabitants of Catalonia would understand and use Catalan, irrespective of their mother tongue’ (Llibre Blanc . . . 1982: 17). Castilian would be limited to the odd occasion when the interlocutor did not understand Catalan (La campanya . . . 1983: 11). The ‘la Norma’ campaign – using a play on words with the coincidence, in Catalan, between a girl’s name (Norma) and the language’s word for ‘the norm’ – lasted from October 1981 to April 1982 (whilst the Catalan Parliament worked on the first law promoting the Catalan language). Its main features are described below (see Boix 1985): 1. A non-confrontational campaign. The slogan ‘Catalan belongs to everyone’ exemplifies the unifying tone that the campaign sought to convey. A commonly distributed leaflet for the campaign stated: Catalan belongs to everyone, to those who were born here and to those who come from elsewhere. Catalan is everyone’s heritage because it is the living representation of the history and culture of Catalonia. Normalisation of Catalan forms a key part of the collective task that we all need to work on: the task of building a country for the future, which we all can consider ours and which is worth living in. The first step was to bring all of Catalonia’s municipal councils on board. Councils representing 98 per cent of the population put in writing their agreement with the ‘la Norma’ campaign, undertaking to carry it out in their territories. The second step was to implement the specifics of the campaign itself. A likeable, affable young lass of around ten was chosen as


Act and the promotional campaigns were separated by a considerable amount of time. In fact, they were based on different political support. The law, which received the same name as that of Catalonia (the Language Normalisation Act), dates from 1986 and the first campaign from 1991–92.


the personification of the campaign’s message in a friendly, nonconfrontational form. The goal, as stated in the campaign’s white paper (Llibre Blanc), was to create ‘a movement sympathetic to the language, by means of gentle medium that would convey an irrefutable, integrative message’ (La campanya . . .1983: 27). Norma was both Catalan or Spanish and meant both ‘normalisation’ and ‘normality’. 2. The campaign’s media: press cartoons and radio and TV ads. Promotional material, such as balloons, stickers, biros, lighters, etc., bearing Norma’s image and her messages, were distributed throughout Catalonia. At various levels of involvement, schools and the mass media helped disseminate the campaign. For example, many television presenters wore or used Norma’s gadgets, particularly during the last, most intensive months of the campaign. Also, hundreds of speeches, debates and discussions on the subject took place in the majority of Catalonia’s districts. The campaign reached its climax on 23 April, Sant Jordi (St George’s Day, the patron saint of Catalonia). From 9 March to 23 April, the core message was spread through cartoons in newspapers and magazines, small-scale video installations and short films in cinemas. 3. The campaign’s targets: ethnically differentiated messages as well as neutral ones. The cartoons and short films appeared to be aimed at (a) Castilians, (b) Catalans, and (c) both groups, with a general, vague message. (a) Messages aimed at Castilians. Cartoons 14, 16 and 19 encouraged Castilians to accept and demand the ‘bilingual norm’ and were set in a range of situations (in a bar, on the street, at the doctor’s) where they accepted and requested that they were spoken to in Catalan to be able to learn the language. (b) Messages aimed at Catalans. More than half of the dialogues are unmistakably aimed at Catalans: they follow the bilingual norm in the market, in the office and in groups of friends. The tone critical of traditional norms is tougher than in cartoons aimed at Castilian speakers. They therefore include Catalans (criticised, obviously) showing a lack of interest in the improvement in and genuineness of their language (cartoons 8, 9, 12 and 21) and those who fail to use it in formal or public contexts (cartoons 5, 10, 11, 15, 22 and 23) (c) General messages aimed at both groups. Some cartoons do not appear to be aimed at any specific ethnic grouping. Some refer





to Norma’s personal traits, such as her obstinacy and sincerity. Others stress the need to speak any language correctly. This is the case of cartoon number 6, where Norma, who always speaks Catalan, corrects her Castilian-speaking interlocutors because they use unacceptable Catalan terms in their Castilian. Finally, some messages are consciously aimed at both groups. This is the case, for example of the dialogue ‘At the doctor’s’, which shows a process of double mutual convergence: the Catalan speaker adapts to (converges with) the Castilian interlocutor whereas the Castilian speaker asks to be addressed in Catalan. The Catalan speaker ends up talking in Catalan, albeit a simplified version of the language, a ‘foreigner’s talk’, in which he clarifies some words that could be misunderstood. The linguistic divergence (choosing Catalan even though it is not the preferred code of the interlocutor) is compensated for by partial lexical convergence. This minimises any possible loss of face and the possible perception of rudeness. The ‘la Norma’ campaign managed to avoid any language-related arguments or disputes between Catalonia’s two main ethno-linguistic communities, but this ‘success’ came at the cost of an apparent failure to disseminate the ‘bilingual norm’, which was its main objective. The campaign was condemned to ambiguity because it had to satisfy everyone. As the Head of the Language Policy Directorate remarked: it is the first time that anyone has attempted to revive a language that has been oppressed for a long time and to give it its rightful place in the community, not only without excluding the oppressor language but even establishing a co-official nature with it. Many people – in and outside of Catalonia – doubted that such goals would be achievable. (La campanya . . . 1983: 10) The main incentive for following ‘la Norma’s’ advice was the need for a common identity for both Catalans and Castilians, both ethnically and linguistically. In other words, the message was that, if one wanted to become truly Catalan, one had to learn Catalan. Our impression is that such a general incentive is not enough. We believe that more utilitarian incentives, creating instrumental motivation, would have been more effective. One significant incentive of this type would have been as follows: companies and businesses requiring that those looking for jobs be sufficiently competent in the two languages, at least passively,


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to follow the ‘bilingual norm’. If not, if there are no pressure-based measures of this type, it appears that the adaptation to Castilian norm will remain dominant in Catalonia. In 1997, arguments over the Language Policy Act show how difficult this point (the so-called ‘language availability’) was. In the end, 1998 saw approval of a disposition stating that workers had to be able to deal with – in the sense of understanding but not necessarily answering – customers and the public in Catalan. The Directorate-General of Language Policy, which did not carry out any form of serious assessment of the campaign, pointed out some limitations in its annual activities reports of 1982 and 1983. The emphasis was placed on the fact that it failed to reach many Castilian sectors of the population, and it was they who were the least aware of the sociolinguistic problems and challenges. Strubell, one of those heading the campaign, noted that ‘many Catalan speakers became more aware of their language. However, less impact was made on Castilian speakers than on other Catalans’ (La campanya . . .1983: 73). The campaign did not manage to spread throughout the base and social networks of the Castilian-speaking world. In some language normalisation exercises appearing in the newspaper El País (7 December 1986), a Castilian-speaking student was asked the following: What would you suggest to Catalan speakers? And the response was: ‘In a linguistically normal situation I, a Castilian speaker, would know that I have the right to learn and practise Catalonia’s own language, and would not be scared of making my interlocutor impatient as I made an effort to express myself in it. I would not stop speaking in Catalan due to any fear of making errors: it would be very clear to me that it is better to speak a language badly than not to speak it at all. I would ask them to speak Catalan to me, so as to have the opportunity to practise it and learn it quickly. One example of the campaign’s lack of influence was the fact that, amongst the hundreds of cultural, social and sporting organisations and associations supporting the campaign, there were but a few trade union groups and only the odd neighbourhood association, in both cases, dominated by Castilian speakers. 6.3.2 From ‘Let’s speak Valencian’ (1984) to ‘Let’s speak in Valencian’ (1990): an ambitious programme?



Whilst Catalonia’s first autonomous government worked on the basis that Catalan was used on a daily basis between Catalans and proposed


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At home, on the street, at work . . . let’s speak Valencian (1984) It was with this message that the autonomous community’s first government, made up by socialists (1982–95), took up the old demand, expressed in clandestine graffiti, of the ‘Valencianist’ movement. The campaign accompanied the then recently (and not unanimously) approved Valencian Use and Teaching Act (LUEV, 1983), whose goals were also fairly modest: to legalise the use of Catalan in teaching and other administrative fields. This basic campaign also covered other, lower-ranking ones, such as ‘What’s your name?’ (1984), which aimed to inform Valencians of their right to officially change their surnames into their Catalan form; ‘Let’s speak in Valencian’ (1985), a variant of the general campaign aimed at young residents of tourist areas; ‘Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas/Happy New Year’ (1985), a campaign focusing on the retail trade and which included a ‘Letter to the Three Kings’ and a large number of slogans designed to encourage people to learn and use the language: ‘Where we can learn Valencian’; ‘Valencian has a future’; ‘To learn a language, you have to practise it’. The generic campaign ‘Let’s speak Valencian’ was spread through all types of mass media (television, radio, the press, telephone books and municipal newsletters) and advertising on the streets (billboards and telephone boxes). We do not know the level of response to this campaign. The autonomous body responsible for language planning in Valencia was named, in its first year of existence, the Language Normalisation Service (1982). However, the term normalisation, habitually used in similar bodies and laws in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands during these first years, immediately disappeared from the directory of the Valencian Generalitat, and, in line with the associated law (LUEV), was renamed the Valencian Use and Teaching Office (1983). It appears that the goals of a process of normalisation would necessarily have to be greater than those of a body and a section working in support of the use and teaching of a language named Valencian. Whatever the case, the increase in, and greater complexity of, the responsibilities being assumed by the Generalitat soon led to the body being divided into two: the Valencian Use Office and the Valencian Teaching Service (1987).


that they went further and also used it with Castilians, in Valencia, symptomatically, the first Generalitat (autonomous government) set a simpler goal: for the Valencians themselves to once again use their own language in everyday situations:


The assessment made of the language policy carried out by the Valencian Generalitat in the 1980s, according to the autonomous government itself, can be seen from the trends shown by some of the results of sociolinguistic surveys carried out at the end of the period (specifically, in 1989 and 1992). In these three years, the social usage of Catalan increased, both at home (+5.3 points) and in the retail trade (+4.1). In other words, these were not surveys targeting specific campaigns but rather measuring the indirect results that these may have had. In its comments on these results, the Valencian government repeatedly argued that it had to act above and beyond the demands of society on this point (Conselleria de Cultura, Educació i Ciència 1995: 280). The subsequent stage of the normalisation process carried out by the Generalitat was based around three themes: a new campaign, ‘Let’s live in Valencian’ (1990), a Three-Year Plan for the Promotion of the Use of Valencian in the Autonomous Community of Valencia (1990–92) and the creation of the Directorate-General of Language Policy (1991). However, the text explaining the new campaign slogan reduced its apparently more ambitious scope (Figure 6.1). As with the previous campaign, this one was carried on television, radio, posters, billboards, press adverts, stickers, car sunshades, etc. The campaign lasted three years (1990–93). At the end of the second year, an assessment was performed in which the Generalitat stated that 86 per cent of Valencians agreed with ‘encouraging the use of Valencian amongst all the inhabitants of the Autonomous Community of Valencia’ (Conselleria de Cultura, Educació i Ciència 1995: 39–40).3 With the conversion at this stage of the Valencian Use Office into a Directorate-General of Language Policy, the body assumed greater importance in the Generalitat’s administrative hierarchy.

Figure 6.1 ‘Let’s speak in Valencian’. This banner was joined by the following text: ‘Speak. To learn how to listen. To learn and to teach with enthusiasm. Participate and collaborate. Make out of Valencian a tool of social harmony. There is no better way of boosting the use of Valencian in our community. Get ready to join the plurilingual Europe.’





Towards the end of the socialist period of government in the Generalitat (1993), it presented the General Plan for the Promotion of the Use of Valencian (PGPUV), which was relatively ambitious and, as a result, added to the existing slogan ‘Let’s speak Valencian’ the subsidiary slogan ‘Let’s go further’. This announced progression, which was planned for implementation in the period until 1999, would be cut short by the socialists losing the autonomous community elections of 1995. The text explaining the new campaign further highlighted the new subsidiary slogan, as an expression of the gradually increasing scope promised by the new plan with which it was associated: Let’s live in Valencian. Let’s go further. Valencian Government. The Community The PGPUV, which sprang from an analysis of the first ten years of normalisation and aimed to give the process a new boost, set ‘the goal of living in Valencian’ (Conselleria de Cultura, Educació i Ciència 1995: 54–8) and did so beginning with the administration of the Generalitat itself and concluding with society as a whole: ‘the establishment of measures for the effective use of the language (. . .) the increase in programmes that affect language-related attitudes and opinions, which increase the acceptability of these measures and foster a social situation favourable to the expansion of its use in Valencian society as a whole’. During these years of the first phase (1983–95), although the Valencian Generalitat had the leading role, it was not the only player in the normalisation of Catalan in Valencia. Schools also worked in favour of the reintegration of Catalan in social usages, as did, especially, the Valencian School Federation which, in 1982, began organising large-scale district ‘encounters’ between parents, teachers and students involved in the teaching of Catalan. These meetings were always held under a slogan, such as: In Valencian, towards the future Now and always, in Valencian The most recent encounter (2007), supported by well-known Valencian actors who appear in two series on Canal 9, the Valencian public TV channel, took place under the slogan


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Enrol for the future. Enrol in Valencian


Higher education also joined the efforts promoting the interpersonal usage of Catalan, since universities created their own language normalisation services. In principle, these services were designed to serve the university community but, indirectly, they also aimed to influence their social environment. The first campaign was carried out in the 1990–91 academic year by the Language Policy Service of the University of Valencia. Its goals were to inform students of the very existence of university’s Language Service, on the language rights they enjoyed and of the teaching in Valencian carried out in the university. Its slogan was simple: Bring the language out/stick your tongue out However, the majority of university campaigns have been organised on a common basis, with the gradual incorporation of other public universities (Jaume I – of Castelló de la Plana – the Politècnica, Valencia, and Miguel Hernández, of Elx/Elche). The goal of the first campaign was to calm the environment hostile to the presence of Catalan on campus and to highlight the communicative aspect of the language: I want to get involved with you. Do you know me? You and I have a story. Write to me We understand each other. Talk to me (1991–93) 6.3.3 The first campaign in the Balearic Islands: ‘Don’t hold your tongue’ and ‘Bring the language out’ (1991–92) By the end of the 1980s, and following the Language Normalisation Act in 1986, the lack of interest shown by the Islands’ government in promoting the language led to the organisation Obra Cultural Balear arranging the signing of an agreement between the Islands’ main political institutions (the government, Island councils and Palma Municipal Council) on the normalisation of the language. This agreement created the Language Normalisation Campaign, a representative and administrative infrastructure, with financial support from the institutions, whose role was to plan and carry out language normalisation activities. Right from the very beginning, the institutions did little or nothing to help the campaign to be operative and it was, after a few years, dissolved due to inactivity. Amongst its most noteworthy actions were the advertising campaign ‘Don’t hold your tongue. Speak Catalan’, whose aim was for Catalan speakers to increase their interpersonal use of





the language. It was based around TV and radio ads in which three well-known characters (one from each of the three islands)4 encouraged people to use Catalan. In parallel, billboards and press adverts supported the campaign. The campaign’s modest level of funding and the lack of institutional involvement meant that it only lasted two months. Even so, this was the first time a powerful campaign in favour of Catalan had been carried out and, what is more, the first that the term ‘Catalan’ had been used in such a carefree way. Simultaneously, the University of the Balearic Islands, in collaboration with the campaign, launched another campaign, aimed mainly at university students and schools (‘Bring the language out/Stick out your tongue. Speak Catalan’),5 which aimed to add a youthful perspective to the general campaign. This youth-oriented campaign, in addition to distributing calendars and T-shirts featuring the slogan, produced eight posters which, by means of a series of cartoons (à la Norma), showed interpersonal usage situations requiring correction and which in some way represented the concerns in the field existing at the time: Catalan speakers who spoke Castilian needlessly with their interlocutors, students who had learned Catalan but who did not use it in the outside world, the need to encourage those learning Catalan to use it, the break in the handing down of the language from generation to generation, etc.

6.4 The changes in language policy in the second phase (from 1995) In all three Catalan-speaking regions, a second phase in the evolution of language policy can be discerned, which started in the Balearic Islands. Again in all three, this second phase is characterised by a change in government. In Catalonia, the successive governments of Convergència i Unió gave way to those of the ‘tripartite’ (PSC-PSOE, ERC and Iniciativa per Catalunya), something which was seen as a new boost for Catalan language policy. This was also the case of the Balearic Islands, with the change from the PP to another three-party coalition (PSIB-PSOE, PSM and Esquerra Unida de les Illes Balears), which brought with it real qualitative change. In contrast, Valencia saw a change in the other direction, from the PSPV-PSOE to the PP. 6.4.1 A second try in Catalonia: the ‘You are a teacher’ and ‘You are a winner’ campaigns (2003)


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For a long time, there were few new campaigns in Catalonia dealing with interpersonal usage. The only one worthy of note was ‘It depends


on you’ of 1985 which, as its name suggests, placed the emphasis on the responsibility of Catalan speakers in language normalisation, on their duty not to change over systematically to Castilian. There were a number of negative reactions to this campaign, above all because it appeared that the authorities were avoiding their responsibilities. Also worth mentioning is a campaign that was designed but never implemented: ‘We all understand each other in Catalan, so let’s use it’ (1993), which was based on the fact that the levels of understanding had increased greatly, so that the immense majority of the population understood Catalan (Consorci 1993). The campaign aimed to show, using three groups traditionally assumed to be Castilian-speaking (the police, taxi drivers and judges), how one could use Catalan and still be understood.

6.4.1.1 The ‘You are a teacher’ campaign (2003) The Generalitat de Catalunya, still under the government of Convergència i Unió, began a communications campaign with the goal of promoting the linguistic integration of immigrants. It was aimed especially at Catalan speakers and its mission was to explain that each year in Catalonia, more than 65,000 immigrants or foreigners learn Catalan and their efforts should be aided and made more useful by speaking to them in Catalan. The campaign, carried out on television, radio, in the press and on outdoor media, was based on the fact that many Catalans did (and do) not usually address anyone who does not appear to be from Catalonia in Catalan, which might mean that those immigrants who are learning Catalan find that their efforts are of little use or feel excluded or discriminated against. The television and radio adverts showed three everyday-life situations: a market, a restaurant kitchen and a conversation between two skateboarder-style youngsters. In all three cases, a Catalan addresses in his or her own language an immigrant, who concludes the ad by saying ‘Help me. Speak to me in Catalan’. The press adverts showed a photo from each of the scenes under the slogan ‘You are a teacher’. Of the more than 65,000 immigrants who learn Catalan each year, the majority – almost 52,000 – are children studying at schools (data for the 2002–3 school year). The rest, i.e. around 15,000, are adults studying in centres of the Language Normalisation Consortium (CPNL) or adult education centres, or at the university.




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This campaign, similarly to the preceding one, aimed to promote the use of the Catalan language when dealing with the public. It consisted of posters of a chef, a lady shopping and a boy on the street. Its goals were: 1. To raise the awareness of Catalans in the retail and hotel/restaurant trade of the application of the 1998 Language Policy Act, the requirement that those involved with the public deal with customers speaking Catalan and their duty as business persons in the process of linguistic and cultural integration of foreigners. 2. To offer them support in the learning of Catalan by said staff, especially in the case of hiring foreigners, with teaching materials and training solutions. 3. To convey to customers and users the message that they should speak in Catalan to those dealing with the public, even if they are foreigners, to help them to integrate. 4. To ensure the assuming of responsibility and involvement of all the social players involved: Generalitat, municipal councils, employers’ organisations, trade unions, etc. The direct target public were employers and workers in establishments open to the public, with the indirect targets being consumers and users. The materials for employers consisted of explanatory leaflets. One bore the title ‘Open the doors to Catalan’, whilst another, entitled ‘The Catalan Act outdoors and indoors’ noted the most important articles of the Language Policy Act, highlighting Article 32.1, which states that companies and establishments involved in the sale of products and rendering services which carry out their activity in Catalonia shall be in a position to be able to serve consumers when they express themselves in either of the official languages in Catalonia. A campaign leaflet explained what Catalan was, who spoke it and, most of all, why it was useful to learn it: ‘to become integrated in Catalonia, to progress in the world of work, to offer your customers good service and to relate to others better’. It concludes with a text exhorting learners to: ‘Learn Catalan, dare to speak it, ask to be spoken to in Catalan. Your company, your colleagues and your unions will help you. In Catalan, you end up winning.’ Clearly, the alleged help to be received from these sectors was a case of wishful thinking, since a large number of them are either Castilian speakers or Catalan speakers with little or no loyalty to the language.


6.4.1.2 The ‘In Catalan, you are a winner’ campaign (June 2003)



The reason for this campaign is similar to that of previous ones: the failure to use Catalan in non-formal interpersonal situations, given the traditional norm of Catalan speakers changing into Castilian, also extended to amongst newly arrived immigrants. The generalised levels of indifference and pragmatism have led to a clear reduction in the social usage of the language. Its goal is to foster the interpersonal and informal use of the Catalan language. The slogan is ‘Wind up Catalan’ and is based around the idea that all the world’s societies must ‘wind up’ their languages, everyone must make use of them for them to remain living languages, and Catalan is no exception. These ideas are given concrete form in three main messages. All citizens are targeted by the campaign, but special emphasis is placed on the 25–45-year-old age grouping ‘because it is they who are at an age to take decisions on how to bring up their children’ (Pia Bosch, Diari de Girona, 25-I-2006): (1) ‘Don’t be scared to speak.’ Because it doesn’t matter if you make a mistake. What matters are your intentions. Because it is important that you speak, state your opinion and that you express yourself freely. Wind up Catalan. It’s easier than it appears. This message is aimed especially at those who understand Catalan but do not speak it. It invites them to speak a language they know, without worrying and with normality. (2) ‘Speak freely.’ Because it is up to you, and you alone, how you express yourself. Because it’s your right. Because it’s important that you speak freely whenever and wherever you want. Wind up Catalan and your word. This message is aimed especially at Catalan speakers, encouraging them to use their language in any context. (3) ‘To begin with, speak in Catalan!’


6.4.2 A third try: ‘La Queta: Wind up Catalan’ (2005)

Because you have a lot to say. Because they’ll understand you. Because it’s important that you make it easy for others to speak in Catalan. Wind up Catalan so that it always progresses.



This is especially aimed at those who habitually speak Catalan, to make them aware that they are creating language behaviour models and to ensure they acquire the habit of starting conversations in Catalan when addressing unknown persons. The campaign tried to make Catalan seem an anonymous language, belonging to everyone and not merely the authorities. It was explained thus in an assessment of the campaign (Informe . . . 2005: 1): This is a popular campaign that must be acceptable to everyone, governed by political consensus and distanced from civic conflict. The campaign must be able to involve everyone, be popular and fun and, therefore, does not have the strict image of an institutional campaign. This campaign is a further product within a programme of measures for the dissemination of the Catalan language and, above all, its effective use. The type of Catalan used is that of a new speaker of the language. In this way, the anonymity of the Catalan is increased: it is everyone’s and no one’s (Woolard 2008). The autonomous government’s assessment of the campaign was positive (Informe final 2005: 11). It had made la Queta, the campaign’s mascot, and her songs, form part of the collective imaginary. A deeper goal was pointed out – the priority of Catalan as Catalonia’s own (native) language: ‘This first stage (. . .) has been designed as a platform to encourage social reflection on the use of languages in Catalonia, on the basis of the preferential position that Catalan should have as the territory’s own language’ (p. 11). Other more recent assessments can be found in Calaforra (2005). A smaller and slightly different campaign was boosted by the private organisation Platform for the Language altogether with the public network Consortium for Linguistic Normalisation. Its motto was: ‘Please, speak Catalan to me’, from the point of view of new immigrants who are normally talked to in Castilian. 6.4.2.1 A fourth try: Encomana el català (‘Pass on Catalan’) Later on another linguistic campaign was carried out by the Catalan autonomous government. The main idea to be transmitted was that Catalan is easy and everybody can speak it. Figure 6.2 shows how people from different races, origins and occupations, all are encouraged to speak Catalan. The core instructions say as follows: ‘In the bakery, at your friend’s coffee shop, with whom you already know and with you


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Figure 6.2

‘Encomana el català’ (‘Pass on Catalan’)

don’t know, everywhere and with everybody, the first word in Catalan. It’s easy. Pass on Catalan’. 6.4.3 Campaigns in Valencia, 1995–2011: the Generalitat versus the universities and the municipal councils The change in government of the autonomous community of Valencia from the PSPV-PSOE (Partit Socialista del País Valencià, Valencian Socialist Party) to the People’s Party (PP, conservative) gave rise to a reverse in the timid progress made in the 12 years of left-supported governments. One of the most significant measures marked by the entry of the right into the Valencian Generalitat (1995) was the ‘demotion’ and ‘dilution’ of the organisational level that had been enjoyed by the Directorate-General of Language Policy, which was merged with the former Directorate-General of Education Management and Innovation. This meant that there was one Director-General in charge of a Directorate-General of Education Management and Innovation and Language Policy, in which the department for language planning played second fiddle to and was associated with education, which was where





the PP intended to demote language policy. However, in addition to the aforementioned ‘relegation’, the director of the affected area was a civil servant, which meant that there was no possibility of influencing the autonomous government’s policy. During the most recent legislatures (2003–7, 2007–11), also controlled by the PP, it appeared that there was going to be a change in parallel to that of the replacement of those in charge of the area, but language policy is still a poor relative inside another department, first that of Culture and afterwards that of Education (the language policy area), and its management remains in the hands of a head of area who is not a politician. Finally, and although this has barely been noticed, also significant has been the cut in the part of the Generalitat’s budget set aside for language policy, from 0.1 per cent in the times of the socialists to 0.044 per cent in the years of right-wing government. The scant language policy actually carried out by the Valencian Generalitat has been restricted to lowering the tone of the socialists’ campaign slogans to encourage the use of the language and to disseminate the new slogans as discreetly as possible. The period began with ‘Valencian, of course’, which obviously watered down the (at least apparent) intentions of the ‘Let’s live in Valencian’ of the second socialist period. Each of the two campaigns carried out by the right in Valencia was accompanied by brief explanatory texts. Let us examine a few of these:

In Valencian, of course. We write in Valencian, speak in Valencian, study in Valencian, etc. (1995–2005) In Valencian, naturally (Figure 6.3). Because it is our language . . . We want you to talk, to explain things. Go on, bring it (stick it) out! Wherever you go, don’t think twice. Go on, talk! (2005–7)

Figure 6.3


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‘En Valencià, naturalment’ (‘In Valencian, naturally’)



Because there are already a lot of us. And your time has come. Today you will hear the sound of a voice, That of your people, And that of your home, The voice that has always been there. That voice is yours. Other subsidiary slogans, some derived from the explanatory text, have been presented in the form of television and radio adverts and include: Get involved with people . . . live in Valencian Bring the language out/stick your tongue out Hotels and restaurants in Valencian, naturally This latter subsidiary slogan has been promoted by means of leaflets and gifts of caps and posters alluding to it, only in the districts with a clear Catalan-speaking majority and a positive attitude towards the language (la Ribera Alta, la Safor and la Vall d’Albaida), where they have enjoyed the support of their respective language services and the Valencian Hotel and Restaurant Federation. Given the lack of language policy-related action by the Valencian Generalitat, the language services reporting to other authorities have decided to act on their own account and fill the gap left (Serrano and Victoriano 2002, Montoya 2006, Esteve and Esteve 2007). Thus it is that local services (of the municipal and provincial authorities) on the one hand, and those of the universities on the other, have carried out coordinated action to make good the ineffectiveness of those of the autonomous community. Beginning in 1999, a network of local language staff has been created (albeit without any institutional support) with the goal of getting the most from efforts and financing in many initiatives which benefited not only their respective local areas but also managed to ensure dissemination throughout Valencia. To incentivise the use of Catalan by users of municipal offices, leaflets have been published stating the following:


This last slogan has been spread by means of a song and a TV ad. All this has been rounded off with the publishing of folders and booklets complementing the lyrics of the song with verses such as these on the cover:

Government in Valencian. Ask for it in Valencian. It’s your right.


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And, more directly, mobile table-top signs facing the public, stating:

To encourage new parents to create a Catalan-speaking environment on the occasion of the birth of their children, a range of different babyrelated materials has been prepared (‘baby on board’ car signs, bibs, etc.). The general slogan of the campaign, which had been previously carried out in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands was: Welcome home (2003–4) The explanatory text accompanying it (in a smaller typeface and at much greater length) had every paragraph headed by short phrases (the first three of which are featured below) and was concluded with a longer one providing responses to the questions they had raised: You’re parents now. Congratulations! What name shall we give him/her? What language shall we speak to him/her in? Starting off in Valencian is to start off on the right foot. It’s his/her life. It’s our future. On occasion, some municipal services have carried out campaigns on their own. We set out some examples below, indicating which municipal council they belong to: Valencian belongs to everyone (Alcoi) Looking to the future, in Elx, let’s speak Valencian (Elx/Elche) Let’s speak Valencian to our children (Novelda) Valencian is worth it. Let’s make it worth it (Alzira) Sagunt in the summer, Valencian truly alive (Sagunt) Declare yourself in Valencian (Silla) In 1995, by means of an agreement between the Valencian School Federation and 20 or so municipal language services, the Voluntariat pel Valencià (Volunteers for Valencian) programme, similar to those implemented in the Balearic Islands and Catalonia, was started. This involved bringing people who spoke Catalan into contact with those who did not so that, in pairs, they could talk in Catalan about everyday situations. The slogan and the brief explanation accompanying it are as follows:


We will deal with you in Valencian



Valencia’s public universities have carried out campaigns linked to enrolment time and the presence of Catalan in teaching. Therefore, they are aimed at students to increase amongst them demand in their environment and, at the same time, influence the rest of society: Speak to me and mark me in Valencian (1994–97) Choose me in Valencian (1997–99) Ask for it in Valencian (1999–2002) The slogans set out below are addressed not only to teaching and research staff, but also at administrative and service personnel, to encourage them to use Catalan in their respective fields: I work in Valencian, and you? We work in Valencian, and you? (2006) He said it in Valencian, and you? (2004–7) However, the most daring (and recent) campaign regarding interpersonal use is this one by Valencia’s public universities:6 Films in Valencian (2005–7) This involves providing a service that should have been supplied by the Valencian Generalitat or by sector companies. The latest achievement has been thanks to the Valencian Academy of Language (AVL 2005),7 which, at the end of 2009, subscribed to a protocol of collaboration for the coordination of performances on the subject of linguistic normalisation with the Valencian Federation of Towns and Provinces and the Valencian government. 6.4.4 Campaigns in the Balearic Islands between 1999 and 2003 Until a left-wing government won power in the Balearic Islands, after almost a decade of large-scale social mobilisation in favour of the Catalan language, led by Obra Cultural Balear, no campaign in favour of the normalisation of Catalan in interpersonal usage, or any other field, was again carried out.


Do you want us to talk? Do you want to learn Valencian? Do you want to begin speaking Valencian? Do you want to become more fluent in Valencian? Do you want to learn Valencian and have fun?


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The first time that the government of the Balearic Islands assumed responsibility for a publicity campaign in favour of the normalisation of Catalan was in 2000. This campaign (‘Let’s give our language to the future’), consisted in the broadcasting of TV and press ads which aimed to favour the social legitimacy of the normalisation of Catalan in the Islands: For more than seven centuries, it has been our own voice, that has made us unique in the world. We have made Catalan progress from the Middle Ages to the twenty-first century, generation after generation. What can stop us now? Today, as yesterday, for tomorrow: let’s give our language to the future. Another ad in the same campaign stressed the need to use Catalan in all language-related functions to ensure its continuity as the Island’s ‘own’ (native) language. With the same aim, that of socially broadening the perception that action in support of the normalisation of Catalan is legitimate, together (also for the first time) with the Generalitat de Catalunya, it carried out the campaign ‘Catalan, a language of Europe’. This campaign consisted in the production of brochures and flyers, in a number of languages, which explained Catalan’s place amongst the languages of Europe (its history, demographics, cultural production, lack of recognition as an official language within the EU, etc.). This was combined with press inserts containing this information (around 26 September, the European Day of Languages) and accessibility via the Internet. A video was also produced in the Islands, and broadcast by their TV stations under the same title, showing the history of Catalan from the perspective of the Balearic Islands and the situation in which it found itself. A DVD was later produced with access via a number of languages. There can be no doubt, however, that the most important publicity campaign of this period was ‘Catalan, a language for everyone’ (2002–3), designed to incentivise the linguistic integration of immigrants. It should be noted that the quantitative impact of immigration between 1999 and 2002 was clear: the proportion of the population born abroad doubled (from 7.4 to 15.4 per cent).8 Prior to the commencement of this campaign, a whole range of actions had already been carried out to the same end:


6.4.4.1 ‘Let’s give our language to the future’ and ‘Catalan, a language for everybody’ (2000–3)


(a) ‘People from here’ (2000–1), a series of more than 40 TV programmes in which foreigners who had learned Catalan talked of their experiences and emphasised the importance of learning Catalan and how the locals had helped them to do so. This was broadcast by the Islands’ TV channels, and summarised at the end of 2001 in a single programme under the same title, which was also produced in video form, together with a teaching guide to be used in secondary schools. (b) ‘Katalanischulen – ‘Easy Catalan’ (2000–2), mini radio programmes broadcast by the local German-language radio station (Inselradio), which invited the population of German origin to learn and use Catalan (which were later made into a CD – ‘Speak to me! 50 dialogues to learn Catalan’ – and distributed amongst German residents).9 (c) ‘Within reach’ (2000–2), a multilingual CD-ROM with more than 250 basic Catalan phrases for non-Catalan speakers (and which is still available on the Internet).10 (d) ‘A new phrase every day’ (2001–3), diaries, notebooks, inserts in the publications most popular with immigrants, and booklets with 365 everyday phrases in Catalan and their translation into various languages (the version on the web allows you to hear spoken versions).11 (e) ‘If you want, no problem’ (2000–1), mini radio programmes in the form of adverts, broadcast by all the stations of the SER chain on the Islands, which aimed, by broadcasting phrases in Catalan and Castilian, to incentivise the learning and use of Catalan, especially amongst Castilian speakers. Alongside these actions, which aimed to awaken in foreigners an interest in learning Catalan, specific teaching materials were drawn up, the quantity, quality and specificity of courses aimed at foreigners were increased, etc. (Ramon 2004). The year 2002 saw the beginning of the publicity campaign ‘Catalan, a language for everyone’ (2002–3). The campaign used a wide variety of media: TV ads12 using real foreigners who had learned Catalan, radio ads, press advertisements, stickers, calendars (for 2003), etc. The campaign, subtitled ‘Provide it, ask for it’, aimed to highlight the nature of Catalan as the Islands’ own, native language and to influence the behaviour of Catalan and non-Catalan speakers. Some of the materials were aimed at both groups together (roadside billboards, press ads, stickers, calendars, etc.), whilst in other cases they were aimed specifically at




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There are people from around the world who want you to listen to and understand them, who are making efforts to integrate themselves in the Balearic Islands. Help them to learn our language. Catalan, a language for everyone. The tri-fold flyers came in three versions: one explained the campaign’s goals, whilst the other two explained the attitudes that should be held. In 2003, the campaign was bolstered by adverts aimed at the younger members of the population again with the slogan ‘Bring the language out/Stick your tongue out: Catalan is a language for everyone’ (Figure 6.4). In 2002, the Balearic Islands’ government also carried out the campaign ‘Welcome home’. This consisted in giving, via clinics and hospitals, families of newborn babies a folder (in both boy and girl versions) with a range of materials encouraging them to keep on using the language with their children (in the case of Catalan speakers) or ensuring they had contact with it, to help them learn it, in other cases. The text accompanying the folder (girl version) ended by saying: [. . .] If you speak Catalan, don’t hesitate to teach her our language, even if your partner speaks to her in a different one. If your family does not speak Catalan, make sure that your daughter learns the language of the Balearic Islands at school, in her pastimes, etc. Your personal decision today will be of great importance for the future of your child and of society. Start off on the right foot. It’s her life. It’s our future.

Figure 6.4


one or other group. The wording of the TV and radio advertisements speaks for itself with regard to their intentions:

‘Catalan is a language for everyone’


Similar campaigns were also carried out by Lleida’s Language Normalisation Consortium and Valencian municipal councils (Minguet 2005). No systematic assessment has been carried out of any of these campaigns, but it can be confidently stated that they enjoyed great social acceptance, since there was a high level of involvement by social organisations (trade unions, cultural and immigrants’ associations, hospitals, etc.) and institutions voluntarily collaborating in the promotion and distribution of materials, etc. In 2003, the new government suspended all these campaigns and began no new ones, and this, together with the other measures it took, caused a reduction in the interest in learning Catalan, which can be seen in the progressive fall in matriculations in courses in the language for non-native speakers. 6.4.4.2 Two campaigns by the Islands’ councils: ‘We have a language to be heard/felt’ (2004) and ‘Integrate me, integrate them’ (2005–6) After the 2003 elections, the new conservative government of the Islands carried out no campaigns to encourage the use of Catalan. Nevertheless, the Council of Mallorca, governed by a regionalist party, and the Island Council of Minorca, governed by a left-wing/nationalist coalition, each carried out their own. Mallorca’s had as its slogan ‘We have a language to be heard/felt’, which used a play on the word sentir, which in Catalan means both ‘to hear’ and to ‘to feel emotionally’. The campaign was based on the participation of 41 personalities (sportspersons, singers, professors, actors, business persons, journalists, etc.), either natives or non-natives, who announced, in press advertisements, their commitment to the use of Catalan – even though this name, when it did appear visually, was relegated to a less than prominent position. The accompanying general texts betrayed the balancing acts performed so as not to use the word ‘Catalan’ when referring to the language: In Majorca we have our own language. Many of those who live here still do not speak it and some even do not understand it. If you feel Majorcan or you live in Majorca, make our language heard/felt. We have a language to be heard/felt.



The goal was to give Catalan social prestige and increase its use, as noted in the introductory web page:13


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The campaign used a variety of media, including the press, film adverts in cinemas, radio, television, etc. At the end of 2005 and the beginning of 2006, the Island Council of Minorca provided support for the language pair programme ‘Integrate me, the language volunteer network’ with the ‘Integrate me. Integrate them’ campaign, shown in the cinema and on Minorca’s television. In the adverts, a series of Minorcan celebrities appeared alongside immigrants and encouraged the population to adopt attitudes in favour of the integration of newcomers.

6.5 Conclusions We have provided a description of the different campaigns in support of Catalan that intervene in interpersonal language usage, as implemented by the autonomous and local governments and the universities of three of Spain’s autonomous communities: Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands. Each of these has been managed by political groups with different philosophies since the return of Spain to democracy in 1978. One of the chief goals of these campaigns has been to counter the deep-rooted custom of only using the dominant Castilian language in public and inter-ethnic situations. The campaigns also raise issues that could be of interest in other areas of the world attempting to revive a subordinated language. On the one hand, they raise the issue of what are the limits of the authorities when intervening in an individual’s private life. Some of the campaigns impact upon individuals as members of organisations, but others do so in completely private, family situations. On the other, they raise the issue of the difficulty of assessing their impact. Given that any such assessments have been few and far between, when existing at all, it would appear that such campaigns can be reduced to a statement of intent, in a declaration of the ‘goodness’ of the language that they wish to promote, without them having to have much real practical impact. It is, perhaps, significant that from the very first campaign, in 1981, to the most recent ones in 2006, they have all insisted on promoting the use of the language – a clear indication that


We have to be able to attract all those around us so that they live their lives in our language in all social spheres. We must also be able to remain true to the undertaking we have assumed to involve ourselves in the language of Majorca.



Notes 1. http://www.cortsvalencianes.es/descarga/destacados/ESTATUT.pdf 2. http://www.reformaestatut.org/refestatfront/index.ct.jsp# 3. The quoted source contains only one other piece of information on the level of acceptance (98 per cent) of campaign leaflets that were distributed by hand in 16,915 shops throughout the autonomous community. 4. This is another feature of language normalisation in the Balearic Islands: the need to reflect the existence of the different islands, due to the lack of a shared feeling of oneness between them. 5. The inspiration for this campaign came from the University of Valencia with its ‘Trau la llengua’ campaign. 6. Except the Universitat Miguel Hernández, Elx (Elche). 7. The AVL was created in 2001 by the Valencian Parliament and in 2005, in spite of the desire of this government, recognised the unity of Valencian with the rest of the Catalan language. 8. The Balearic Statistics Institute (IBAE): http://www.caib.es/ibae/demo/padro. htm (Consulta 02/05/07). 9. In 1999, 28.3 per cent of foreign residents in the Balearic Islands were German, the largest national grouping of all. 10. http://weib.caib.es/Recursos/abast/home.htm 11. http://web2.caib.es/frases/frases.jsp 12. This was broadcast by all the TV channels broadcast on the Islands, in addition to Catalonia’s TV3. 13. http://www.conselldemallorca.net/llenguapersentir/inici.php

References AVL (Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua) (2005). Dictamen sobre els principis i criteris per a la defensa de la denominació i l’entitat del valencià (‘Documents’ 04). València. Blas-Arroyo, J. L. (2007). ‘Spanish and Catalan in the Balearic Islands’. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 184: 79–93. Bodoque, A. (2007). ‘Les polítiques lingüístiques dels governs valencians’. XII Jornada de Sociolingüística d’Alcoi (Alcoi, 24 March 2007). Boix, E. (1985). ‘The “Norma” Campaign in Catalonia: an Attempt to Influence Interethnic Language Etiquette’. Unpublished seminar paper, Linguistic Society of America Summer Institute, Georgetown University. Branchadell, A. (2005). La moralitat de la política lingüística. Un estudi comparat de la legitimitat liberaldemocràtica de les polítiques lingüístiques del Quebec i Catalunya. Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans. Cabré, J. (2003). ‘Tu ets mestre’. Avui, 1/2/2003.


their goal has not been achieved. Could it be that the authorities are asking for more than the public is willing to do, as repeatedly claimed by the early Valencian Generalitat? Or, as in other areas, is it the case that the authorities are not doing as much as society might like?



Calaforra, G. (2005) ‘Avaluació de la presència de la campanya ¨Dóna corda al català” a la premsa’ (unpublished paper). Calsamiglia, H. and Tuson, A. (1984). ‘Ús i alternança de llengües en grups de joves de Barcelona: Sant Andreu del Palomar’. Treballs de sociolingüística catalana, 3, València, Tres i Quatre: 11–82. Conselleria de Cultura, Educació i Ciència (1995). Balanç i perspectives de la promoció del valencià. 1994–1995. Valencia: Generalitat Valenciana. Consorci per a la Normalització Lingüística (1993). Projecte de campanya publicitària per a dinamitzar l’ús social del català. Direcció d’imatge, relacions i coordinació. Esteve, A. and Esteve, F. (2007). Drets cap a la normalitat. Propostes per a una política lingüística eficaç i factible al País Valèncià. València: Tres i Quatre. Genesee, F. (1982). ‘The Social Psychological Significance of Code Switching in Cross-Cultural Communication’. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 1(1): 1–27. Giles, H. and Johnson, P. (1981). ‘The Role of Speech in Ethnic Group Behavior’. In Turner, J.C. and Giles, H. (eds), Intergroup Behavior. Chicago: Chicago University Press, pp. 199–243. Gimeno-Menéndez, F. and Gómez-Molina, J.R. (2007). ‘Spanish and Catalan in the Community of Valencia’. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 184: 95–107. Informe final post test de la campanya. ‘Dóna corda al català’. (2005). Barcelona: Synovate add impact. La campanya per la normalització lingüística de Catalunya, 1982 (1983). Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de Cultura. Llibre Blanc de la Direcció General de Política Lingüística 1982 (1983). Barcelona: Departament de Cultura, Generalitat de Catalunya. Minguet, E. (2005). Els processos de normalització lingüística en l’àmbit municipal valencià. Servei de Publicacions. València: Universitat de València. Montoya, B. (2006). Normalització i estandardització. Institut Interuniversitari de Filologia Valenciana /Alzira: Bromera (‘Biblioteca Essencial’, no. 7). Ramon, N. (2004). ‘Immigració i acolliment lingüístic a les Illes Balears’. Treballs de sociolingüística catalana, 18: 161–75. Rossich, A. (1991). ‘El fons de la qüestió’. El País, 7-II-1991. Secretaria de Política Lingüística (2005). ‘Dóna corda al català’. Llengua i Ús, 33: 4–11. Serrano, A. R. and Victoriano, J.E. (2002). ‘La normalització lingüística i l’administració local a les comarques alacantines (1980–2002)’. El valencià a Alacant. Canelobre, 47: 62–73. Street, R. L. and Giles, H. (1982). ‘Speech Accommodation Theory: a Social Cognitive Approach to Language and Speech Behavior’. In Roloff, M. and Berger, C.R. (eds), Social Cognition and Communication. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, pp. 193–226. Strubell, M. (1984). ‘Language and Identity in Catalonia’. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 47: 91–104. Strubell, M. (1992). ‘Les campanyes de normalització lingüística de la Generalitat de Catalunya 1980–1990’. Revista de Llengua i Dret, 18: 181–92. Use Catalan, everybody comes out winning. (2005). Departament de Comerç. Generalitat de Catalunya. Vallverdú, F. (1972). Ensayos sobre el bilingüismo. Barcelona: Península.


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Vallverdú, F. (1979). ‘Algunes consideracions sobre política lingüística’. In Vallverdú, F. La normalització lingüística a Catalunya. Barcelona: Laia, pp. 43–62. Vallverdú, F. (1989). ‘El bilingüisme passiu en qüestió?’ Avui, 16-II-1989. Vila-Pujol, M. R. (2007). ‘Sociolinguistics of Spanish in Catalonia’. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 184: 59–77. Woolard, K.A. (1983). ‘The Politics of Language and Ethnicity in Barcelona’. PhD dissertation, University of California, Berkeley. Woolard, K.A. (1985). ‘Catalonia: the Dilemma of Language Rights’. In Wolfson, N. and Manes, J. (eds), Language and Inequality. Berlin: Mouton, pp. 91–109. Woolard, K.A. (2008). ‘Les ideologies lingüístiques: una visió general d’un camp des de l’antropologia lingüística’. Revista de Llengua i Dret, 49: 179–99.




Language Policies in the Public Media and the Promotion of Catalan in the Private Media, Arts and Information Technologies Josep Gifreu Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona

7.1 Introduction To properly place in context the ‘regional’ language policies and practices affecting the current status of Catalan in the media, the arts and the Internet, two axes of coordinates need to be borne in mind: firstly, the ‘vertical’ axis, i.e. their dependence on the general regulatory framework, above all in Spain, in addition to EU directives and, secondly, the ‘horizontal’ axis or, in other words, the central position of Catalonia in Catalan’s cultural and linguistic space, which it shares with other territories that have the Catalan language as their common historical heritage. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview and assessment of the main policies that have affected the process of revitalising and normalising Catalan in the media and the arts since the 1980s, when democracy and the new territorial system of the ‘State of the Autonomies’ became consolidated in Spain. It will also pay special attention to the monitoring and evaluation of the results achieved in terms of the penetration of Catalan in the media, the arts and in the new digital circuits and services on the Internet. It will therefore begin by focusing on the evolution of the main media-related political measures taken by the Spanish state since the country’s Constitution of 1978. The complex way in which powers over communication were divided up between central government, autonomous communities and local authorities (municipalities and


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Diputacions), forces one to schematise and identify the key policies and measures. Due solely to lack of space, this chapter will not be carrying out a detailed analysis of trends in other countries in which Catalan is spoken (Andorra, France and Italy), mention of which shall only be made when strictly necessary. Andorra has undoubtedly become important since the passing of its Constitution (1993) and its joining the United Nations as an independent state. In fact, it is the only country in which Catalan is the sole official language, a status which applies to the Andorran media. The first part will look at developments in this area in Spain, breaking down the main legislative and political measures into four areas: the ‘constitutional bloc’, radio and television regulatory policies, language policies with regard to the media and policies encouraging the use of Catalan in the media. The position of this chapter on the status of Catalan in the media and the arts is that there is a need for progress to be made in the building of a Catalan communicative space as a general strategy in defence of Catalan language and culture in a united Europe and a globalised world.1 The overview offered here has taken into account all the territories in which Catalan has historically been spoken, although it is particularly based on information on Catalonia, not only due to the central importance of this region as a driving force behind the revival of Catalan in communications, but also because it is the only one that has fairly continuous and complete documentation on the subject under review.2

7.2 The general framework in Spain The changes in political, economic and social conditions that have deeply affected the revival of Catalan as a language of communication and culture in recent decades are a consequence of the model for the political and administrative structure of the Spanish state agreed during the process of transition from Franco’s dictatorship to a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy (‘the Transition’). As is well known, one of the main consequences of Franco’s victory over the Second Spanish Republic, and the system of freedoms in general and the progress of Catalan as a language of communication and culture in particular, was the banning of the media and arts in Catalan, the persecution of the public use of the language and also the prohibition of its use in the media throughout the Spanish state. Together with forbidding Catalan in schools, banning the language as a tool for public communication aimed to limit its use to private, family spheres,


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and thus prevented Catalan from being seen as a national language of communication and culture. The arrangement of the Spanish state, based on the Constitution of 1978, with regard to the restoration of Catalan to the media, public communications channels and the arts, has been carried out to date via the following main lines of action. Firstly, Spain adopted a constitutional framework – the so-called ‘constitutional bloc’ made up of the Constitution of 1978 and the different Statutes of Autonomy – which kept to a model of a single-nation, monolingual (with Castilian – Spanish – as the only recognised official language) and strongly centralised state. The response to calls for autonomy and decentralisation was the so-called ‘State of the Autonomies’, which meant a new division of Spanish territories into ‘Autonomous Communities’ (ACs). The new model for the state was structured around two lines of action: on the one hand, the central state authorities had powers over ‘national’ (i.e. in Spanish) media and basic regulation (the ‘base laws’) on the implementation of the ACs’ powers over communications; on the other, whilst giving each AC considerable levels of autonomy with regard to identityrelated policies (language, education, internal communication, etc.), it prevented the implementation of common communication policies across the different Catalan-speaking territories in Spain. To sum up, the regulations governing communication under Spain’s democracy enshrined a ‘state logic’ for the national-Spanish interests (including the linguistic ones) of Castilian and an ‘autonomous community/regional’ logic for the Spanish state’s other languages and cultures (Pons and Vila 2005: 179ff.). The recent reforms to the Statutes of Autonomy of Valencia and Catalonia (2006) have not meant any substantial changes to this model of structuring and distributing powers over language and communication between the central Spanish state and its ACs, on the one hand, nor between the ACs of historically Catalan-speaking territories themselves, on the other. Also worthy of note are two of the main consequences of the deployment of this structural system. Firstly, the continuity of the structural model for radio and television inherited from Franco’s dictatorship, a radial system with a centralised nucleus in Madrid, with Castilian as the only language for all channels, both public and private, which systematically ignored and ignores any duty towards Catalan (or the other languages spoken in Spain). Secondly, and by way of contrast, is the degree of initiative open to ACs, such as Catalonia, which has allowed for the implementation of some significant policies creating and supporting the media and arts in Catalan; however, this room for initiative


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can take a negative turn against the normalisation of Catalan in its own historical territories when AC governments, such as those of Valencia and the Balearic Islands, have refused to become involved in policies promoting or protecting Catalan. Beyond legal and structural factors, it can be seen that the policies of Spanish governments during the country’s democracy have tended not only to impede progress in the construction of a Catalan space for communication and culture between the Spanish state’s different historical territories, but also to entrust to the Spanish-affiliated communication system and arts the progressive ‘occupation’ of new thematic areas and markets, as well as the ideological and political mission of linking the unity of Spain to the supremacy of Spanish language and culture.

7.3 Policies on Catalan in the media 7.3.1 The limitations of Spain’s ‘constitutional bloc’ The ‘constitutional bloc’ arising from the agreements reached during the Transition following the death of Franco (1975) changed the framework for actions in the field of the media and has remained in force until today. This ‘bloc’ is made up of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the different Statutes of Autonomy of its ACs (Catalonia, 1979; Valencia, 1982; Aragon, 1982; Balearic Islands, 1983). The new model designed by these founding texts of Spain’s democracy had the following features that are of especial interest to the subject under review: recognition of the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens, cession to the ACs of certain powers in the fields of communication and culture, the setting aside for the central state authorities of the radio waves and the ‘base laws’, etc. To this bloc should be added the Radio and Television Statute (RTV, 1980), which enshrined the centralised, Castilian model of Spanish state radio (RNE) and television (TVE), and which contemplated the possibility of ‘third channels’ in the ACs. Recently, approval has been given for the new Statutes of Autonomy of Valencia (Act 1/2006, of 10 April, reforming Act 5/1982, of 1 July, on the Statute of Autonomy of the Community of Valencia) and of Catalonia (Act 5/2006, of 19 July, reforming the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia).3 These reforms do not involve substantial modifications to the linguistic and cultural models applied to the media and inherited from the Transition, although Catalonia’s Statute does provide the Generalitat with an enhanced ability to become involved in


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media and services with audiovisual content aimed at a Catalan public (cf. Art. 146). The reform of the Valencian Statute established the following provisions, directly or indirectly related, actively or by omission, to media normalisation policies: the AC of Valencia’s ‘own’ language is Valencian (Art. 7.1), Valencia’s Generalitat grants special protection and respect for the revival of Valencian (Art. 7.5) and it establishes that the Valencian Academy of the Language is the ‘standards authority for the Valencian language’ (Art. 7.8); the Generalitat will encourage full integration in the information society and guarantee Valencians access to new technologies (Art. 22); the Valencian Cultural Council is the ‘consultative and advisory body’ for the AC’s public institutions with regard to matters affecting Valencian culture (Art. 40); the Valencian Academy of the Language has the task of ‘determining and drawing up, as the case may be, language-related regulations for the Valencian language’, regulations whose implementation shall be compulsory for all the AC’s public administrations (Art. 41); it establishes exclusive powers over culture (Art. 55.4), heritage (Art. 55.5) and advertising (Art. 55.29), without prejudice to the regulations set by the Spanish state; it is the responsibility of the Generalitat to implement legislation and implement the system for radio, television and the rest of the Community’s media (Art. 62.1), and the regulation and creation of the Generalitat’s public media (Art. 62.2); and it also contemplates the creation of the Community of Valencia’s Audiovisual Council (Art. 62.3). For its part, Catalonia’s new Statute establishes the following significant provisions regarding language and the media: Catalan, as the ‘own’ language of Catalonia, is also the ‘own’ language of Catalonia’s public media (Art. 6.1); the Generalitat must promote communication and cooperation with the other Communities and territories that share a linguistic heritage with Catalonia (Art. 6.4); the Generalitat must promote communication, cultural exchange and cooperation with territories with historical links to Catalonia; the right of access under equality of conditions to culture and the duty to respect and preserve cultural heritage (Art. 22), but no right to no language-related discrimination in accessing communication and culture, as is acknowledged in other spheres (i.e. Chapter III, on language-related rights and duties); the public authorities must promote creativity, culture and the conservation of heritage, as well as equal access to cultural products and services (Arts. 44.4 and 5); with regard to the media, the public authorities must promote conditions to guarantee the right to truthful information and content that respects the dignity of persons and pluralism (Art. 52, with


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no allusion to the language of the media). With regard to information and communication technologies, the public authorities must facilitate access thereto under conditions of equality and security, must guarantee the provision of services via these technologies and must favour research and innovation therein (Art. 53, with no mention of the language of the content). In culture, deployment of the exclusive powers of the Generalitat in policies with regard to artistic and cultural activities, cultural heritage and support for art- and culture-related sectors (including audiovisual ones) and the raising of the international profile of Catalan culture (Art. 127). In the deployment of powers over social communications media and audiovisual content services, it gives the Generalitat exclusive power over the provision of public services, as well as over regulation of local public services, and powers shared with the Spanish state over the regulation and control of all media and services aimed at the public in Catalonia, and over the provision of audiovisual communication services that are under the control of the Spanish state (Art. 146). Finally, the Generalitat has exclusive regulatory powers over advertising, without prejudice to Spanish state-wide commercial legislation (Art. 157).

7.3.2 Radio and television regulatory policies The key policies structuring the media in the Spanish state include those covering radio and television, the two great mass media of recent decades. The initial model was one of a public monopoly in television and a dual system in radio. The Radio and Television Statute of 1980 rearranged the system for state-wide public radio and TV, which were monolingually Spanish (apart from the odd exception) and set forth the organisational model to be followed by future public television channels. The breaking of TVE’s monopoly took place in two stages: firstly with the creation of the ‘third channels’ (by means of the Third Channel Act of 1984), demanded above all by Catalonia and the Basque Country; and, secondly, with the passing of the Private Television Act (1988). Whilst the first stage gave rise to the first public radio and TV channels in other languages in Spain, the Privatisation Act extended the centralised, monolingual Spanish model to the new private channels (Antena 3, Tele 5 and Canal Plus). Subsequent Spanish state legislative measures to tackle wide-ranging technological developments (the Digital Television Act, 1997 and 1998), above all the 2005 National Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) Plan, have not involved changes to this model. Indeed, some initiatives, such as the reform of RTVE with the new State-Owned


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Radio and Television Act (2006) and the granting of licences in 2005 for two new Spain-wide and in-Spanish analogue TV channels (Cuatro and La Sexta), as well as the repeated refusal to create an independent audiovisual authority, ensure that the model remains firmly in force. Under the terms of the Third Channel Act, Spain’s different ACs with Catalan as a co-official language (and called ‘Valencian’ by the Statute of the AC of Valencia) have created public bodies for radio and TV and their own channels and stations. Catalonia was quick to pass the Catalan Radio and Television Corporation Act (1983), whilst Valencia had its Valencian Radio and Television Act (1984) and the Balearic Islands their Radio and Television Company Creation Act (1985). From the very beginning, the activities of Televisió de Catalunya (TVC), and those of its first channel (TV3), were faced with serious difficulties due to the obstacles of all kinds (legal, logistical, administrative, etc.) imposed by the central state authorities and by RTVE (see Carreras 1987, Corominas and Llinès 1988, Baget 1999), to the point of closing down TV3’s booster stations in Valencia by sending in the police, after granting the same frequencies to Valencian Television’s Canal 9. In Catalonia, legislative attention returned to audiovisual matters in the middle of the 1990s with the creation of the Catalan Audiovisual Council (CAC) within the framework of the Audiovisual Programming Distributed by Cable Regulation Act (1996). The CAC was initially consultative in nature, but from 2000 (with the CAC Act), it became a fully independent authority. At the end of 1999, the Catalan Parliament held an important debate on audiovisual matters, which led to Catalan audiovisual policies being given a central, global importance like that of any independent state.4 As a result of this debate, the Catalan Parliament undertook to pass three Acts: the aforementioned CAC Act (2000), the new general Catalan audiovisual Act (the Catalan Audiovisual Communication Act of 2005) and the Act reforming the CCRTV (the CCMA – Catalan Audiovisual Media Corporation – Act of 2007). The 2005 Audiovisual Communication Act introduced, amongst other innovative provisions, precise obligations regarding the normalisation and promotion of the Catalan language in institutional media (Art. 25) and in private media subject to licence (Art. 26), duties to be monitored by the CAC. Since its creation (1997) and especially since the new Act (the Catalan Audiovisual Council Act 2/2000), the CAC has been assuming a key role in regulating audiovisual matters within the scope of its powers (which are over operators in Catalonia that are subject to a licence, a limitation that leaves outside of its control all Spanish radio and


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television channels that can be heard or seen in Catalonia). Before the CAC assumed binding powers over the awarding of licences in Catalonia (2005), the government of the Generalitat granted (months before the elections of 16 November 2003) the four Catalan autonomous DTT licences to the Godó Group. In addition to its habitual powers of oversight and control, CAC had a decisive and binding role in the awarding of the 59 local DTT channels in 2006 (a figure that ended up at 56, as 3 licences were not awarded). The clause covering language (13.6.6) established that those bidders whose offers improved upon the duty to guarantee that 50 per cent of broadcasts were in Catalan would receive a higher score; 62.5 per cent of successful bidders undertook to have 100 per cent of their programming in Catalan. Of the rest, 21.4 per cent undertook to broadcast between 90 and 99 per cent in Catalan, 5 per cent between 80 and 89 per cent and 10.7 per cent between 70 and 79 per cent (Secretaria de Política Lingüística, 2007). The CAC took on the responsibility of inspecting and monitoring compliance with these undertakings. The new map of local television in Catalonia has undergone substantial change with the move to DTT, when compared with that arising from local initiatives since the 1980s: new groups have been constituted, there has been the entry of large Spanish communication groups (Prisa/Sogecable and Vocento), and two networks of associated broadcasters remain: the Local Televisions Network (XTVL), a public business body of the Diputació de Barcelona (equivalent to a ‘provincial council’), which in 2006 provided a service to 69 stations, some of them outside of Catalonia (such as Mallorca’s M7TV, TV Eivissa i Formentera and Morella’s Nord TV); and the Local and District Communication Consortium (CLCC), created in 1998 by the diputacions5 of Lleida, Tarragona and Girona, which manages services provided to local television via Comunicàlia SA and which in 2006 covered a total of 65 stations (some of which were again outside of Catalonia, such as Palma TV and Canal Català Illes Balears, in Mallorca, and Paüls TV, in the Franja de Ponent). The awarding of local DTT channels in the Balearic Islands (2004, 28 channels) and in Valencia (2005, 53 local channels and two AC-wide ones, granted to the Vocento and COPE groups) were decided directly by the relevant AC governments, with an absolute majority held by the PP in each, and with no involvement from any independent body. The groups favoured when awarding the licences were, in the majority of cases, considered close to the governing party and, in the case of Valencia, without links with or experience in local communication,


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and with the demand of a scant 25 per cent presence of the AC’s ‘own’ language.

The Spanish state has not enacted any specific legislation on the official language and other co-official ones. Those autonomous communities with languages other than Spanish have approved regulations protecting their ‘own’ languages with normalisation laws, which include references to the media. Catalonia passed the Language Normalisation Act (LNLC) in 1983, which was modified by the Language Policy Act (LPL) of 1998. Valencia is governed by the Valencian Use and Teaching Act (LUEV) of 1983 and the Balearic Islands by its own Language Normalisation Act (LNLIB) of 1986. Apart from the generic constitutional guarantee of the plurilinguistic principle contained in Article 3.3 of the Spanish Constitution, repeated in the RTV Statute Act of 1980 (Art 4.c) and ratified by the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court, all language normalisation laws of the autonomous communities in which Catalan is spoken have specific articles governing the use of co-official languages in the media. In Catalonia, the LNLC (1983) devotes Title III (‘The Media’) to the subject and the same is the case of Chapter IV (‘The Media and Arts’) of the LPL (1998). In Valencia, Title III (‘The Use of Valencian in Social Communications Media’) of the LUEV and, again, Title III of the Balearic Islands’ LNLIB (‘The Social Communications Media’) are dedicated to the subject. Limited by the evolution of the Spanish state system, policies on the audiovisual media in the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia have followed fairly different paths. As far as language regulation is strictly concerned, ‘the different laws reflect a high varying level of commitment with regard to the promotion and guaranteeing of the normal use of Catalan on the radio and the television’ (Pons and Vila 2005: 181). In Valencia, the LUEV only contains generic instructions for the AC’s government to ‘ensure’ the presence of the language in the media which it controls and to ‘encourage’ it in the remainder. In the Balearic Islands, the LNLIB declares that Catalan must be the ‘usual language’ of radio and television channels managed by the autonomous community, orders that its use be encouraged by means of economic and material support from the government in the rest of the media and establishes a specific duty for the Balearic Islands: that the public authorities must facilitate the reception of media in Catalan from the rest of the territory.


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In Catalonia, the LPL is more detailed and includes a range of mechanisms for effectively guaranteeing the presence of the Catalan language in the public media (where it is declared a ‘language of use’) and in the private media (language quotas) via promotional measures. Additionally, worth noting is the express attribution, from 2004 on, of the monitoring of this legislation to the CAC, the media’s regulatory body which also has powers to levy penalties and is the only entity of this type that currently exists in Catalan-speaking territories. Catalonia’s LPL is the most recent and most ambitious law within the structural limitations of the Spanish legal framework. Chapter IV governs the normalisation of the Catalan language in the radio and television industries, written publications, the arts, show business and computer-related language industries. The main normalising measures include: the language normally employed in radio and television media managed by the Generalitat and by Catalonia’s local corporations must be Catalan; the government of the Generalitat must facilitate reception of television stations of other territories broadcast in Catalan; radio and television media subject to the granting of licences in the territory of Catalonia must guarantee that at least 50 per cent of programming is in Catalan; in granting such licences, use of a higher percentage of Catalan will be one of the criteria for awarding them; in licensed radio stations, music sung in Catalan must constitute at least 25 per cent of broadcast time; in the written media of the Generalitat and of local corporations, the language normally employed must be Catalan; the Catalan government shall encourage and may subsidise periodical publications written entirely or partially in Catalan; the Catalan government must favour, stimulate and encourage the dissemination of scientific and literary creation, the publishing and distribution of books in Catalan, film, sound and audiovisual production; in the film industry, the Catalan government may establish annual exhibition and distribution language quotas which may not exceed 50 per cent of distributors and exhibitors; and the Catalan government must favour, stimulate and encourage language industries and new computer products on the networks.

7.3.4 Policies promoting Catalan in the media


Josep Gifreu

In all the countries of the European Union, the combined promotional measures boosting ‘own’ media and arts can be understood, in the terms of the WTO Marrakesh Accords (1994), as applying policies of ‘cultural exemption’. In Spain, promotional policies for the media have



developed in a complex, fragmented way, depending upon the different governments and administrative levels (central Spanish state, ACs and local bodies) that have adopted them. With regard to the presence of Catalan in the media and the arts, legislation on language normalisation, as we have just seen, and more recently on communications – especially the Catalan Audiovisual Communications Act 22/2005, of 29 December – has consolidated a system of ‘positive discrimination’ for Catalan in different communication and arts sectors. In fact, permanent, systematic measures in favour of Catalan in the private media have been taken in Catalonia since the re-establishment of the Generalitat and, in 2006, the coming into force of the Catalan Audiovisual Communications Act meant that the CAC assumed new powers with regard to promoting Catalan language and culture in the audiovisual media. Since then, a regime of infringements and penalties in the case of breach of duties with regard to language and music sung in Catalan has been consolidated. Traditionally, the government of the Generalitat de Catalunya administered different kinds of aid to the media and the arts via the Presidential Department (Secretariat of Communication) and the Ministry of Culture (ICIC). Since 2006, following the restructuring of the new Govern d’Entesa government (an alliance between the PSC, ERC and ICV), all powers were concentrated in the hands of the Ministry of Culture and the Media (Secretariat of Communications Media and ICIC). Since 1983, the Ministry of Culture has promoted and provided aid for the publishing and sale of the press in Catalan (or in Aranese in the Vall d’Aran), an aid that was automatic and based on the production, regularity, territorial coverage and legal nature of the publisher and which, for 2006, totalled ¤4.37 million (Secretaria de Política Lingüística 2007: IX-23). In addition, for subsidising communication companies, the government of the Catalan Generalitat set aside an annual budget managed by the Presidential Department (Secretariat of Communication). These subsidies, which had previously normally been discretional, were subject to public tender from 2005, a year that saw the introduction of automatic support for the digital press, radio and television in Catalan.6 The Catalan government also provided political and economic support for significant initiatives for the Catalan language, such as the new viability plan for the daily newspaper Avui, the Catalan News Agency ACN, and the start-up of the Communication and Culture Barometer and the Catalan Dubbing Service. In Valencia, aid for the language in the media began to be granted at the end of the socialist government of the Generalitat. Aid to the press


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was first provided in 1989, and between 1992 and 1995 language-related aid also included radio and television. When the PP took over the reins of government, this aid was cancelled (Xambó 2001: 93ff.). One of the Catalan Parliament’s main measures in support of the arts was the creation, by an Act of 2000, of the Catalan Institute for the ‘Cultural Industries’ (ICIC). The result of a combined action plan to promote audiovisual products and services, the ICIC assumed the form of a public law body, reporting to the Ministry of Culture. Its mission was to carry out action in support of businesses in all areas of the arts (music, theatre and scenic arts, audiovisual and film, publishing and press and the visual arts), including the important field of international promotion (in 2007 it had five permanent centres, in Berlin, Brussels, Milan, London and Paris). One of its first activities was the production of a White Paper on the arts in Catalonia (ICIC 2002). The ICIC was responsible for drawing up statistics and studies on various arts sectors, with special attention paid to the audiovisual arts. In the field of the film and audiovisual industries, worthy of note are joint initiatives between public bodies and the private sector, such as Catalan Films & TV and the Barcelona/Catalunya Film Commission. Catalan Films & TV, created in 1986 as a trademark of the Ministry of Culture to promote the Catalan audiovisual industry to the world, adopted the form of a consortium in 20067 and, at the same time, broadened its activities, including the publishing of the annual directory of the same name. For its part, Barcelona Municipal Council promoted the Barcelona/Catalunya Film Commission as an institutional platform to facilitate filming and audiovisual production in the capital and later, throughout Catalonia as a whole.

7.4 The outlook for Catalan’s communicative space Globally speaking, what is the current status and what the outlook for Catalan in the media at the start of the twenty-first century? After monitoring fairly closely the evolution of the policies and other key factors that have affected the resurgence of Catalan in the media since the end of Franco’s dictatorship in Spain, these final thoughts must, necessarily, be qualified. The legacy of the last 30 years, for the Catalanspeaking territories as a whole, is one of great contrasts, which makes progress towards the normalisation of Catalan in the mass media (or, in other words, achieving a Catalan space for culture and communication comparable to those of other European nations) difficult and problematic.


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Focusing our attention on the Spanish state and looking at the progress made by Catalan in the media, large differences can be noted between the different regions of the territories in which Catalan has historically been spoken. The individual evolution of the system of social communications media in each Catalan-speaking region of the Spanish state can be explained by two variables: the dynamics of each region’s civil society, including the behaviour of its market, and the political will of those holding power in each AC government (particularly with regard to the Spanish state’s central communication policies). In this regard, Catalonia’s political role in requiring the progressive normalisation of Catalan in the media has been vital: simply put, without the CCRTV, and more particularly TV3 and Catalunya Ràdio, Catalan would today be the heritage of a minority. By way of contrast, the political actions taken with regard to their own media in Valencia and the Balearic Islands have often been inconsistent and even aggressively unfavourable. It is only fair to acknowledge that civil society in the Catalan-speaking territories has played a clear leading role in promoting and maintaining media initiatives, often against prevailing policy. The last three decades have seen a large increase in normalisation initiatives, generally of limited scope, but with a certain degree of effectiveness in terms of creating a (by today) vital web of vehicles for expression, information and communication in Catalan. Catalonia, in particular, has been for years – and continues to be at the beginning of the twenty-first century – a spawning ground almost unique in Europe for local communication initiatives (press, radio and television) and for new digital media. Some interesting initiatives were also taken by civil society in Valencia (local press, the weekly El Temps, reception of TV3, local radio and TV stations, etc.) and the Balearic Islands (the premsa forana, Voltor SA, etc.). During the 1990s, the difficult process of incorporating Catalan into the media was faced with new problems. Special mention should be made of the privatisation of television in the Spanish state, with the granting of licences to three new private channels, covering the whole of Spain in Spanish. The availability of television in Spanish increased exponentially as digitalisation was implemented, firstly via satellite broadcasts and then via DTT. Other factors negatively affecting the progress of Catalan in the media were economic in nature, such as the globalisation of markets, increased competition and the concentration of business in fewer hands, and also technological, such as the appearance of new information and digital technologies, particularly the Internet.


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Despite everything, at the turn of the century, Catalan had consolidated two important lines of normalisation in the media. On the one hand, Catalan was present in all communication sectors (the press, radio, television, video, the Internet) and in all their forms of expression (written, oral, audiovisual, multimedia, etc.). It was also present in all genres (journalism, opinion, fiction, entertainment, etc.) and for all types of public (the general public, children and the young, specific social and cultural sectors, local and district, etc.). On the other, Catalan had made progress in the definition of a model for the language close to what is generally considered the standard variety for the mass media. The appearance after the Transition of the mass media in Catalan, especially audiovisual ones, called for a fresh look at the then prevailing model for the language, applied basically to literature. Language and media professionals worked to produce internal style guides for each medium which, between the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, began to take on stable form, many of them being published as books. Catalan newspapers drew up their own style guides, as did the new audiovisual and digital media that were being created. The need for general agreements on the functional specialisation of the language for the media was keenly felt in the field of oral communication, especially in radio and television. In this field, worthy of special note is the pioneering role played by Catalunya Ràdio and TV3 in the preparation and adoption of their respective style guides and, a little later, the initial style guide of TVV’s Canal 9.8 The attention paid by philologists, linguists and sociolinguists to this matter can be seen in numerous studies, debates, and workshops on Catalan in the media, which already make up a fascinating theoretical and analytical corpus.9 Nevertheless, the most obvious failing was the lack of intercommunication between the media, especially the audiovisual media, in the different regions of Catalan-speaking territory. Ignoring the Internet, no media in Catalan has managed to be disseminated in all the territories, nor the territories of the Spanish state. Neither was there any means of broadcasting in these territories that was independent of the language. By way of contrast, all Catalan-speaking regions in the Spanish state were to a large degree ‘unified’ by the permanent coverage provided by the powerful Spanish press, radio and television media. As noted by Pons and Vila (2005: 193), ‘the non-existence of shared media is due, in great measure, to public policies deliberately designed to fragment the communicative space, as made clear by the history of obstructing TV3


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in Valencia, the difficulties suffered by the Flaix Group in establishing itself outside of Catalonia, and the recent initiative of IB3 in the Balearic Islands’. This media fragmentation has an obvious impact on the process of standardising oral Catalan, which today finds its ideal platform for expression and dissemination in the audiovisual media. The regionalisation (into each individual AC) of the audiovisual media has represented ‘a handicap for the standardisation of the Catalan language’. In fact, ‘neither TV3’s language model nor, obviously, that of TVV are suitable for a national standard. Neither are those of the majority of radio stations or of the written media’ (Joan i Marí 2003: 109). Amongst the many failings of the Catalan communicative space (see Gifreu 2007), one of the great challenges for the Catalan of the twenty-first century was to debate a model for the oral language in the audiovisual media that, according to Marí (2007), would have to take into account the territorial scope of the fields of communication, the language options of the media and ‘the familiarity of each territory’s public with the modalities of the oral standard’. To sum up, the process of recovery of Catalan in the media and the new network-based digital communications media and circuits at the start of the twenty-first century had a series of strengths and weaknesses that, whilst complicating the task of predicting the outlook for the normalisation process, also required the implementation of decisive policies of intervention against the combined pressure of the neighbouring great languages and cultures and the process of globalisation. At the beginning of the new century, Catalan was consolidating some important positions, but not without difficulties and contradictions. The best of these positions were, logically enough, in Catalonia, with a growing presence in the daily press (especially the local and district press), up to 50 per cent of normalisation on the radio; with regard to television, the public TVC Group continued to enjoy great prestige and a share close to a quarter of television viewers. In the arts, whilst books in Catalan held up well and the Catalan audiovisual industry enjoyed some opportunities thanks, above all, to TVC, films in Catalan continued to have only a residual presence. In Valencia (with no daily newspaper in Catalan, a single radio station in the language and with Canal 9 being bilingual) and the Balearic Islands (with one newspaper in Catalan and no TV station in the language until 2005), the degree of penetration of Catalan in their own media was far more precarious, to a large degree due to the reluctance of their autonomous


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community governments, for many years in the hands of the People’s Party. Despite everything, one must acknowledge the fact that the appearance and deployment of the Internet have caused a revolution across the Catalan-speaking world and have led in recent years to a vast range of initiatives (new digital media, the conventional media’s web portals, portals of leading institutions and bodies, the incorporation of Catalan as an operating language of the world’s largest search engines, the proliferation of personal blogs, etc. and, especially, the securing of the ‘.cat’ top-level domain), unifying by means of practical action the Catalan cultural and communicative space in cyberspace, irrespective of political and administrative boundaries. The model for the deployment of Catalan in cyberspace, taken by the Catalan-speaking community since the middle of the 1990s, shows and provides an example of the road that Catalan and all other fragile languages will have to take if they wish to carve a space for themselves in the global digital era.

Notes 1. The author has tackled this general theme of revitalising and defending Catalan in the media and communication channels on a number of occasions and in a variety of documents (see, especially: Gifreu 1991, 1996 and 2005). 2. The sources of documentation on this subject have some problems worth mentioning. Statistical information based on registries, surveys and other datagathering processes tend to be, for the period analysed and for the Catalanspeaking territories as a whole, highly dispersed, fragmented and incomplete. The greatest amount of information comes from a variety of Spanish sources, but these tend to refer to Spain as a whole or to its provinces. Catalonia has made significant efforts to capture, process and analyse statistical-based data on communications and culture, albeit only in recent years. Some of Catalonia’s public bodies, above all the Ministry of Culture and the Media, the Audiovisual Council of Catalonia, the Secretariat of Language Policy and the Catalan Audiovisual Media Corporation, provide key data in their annual reports on their respective areas of activity. Additionally, those universities with their own studies and research groups have helped to ensure an increasing production of knowledge and analysis on a variety of sectors and the media, although analysis of the presence of Catalan in the media has been the focus of only a small part of the research carried out. The most important contributions in recent years include the biannual Incom reports on communication in Catalonia and the start-up of Fundacc’s Communication and Culture Barometer. This chapter’s bibliography sets forth the main primary and secondary sources used in this study. 3. See the texts in different languages at: http://www.parlament.cat/portal/page/ portal/pcat/IE03/IE0310/IE031005


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1. The goal of defining a new legislative framework valid for the entire system of communication of public interest in Catalonia, including both publicly owned and private media (obviously, within the framework of basic Spanish state-wide legislation). 2. Explicit and unanimous reference to the promotion of a Catalan communicative space, based on reciprocal agreements between governments and media in the different Catalan-speaking territories. 3. Reform of the Catalan Audiovisual Council (CAC) to make it an independent body to regulate and control audiovisual media, both public and private, in Catalonia. 4. Reform of the Catalan Radio and Television Corporation (CCRTV), and therefore the Generalitat’s radio and TV stations, on the basis of independence, professionalism and economic viability via the contract programme. 5. Specific attention to the new digital culture and the information society: Parliament specifically called for the creation of a large Internet portal, to become the Catalan portal to the audiovisual and communications world. 5. Provincial councils. 6. For 2005, one of the requirements for granting the aid was a ‘sufficient’ presence of Catalan in the media in question (and, for this reason, three of the 205 applications that year were rejected); the total amount of the subsidies for 2005 was ¤7.9 million, which was granted to associations (6.78 per cent), digital media (9.40 per cent), the press (65.22 per cent), radio (5.17 per cent) and television (13.43 per cent). In 2006, the total for these subsidies rose to ¤10.9 million. The ICIC also subsidised the written press to the tune of ¤5.46 million of which ¤4.46 million were for the publishing and sale of publications in Catalan (or Aranese, the Occitan language of the district of the Vall d’Aran). 7. The members of the Catalan Films & TV consortium were the ICIC, TVC (Spanish public television), EGEDA (the Catalan audiovisual rights management body), COPCA (the Consortium for the Commercial Promotion of Catalonia) and the three producers’ associations BA (Barcelona Audiovisual), PAC (Productors Associats de Catalunya) and APIC (Associació de Productors Independents de Catalunya). 8. Noteworthy here are the TV3 style guides (Televisió de Catalunya 1995 and 1997), that of Canal 9 (Mollà et al. 1989) and later that of IB3 (Company and Puigròs 2006). For its part, the Philological Section of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans approved a Proposal for an oral standard for the Catalan language, dedicated to phonetics (1990) and morphology (1992), which helped establish a general normative framework for the deployment of the standard oral model in the audiovisual media. 9. Important studies on the model for written and oral Catalan in the media include this necessarily limited selection of authors and texts: Bassols et al. (1997), Bibiloni (2006), Camps (1994), Castellanos (2004), Creus et al.


4. The most noteworthy points of the resolutions unanimously passed by the Catalan Parliament in 1999, were:


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(2000), Cros et al. (2000), Faura (1998), Ferrando (1990, 2002), Grup Llengua i Mèdia (2004), Julià-Muné (2004), Lacreu (1990), Martí and Mestres (2003), Mollà (2007), Torrent (1999), Vallverdú (2000, 2002). Some of the most recent studies have offered qualified assessments of the advances and also the problems with regard to the quality of the language and its correctness in terms of register, variety and genders (see, especially: Grup Llengua i Mèdia 2004 and Julià-Muné 2004).

References Baget, J. M. (1999). Quaranta anys de televisió a Catalunya. Barcelona: Pòrtic. Bassols, M., Rico, A. and Torrent, A.M. (eds) (1997). La llengua de TV3. Barcelona: Empúries. Bibiloni, G. (2006). ‘L’ús de la llengua catalana a IB3 Televisió’, online (http:// www.bibiloni.cat/IB3.pdf). Camps, O. (1994). Parlem català. Barcelona: Empúries. Carreras, L. de (1987). La ràdio i la TV de Catalunya, avui. Barcelona: Edicions 62. Castellanos, J. A. (2004). Manual de pronunciació. Criteris i exercicis d’elocució. Vic: Eumo. Company, C. and Puigròs, M. A. (2006). Llibre d’estil d’IB3. Palma: COFUC. Corominas, M. and Llinès, M. (1988). La televisió a Catalunya. Sant Cugat del Vallès: Els Llibres de la Frontera. Creus, I., Julià, J. and Romero, S. (eds) (2000). Llengua i mitjans de comunicació. Actes del Congrés de Llengua i Mitjans de Comunicació (Lleida, 17–18 desembre 1999). Lleida: Pagès Editors. Cros, A., Segarra, M. and Torrent, A. M. (eds) (2000). Llengua oral i llengua escrita a la televisió. Barcelona: PAM. Faura, N. (1998). Futbol i llenguatge. Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat. Ferrando, A. (ed.) (1990). La llengua als mitjans de comunicació. Valencia: University Valencia. Ferrando, A. (coord.) (2002). Guia d’usos lingüístics. I. Aspectes gramaticals. València: Institut Interuniversitari de Filologia Valenciana. Gifreu, J. (1996). ‘Linguistic Order and Spaces of Communication in PostMaastricht Europe’. Media, Culture and Society, 18: 127–39. Gifreu, J. (2005). La pell de la diferència. Comunicació, llengua i cultura des de l’espai català. Barcelona: Pòrtic. Gifreu, J. (2007). 20 anys de l’espai català de comunicació: un objectiu encara possible? Barcelona: Fundació ESCACC. URL: http://www.comunicacio21.com/ fotos/altres/conferencia_escacc.pdf Grup Llengua I Mèdia (2004). ‘Informe sobre la qualitat de la llengua de la televisió en català’. Informe de l’Audiovisual a Catalunya 2003. Annex 7. Quaderns del CAC, extraordinary issue. ICIC (2002). Llibre Blanc de les Indústries Culturals de Catalunya. Barcelona: ICICUniversitat de Barcelona. Institut d’Estudis Catalans (1990). Proposta per a un estàndard oral de la llengua catalana. I. Fonètica. Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans.


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Institut d’Estudis Catalans (1992). Proposta per a un estàndard oral de la llengua catalana. II. Morfologia. Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans. Joan i Marí, B. (2003). ‘Dinàmica normalització-substitució a les Illes Balears’. Treballs de Sociolingüística Catalana, 18: 97–118. Julià-Muné, J. (2004). El llenguatge de la ràdio i de la TV. Alzira: Bromera. Lacreu, J. (1990). Manual d’ús de l’estàndard oral. Valencia: University of Valencia. Marí, I. (2007). ‘La consolidació d’un estàndard oral: límits i condicions’. Quaderns del CAC, no. 28, online (www.cac.cat). Martí, J. and Mestres, J. M. (eds) (2003). L’oralitat i els mitjans de comunicació. Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans and Consorci UIMP. Mollà, A. J. (2007). Quina política lingüística? Alzira: Bromera. Mollà, A. J. et al. (1989). El(s) model(s) l ingüístics de la RTVV. Valencia: RTVV. Pons, E. and Vila, F. X. (2005). Informe sobre la situació de la llengua catalana (2003–2004). Barcelona: Observatori de la Llengua Catalana, online (www. observatoridelallengua.org/arxius_documents/informes6_ok.pdf). Secretaria de Política Lingüística (2007). Informe sobre política lingüística. Any 2006. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, online (see annual reports from 1999). Televisió de Catalunya (1995). El català a TV3. Llibre d’estil. Barcelona: Edicions 62. Televisió de Catalunya (1997). Criteris lingüístics sobre traducció i doblatge. Barcelona: Edicions 62. Torrent, A. M. (1999). La llengua de la publicitat. Barcelona: PAM. Vallverdú, F. (2000). El català estàndard i els mitjans audiovisual. Barcelona: Edicions 62. Vallverdú, F. (2002). ‘Els mitjans audiovisuals i la contaminació lingüística’. Llengua i ús, 25: 4–10. Xambó, R. (2001). Comunicació, política i societat. El cas valencià. València: Tres i Quatre.


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Language Policy in the World of Business and Consumer Affairs: from Non-Existence to Ineffectiveness Albert Branchadell Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

and Joan Melià Universitat de les Illes Balears

8.1 Introduction The purpose of this chapter is to describe the policies promoting the Catalan language1 in the world of business and consumer affairs in Catalan-speaking territories. As is already well known, Catalan-speaking territory is divided into seven different political/administrative units and so, right from the very start, we must speak of language-related policies – in the plural – practised (if practised they be) in these different units. It is not the goal of this chapter to explain these differences between language policies in Catalan-speaking territories. What it can do is make two or three obvious assessments. The existence of a language policy in the world of business and consumer affairs depends, to begin with, on the existence of a political authority – at state or regional level – able to promote it. It is this single fact that already creates a split between the possibilities enjoyed by Andorra and Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands, on the one hand, and the Département des Pyrénées Orientales, la Franja and l’Alguer, on the other. Secondly, the existence of this policy, or at least its degree of intensity, also depends upon the ideological orientation of the political decision-makers in charge of existing political powers. Thus, if one looks at Catalonia, Valencia


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and the Balearic Islands, it is possible to establish a positive correlation between the presence of nationalist parties in the relevant regional government and the existence and/or intensity of a policy promoting Catalan in the world of business and consumer affairs. In Valencia, the simple change between a left-wing government (to 1995) and a rightwing one (from 1995 on) has not caused a change in the regional government’s traditional diffidence in this area. Meanwhile, in the Balearic Islands, the government formed by left-wing and nationalist parties from 1999 to 2003 represented a qualitative leap forward in regional language policy, given that nationalists formed part of it. In Catalonia, the change from a right-wing (to 2003) to a left-wing government (from 2003 on) has not led to a break in the basic continuity of local language policy, given that nationalists have always been present in both governments. The existence of nationalist political parties and their presence in government obviously depend upon historical, social and political factors, examination of which lies way beyond the scope of this chapter. It is nevertheless the case that these same factors also affect the view held by each society of the Catalan language and the prospects for promoting it. In this sense, there is a certain parallel between the prestige of Catalan, in the sociolinguistic sense of the term, and the specific policies promoting it in the world of business and consumer affairs.

8.2 Catalonia With the exception of Andorra, Catalonia is the linguistic territory in which language policies in the world of business and consumer affairs have gone furthest – which is not to say that they have gone that far, if a comparison is to be made with demographically similar languages. We can distinguish three stages in the evolution of Catalonia’s regulatory framework on the world of business and consumer affairs. During the first, stretching from 1979 to 1990, ‘Catalanisation’ efforts were in the main focused on the regional administration, teaching and the region’s media, whilst other areas, including the world of business and consumer affairs, were considered of secondary importance. The most important document from this era was the Language Normalisation Act of 1983. During this entire period, the government was in the hands of the centre-right nationalist grouping Convergència i Unió (CiU). In 1990, the CiU government raised the need to go beyond a language policy focused principally on expanding knowledge of Catalan to


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focusing on its so-called ‘social usage’. This change marked the beginning of a second period characterised by a relatively greater official involvement in the world of business and consumer affairs, on a regulatory level at least, with the approval of the Language Policy Act of 1998, which replaced the previous Normalisation Act. Without abandoning ‘social usage’ as a focus of language policy, the change in Catalan government to a coalition of left-wing and nationalist parties (PSC, ERC and ICV-EUiA) meant the start of a third stage, in which regulatory ambitions have been complemented by an apparently improved political will.

8.2.1 From 1979 to 1990 It is well known that Catalonia’s 1979 Statute of Autonomy is fleeting in its mentions of Catalonia’s languages in general and the regulation of language rights in particular.2 Beyond a reference to a future equality of Catalan and Castilian ‘with regard to the language rights and duties of the citizens of Catalonia’, it contains no reference to the world of business and consumer affairs. One of the first legislative initiatives of the CiU’s first government, created after the regional elections of 1980, was the Language Normalisation Bill. Its first draft, drawn up by the Department of Culture, and clearly inspired by the Charter of the French Language, began with a chapter on the language rights of the citizens of Catalonia, which included that of ‘being informed and served in Catalan by the different companies and by the bodies in charge of public services’, a copy of the right to ‘être informés et servis en français’ of the Quebec charter. In a chapter entitled ‘Language usage in non-official public relations’, the draft bill established the obligatory (non-exclusive) use of Catalan in ‘signs and oral and written communications addressed by trading and service companies [. . .] at the general public’, without subsequently regulating, à la québécoise, the ‘Catalanisation’ of businesses’ internal affairs. Following a long period of debate and approval in the Catalan Parliament, the bill was finally passed in 1983.3 By the final, adopted version of the bill, the first draft’s Chapter on Language Rights had been reduced to a single article, which stated that all citizens had the right to know Catalan and to ‘express themselves in it in both spoken and written form, in public, official and non-official relations and acts’. The cases in which the use of Catalan was to be compulsory also disappeared, with the Act restricting itself to stating that the Catalan government


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had ‘to encourage the use of Catalan in trading, advertising, cultural, associative, sporting and all other types of activities’. Generally speaking, governmental actions in this period aimed at the world of business and consumer affairs were carried out in the form of industry-specific campaigns (shop signs and hotels and restaurants, for example) rather than the deployment and enforcement of any regulatory framework. This is true, at least, from the middle of the 1980s, because ‘in the first stage of the autonomous process, not a great deal of attention was paid to “Catalan in business and commerce”’, as noted by Strubell (1992). These first, industry-specific campaigns provide evidence of a general characteristic of Catalonia’s first language policy, which was that actions were not evaluated but recurrent. A paradigmatic case of this is provided by the restaurant trade. From 1983 on, the Catalan government carried out a succession of campaigns to achieve a habitual presence of Catalan in restaurant menus, without ever formally evaluating their results. Additionally, any possible positive results of these campaigns were not consolidated over time. The publication of a decree on the matter in 1994 did not cause any substantial change in the situation.4 8.2.2 From 1990 to 2003 In 1990, the CiU government, via its Director-General of Language Policy, Miquel Reniu, publicly stated its objective of providing ‘a new boost for language policy’, with the aim of generalising the so-called ‘social usage of Catalan’ (Reniu 1990). One noteworthy early milestone of this new era was the Consumers’ Statute, approved in 1994, the first regulation equivalent to a law that governed consumers’ language rights:5 Chapter V. Consumers’ language rights Article 26 a) Consumers have the right to receive, in Catalan, information on the consumption and use of goods, products and services, particularly that compulsory information directly related to the safeguarding of their health and safety.


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b) Any interested party has the right to receive in Catalan membership agreements, agreements with specimen clauses, normal contracts, general terms and conditions and documentation referring thereto or which arises from the entering into of said agreements.



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Companies and establishments carrying on the sale of products or the provision of services and carrying out their activities in Catalonia must be in a position to deal with customers expressing themselves in any of the official languages of Catalonia. The value of this first milestone must be established taking into account the political will to enforce the provisions it contains. In this regard, it is perhaps worth highlighting that the regulations announced in the Statute’s first final provision were never established. One of the announcements made by Miquel Reniu in his speech of 1990, as part of the ‘new boost’ for language policy, was the reform of the Language Normalisation Act of 1983. The first, unsuccessful, attempt to carry out this reform took place in 1994. Aside from this first attempt, it should be noted that the early 1990s saw the Catalan government beginning to approve regulations that established the (non-exclusive) compulsory use of Catalan in very specific areas. A decree of 1990 was probably the first regulation in history to introduce the compulsory use of Catalan with the formula ‘at least in Catalan’.6 Additionally, the government continued to support specific campaigns to favour the use of Catalan in individual industries, such as hotels and restaurants or banking, which, in accordance with the practice of the time, were not formally assessed. After the failure of its 1994 attempt, the CiU government successfully reformed the Language Normalisation Act. The new Language Policy Act7 represented, in a way, a return to the ideas of the 1980 draft and, in any case, raised to the status of law certain provisions that had been introduced into regulations in previous years, such as the Consumers’ Statute. As had been the case with the previous Act, there was some difference between the first government proposal and the text finally passed by the Catalan Parliament. For example, the government’s initial proposal introduced what it called the ‘availability principle’, by virtue of which citizens had to be dealt with in their chosen official language not only by the authorities but also by companies and organisations offering services to the public; the final text of the Act includes the right to ‘be dealt with in either of the two official languages’ which, in the case of companies and establishments dealing with consumers, is set forth in a manner identical to that of the Consumers’ Statute (‘companies and establishments must be in a position to deal with consumers when expressing themselves in any of the official languages of Catalonia’). Another divergence between the initial criteria and the finally passed


Article 27



text is in regard to labelling. The government wished to introduce compulsory labelling in Catalan and Castilian, but the final text permitted labelling ‘in Catalan, Castilian or any other language of the European Union’ and limits the compulsory (non-exclusive) use of Catalan to labels on denominació d’origen (guarantee of origin) and artisanal products. A number of other cases of the compulsory (non-exclusive) use of Catalan were introduced by the final wording of the Act: the ‘at least in Catalan’ formula was used, for example in ‘fixed signs and general information posters and documents offering services to users and consumers of establishments open to the public’, although this provision is not applicable to company names. In any case, in the 1998 Act, like that of 1983, there is nothing like the francisation of companies in the Charter of the French Language. In the specific case of advertising, the contrast between the Catalan Act and the Quebecois Charter is also clear: whilst the Charter contemplates advertising in French only or with French in a clearly prominent position compared with other possible languages, the 1998 Act is limited to stating that the government has to promote, stimulate and encourage the use of Catalan in advertising, keeping to the criteria of the 1983 Act and thus renouncing any possible implementation of the ‘at least in Catalan’ formula in this field and the foreseeable effects of the real use of Catalan.

8.2.3 From 2003 on Even though no official study has been published on the implementation of the Language Policy Act, experts consider that the Act has not been enforced in its entirety, not even in the cases for which the Act itself contemplates a deadline for implementation, which include some relating to the world of business and consumer affairs. Quite possibly, the first serious attempts to enforce compliance with sections relating to the world of business and consumer affairs did not take place until after the formation of the so-called ‘Catalanist, left-wing’ government in 2003, which marked the end of 23 consecutive years of CiU government. One noteworthy step in this regard by Catalonia’s new government was the creation of the ‘Language Guarantees Office’, which gave official weight to language-motivated complaints and also permitted the levying of penalties against companies, a highly infrequent practice with previous governments.8 In 2008, the Office received a total of 2019 submissions, of which 723 were complaints and 870 reports of infringements of the law, the majority of which related to


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‘private and business’ fields.9 As was foreseeable, the Office’s activities and, in general, the enforcement of any regulation establishing the compulsory (non-exclusive) use of Catalan, have been the subject of strong criticism by Catalan language policy detractors. Beyond the creation of the Language Guarantees Office, the policy programme of the first Catalanist and left-wing government (2003)10 announced an action plan in support of Catalan, which was to follow a number of key points, the first being ‘the prioritisation of the social use of Catalan, particularly in the retail trade and labelling, via affirmative action measures, including those related to purchasing and public procurement by the Generalitat itself’. This last point was given concrete form in a Resolution of 30 November 2004 on the introduction of language clauses in public procurement and subsidies, the effects of which have not yet been gauged. The second Catalanist and left-wing government policy programme (2006) announced that ‘encouraging the social use of Catalan’ would be the primary objective of its language policy, and amongst the actions it contemplates is the ‘continued implementation of the resolution which incorporates language clauses as a condition of public procurement, subsidies, credits and guarantees furnished by all the departments of the Generalitat’. Our tale, limited as it is, will end by closing the circle commenced with the 1979 Statute of Autonomy with a quick look at the reform of this text, approved in 2006. If, above, we said that the 1979 Statute was severely limited in its references to language, we can now say that its 2006 cousin has expanded upon the issue a deal more.11 As is always the case, there are some differences between the Statute proposed by the Catalan Parliament on 30 September 2005 and that finally approved by the Spanish one on 10 May 2006, but they do not particularly affect the provisions regarding language. Without doubt, the Statute’s most important language-related innovation is the introduction of every citizen’s duty to understand Catalan, which, depending upon how it is regulated, could have remarkable effects upon the world of business and consumer affairs, above all in dealings with the public, an area in which the modest provisions of current legislation (which merely oblige establishments to understand customers expressing themselves in Catalan) are not complied with. Also, unlike its 1979 predecessor, the 2006 Statute contains an entire chapter on language-related rights and duties. In this case, the most noteworthy innovation is that it establishes, for the first time, the principle of language availability, which ten years previously did




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Each individual, in his or her capacity as user or consumer of goods, products and services, has the right to be attended orally or in writing in the official language of his or her choice. Bodies, companies and establishments that are open to the public in Catalonia are bound by the obligation of linguistic availability within the terms established by law. In the case of labelling, the new Statute goes no further than the Language Policy Act and limits itself to establishing that ‘The public authorities shall take steps to ensure that the information contained on labels, packaging and instructions for use of products distributed in Catalonia also be printed in Catalan’, and remains silent on the issue of advertising. Overall, effective enforcement of the new Statute might mean a step forward along the road towards the ‘social usage’ of Catalan as a focus for language policies. However, even with this effective enforcement, in the absence of social pressure capable of compensating for the shortfalls of the regulatory framework, the position of Catalan in the world of business and consumer affairs remains noticeably inferior to that enjoyed by other demographically similar languages.12

8.3 The Balearic Islands Until relatively recently, the world of business and consumer affairs has been a field in which there has been almost no involvement from the Balearic Islands’ public authorities. Despite the impact such activities have on the linguistic landscape and the exercising of citizens’ rights, their borderline situation between the public arena (the provision of a service) and the private one (ownership of a business) probably explains why, as far as priority levels are concerned, it has lagged well behind other areas (teaching and public administration). However, an additional explanation is provided by the scant effective involvement in language normalisation of almost all the Islands’ governments of the democratic era, which began at the end of Franco’s dictatorship (1975). Language policy in the world of business and consumer affairs can, like almost all other areas, be divided into three stages during the period from the passing of the Islands’ Statute of Autonomy (1983) until the present time.


not survive the Language Policy Act’s parliamentary approval process. Article 34 of the new Statute states that:


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The first stage (1983–99), during which – in some cases with the support of a regionalist party (Unió Mallorquina, UM) – the People’s Party (PP) was in charge of the regional government, witnessed the unanimous passing of the Language Normalisation Act (1986).13 However, it would not be until the end of the 1990s, which saw large-scale popular mobilisations in support of Catalan, that some regulatory and promotional actions took place with regard to normalisation in the areas of consumer affairs and the retail trade. Stage Two (1999–2003) is the period in which the regional government was run by parties forming the so-called Pacte de Progrés or Progress Pact (PSOE, PSM-Entesa Nacionalista, EU-Els Verds), which enjoyed the parliamentary support of the UM. During these years, action in favour of language normalisation in the world of business and consumer affairs intensified, above all in the area of the retail trade, controlled by the nationalists of the PSM. The return of the People’s Party to the government of the Islands, once again with the support of Unió Mallorquina, led to a third stage (2003–7) characterised – for the first time – by actions against language normalisation in all areas, actions which, in the case of business and consumer affairs, involved deactivating the initiatives of the preceding stage.

8.3.1 The legal framework There are very few specific language regulations on the area of the subject of this chapter. Those that do exist are to be found, in essence, in two texts: the Consumers’ Statute, passed towards the end of the first stage (1998), and the Retail Trade Act (2001), belonging to the second. The way that the two deal with Catalan, as noted below, betrays the different attitude of the political parties behind them: the Consumers’ Charter establishes the requirement to use one of the two official languages, whilst the Retail Trade Act establishes the compulsory use of Catalan, even though it need not necessarily be used exclusively. In addition to this difference, the second stage is characterised, in comparison with the other two, by a greater intensity in the promotion of Catalan. The fact is that, despite the fact that only these two texts exist, the general framework established by other documents, particularly the Language Normalisation Act, implies a clear demand for measures favouring the expansion of Catalan in these areas. The Spanish Constitution (1978),14 the Statute of Autonomy of the Balearic Islands (1983) and the Language Normalisation Act (1986) fully support





the involvement of the public authorities in supporting an increase in the use of Catalan in these areas, at least with regard to usage rights, the rejection of discrimination by reason of the official language used, the need to make possible ‘the use of the Catalan language in all areas and activities of social life’15 and the encouragement of its use in advertising and signs of all kinds of entities.16 The Consumers’ Statute17 has a language-related provision (Art.14), which establishes the requirement to use, at least, one of the two official languages in information on products and services. However, it requires that, in certain cases, it must compulsorily be in Castilian (labelling information that is ‘of importance to the health or safety of persons’ except when, if expressed in Catalan, it ‘is easily intelligible’). This regulation was due to the considerable increase, especially in tourist areas, of signs and sales and services information exclusively in foreign languages (above all English and German); in addition to its very weak enforcement, it has not, given the sociolinguistic starting point, given rise to a greater presence of Catalan. The year 2001 saw the approval, with the agreement of the retail trade employers’ organisations, of the Retail Trade Act,18 Article 8 of which covers the defence of consumers’ language rights, from a viewpoint of deeming Catalan to be the Islands ‘own’ (native) language. The article establishes the right to be dealt with in all retail trade establishments in one of the two official languages and not to be discriminated against or dealt with incorrectly due to the official language they use. Furthermore, in establishments with three or more employees, customers must be dealt with in whichever official language they choose. It also establishes that signs and information posters of a fixed nature and documents offering services must be at least in Catalan. Article 49 classifies as serious infringements19 ‘actions preventing or obstructing the exercising of the basic language rights acknowledged in this Act’. This Act represented a highly important qualitative step forward in defining language rights related to the use of Catalan. Nevertheless, although it remains in force, in practice the government has lacked the will to enforce compliance, and citizens the capacity to have their rights as acknowledged in the Act respected. Also during the 1999–2003 term, the government passed regulations obliging products whose makers wished to take advantage of the description Producte balear to be labelled at least in Catalan.20 This measure had immediately visible effects, although, from a language normalisation viewpoint, this should be relativised due to the scant impact of said products in the overall Balearic consumer market. Subsequently, with the change in government, this method of boosting the Islands’


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8.3.2 Measures encouraging the use of Catalan by official bodies In addition to the legal regulations examined above, official bodies have carried out some measures to incentivise the use of Catalan in a number of consumer and business-related areas. These have basically consisted of calls for applications for financial aid for initiatives to incorporate Catalan into a business’s activities or into the distribution of support materials for its commercial or administrative actions. As we have already seen, there has not been the will (or courage) to resort to the use of punitive measures to increase the use of Catalan, either because they are against them or for fear of opposing rulings from the courts or the negative reaction of certain political forces, sectors of society or the media. Furthermore, in the cases in which the use of Catalan is compulsory, the use of another language is never prohibited (which could make sense in certain circumstances). Any attempt to offset this renouncement has been made with promotional measures (less open to negative social and official reactions), even though these are far from being enough to lead to a generalised process of change in these sectors favourable to Catalan. Looking at the first stage, it should be noted that, at the beginning of the 1990s, the Islands’ government opened up a line of aid for outdoor signs in Catalan, which was kept active for a number of years relatively successfully (Melià 1992). The first campaign to incentivise Catalan in the retail trade did not take place until 1997, when the Council of Mallorca, governed by a coalition of parties (UM, PSOE, PSM and EU), began ‘Obrim el comerç a la nostra llengua’ (‘Let’s open up the retail trade to our language’), which consisted of a number of measures (an advertising campaign, a product exhibition, the drawing up of glossaries, personalised promotional visits and aid to encourage the presence of Catalan in signs, labelling, promotional material, restaurant menus, etc.). During this period, some municipal councils also carried out their own measures, which tended to be combined with those of other authorities, to encourage the use of Catalan in restaurants, shops, etc. In the second stage, measures favouring Catalan in the world of business and consumer affairs were intensified, particularly in the retail trade. Various levels of the authorities (the Islands’ government, Island councils and some municipal councils) offered financial aid and advice


products, like others, declined. The recently amended Balearic Islands Statute of Autonomy (2007) does not represent any step forward in the treatment of the Catalan language.21



(for signs in Catalan, the use of the language in websites and in the drawing up of restaurant menus, product labelling, administrative documents, etc.), and support materials were distributed (sales, opening times, product price and identification posters, promotional bags, etc.), tastings and exhibitions of products labelled in Catalan were carried out and agreements signed with employers’ organisations, shop chains and large retail outlets. Additionally, programmes for creating restaurant menus and databases of products labelled in Catalan to be found in the Balearic Islands were placed on the web, and specific glossaries for particular commercial and professional activities were distributed amongst the relevant sectors, as were basic-level teaching materials for learning oral Catalan amongst those who had to deal with the public, and consumer products labelled in Catalan were promoted in a number of ways.22 A large amount of this intensification of measures occurred from 2000 on, when the Balearic government implemented a general-scope advertising campaign entitled ‘El comerç, obert a la nostra llengua’ (‘The retail trade, open to our language’), which brought together many of the measures noted in the preceding paragraph, with the goal of making easier acceptance of the languagerelated provisions that would appear in the Retail Trade Act and to ensure that aid was available to those who came into line with it most quickly. Between 2003 and 2007, with the conservative People’s Party once again in power, practically all the initiatives carried out by the Balearic government disappeared,23 with only the aid depending upon the Island councils remaining available. In none of the above periods did the authorities ever take an effective decision that the language of products would be a determining factor in their procurement purchases and acquisitions, something that could have had a great impact and have acted as a point of reference for the business community and general public alike. Although no systematic assessment has ever been carried out of the effect of these promotional efforts, it can be stated that, generally, the response of traders and business persons tends to be positive, especially when the measures form part of a specific plan for a particular area (for example, shopping areas of specific towns, municipal markets, supermarket chains and particular professions). However, as soon as the promotional pressure by the authorities ceases, the knock-on effect is rapidly felt, especially with regard to measures affecting temporary matters, in the entire sector.


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In the majority of areas of the world of business and consumer affairs, the scant action taken by the public authorities in specific regulation had meant that the incorporation of Catalan has often been due to the private initiative of company management, which has taken advantage of the tolerance that the new constitutional framework makes possible in practice. This situation means that, in addition to the fact that the incorporation of Catalan in these areas is extremely small scale, it varies greatly because of the companies’ activities, the nature of their owners, or their territorial location. Thus it is that issues such as face-to-face service and the presence of signs in Catalan (but not so much product labelling or the documentation created in managing the service, for example) are closely related to the location of companies, in the sense that, in tourist destinations or areas with a large non-native community, the use of Catalan can be fairly described as a rarity. In Minorca and a large number of the towns of inland Mallorca, the use of Catalan is fairly widespread. Also determinant, in this sense, is the fact that a number of municipal councils have become involved – or not – in the mission of normalising these sectors. In the Balearic Islands, the presence of Catalan in all social usages and domains is weaker than in Catalonia. One indication of this difference can be provided by the behaviour of financial institutions, large retail outlets, chains of shops and utilities in the Balearic Islands and Catalonia: in the latter, they make more frequent use of the language in their activities (in signs, advertising, the oral abilities of employees when dealing with the public, etc.) than in the Balearic Islands, where they do not carry them out in Catalan or where the language occupies a more secondary position, in any case. This difference is due to a number of reasons, but a key one, over the course of all these years, must have been (in addition to the more positive view of the language held by the public) the greater determination of the Catalan government to progress in the process of language normalisation. Establishments connected with provision of cultural or local products, especially those of a traditional or artisanal nature, also have higher levels of Catalan. It is in large retail outlets and supermarket chains where the existence of regulations on the compulsory use of Catalan in fixed signs is most evident, since it has a presence there in a high percentage of cases, almost always alongside Castilian, and it is there that the majority of employees, at least, tend to understand the language.


8.3.3 General situation



It should also be noted that customer service in Catalan has a fairly healthy presence, especially to the extent of understanding customers expressing themselves in the language. One of the reasons for this is that, until relatively recently, companies in this field were mostly owned by locals, who also formed the majority of employees (except for those companies most closely linked with the tourist industry). Nevertheless, the general tendency of converging with the interlocutor often means that Catalan speakers change over to Castilian when the interlocutor is a foreigner or, even when he or she can understand the language, a nonCatalan speaker. So interpersonal situations in commercial transactions or the provision of services which could be carried out in Catalan (by both participants or by one of them) could occur more frequently than is actually the case. Also, the fact that Catalan speakers adapt to ‘the other’ may explain the relative rarity of job adverts requiring (explicitly at least) a knowledge of Catalan. Furthermore, the increase in newcomers to the Islands being employed in these activities has led to an increase in the number of situations in which using Catalan is difficult. Despite the fact that signage is the area in which official actions promoting the use of Catalan have most continually been carried out, they still show little impact, which varies depending upon the location and the activity of the company in question. Similarly, the more emblematic and identificatory and less informative is the sign, the greater the possibility of it being in Catalan (or other languages, be they those of the immigrants or of tourists). On the other hand, the more informative it is, less frequent is the presence of Catalan and more frequent that of Castilian. In some observations carried out in Mallorca, without taking into account tourist destinations, as a general guide it can be said that the presence of Catalan in shop signs is between 5 and 15 per cent in the city of Palma, depending upon the area, and in towns and villages between 20 and 70 per cent (Melià 2005). Given that the immense majority of products consumed in the Islands are sourced from outside of them (and also due to Spanish and European law on the matter), Catalan has a very low presence in labelling. On its own or alongside other languages, in labelling it is more common in products that are traditional in style, artisanal or closely linked to the region (wines, traditional foods, etc.) – we have already referred above to the Producte balear language regulations. Catalan can also be found in the labelling of some imported items that are also distributed in Catalonia;24 for example, the own brand of a chain of medium-sized supermarkets that labels its products in the four official languages of the Spanish state, or another that labels its products only in Catalan or only


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in Castilian and which distributes them in the Balearic Islands in both languages indiscriminately. In a brief review carried out in 16 Mallorcan homes, on average, only 5 per cent of products had labelling in Catalan (only or otherwise). In the administrative documentation produced by service-based and commercial relations (invoices, guarantees, contracts, user instructions, etc.), Catalan appears very infrequently, almost always replaced by Castilian (or by Castilian in combination with other languages). Certain banks, as well as a number of utility companies with a degree of public control (electricity, telephone, etc.), provide the option of written relations in Catalan. In advertising not dependent upon public bodies, which is not governed in any way by regulations, Catalan is very rarely found. However, it does have some presence, above all in the written press in Catalan and, more rarely, in billboards and the audiovisual media, and this presence increases considerably when dealing with financial institutions with close links with the region or with the arts in Catalan (theatre, concerts, publications, etc.). Although there is widespread failure to respect applicable regulations, which are also ignored by the authorities themselves, it appears clear that the fields in which Catalan has a less feeble presence are those which are the subject of regulations and which, at the same time, have been the target of official promotion and encouragement.

8.4 Other territories 8.4.1 In Spain Unlike in Catalonia and, to a lesser degree, the Balearic Islands, legislative action in the Autonomous Community of Valencia has been non-existent. The behaviour of the Valencian government with regard to languages has been described as an example of linguistic ‘counterplanning’ (Pradilla 2003), and the world of business and consumer affairs provides a paradigmatic illustration of this. In this area, the only way to divide Valencia’s language policies into periods would be rhetorical in nature: the Socialist Party government (1983–95) practised a language policy in the world of business and consumer affairs that did not go much further than the formulation stage in the plans for promoting Valencian in the period. During the government of the People’s Party (from 1995 on), this policy has not even been formulated.25





Like Catalonia’s 1979 Statute of Autonomy, that of Valencia (1982) makes scant reference to language. In 1983, after the Statute of Autonomy had been approved, the Valencian Parliament passed the Valencian Use and Teaching Act. The Act acknowledges the right of all citizens ‘to carry out in Valencian their professional, trading, employment, trade union, political, religious, recreational and artistic activities’ and declares that Valencia’s public authorities shall encourage ‘the use of Valencian in professional, trading, employment, trade union, political, recreational, artistic and associative activities’, in two articles that are strongly reminiscent of the Catalan Act of the same year. After this, there is no record of any legislative activity in the world of business and consumer affairs. Legislative action was replaced by modest sectorspecific informational campaigns, such as those aimed at the retail or hotel trades, and also modest grant programmes, such as the ‘aid for the promotion of Valencian in companies, the retail trade and industries’.26 Without any change in its failure to pass legislation, in 1990, the Valencian government approved the Three-Year Plan for the promotion of the use of Valencian in the Autonomous Community of Valencia (1990–93) which, in the field named the ‘social use’ of Valencian, contained 24 measures grouped around four goals, the first of which was ‘boosting the use of Valencian in general and in the economic, business, financial and associative sectors’. Accompanying the plan, the ‘Visquem en valencià’ (‘Let’s live in Valencian’) campaign took place in 1990 and 1991, with unclear results. Even though it was never put into practice, in 1994 the Three-Year Plan was replaced by the General Plan for the Promotion of the Use of Valencian, which was designed to cover the six years from 1994 to 1999. The plan’s actual life was very short, since the Socialists lost the 1995 regional elections and the People’s Party did not adopt the plan or formulate any other one. The result of the policies on the world of business and consumer affairs is predictable: according to 1993 data, ‘only 7% of food retail establishments in the Valencianspeaking area of the Autonomous Community of Valencia use Valencian for outdoor signs, 4% of indoor signs and 3% for other signs’.27 Significantly, according to the same data, ‘88% of establishments without signs in Valencian do not plan to have them in this language in the immediate future, mainly because they state they do not need them’. We can conclude our legislative review by stating that the 2006 reform of the Statute of Autonomy did not introduce any language-related change affecting the world of business and consumer affairs.28 Against this backdrop of regional legislative inactivity and somewhat token financial support, worth highlighting are municipal measures to


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promote Valencian. As Empar Minguet states in her doctoral thesis, ‘the fact is that, for some years now, the language promotion measures and awareness-raising campaigns carried out – including in a coordinated manner – by municipal language services have been increasing in number and higher in profile’ (Minguet 2005: 218). If it is still possible to speak, in the Autonomous Community of Valencia, of some kind of regional policy promoting Valencian in the world of business and consumer affairs, in la Franja, the eastern strip of Aragon, such a policy is completely non-existent.

8.4.2 Outside of Spain The ‘municipalisation’ of language policy to be found in Valencia and la Franja is unavoidable in the city of l’Alguer (Alghero/S’Alighèra), a Catalan-speaking enclave in a region, the island of Sardinia, in which both Sardinian and Italian coexist. Italian legislation, beginning with the Constitution itself and followed by Act 482, of 15 December 1999, protects the country’s minority languages, which include Catalan, although their protective measures focus on education and public administration and ignore the world of business and consumer affairs. Furthermore, according to Sardinian legislation, Catalan is protected in the same way as Sardinian, that is, more as cultural heritage rather than a tool for communication (in the world of business and consumer affairs, for example). Whatever the case, the application of this legislation to the Catalan of l’Alguer is not clear. Miquel Pueyo and Albert Turull summarise Catalan’s current status in l’Alguer’s socio-economic activities thus: ‘Catalan has a token presence that often adopts folkloric and tourist activity-related attitudes, in signing (often in a non-codified language) or restaurants, hotels and artisanal establishments’.29 The other two non-Spanish Catalan-speaking territories (the French Département des Pyrénées Orientales and the country of Andorra) are at two opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of the position of Catalan in the world of business and consumer affairs. In Andorra, Catalan has historically been a language with a strong rooting in these areas, whilst in the Pyrénées Orientales it is almost non-existent. As Pueyo and Turull state (2003: 152), in the Pyrénées Orientales ‘the Catalan language is practically absent from economic activities, advertising, tourism, etc.’ Nevertheless, some resurgence in the use of Catalan, aimed more at the shoppers and visitors coming from Catalonia than at any possible acknowledgement of the language rights of the département’s population, has been detected – something that has also been seen in l’Alguer.





In Andorra, 1999 saw the passing of the Official Language Usage Regulation Act,30 which is in some regard reminiscent of Catalan legislation. Article 3 of the Act establishes everyone’s right ‘to be dealt with and replied to in Catalan in their oral and written relations with any public authority and with the entities and bodies reporting to it; with healthcare and social services, with the liberal professionals and their professional institutes, with associations, with sporting bodies and with business, professional and corporate bodies’. In other aspects, however, the Andorran Act is more restrictive than its Catalan equivalent: thus it is that the general criteria are for trading and company names, establishment signs, advertising, labelling, menus, etc., to be in Catalan, although, except for the case of trading and company names, the Act permits the use of other languages ‘in a secondary position’. Alongside these restrictive criteria, in the area of trading and advertising Andorra has preferred to employ awareness-raising campaigns rather than the strict enforcement of legislation. Prior to the 1999 Act, industry-specific awareness-raising campaigns were carried out, such as that aimed at department stores (1997–98) or that under the slogan ‘Aquí us atenem en català’ (‘We deal with you in Catalan here’), which aimed to ‘motivate retailers to deal with their customers in Catalan and let Catalan-speaking customers see that they can be dealt with in their language’. After the Act, the campaigns continued: 2002, for example, witnessed one aimed at bars and restaurants. Once again, a good summary of the situation is provided by Pueyo and Turull: ‘when dealing with written usages, Catalan is in the clear majority: in signs in retail establishments and advertising, in contracts and commercial documentation, etc.’ (Pueyo and Turull 2003: 159).31 However, with regard to oral language usage in socio-economic relations, Andorran surveys point to a drop in the use of Catalan: ‘In the three types of situations defined32 there is a fall in Catalan as the most used language, with the greatest drop being in intermediate and unfavourable situations (6.8 and 7.1 points of difference between 1999 and 2004, respectively). By way of contrast, the exclusive use of Castilian has seen growth over the course of recent years.’

8.5 Conclusions This chapter has examined language policies on the world of business and consumer affairs in Catalan-speaking territories. The general conclusion to be drawn is obvious: these policies differ greatly from one territory to another and, as a result, the position of Catalan in the world of business and consumer affairs also varies widely from territory to territory, so that territories in which Catalan is spoken do not constitute


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a common politico-linguistic area. In the particular case of the world of business and consumer affairs, we can identify some territorial affinities (for example, between Andorra and Catalonia, and between Catalonia and the Balearic Islands), but said affinities do not invalidate the aforementioned general conclusion. This is the case whatever the viewpoint we adopt. If looked at from that of rights, it is clear that citizens do not have the same rights acknowledged throughout the Catalan-speaking area nor, particularly, do they have the same guarantees of being able to exercise the possible rights that have been acknowledged for them. If one looks at it from the perspective of organisations’ duties, it is no less clear that said organisations are subject (if subject at all) to different regulations. Once this heterogeneity has been acknowledged, what is the prospect for politico-linguistic convergence in the world of business and consumer affairs in the future? The answer is, without doubt, ‘little’. Take a look, for example, at the three Spanish autonomous communities that have recognised Catalan (Valencian) as their ‘own’ (native) language. The Spanish Constitution expressly prohibits the federation of autonomous communities, but there is no constitutional provision that prevents two or more autonomous communities from agreeing their language policies. However, the different policies of the political parties controlling the regional governments mean that it is practically impossible to establish common language policies in the world of business and consumer affairs. Furthermore, it should be noted that neither is collaboration between governments of similar language policy philosophies easy: in the Balearic Islands, the government made up of left-wing and nationalist parties during the period from 1999 to 2003 had a slim parliamentary majority and its language policy could have been an easy target for criticism from the conservative opposition, which did in fact win an absolute majority in the 2003 elections.33 If no great things can be expected from collaboration between governments on agreeing their language policies, is it plausible to expect ‘spontaneous’ convergence between the targets of language policies? In this case, the answer is more complicated. Experience tells us that, beyond any possible duties to which they are subject, there are companies that show different language-related behaviour in the different territories in which they act. Going beyond governments and businesses, one would also do well to question the role of citizens. Consumers’ and users’ organisations do not tend to concern themselves with the position of Catalan in the world of business and consumer affairs. In any case, it would be the actions of language activism associations that may have a certain compensatory effect on the aforementioned





heterogeneity. Another possible unifying factor would be the application of homogeneous language policies by the central state authorities, which could a priori ignore the ideological differences which block cooperation between different autonomous communities. Beyond the individual actions of regional governments, for example, the Spanish state could have its own policies for enforcing the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages that were the same for all affected autonomous communities. For it is clear that the Spanish state, aside from any obligations it has undertaken with the ratification of the Charter, has more than enough time to deploy its own language policy that brings the constitutional precept of respect for, and promotion of, linguistic diversity to the world of business and consumer affairs, with measures as obvious as the multilingual labelling of all products distributed within it.

Notes 1. When we refer to the language policy of the Autonomous Community of Valencia, we shall also use the name ‘Valencian’. 2. The Catalan Statute of Autonomy Act 4/1979: http://www.gencat.cat/ generalitat/cat/estatut1979/index.htm 3. The Catalan Statute of Autonomy Act 4/1979: http://www.gencat.cat/ generalitat/cat/estatut1979/index.htm The Language Normalisation Act 7/1983: http://www20.gencat.cat/docs/ Llengcat/Documents/Legislacio/Llei%20de%20politica%20linguistica/ Arxius/lnl_intro.pdf 4. Decret 317/1994, de 4 de novembre (DOGC núm. 1983, de 9 de desembre de 1983), pel qual s’estableixen normes sobre l’ordenació i la classificació dels establiments de restauració. (Decree 317/1994, which establishes provisions on the regulation and classification of restaurant establishments): http://www20.gencat.cat/docs/Llengcat/Documents/Legislacio/ Recull%20de%20normativa/Empreses/Arxius/em_d317_94.pdf 5. Llei 3/1993, de 5 de març, de l’Estatut del Consumidor (DOGC núm. 1719, de 12 de marc de 1993) (the Consumers’ Statute Act 3/1993): http://www20. gencat.cat/docs/Llengcat/Documents/Legislacio/Recull%20de%20normativa/ Empreses/Arxius/em_llei3_93.pdf 6. Decree 166/1990, governing the provision of services transporting broken-down motor vehicles: http://www.consum.cat/legislacio/D_166_ 1990_vehicles.pdf 7. The Language Policy Act 1/1998, http://www.gencat.cat/llengua/lleipl 8. http://www.gencat.cat/llengua/ogl. Cf. also Oficina de Garanties Lingüístiques de Barcelona [Barcelona Language Guarantees Office] (2005). 9. 2008 Annual report on the activities of the Language Guarantees Office: http://www20.gencat.cat/docs/Llengcat/Documents/Legislacio/Altres/Arxius/ ogl_2008.pdf


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10. http://www.gencat.cat/llengua/ogl. Cf. also Oficina de Garanties Lingüístiques de Barcelona (2005). 11. The Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia Act 6/2006 (http://www.parlament. cat/porteso/estatut/estatut_angles_100506.pdf 12. As things currently stand, Catalan does not enjoy a habitual presence in the majority of the many areas that make up what we repeatedly refer to as the ‘world of business and consumer affairs’. At one end of the scale are signs in large retail outlets, where Catalan has a presence exceeding 80 per cent. At the other is labelling, where Catalan is simply absent from such well-known brands as Coca-Cola, Danone, Kellogg’s and Nestlé. In the specific case of labelling contemplated in the Language Policy Act (i.e. Catalan denominació d’origen, denominació comarcal and denominació de qualitat – guarantee of origin – products), Catalan has a strong presence, but not in 100 per cent of cases: in that of rice, wines and cavas, for example, it is present in around 50 per cent of them. 13. BOCAIB (Balearic Islands’ Official Journal) no. 15, 20 May 1986. Correction of errata in BOCAIB no. 16, 30 May 1986. http://dgpoling.caib.es/user/ menuweb/cursos/recull%20de%20normativa/llei3-1986.pdf 14. Spanish Constitution: http://www.congreso.es/ingles/funciones/constitucion/ indice.htm 15. Article 33 of the Language Normalisation Act. 16. Article 37 of the Language Normalisation Act. 17. The Consumers’ and Users’ of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands Statute Act 1/1998: http://www.caib.es/boib/visor.do?lang= ca&mode=view&p_numero=1998037&p_inipag=3811&p_finpag=3819 18. The Balearic Islands Commercial Activities Regulation Act 11/2001: http:// www.caib.es/boib/visor.do?lang=ca&mode=view&p_numero=2001077&p_ inipag=9716&p_finpag=9725 19. Chapter III of the Act governs the penalties for each type of infringement. 20. Regulation of the assignment of the commercial use of the trademark Producte balear (Balearic product) to companies of the Balearic Islands which produce Balearic products: http://www.productebalear.net/reglament2.cfm 21. The Balearic Islands Statute Reform Act 1/2007: http://boib.caib.es/pdf/ 2007032/mp2.pdf 22. See the Report of the Directorate-General for Language Policy (Direcció General de Política Lingüística) for the years 2000, 2001 and 2002 (Palma: Govern de les Illes Balears, 2001, 2002 and 2003, respectively). Also to be found at http://dgpoling.caib.es/user/menuweb/actuacions/dgpl2000/memo2000. htm 23. See the very few actions carried out in the field during that legislature by the Directorate-General for Language Policy: http://dgpoling.caib.es/user/ menuweb/comerc.htm 24. It should be noted here that the labelling (and also advertising, especially in its written form) in Catalan produced in Catalonia causes the same reaction in the Balearic Islands – in terms of support or rejection – as if it was produced in the Islands themselves. 25. For a broad view of these two periods, see Mollà (1992) and Pradilla (2002). 26. The 2006 call for applications related to three actions that could receive aid (signs, labelling and administrative documentation, including websites),




27. 28. 29.

30. 31.

32.

33. 34. 35.

Democratic Policies for Language Revitalisation on the understanding that a grant would be given for only one of these activities, up to a maximum amount of ¤600. Balanç . . . (1995). http://www.congreso.es/constitucion/estatutos/index.htm Pueyo and Turull (2003: 160). This diagnosis coincides with that of Bosch i Rodoreda (1998), which aims to analyse ‘the use of Catalan in visual advertising and commercial and official signing in l’Alguer, which is scant and token’. http://www.catala.ad/index_ex.htm It should be noted that, more recently, a growing presence of Castilian in written usage has been noted, for example in advertising exhibited by travel agents, a case that has caused the intervention of those responsible for language policy in the Andorran government. Andorran surveys make a distinction between ‘favourable situations’, ‘intermediate situations’ and ‘unfavourable situations’. According to the latest survey (2004), favourable situations covered banks, insurance companies, doctors and dentists; intermediate ones restaurants, shops and hairdressers; and unfavourable ones taxis, buses, bars, pubs, discos and department stores. The new regional government made up of left-wing and nationalist parties after the 2007 elections finds itself in a similar position. http://www.gencat.cat/llengua/documentacio/bibliografies http://www.gencat.cat/llengua/documentacio/dossiers. Press dossiers about current topics that include journalistic information from the various newspapers published in Catalonia, that can be consulted at the Documentation Centre. Depending on the topic, they may also include related bibliography, a limited number of articles from journals or parts of selected books. From 2008 onwards, all the referenced articles can be viewed online from the summary. They can also be consulted using the press database: http:// www6.gencat.net/llengcat/cds/bdpremsa.htm

Bibliography References quoted in the chapter Balanç de perspectives de la promoció del valencià: 1983–1993 [Review of and Prospects for the Promotion of Valencian: 1983–1993] (1995). València: Conselleria d’Educació i Ciència de la Generalitat Valenciana. Bosch i Rodoreda, A. (1998). ‘L’ús del català i la interferència lingüística en la publicitat visual i la retolació comercial i institucional de l’Alguer’. Revista de Llengua i Dret, 30: 105–45. Melià, J. (1992). ‘La política lingüística a les Illes Balears’. In Marí, I. (coord.), La llengua als Països Catalans. Barcelona: Fundació Jaume Bofill, pp. 49–85. Melià, J. (2005). ‘El turisme i la projecció exterior de la llengua catalana’. Llengua i Dret, 44: 207–27. Minguet, E. (2005). ‘Els processos de normalització lingüística en l’àmbit municipal valencià’. Unpublished doctoral thesis, Universitat de València. Mollà, A. (1992). ‘La política lingüística al País Valencià’. In Marí, I. (coord.), La llengua als Països Catalans. Barcelona: Fundació Jaume Bofill.


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Oficina de Garanties Lingüístiques de Barcelona (2005). ‘Les oficines de garanties lingüístiques: una nova via per defensar els drets lingüístics’. Revista de Llengua i Dret, 44: 231–6. Pradilla, M. A. (2002). ‘La política lingüística contemporània al País Valencià’. Treballs de Sociolingüística Catalana, 16: 101–19. Pradilla, M. A. (2003). ‘El País Valencià: un cas de contraplanificació lingüística’. In Actes del 2n Congrés Europeu sobre Planificació Lingüística. Barcelona: Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya. Pueyo, M. and Turull, A. (2003). Diversitat i política lingüística en un món global. Barcelona: Editorial UOC / Pòrtic. Reniu, M. (1990). Un nou impuls a la política lingüística. Speech before the Catalan Institute of Journalists on 9 July 1990. Published by the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Strubell, M. (1992). ‘Les campanyes de normalització lingüística de la Generalitat de Catalunya (1980–1990)’. Revista de Llengua i Dret, 18: 181–92.

Selective bibliographies that can be consulted at the Documentation Centre of the Language Policy Secretariat of the Generalitat de Catalunya34 Campanyes de normalització lingüística (1981–2007) http://www20. gencat.cat/docs/Llengcat/Docs%20del%20Centre%20de%20Documentacio/ Bibliografies%20selectives/Arxius/bibl72.doc La llengua catalana al sector socioeconòmic. Obres seleccionades i comentades http://www20.gencat.cat/docs/Llengcat/Docs%20del%20Centre%20de%20 Documentacio/Bibliografies%20selectives/Arxius/COM_select_socioeconomic. doc La llengua catalana al sector socioeconòmic I (1973–99) http://www20. gencat.cat/docs/Llengcat/Docs%20del%20Centre%20de%20Documentacio/ Bibliografies%20selectives/Arxius/select_socioeconomicI.doc La llengua catalana al sector socioeconòmic II (2000–8) http://www20. gencat.cat/docs/Llengcat/Docs%20del%20Centre%20de%20Documentacio/ Bibliografies%20selectives/Arxius/select_socioeconomicII.doc Retolació en català (1985–2004) http://www20.gencat.cat/docs/Llengcat/ Centre%20de%20Documentacio/Bibliografies%20selectives/Arxius/bibl64.doc

Thematic dossiers that can be consulted at the Documentation Centre of the Language Policy Secretariat of the Generalitat de Catalunya35 La llengua a les grans superfícies comercials (2005) http://www20.gencat.cat/ docs/Llengcat/Centre%20de%20Documentacio/Dossiers%20tematics/Arxius/ mono28.doc La llengua al sector socioeconòmic (I) (2005) http://www20.gencat.cat/docs/ Llengcat/Centre%20de%20Documentacio/Dossiers%20tematics/Arxius/mono 24.doc La llengua al sector socioeconòmic (II) (2006) http://www20.gencat.cat/ docs/Llengcat/Centre%20de%20Documentacio/Dossiers%20tematics/Arxius/ mono32.doc




An Overview of Catalan Research into Language Policy and Planning Elena Heidepriem Olazábal Head of the Documentation Centre of the Secretariat for Language Policy, Generalitat de Catalunya

9.1 General introduction The research reviewed below covers the social and legal position of the Catalan language, policies and measures implemented in favour of the language in different areas and also shortcomings identified in the language’s status in each of the Catalan-speaking territories. Some of the research is general, looking at the state of play at a specific period and examining the sociolinguistic situation and the language policies applied in each Catalan-speaking territory (Pons and Vila 2006, Querol 2007). Other research is more specific, covering the teaching and acquisition of the language, both of key importance in the normalisation of any language (Argelaguet 1999, Münch 2006). The authors of these doctoral theses are from different backgrounds, so readers can compare and contrast the two approaches (seen from inside and outside). They focus their research on schooling in, and the learning of, the language, respectively, during the latter part of the twentieth century. Whilst the former presents and evaluates the impact of language policy in schools between 1980 and 1995, the latter focuses on social factors, by analysing the process of learning Catalan by the adult population during Spain’s transition towards democracy. Lastly, two texts (which are also complementary) specialise in legal and judicial issues (Vernet 2003, Castellà 2003). The first provides a general overview, structured in the form of a university manual that introduces the reader to the key concepts for understanding the position of the Catalan language; it also presents the state of affairs in different fields, paying special attention to those with the most significant


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social and legal doctrine-related impact. A work such as this in a section dedicated entirely to Catalan language policy and planning is included because the presentation and development of generic themes help readers to understand the specificity of the Catalan case in language law, from theoretical, applied and developmental perspectives. A language, as a means of communication between citizens and public authorities, has instrumental functions with legal repercussions, but as a means of collective expression, it is of fundamental importance in that it identifies, politically and socially, the community that speaks it. The second (Castellà 2003) analyses the position and legal actions of the Spanish state with regard to the Catalan language, drawing attention to a series of matters and making proposals for improving real plurilingualism in Spain. In this way, readers can build up a comprehensive image, not only of the legal position of Catalan but also of its strengths and weaknesses. Two of these works are linked to the Observatori de la Llengua Catalana (the Catalan Language Observatory), the umbrella organisation for a range of independent civic and cultural organisations committed to monitoring, defending and evaluating the position of the Catalan language, in terms of both its social usage and its legal framework. The Informe sobre l’aplicació per l’Estat espanyol de la Carta europea de llengües regionals o minoritàries en relació a la llengua catalana [Report on the Application by the Spanish State of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages with Regard to the Catalan Language], starts with a presentation of the Observatory. Readers wishing to find out more are recommended a booklet by Jacqueline Hall (2001) which provides an extremely comprehensive overall view.

9.2 The Catalan language: the state of affairs at the start of the twenty-first century We start with two reports on the state of the Catalan language at the turn of the millennium. As with the subsequent studies commented upon, they are complementary. Both are by Catalan university academics and cover all Catalan-speaking territories. Pons and Vila (2006) includes information on the economic and social framework, refers to political events and their sociolinguistic consequences and analyses on an individual basis all the fields related to the language, while Querol (2007) focuses on presenting and studying public language use and behaviour. The Informe sobre la situació de la llengua catalana [Report on the Status of the Catalan Language, 2006) was commissioned by the Observatori


Elena Heidepriem Olazábal



de la Llengua Catalana, and written by University of Barcelona professors Eva Pons and Xavier Vila, both linked to the university’s Centre Universitari de Sociolingüística i Comunicació (CUSC, the University Sociolinguistics and Communication Centre). Their work focuses on the legal and social position of the language, and omits references to corpus planning. The specific period (2003–4) was marked by important political events, at both individual country and European levels, with the incorporation of new states and the beginning of the drafting of a (later thwarted) European Constitution. The results of the surveys of language knowledge and use in all Catalan-speaking territories included in the book coordinated by Querol were not yet available when the report was published. Nevertheless, the authors gathered information on all spheres for all the Catalan-speaking territories, spread across four European states in the Mediterranean region: Spain, France, Italy and Andorra. The report firstly describes each territory’s social and economic background, which are described as economically developed areas sharing the social features and problems of western Europe: an economy undergoing a process of globalisation, with the consequent offshoring of companies to emerging economies and the loss of jobs in traditional industries, and the predominance of service industries and those linked to tourism and construction, which have recently attracted a large number of incomers with a vast range of native tongues. Despite these common features, each area has differential traits, from demo-linguistic aspects to the legal position of the language. The authors highlight differences in legal texts, the political ideology of each government, education systems and the existence or lack of policies promoting the language in public and private spheres. The authors state that highly significant political events took place during the period studied. The political map designed by the 2004 general and regional elections was split at autonomous community level, with two conservative governments (in the Balearic Islands and Valencia) and a left-wing/nationalist alliance forming a third (in Catalonia). Analysis of the political data led them to deduce that, where conservative parties governed, not only was a slowdown ordered in the process of social ‘Catalanisation’ but the unity of the language was also threatened by the use of linguistic secessionism as a political weapon. On the other hand, the victory of a centre-left party in the Spanish general election halted some initiatives aimed against the development of Catalan and provided a boost for its recognition in the European Union.


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9.2.1 The legal position of the language The legal position of the language varies very significantly, between different states and also within Spain itself, the only state which has political and administrative divisions within the Catalan-speaking territory. Pons and Vila present four types of case: 1. Catalan is the only official language (Andorra). 2. Catalan is official alongside the Spanish state language, Castilian (Catalonia, the Autonomous Community of Valencia and the Balearic Islands). 3. Catalan, although not an official language, has legislation specifying the right to its use and teaching (la Franja de Ponent, Aragon) or its protection and promotion (l’Alguer). 4. The language benefits from no form of official recognition (‘Northern Catalonia’, France). The language’s legal position determines its use by the public authorities. The authors claim that where Catalan shares its official status with another language, its use and demand are stronger the closer the relevant authority is to the public. The highest levels of use are therefore in the local authorities and the lowest in the Spanish government’s peripheral offices. 9.2.2 The bodies responsible for language policy As in other spheres, the powers of language policy bodies are affected by each territory’s political and legal framework. The authors define two factors that determine the level of commitment by public sectors towards the language: (1) the type of body responsible, in other words, whether it applies state (Andorra), regional (Catalonia, Valencia, Balearic Islands, la Franja de Ponent and ‘Northern Catalonia’) or strictly local (l’Alguer) policies, and (2) the political ideology of their respective governments. Based on this combination, Catalonia emerges as the area with the most bodies devoted to language policy, with differentiated powers over planning, proposals, promotion and coordination, evaluation, advice, and academic and adult education. In the other territories,


After this presentation, the authors analyse events in each languagerelated sphere: its legal position, the bodies responsible for language policy, education and understanding the language, the media, the arts and the socio-economic sphere.


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9.2.3 Education and spreading understanding of the language During the last third of the twentieth century, the presence of Catalan in schools increased considerably, being taught almost everywhere it is spoken, usually with official support. The Pons and Vila report notes, however, the existence of differing education models. The most widespread is the ‘single’ model, in which students are not separated by reason of mother tongue and Catalan is, in addition to being compulsory, the language of teaching. Within the model, which is applied in Andorra, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, there are different levels of intensity. The Catalan-speaking territories of the Autonomous Community of Valencia occupy an intermediate position: Catalan is a compulsory subject, but the use of Catalan and Castilian as the media of instruction varies in three school language models. In territories where Catalan is not official (la Franja de Ponent, l’Alguer and ‘Northern Catalonia’) its teaching is optional, except in the case of the well-known private school system called ‘la Bressola’ in ‘Northern Catalonia’, where studying Catalan is compulsory and it is the main medium of instruction. Education is one of the most effective spheres for the promotion and maintenance of any language. Consequently, the combination of this promotion and the results of applying proper language policy brings about a considerable increase in competence in a language. According to the authors, in the case of Catalan this competence reaches much higher levels where there is a single educational model than in others, where this increase almost only affects oral, as opposed to written, competence. 9.2.4 The media and the arts Data analysis makes it clear that in the media Catalan swings between two contrasting realities: on the one hand there is a high level of production in the press, radio and television, and also on the Internet, particularly at the district and local levels, with high consumption. On the other, however, this production has to compete with a large variety of state-wide media appearing in Castilian or French and which in recent years, with the proliferation of private TV channels via satellite and cable, have benefited from centralised options and control


except for Andorra and (to a lesser degree) the Balearic Islands, the range of bodies and powers they possess varies considerably, from a single body responsible for all these powers to those that have none at all, as is the case of ‘Northern Catalonia’ in France.


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by large state-wide media groups. The authors also underline the difference between regional and local policies on the one hand (with language regulations that promote and guarantee the use of Catalan in the audiovisual media) and basic state-wide regulations on the other, with powers over all media, where this promotion does not occur. Outside films, with little production and distribution, and in the arts, centring mainly on publishing, theatrical and musical output, the picture is broadly similar to that of the media: a high level of production, with serious problems of competition, distribution channels and consumption.

9.2.5 The socio-economic sphere Within the socio-economic sphere, Catalan still falls behind the level of other languages. According to the study, the private sector considers knowledge of Catalan in a positive light, as an added value in the job market, but not as necessary and decisive cultural capital. In the public sector, the authors note that actions vary considerably depending upon the authority in question. Generally speaking, language-related regulations in this sector are affected by there being two official languages and by the degree to which the government is committed to intervene in the field of language. Looking across Spain, the same phenomenon can be seen: in other words, legislation is more favourable to the presence of Catalan in Catalonia than in Valencia or the Balearic Islands. Pons and Vila also underline the general lack of a public will to claim the right to consume and work in one’s native language; so, directly or indirectly, in the socio-economic world, marked as it is by processes of globalisation, one’s ‘own’ (native) tongue is regarded almost as a foreign language. The authors then reflect upon the language’s future. Pons and Vila repeat that territorial fragmentation, with the Catalan-speaking community existing in greatly different demographic, legal, political and social situations, leads to a lack of interconnection, the impossibility of establishing a shared communicative space and a lack of international recognition of Catalan and the Catalan-speaking community. In their view, an important obstacle to the development of the language is the scant coordination between each territory’s language authorities with regard to the language policies they carry out. Another problem is that of immigration. Large-scale immigration from territories speaking other languages is viewed both as a challenge for social and linguistic integration of hitherto unseen dimensions and as a potential driving force behind new measures to successfully encourage the language, to





bridge the gap between competence and actual use of the language in private interpersonal relations. From this viewpoint they seem hopeful, given the existence of a range of language promotion and encouragement initiatives by both the authorities and voluntary associations, with different levels of effectiveness. The report concludes by considering possible measures and policies to promote the Catalan language, focused basically on the creation of new dynamics that bring together the public authorities and civil society in promoting the language. Measures are needed in the fields of politics, education, the economy, technology and the integration of migratory flows, to make Catalan a tool for participation, economic development and the welcoming of newcomers in all spheres of Catalan-speaking territories. The study, coordinated by Ernest Querol, tutor at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, was drafted by specialists from each Catalanspeaking territory, and presents in a joint form information on language understanding, usage and attitudes in all these seven territories, which span, administratively and politically, four states. The research was based on a 200-item questionnaire, administered for the first time, from June 2003 to February 2004, in all Catalanspeaking territories. The data are analysed on a topical basis, so that each issue is analysed for all seven territories as a whole. The issues covered are language abilities, family usage and intergenerational language transmission, language use outside the home, in the media and in new technologies and representations of the language. The book, rich in tables and graphs, includes an annex presenting the data on a territoryby-territory basis and an interactive CD with language maps for all the topics covered. The main conclusions of the study can be summarised as follows: the greatest linguistic use of Catalan is found in Andorra and, within Spain, in Catalonia and the Franja de Ponent. Next come the Balearic Islands and the Autonomous Community of Valencia (also in Spain), followed by l’Alguer (Alghero, Italy) and ‘Northern Catalonia’ (France), with rampant linguistic shift towards official languages (Italian and French). As regards language usage, Catalonia is top-ranked in all the areas covered, followed by Andorra. In general, in territories where Catalan is recognised by official bodies, a more positive evolution in the social usage of the language is perceived, compared to territories where there is no official recognition. As regards the use of Catalan, the place of birth is determinant, followed by age and educational level. Another determining factor is the language used with one’s


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parents. Finally, the book presents an outlook for future development based on the data gathered. It notes it is highly likely that in future the socio-demographic breakdown will substantially change. This hypothesis is based on the analysis of social, political and economic contexts as well as socio-demographic, sociolinguistic and language use norm factors that have been influential. Querol concludes that an increase in the inputs received by this language in personal interactions will be a decisive factor in the use of the Catalan language by future generations in the territories studied as a whole. Wherever there is great availability of Catalan in a given field, there is also a great response. Language policies will therefore have a decisive role. Moreover, the territories in which Catalan is most used are those with the highest levels of self-government (Catalonia and Andorra) and with forceful policies in favour of Catalan. The Observatory commissioned another Report for the period 2005–7 (see Pons and Sorolla 2008). Thanks to the information provided by these two studies, readers can understand the position of the language in different spheres and sectors and also the language-related attitudes and representations of the people living in each Catalan-speaking territory.

9.3 Language education and learning: the two keys to linguistic change in Catalonia in the final third of the twentieth century Jordi Argelaguet – a lecturer at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona – and Christian Münch – an associate researcher at the University of Frankfurt’s Institute for Romance Languages and Literature and an expert in Catalan sociolinguistics – focused their doctoral theses on the language policies of the Generalitat de Catalunya in the field of teaching and learning the Catalan language and their social and political impact in the final quarter of the twentieth century. The two books, with different goals and methodologies, are complementary in that they provide a comprehensive view of the transformation of the status of the Catalan language at the turn of the century. Argelaguet works from a political science perspective, while Münch does so from a social viewpoint, one that has been rarely adopted to study the Catalan language and sociolinguistics. Argelaguet analyses the role of political parties, with different ideological philosophies, in the design and subsequent implementation of a school language model, and the results of this implementation 15 years on. Münch, for his part, explains the multiple transformation process





that took place in the practice of bilingualism in Catalonia as regards speaking and writing, taking as his subjects ordinary men and women. Both books are contextualised at a crucial moment in Catalan and Spanish history: the transition from the authoritarian regime of General Franco to a state-wide democratic system accompanied by the formation of autonomous governments with full powers at different levels, such as compulsory education. According to Argelaguet, the school language model implemented by the Catalan government occurred in a political framework where the powers of the Catalan authorities were conditioned by the power of the central Spanish state, built round a community that is ethnolinguistically dominant at state level, but in a minority in Catalonia. Münch focuses his research on the interaction between language policy and the unique process of social literacy that took place in Catalonia during the 1990s, whilst taking the demise of the Franco regime as the starting point for political and linguistic discourse in the Catalonia of the 1980s and its linguistic and sociolinguistic effects on current society. Both authors reach conclusions regarding the change in status and role of Catalan, inside and outside schools, during this period. Argelaguet’s political analysis allows him to conclude that the democratic transition allowed Catalan to change from being a repressed language tolerated only in limited spheres of social life, to being an official language, Catalonia’s ‘own’ language, habitually used in Catalan public administration and the majority language at almost all levels of teaching. Münch presents Catalonia as an exceptional case of a change in the division of specific functions between two languages in bilingual or ‘bilingualised’ societies. He provides a perfect reflection of the feelings and actions of the adult population with regard to their language at a key moment of history. The two authors use different methods and sources of information. Argelaguet’s research analyses public policies so as to describe, forecast and explain language planning processes and results in particular cases and extrapolate valid generalisations therefrom. He therefore combines an inductive approach with an explicative purpose. The bases of his book are the analysis of formulation and later implementation and evaluation. His sources of information are basically bibliographic: laws and regulations, official data on language competence, the electoral manifestos of different political parties, official surveys on election results, press articles, empirical studies on the language and personal interviews with the leading players in the process. Münch, on the other hand, bases his analysis on the communication profile model linking linguistic and sociolinguistic analyses, based on Koch and Oesterreicher’s theory.


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Thus, for the purpose of explaining and shedding light on the process of social literacy that took place in Catalonia during the final quarter of the twentieth century, his research centres upon the written competence in Catalan, or lack thereof, of a population taught to read and write in Castilian as children. He carries out an in-depth analysis from the speakers’ viewpoint. He specially designed a questionnaire for this research, with 28 questions on the individuals’ level of education, the language in which they were taught to read and write, language usage in private and at work, their competence in written Catalan and their selfassessment of language competence. With these data, Münch constructs a textual corpus, which he subsequently studies. He presents his linguistic analyses, applied to the overall textual corpus, which demonstrate the influence of oral on written competence. Secondly, he gives overall coverage to different observation aspects and presents 24 case studies, in which he links communicative, linguistic and content analyses. This work provides sociolinguistic input related to the everyday communications of speakers and allows the learning process to be placed in the context of social development and of the specific language policies adopted at the time. Their research leads Argelaguet and Münch to different conclusions as to the role played by political parties and social players in the process of change undergone by the Catalan language over the last quarter of the twentieth century in Catalonia. Argelaguet assigns greater significance to the political players whilst Münch puts social ones in front. According to Argelaguet, one of the variables that best explains the implementation of a specific language policy in a particular sphere (in this case the education system) is the political ideology of those in power; while the adoption of a specific education-related language policy is influenced more by political than sociolinguistic factors. Münch, for his part, concludes that, particularly in the process of social literacy studied during the period, the key to success lay in the motivation of the speakers themselves rather than in the establishment of concrete measures. A summary of the contents will allow readers to reach their own conclusions on the two books. Jordi Argelaguet’s study is structured into three sections, in addition to introductory, concluding and bibliography chapters. He presents the goals and purposes of his research and the different education-related language policies existing in Spain’s autonomous communities with more than one official language, with special emphasis on Catalonia. He then analyses the related legal framework, that is, the 1978 Spanish Constitution, Catalonia’s 1979 Statute of Autonomy and its 1983 Language





Normalisation Act, paying special attention to the role played by political parties in drafting them. He then studies the implementation of the language policy in compulsory education in Catalonia in the period under review. Firstly, he provides a timeline of the developmental legislation and then analyses the negotiation process when the political parties defined the educational model and how its implementation affected teachers and students. He also devotes a section to monitoring of implementation carried out by leading players, by analysing electoral manifestos and results, parliamentary activity and legal disputes regarding implementation and the impact on public life. Argelaguet argues that, of the three possible types of education system applicable in plurilingual societies (unilingual, partial and elective linguistic separatism and totally bilingual), Catalan political parties agreed to choose and implement the unilingual model. This model, which in the final analysis was in line with the ideas of Catalan nationalist sectors grouped around the majority coalition, Convergència i Unió, focused on two basic tenets: that in Catalonia, schools should be Catalan in both language and content. This model thus aimed to (a) make Catalan the language of instruction in schools, (b) extend proficiency in and use of the language amongst the younger members of the population and (c) foster among pupils a sense of belonging to the political community that the government of Catalonia institutionally represented. Though the other main parties, the Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya (Socialists) and the Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya (Communists) had different ideologies, they were not too different to prevent them from integrating them into a single model and thus avoid political conflict at a time when democratic freedoms in Spain had only just been recovered. The language model agreed in Catalonia’s 1983 Language Normalisation Act was broad enough to allow for different interpretations, so the language education model did not take on its final form until it was implemented. According to Argelaguet, it did not have an easy birth, since the model initially planned by the Catalan government was vetoed by the Spanish one, so a strategy was adopted consisting of the introduction of small, gradual changes in the education system, accompanied by promotional campaigns and coercive measures aimed at the key players in the school arena (i.e. teachers and pupils). Promotional campaigns were also carried out amongst parents and in civil society as a whole, allowing for the implementation of the single Catalan school model while minimising rejection. Thanks to this step-by-step campaign, within ten years 75 per cent of schoolchildren in Catalonia


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received all their primary education in Catalan, except for the threshold in Spanish laid down by law. When analysing the impact of language policy on compulsory education, the author concentrates on two key issues: the results (increases in the language competence of the school-age population) and the impact (changes in electoral behaviour in terms of increasing support for Catalan nationalist parties). Following detailed analyses of variables such as age, origin or the typology of the so-called Escola Catalana, Argelaguet shows that the implementation of this language education model was successful, in terms of both the number of students being taught in Catalan and the number of schools that were fully ‘catalanised’. Although some shortcomings were evident, generally speaking it led to a generalised increase in competence in Catalan, above all amongst schoolchildren who had been taught in this language. Another key element when analysing the impact of language policy in education is its effect on political socialisation processes, especially amongst the young. Arguelaguet suggests that the language policy carried out in education greatly shaped political values and attitudes favourable to the Catalan nationalist parties: Convergència i Unió, in power when the system was implemented, and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, whose votes increased spectacularly in the early twenty-first century. According to his data, younger generations are more receptive than previous ones to messages from Catalan nationalist parties. Argelaguet concludes that, by implementing policies that were key to Catalan society, the goals set by the party in power when Catalonia’s education-related language policy was designed – making Catalan the language of teaching in schools, extending proficiency in Catalan among young people and fostering in them a sense of belonging to the political community represented institutionally by the government of Catalonia – were met. In the author’s own words, the nationalist coalition Convergència i Unió therefore managed to secure a more important role for the Catalan language within Catalan society and bolster a sense of belonging to a national community. With this research, Argelaguet aims to validate his two original PhD hypotheses. The first is generally applicable and shows how, in choosing a specific option and in implementing government policy, it is the ideology of the dominant party – rather than a combination of political and social factors – that is crucial. The second, relating to the specific sphere of education-related language policy, proposed that, in making a choice of model which is influenced by both sociolinguistic and political factors, the latter are the most decisive. He concludes





that one of the variables that best explains the degree of implementation of a specific language policy is the political ideology of those in power. The advantage a governing party has of using the resources the apparatus of public administration makes available allows it to become a hegemonic force thanks to government activity, even when it starts from a minority position. He also notes that the application of a model may fluctuate according to the correlation of forces at any given moment, and that a change in government in a territory may lead to a change in the intensity with which a model is applied, or to a change in the model itself without the existing legal framework having to change. Christian Münch’s book concentrates on the process of learning Catalan experienced by the adult population of Catalonia during the final quarter of the twentieth century. Given that the target readers of his book are German speakers, Münch starts with an introduction to the history of the Catalan language, from its beginnings to the Renaixença, the ‘rebirth’ of Catalan in the nineteenth century, to the political and cultural repression during the Franco regime (1939–75). His presentation ends with an introduction to the language policy designed in the 1980s and includes the 1992 Olympic Games. He underlines the importance, from the 1990s onwards, of the introduction of certificates in the language, particularly Level C, which certifies intermediate proficiency in Catalan. For Münch, the process of written literacy in any language is the stage of language acquisition and learning at the end of which one commands various graphical language abilities related to a semiotic system of symbols, a command of a language norm, and with it an orthography and lexical and grammatical tools, and a command of particular discursive traditions. In our society, the literacy process – a key requirement in participating in the different spheres of social life – continues after school and/or university, throughout one’s working life. Normally, adult literacy processes complete initial ones and cover deficiencies in certain writing skills. Between 1940 and 1980 nearly all the Catalan-speaking population wrote only in Castilian, because of either imposition, the lack of writing skills or simply habit. In stable bilingual or multilingual societies, specific functions are usually assigned to the various languages present in them. However, what happens when this stability has not existed for a long time, and when much of its adult population cannot read and write in its own language? In Catalonia this imbalance has been overcome by now – at least in the case of the native population; but what


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factors have allowed this to occur? What roles have the authorities and the general public played? The answers can be found in the work carried out in the post-Franco period in the fields of literacy and language policy. During the 1990s, Catalan written competence significantly increased in Catalonia’s adult population. The proliferation of Catalan language courses and the language proficiency certificates issued by the Catalan authorities played key roles. How did adult speakers react to the challenge of acquiring written competence in their own language? What led them to carry out this learning process? What role did the speakers themselves play in this general process of literacy acquisition and in the upgrading of the language’s social value? The answers to such questions are affected by both personal language- and communication-related factors and to Catalonia’s political and sociolinguistic environment. The bulk of Münch’s book looks at language- and communicationrelated factors and the role played by speakers’ motivations in the general process of literacy acquisition of the Catalan population. His research centres on three issues: 1. An analysis of the influence of the spoken on the written language. To do this, he asks four questions: To what degree did speakers rely on their oral skill in Catalan in writing it? What aspects of the oral language were acceptable in written texts? What were the limits for oral features of the language in written media? What was their value from a normative point of view? 2. A study of speakers’ communicative environment. The learning process took place against a highly bilingual social backdrop, so how did speakers use Catalan and Castilian in their daily lives, in spoken and written activities? Were the communicative practices of each individual speaker related to generalised changes in their communicative environment? 3. Gauging the importance of the role of the politico-linguistic and ideological context of the period in the learning process, from both an individual case-by-case viewpoint and that of the general process of social literacy acquisition. Can each speaker’s communicative practices be interpreted as being the result of language policy measures?



Münch concludes that the unique developments of the 1990s have marked Catalonia’s social literacy process to this day. Far from being one-dimensional and attributable solely to language policy and its



players through specific measures, the dynamic framework of social and communicative changes in which it occurred played a key role in the success of the enterprise: affecting the motivation of the speakers. In his view, the Catalan experience shows how the acquisition of written competence in a language is not only important per se, but also because it indirectly leads to the success of social literacy processes, since it offers people prospects that add value to the written competence they have just acquired. The probability of a positive outcome, associated with economic success paired with one’s identification with a language and its culture, is an important stimulus in processes of language-based literacy acquisition. For Münch, the success achieved by Catalonia in this social literacy process could be an example for other European societies which are receiving large-scale immigration and in which adult literacy takes on special significance, especially when cultural and linguistic integration of immigrants is sought in the host society.

9.4 The legal and judicial fields: the framework for the development of the language The two texts chosen in this section on the legal and judicial sphere, are both collections coordinated by Catalan university professors. The first, coordinated by the Professor in Constitutional Law and member of Catalonia’s Council of Statutory Guarantees, Jaume Vernet, is co-authored by four Catalan academics (Eva Pons, Agustí Pou, Joan Ramon Solé and Anna Maria Pla) with great teaching and research experience. It covers, with a systematic and didactic approach, various issues related to language law, with special reference to the Catalan context. The second book, published by the Observatori de la Llengua Catalana, was coordinated by Santiago Castellà, Professor in Public International Law and Public Relations of the Rovira i Virgili University (Tarragona and Reus). They are complementary, in that one explains and analyses the theoretical framework in a broad sense, while the other analyses the action taken (or not taken) by the Spanish state, to which most of the Catalan-speaking community belongs, and suggests possible measures to favour plurilingualism in Spain. The Vernet (2003) book has two parts. The first, which is basically theoretical in nature, presents the basic concepts of languagerelated law and discusses language-related legal regimes at international, EU, Spanish and Catalan levels. The second part, which deals with Catalonia, describes in detail each of the key regulatory spheres. It makes


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virtually no reference to other Catalan-speaking territories, outside compulsory education. In addition to a relevant bibliography, most chapters have some form of preliminary historical background, which offers readers an extremely helpful context. The book starts with an introduction to the theoretical bases of language-related law, and introduces readers to matters related to linguistic diversity in today’s world, and relations between languages and political communities, and between languages and power structures. It also introduces the linguistic pluralism principle, such as those applicable to an ‘official’ language and the protection of diversity, the personality and territoriality principles, and the principles of equality and non-discrimination by reason of language. The authors analyse four language-related law models from amongst the range existing in Europe. This was not a random choice: it comprises regulatory models for language plurality which are important to understanding the position and problems of the language in Catalonia. The choice was made by applying three criteria. The first distinguishes between countries acknowledging plurilingualism and those that do not regard it as a principle of state. The second differentiates between those that grant official status to several languages or choose an official status for less widespread or ‘minoritised’ languages. The third separates those in which the official nature of two or more languages is only recognised at an institutional level from those in which such recognition has a practical impact. Based on these criteria, the authors show, through examples, how the authorities design their legal policies based on how they accommodate to the sociolinguistic situation and the degree of recognition afforded language pluralism. The acceptance of diversity may cover all historically established languages or only some. France has a strong state-wide monolingual system in which the so-called ‘regional languages’ are only the object of de facto recognition, whilst French, the official language, enjoys intense protection and promotion. In Italy, the state sees itself as both unitary and plural at the same time and therefore affords protection for its minority languages through various legal frameworks for the languages spoken in its territory. Finland exemplifies a state that enjoys institutional plurilingualism in which the two main languages, although unequally spread, have the same status as official or national languages. Finally, Belgium exemplifies linguistic federalism: it has two large territorially defined language groups; each language is official in its own territory and shares official status in the country’s capital.





This general section deals with international regulations on language rights, international protection for linguistic diversity and bodies working in the field. It analyses the European system for protecting language rights, the language regulations of European institutions and matters related to Spain’s constitutional treatment of plurilingualism, with its provisions on official recognition, the duty to know Castilian and the system of powers established by the 1978 Constitution through the 17 statutes of autonomy. All these elements are vital to understanding the language-related legal regime in Catalonia: they directly or indirectly affect Catalan’s language regulations. In addition to these indispensable elements, the book clarifies some basic concepts which may be unclear to non-Catalan readers, such as why Catalonia’s first language-related law (1983) was of language ‘normalisation’ and not of language policy or planning, what ‘normalisation’ means, what ‘normal’ use of the language means or what the concept of a territory’s ‘own’ language means, a concept coined in Catalonia to explain its position as the language of institutional use and as a collective heritage of the Catalans. The rest of the book is devoted to Catalan in language-related law. The authors pay special attention to the regulatory spheres that have the main social and legal doctrine-related impact, such as the public authorities, education, toponymy and anthroponomy, the media, the arts, the socio-economic sphere, language regulations in Spanish state institutions and the international profile of Catalan. The following spheres are highlighted: (a) The public authorities. The authors explain that in Catalonia, different public authorities coexist but do not use Catalan to the same extent. This is largely for historical reasons (the existence of public administrations inherited from Franco’s dictatorship, accustomed to using only Castilian), the clash of powers and differences in the political objectives of the central Spanish state and the government of Catalonia. As a result, Catalonia has two types of public authorities with regard to the regulation of language usages: those in which Catalan is the main language of use, and those in which there is an extensive use of Castilian, both in administrative documents and oral and written usage, internally and externally. The authors also highlight this problem of clashes of powers with regard to language use and job requirements of personnel who work for the authorities. (b) Education. The field of education is especially complex, because it combines education and language rights. The book makes abundant references to legislation and regulations, and to relevant case law.


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It deals with compulsory and post-compulsory education and the teaching of official languages, without, however, ignoring university education, where the authors underline the consequences of the principle of freedom of choice by teaching staff and students. The section devoted to compulsory education includes information on other Catalan-speaking territories in Spain, analyses the division of powers between the central state and the autonomous communities and the highly varied school language policies applied by each. (c) The media and the arts. Regulating the use of language in the media has been of vital importance in Catalonia’s linguistic normalisation programme, especially as regards radio, television, periodical publications, the performing arts and the film industry. The authors emphasise that the 1988 Language Policy Act has proved key to the consolidation of language promotion measures envisaged in the 1983 Language Normalisation Act, while broadening them, above all in IT, computer communication networks and language engineering products. The authors claim that Catalan legislation takes advantage of all the opportunities offered by the constitutional and statutory framework. The section concludes with an exposition on how powers in this sphere are shared between the Spanish state and the Generalitat. (d) The socio-economic sphere. The authors analyse the body of law and the implementation of the 1998 Language Policy Act which again includes provisions not envisaged in the 1983 Language Normalisation Act. Inspired by Quebec’s Charter of the French Language, this legislation includes provisions on labelling, advertising, labour and professional relations for different types of bodies. For the first time, it contemplates language law obligations in addition to measures promoting and encouraging the use of Catalan. The authors enrich the book by contributing their own personal assessments of language law applicable in Catalonia. As the coordinator notes in the introduction, Catalonia is an excellent laboratory for analysing the relationship between language and the political community. The whole – consisting of theory, practical applications and the opinions of experts – provides a reference point allowing people from language communities comparable to Catalonia to consider, adapt and implement this doctrine, which has a long history in Catalan-speaking territories. The second book on the legal and judicial field was coordinated by Santiago Castellà. It assesses Spain’s implementation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, enriched with concrete





proposals for specific key areas, such as education or the law. The Charter allows third parties to analyse reports submitted by each state and to draw matters to the attention of the Council’s experts regarding compliance with its provisions and the undertakings adopted by each state. In September 2003, the Observatori de la Llengua Catalana submitted to the Committee of Experts of the European Charter a report analysing the text submitted by the Spanish state to the Council of Europe in its capacity as a signatory state to the European Charter. The text is structured in accordance with the model of the Charter itself. The first part specifies the commitments adopted by the Spanish state in regard to the Charter’s stipulations and studies in depth the first report submitted by the Spanish state, a year after ratifying the Charter. It makes reference to the languages covered in Spain’s report and which, according to this text, are those recognised as official languages in the statutes of autonomy of autonomous communities with an official language alongside Castilian: the Basque Country, Navarre, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencia and Galicia. It also covers implementation of the provisions related to languages in territories where they are not official. The authors of the Observatory Report criticise the Spanish state for not distinguishing between regional and minority languages, and considering them to be comparable. In the opinion of the Observatory, Spain submitted an unclear document, since it basically quoted legislation related to the matters under review, but was not explicit as to its policy on the objectives or on the concrete measures affecting its regional or minority languages in the areas stipulated in the Charter. They highlight that Spain tries to explain the lack of measures by claiming that they were already contemplated in its legal system, chronologically prior to the Charter itself. They also criticise the fact that Spain repeatedly claims that specific measures on the protection and promotion of regional or minority languages are up to the governments of the autonomous communities in which these languages are spoken, and not central government. However, the Observatory rejects this claim: the central state authorities drew up the report unilaterally, without the input of the governments of autonomous communities; moreover, there is no general language policy regulating linguistic plurality in Spain. According to the authors, this is clear thanks to the existence of a wide range of regulations, fairly contradictory models and a lack of coordination and cooperation with autonomous community regulations. In their opinion, this is one reason why there are still a plethora of legal formulae which, far from protecting and promoting languages other than Castilian, actually do the opposite.


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1. The lack of decisive Spanish state action in explicitly recognising, promoting and encouraging Catalan. According to the report, Spain bases its position on the premise that regulatory and promotional actions for languages other than Castilian are the exclusive responsibility of the autonomous communities’ governments. The report says that, in contrast, Spain does regulate the use of Castilian throughout the country, thereby interfering with language policies applied by the governments of the autonomous communities. They also state that, in the case of Catalan, this is aggravated because legislation applied in the different territories in which this language is spoken differs depending on the government in question and that there is no active overall regulation on the part of the Spanish state that could make good any deficiencies in the promotion and/or protection by the different autonomous communities of their own languages. The report also complains of the lack of allocations in the Spanish state budget for this purpose. 2. The report criticises the existing administrative divisions within the Spanish state, which are an obstacle to promoting the Catalan language, since within Spain, there are autonomous communities in which Catalan is an official language (Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands) alongside territories where it is a protected language (la Franja de Ponent, in Aragon) or has no recognition whatsoever (the Carxe area of Murcia). Spain has no language policy measure to encourage the promotion of Catalan throughout the Catalanspeaking territories. One of the most serious issues in this field is that the variety of Catalan spoken in Valencia, called valencià (Valencian), is treated as if it were different from Catalan. 3. The report denounces the lack of Spanish state action in favour of Catalan, in both public and private spheres. It also criticises the fact that Spain has not developed any regulations to counter situations of discrimination against the use of Catalan in some of these domains. 4. Spain has done nothing to encourage mutual understanding between the different language groups in Spain.


In the second part of the report actions carried out by Spain with regard to Catalan are analysed, in terms of the objectives and principles of the Charter, and shortcomings are underlined. Four specific declarations are made:

The Observatory report concludes by bringing a series of matters to the attention of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts, related to



each of the sections making up Part III of the Charter (measures to promote the use of regional or minority languages in the different spheres of public life). In education, it reveals the lack of a Spanish state-wide initiative other than that promoting the Castilian language. In the field of justice, it criticises Castilian generally being the pre-eminent language in criminal and civil proceedings and before the courts with powers over administrative matters. One serious shortcoming is the failure to make any Catalan language requirements for employees working locally for central Spanish authority bodies, such as the public prosecutors’ office, the state legal service or general public services, together with the fact that legal documents in Catalan are not valid outside Catalan-speaking territories, unless translated. The report claims that the use of Catalan is still exceptional in the general Spanish state administration and is usually only possible in the autonomous communities in which it is an official language when a request for its use is made. In the media, arts, cultural services and socio-economic world, the authors claim that the report submitted by Spain uses the principle of non-interference in private affairs as an excuse for not having policy to promote and encourage languages other than Castilian. The Observatory report ends by drawing to the attention of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts cross-border exchanges, a field in which they consider that Constitutional Court doctrine now opens the way for substate communities to establish agreements without Spanish state foreign policy being applicable. The report was submitted to the Committee of Experts who, in 2005, issued their conclusions on the matter. Santiago Castellà then drew up another report (2006) in which he states that, despite some shortcomings, the Committee does see the need, made clear by the Observatory, for Spain to undergo a linguistic transition from the model based on the supremacy of Castilian monolingualism to a plurilingual model, so as to apply its European Charter commitments. For Castellà, this understanding could provide the impetus for helping the Spanish government, working in partnership with bilingual autonomous communities, to build a new legal framework that encourages respect for and understanding and the use of the country’s linguistic plurality based on the principle of freedom of language choice in a plurilingual regulatory, political, social and cultural context. Just a year later, another document (Observatori 2007) complained that many of the Council of Europe’s recommendations had not been addressed in Spain’s second Report.


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Argelaguet i Argemí, J. (1999). Partits, llengua i escola. Anàlisi de la política lingüística de la Generalitat de Catalunya en l’ensenyament obligatori (1980–1995) [Political Parties, Language and School: an Analysis of the Language Policy of the Generalitat de Catalunya in Compulsory Education]. Barcelona: Editorial Mediterrània, 279 pp. ISBN 84-8334-086-9. Castellà i Surribas, S. (coord.) (2003). Report on the Application by the Spanish State of the European Charter on Regional and Minority Languages with Respect to the Catalan Language. Barcelona: Observatori de la Llengua Catalana. URL: http://www.observatoridelallengua.cat/arxius_ documents/informe_angles.doc (in English; last accessed 20 June 2010). Castellà i Surribas, S. (2006). Cap a un Estat plurilingüe: una lectura en positiu del primer informe del Comité d’Experts de la Carta Europea de les Llengües Regionals o Minoritàries sobre el compliment per l’Estat espanyol en relació a la llengua catalana [Towards a Plurilingual State: a Positive Reading of the First Report by the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages on Compliance by the Spanish State with Regard to the Catalan Language]. Barcelona: Observatori de la Llengua Catalana, 35 pp. ISBN 84-609-9316-7. URL: http://www. observatoridelallengua.cat/arxius_documents/informe111.pdf (in Catalan; last accessed 20 June 2010); http://www.observatoridelallengua.cat/arxius_ documents/hacia_un_estado_plurilingue.doc (in Spanish; last accessed 20 June 2010). Hall, J. (2001). Convivència in Catalonia: Languages Living Together. Barcelona: Fundació Jaume Bofill, 126 pp. ISBN 84-85557-55-7. Münch, C.H. (2006). Sprachpolitik und gesellschaftliche Alphabetisierung: zur Entwicklung der Schreibkompetenz in Katalonien seit 1975 [Language Policy and Social Literacy: the Development of Written Competence in Catalonia since 1975]. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 254 pp. (VarioLingua; 29). ISBN 3-631-53763-8. Observatori de la Llengua Catalana (2007). Brief Report on the Application by the Spanish State of the European Charter of the Regional or Minority Languages with Regard to the Catalan Language. October 2007, 19 pp. URL: http://www. observatoridelallengua.cat/arxius_documents/090205_informe07_en.doc (in English; last accessed 20 June 2010). Pons i Parera, E. and Vila i Moreno, F.X. (2006). Informe sobre la situació de la llengua catalana: 2003–2004 [Status Report on the Catalan Language: 2003–2004). Barcelona: Observatori de la Llengua Catalana, 291 pp. URL: http://www.observatoridelallengua.cat/arxius_documents/informe6_ ok.pdf (in Catalan; last accessed 20 June 2010). Pons i Parera, E. and Sorolla, N. (eds) (2008). Informe sobre la situació de la llengua catalana (2005–2007) [Report on the State of the Catalan Language: 2005–2007]. Barcelona: Observatori de la Llengua Catalana, 177 pp. URL: http://www.observatoridelallengua.cat/arxius_documents/informe_ llengua_2005-07.pdf (in Catalan; last accessed 20 June 2010). Querol, E. (coord.) (2007). Llengua i societat als territoris de parla catalana a l’inici del segle XXI: L’Alguer, Andorra, Catalunya, Catalunya Nord, la Franja,


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Illes Balears i Comunitat Valenciana [Language and Society in CatalanSpeaking Territories at the Beginning of the 21st Century: L’Alguer, Andorra, Catalonia, ‘Northern Catalonia’, la Franja, the Balearic Islands and the Autonomous Community of Valencia]. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, Secretaria de Política Lingüística, 226 pp. (Sèrie Estudis; 12). ISBN 97884-393-7515-9. URL: http://www20.gencat.cat/docs/Llengcat/Documents/ Publicacions/Publicacions%20en%20linea/Arxius/llenguaisocietat_inicisXXI. pdf (in Catalan; last accessed 20 June 2010). Vernet, J. (coord.) (2003). Dret lingüístic [Language-Related Law]. Valls: Cossetània Edicions, 303 pp. ISBN 84-96035-41-7.


246


Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua 30, 35–9, 116 Acció Cultural del País Valencià 8, 10, 47 accommodation norm 12, 152, 153 adult education, language policy 140–3 language education 141–3 non-linguistic purposes 140–1 see also universities, language policy Albert, Caterina (Víctor Català) 27 Alcover, Fr. Antoni-Maria 31 Alghero see l’Alguer Andorra 59, 183, 230 business and consumer affairs 217–18 law governing use of official language 61 legal systems 61 Official Language Usage Management Act (1999) 99–100, 218 official status of Catalan 98–101 understanding/speaking skills 19 Andrés Estellés, Vincent 29 Aragon Cultural Heritage Act 88 Declaration of Mequinensa 65 La Franja 23 business and consumer affairs 217 legal systems 65–6 official status of Catalan 87–8 school-related language policy 128, 133–4 official language of 88 Statute of Autonomy 87 Territorial Management Act 1998 88

Aranese 91, 92, 115 Arbó, Sebastià 29 Argelaguet, Jordi 231–5 Argenter, Joan 32 Argentina, immigrants from 21 Aribau, Bonaventura Carles, La Pàtria 26 Artís Gener, Avel·lí 29 arts see media and arts Atles Lingüístic de Domini Català 34 autonomous communities 57, 150, 184 linguistic legislation 59 see also individual communities Avantguardisme 28 Balearic Islands 17, 42–3 business and consumer affairs 208–15: customer service 214; El comerç, obert a la nostra llengua 212; general situation 213–15; labelling 214–15; legal framework 209–11; Obrim el comerç a la nostra llengua 211; shop signs 214; use of Catalan by official bodies 211–12 Consumers’ Statute 209, 210 decree of minimums 69 education and learning: school-related language policy 128, 130–1; university-related language policy 137, 139 immigrant populations 21 Language Normalisation Act (1986) 43, 97, 190, 209 legal systems 68–9 official status of Catalan 97–9 oral communication 163–5, 173–8: ‘Bring the language out’ campaign 164–5; ‘Catalan,


Index

247


Index

Balearic Islands – continued a language for everybody’ campaign 174–7; ‘Don’t hold your tongue’ campaign 164–5; ‘Integrate me, integrate them’ campaign 177–8; ‘Let’s give our language to the future’ campaign 174–7; ‘We have a language to be heard/felt’ campaign 177–8 Pacte de Progrés 209 population 21 Producte balear 210, 214 Retail Trade Act (2001) 209, 210 Rotger decree 69 Statute of Autonomy 43, 59, 97, 131, 208 Trilingualism law 131 understanding/speaking skills 19 banal nationalism 14 Bartra, Agustí 29 base laws 184 Belgium, linguistic federalism 239 Benguerel, Xavier 29 Bertrana, Prudenci 27 bilingual norm 153–4, 158–9 bilingualism 3, 6, 20, 151 accommodation norm 12 compulsory 124–5 passive see passive bilingualism Billig, Michael 14 Bofill i Mates, Jaume, Guerau de Liost 28 Bolivia, immigrants from 21 Bologna process 138 Bonet, Blai 29 bridge languages 22 Brosa, Marià, Guía de instructor catalán 123 Bulgaria, immigrants from 21 business and consumer affairs 13, 201–23 Andorra 217–18 Balearic Islands 208–15 Catalonia 202–8

current status of Catalan use 229–31 l’Alguer 317 Northern Catalonia 217–18 Valencia 215–17 Calders, Pere 29 Capmany, Maria Aurèlia 29 Carner, Josep 28 Casellas, Raimon 27 Castellà, Santiago 238, 241–2 Castilian 6–7, 14, 20 adoption as Spanish language 120–1 influences on Catalan language 7 official status of 58 teaching of 121 Catalan Castilian influences on 7 codification of 32, 51 current status 225–31: education 228; language policy 227–8; legal position 227; media and arts 228–9; socio-economic sphere 229–31 dialects of 6 ethnic divisions and social status 154 geographical varieties 23–4 inclusion in public education 122–3 lack of incentive to learn 153 official recognition of 124–5 official status of 58: not recognised as official language 84–9; as official language with Castilian 89–99; sole official language 99–102 oral communication 150–81 promotion of 1, 12 in media 191–3 see also education; oral communication revival of 2 as Romance language 22 shift away from 2–3, 6 social usage 203, 204 socio-economic status 229–31, 241 teaching in schools 11–12, 127–36


248


use by state institutions 102–9: courts 107–9; executive bodies 104–5; parliamentary bodies 103–4; territorial administration 105–7 use by supranational institutions 109–12: Council of Europe 109–11; European Union 111–13 Catalan Audiovisual Council 188–9 Catalan culture 3 demographic dimensions of 4 Catalan Institute for the Cultural Industries 193 ‘Catalan, a language for everybody’ campaign 174–7 Catalan literature 24 Catalan Universities Act 139–40 Catalan-speaking community see Catalanofonia Catalanofonia 2, 17–56 corpus planning 30–39 population size 21 status planning 39–50 territorial and demo-linguistic diversity 17–29 Catalonia 17, 40–1 Audiovisual Programming Distributed by Cable Regulation Act 188 business and consumer affairs 202–8: consumer rights 204–5; labelling and advertising 206 Decree 107/1987 90–91 immigrant populations 21 Language Guarantees Office 206–7 Language Normalisation Act (1983) 89, 155, 190, 202, 203–4, 241 reform of 205 Language Policy Act (1997) 89, 91, 166, 190–1, 203, 205, 241 legal systems 70–3 Northern see Northern Catalonia official status of Catalan 89–94 oral communication 156–9, 164–9 la Norma campaign 156–9 ‘Pass on Catalan’ campaign 168–9

249

‘Wind up Catalan’ campaign 167–8 ‘You are a teacher’ campaign 164–5 ‘You are a winner’ campaign 166 population 21 public authorities 240 school-related language policy 127–30 integration of foreign pupils 135 model de conjunció en català 128–9 Statute of Autonomy 42, 59, 70, 92–4, 203, 207–8 understanding/speaking skills 19 university-related language policy 137, 139 Vall d’Aran 92 Catalunya 28 Catholic Church, dissemination of Castilian language 122 Cavall Fort 28 Cerdà, Jordi-Pere 29 Colombia, immigrants from 21 Compromise of Caspe 24 constitutional bloc 184 limitations of 185–7 consumer rights to language 13 Convergència i Unió 202 Corella, Roís de 24 corpus planning 30–39 Council of Europe, official use of Catalan 109–11 courts official use of Catalan 107–9 see also legal systems Curial e Güelfa 24 Decadència 26 demo-linguistic changes 20 demobilisation 8 Despuig, Cristòfor, Los col·loquis de la insigne ciutat de Tortosa 26 devaluation 7 Diari Català 27 Diccionari del Català Contemporani 34 Diccionari català-valencià-balear 35 Diccionari descriptiu de la llengua catalana 34


Index


Index

Diccionari General del la Llengua Catalana 31 Diccionari de la llengua catalana 33 Diccionari manual de la llengua catalana 34 Diccionari Ortogràfic i de Pronunciació 38 disappearance 7–8 disintegration 6 dissolution 6–7 division 7 Dolç, Miquel 29 ‘Don’t hold your tongue’ campaign 164–5 d’Ors, Eugeni, Xènius 28 Ecuador, immigrants from 21 education and learning 11–12, 119–49, 240–1 adult education 140–3 current status of Catalan use 228 as key to linguistic change 231–8 schools 11–12, 127–36 unilingual 234 universities 136–40 El Be Negre 28 El Carxe 18, 20 legal systems 64–5 official status of Catalan 87 El Poble Català 28 Els Nostres Clàssics library 28 Els Setze Jutges 29 En Patufet 28 Escola Catalana 235 Escola Valenciana 8, 10 Espriu, Salvador 29 ethnic divisions and social status 154 European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages 11, 60, 88, 220 European Union, official use of Catalan 111–12 executive bodies, official use of Catalan 104–5 Fabra, Pompeu 9, 31, 32, 151 Obres Completes 35 Faraudo de Saint-Germain, Lluís 35 fauna plumífera 33

Favanella (Abanilla) 87 Ferrater, Gabriel 29 Foix, Josep V. 28 France Catalan Language Charter 86 Loi Deixonne 64 Loi Toubon 63 Northern Catalonia: business and consumer affairs 217–18; legal systems 63–4; official status of Catalan 86–7; understanding/ speaking skills 19 regional languages 239 status of regional languages 60, 63–4 Franco, General Francisco 125 Franja de Ponent 18, 39, 51 understanding/speaking skills 19 freedom 5–6 Fundació Bernat Metge 28 Garcia, Francesc Vicent 26 Gassol, Ventura 28 General Plan for the Promotion of the Use of Valencian 162–3 Genís, Salvador, El auxiliar del maestro catalán 123 geographical variation 23–4 Germany, immigrants from 21 Giles, Howard 152 Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis Cataloniae 34 Gramàtica catalana 31, 33 Gramàtica Normativa Valenciana 38 Guimerà, Àngel 27 Hola

4

ideological dynamics 46–50 Iecla (Yecla) 87 Iglésias, Ignasi 27 Immi.Cat 8 immigration 153 and language policy 134–6 origins of immigrants 21 information technology 182–200 Informe sobre la situació de la llengua catalana 225–6


250


Institut de’Estudis Catalans 30–35 Instruccions per a l’ensenyança de minyons 26 ‘Integrate me, integrate them’ campaign 177–8 Italy Act 482/1999 85 Legge n. 482, Norme in materia di tutela delle minoranze linguistiche storiche 40, 60 see also l’Alguer; Sardinia Jocs Florals 27 Jumella (Jumilla) 87 Kloss, Heinz 9 koine 30 Kymlicka, Will 5, 49 La Campana de Gràcia 27 La Franja 18 business and consumer affairs 217 legal systems 65–6 official status of Catalan 87–8 school-related language policy 128, 133–4 la Norma campaign 156–9 media 157 non-confrontational nature 156–7 targets 157–8 La Publicitat 28 La Vanguardia 4 La Veu de Catalunya 28 labelling/advertising in Catalan 206, 214–15 Lacordaìre, Henri 5 l’Alguer 19 business and consumer affairs 317 legal systems 62–3 official status of Catalan 84–6 understanding/speaking skills 19 language availability 159 Language Normalisation Act Balearic Islands (1986) 43, 97, 190, 209 Catalonia (1983) 89, 155, 190, 202, 203–4, 241: reform of 205 language pact 36

251

language policy 2, 20, 39–46 business and consumer affairs 201–23: Andorra 217–18; Balearic Islands 208–15; Catalonia 202–8; l’Alguer 317; Northern Catalonia 217–18; Valencia 215–17 current status 227–8 education and learning 11–12, 119–49 legal systems 10–11, 57–83 media 12–13, 190–1 oral communication 150–81: Balearic Islands 163–4, 173–8; Catalonia 156–9, 164–9; Valencia 159–63, 169–73 public 240 Language Policy Act (1997) 89, 91, 166, 190–1, 203, 205, 241 language skills 19 language-in-education policy 119–49 adult education 140–3 higher education 136–40 history of 120–5 schools 127–36 since 1978 125–43 legal position of Catalan 227 legal systems 10–11, 57–83 language development framework 238–44 linguistic normalisation 58, 155 regional differences 60–73: Andorra 61; Balearic Islands 68–9; Catalonia 70–3; El Carxe 64–5; La Franja 65–6; l’Alguer 62–3; Northern Catalonia 63–4; Valencia 66–8 Legge n. 482, Norme in materia di tutela delle minoranze linguistiche storiche (Italy) 40 Legge Regionale Promozione e valorizzazione della cultura e della lingua della Sardegna 40, 84–5 ‘Let’s give our language to the future’ campaign 174–7 ‘Let’s live in Valencian’ campaign 161–3, 170, 216


Index


Index

‘Let’s speak Valencian’ campaign 159–63 linguistic choice 5 linguistic federalism 239 linguistic forms 58 Linguistic Immersion in Valencian Programme 132 linguistic models 5 linguistic nationalism 14 linguistic normalisation 58, 73–6, 151 accommodation norm 12, 152, 153 implementation of 75–6 legal systems 58, 155 passive bilingualism 8, 12, 152 linguistic planning 52 linguistic pluralism 239 linguistic security 5 literacy, written 236 López Chavarri, Eduard 28 López Picó, Josep 28 Louis XIV of France 120 Manifest dels Marges 48 Manifiesto en defensa de la lengua común 5 Maragall, Joan 27 Marc, Ausiàs 24 Martí, Joan, The Earliest Stage of Language Planning: the ‘First Congress’ Phenomenon 1 Martí Pol, Miquel 29 Martorell, Joanot, Tirant lo Blanc 25 media and arts 182–200, 241 banning of Catalan in 183 current status of Catalan use 228–9 language policy 12–13, 190–1 limitations of constitutional bloc 185–7 promotion of Catalan in 191–3 radio and television regulatory policies 187–90 migrations effect on language growth 19 new 21 military service, ‘Castilianisation’ through 121–2 Morocco, immigrants from 21

multilingualism 22 Münch, Christian 231–3, 236–8 Mundo Deportivo 4 Murcia see El Carxe national service, ‘Castilianisation’ through 121–2 new migrations 21 newspapers 4 Nomenclàtor oficial de toponímia major de Catalunya 34 Nomenclàtor toponímic de la Catalunya del Nord 34 norma lingüística 3 normalisation see linguistic normalisation Normes ortogràfiques 31 Normes Ortogràfiques de Castelló 30 Northern Catalonia business and consumer affairs 217–18 legal systems 63–4 official status of Catalan 86–7 understanding/speaking skills 19 Noucentisme 28, 31, 47 Nova Cançó 29 Nueva Planta 26, 47 Obra Cultural Balear 8, 47 Observatori de la Llengua Catalana 225, 242–4 Occitan 22, 92, 115 Old Catalonia 23 Oliver, Joan (Pere Quart) 28 Oller, Narcís 27 Òmnium Cultural 8 oral communication 150–81 Balearic Islands 163–5, 173–8 Catalonia 156–9, 164–9 standardisation of 196 understanding/speaking skills 19 Valencia 159–63, 169–73 Papitu 28 parliamentary bodies, official use of Catalan 102–3 ‘Pass on Catalan’ campaign 168–9 passive bilingualism 8, 12, 152 problems of 154–5


252


Pedrolo, Manuel de 29 Peru, immigrants from 21 Philip of Bourbon 120 Pla, Anna Maria 238 Pla General de Normalització Lingüística 41 Pla, Josep 29 Plataforma per la Llengua 8 pluralism 75–6 Poble Català 28 political Catalanism 27 political socialisation, effect of language on 235 Polo y Peyrolón, Manuel 123 Pons, Eva 238 Pou, Agustí 238 Prat de la Riba, Enric 27, 31 Progressive Incorporation into Valencian Programme 132 Proposta per a un estàndard oral de la llengua catalana 34 public use of language 11 Quart, Pere (Joan Oliver) 28 Querol, Ernest 230 radio, regulatory policy 187–90 regional languages 239 Reixach, Baldiri 123 Instruccions per a l’ensenyança de minyons 26 Renaixença 26, 31 Reniu, Miquel 204 research 224–46 Revista de Llengua i Dret 11 Revista dels catalans d’Amèrica 28 Riba, Carles 28 Riera Llorca, Vicenç 29 Rius, Agustí, Tratado de educación 123 Rodoreda, Mercè 29 Roig, Jaume, l’Espill 24 Roig, Montserrat 29 Romania, immigrants from 21 Rusiñol, Santiago 27 Ruyra, Joaquim 27 Salvat-Papasseit, Joan 28 Sardegna 40, 84–5

253

Sardinia l’Alguer 19: business and consumer affairs 317; legal systems 62–3; official status of Catalan 84–5; understanding/speaking skills 19 Legge Regionale Promozione e valorizzazione della cultura e della lingua della 40, 84–5 schools language policy 11–12, 127–36: alloglot students 134–6; Balearic Islands 128, 130–1; Catalonia 127–30; la Franja 128, 133–4; Valencia 128, 131–3 see also education second languages 2–3 Second Republic 124–5, 151, 183 Serra d’Or 28 Social Council of the Catalan Language 41 socio-economic status of Catalan 229–31, 241 sociolinguistics 2, 9 Soldevila, Carles 28 Solé, Joan Ramon 238 Soler, Frederic (Pitarra) 27 Spain Castilian language see Castilian constitutional bloc 184 official use of Catalan 102–9: courts 107–9; executive bodies 104–5; parliamentary bodies 103–4; territorial administration 105–7 Radio and Television Statute 187 Second Republic 124–5, 151, 183 State of the Autonomies 184 see also individual regions Spanish Civil War 28 Sport 4 state institutions, use of Catalan 102–9 courts 107–9 executive bodies 104–5 parliamentary bodies 103–4 territorial administration 105–7


Index


Index

status planning 39–50 Statutes of Autonomy 29, 58 Balearic Islands 43, 59, 97 Catalonia 42, 59, 70, 93–4 Valencia 44, 66–8, 94 supranational institutions, use of Catalan 109–12 Council of Europe 109–11 European Union 111–12 Teaching in Valencian Programme 132 Televisió de Catalunya 188 television, regulatory policy 187–90 territorial administration, official use of Catalan 105–7 UK, immigrants from 21 Ukraine, immigrants from 21 universities, language policy 136–40 see also adult education, language policy Valencia 6, 7, 9, 17, 35–6 business and consumer affairs 215–17 decline of Valencian language in 9 General Plan for the Promotion of the Use of Valencian 162–3 immigrant populations 21 language policy 10 legal systems 66–8 official status of Valencian language 94–6 oral communication 159–63, 169–73: ‘Let’s live in Valencian’ campaign 161–3, 170, 216; ‘Let’s speak Valencian’ campaign 159–61; ‘Valencian, of course’ campaign 170–1; Voluntariat pel Valencià programme 172 population 21 school-related language policy 128, 131–3: Enriched Bilingual Education Programme 132; Linguistic Immersion in

Valencian Programme 132; Progressive Incorporation into Valencian Programme 132; Teaching in Valencian Programme 132 Sociolinguistics Research and Studies Service 45 Statute of Autonomy 44, 66–8, 94, 185–6, 316 Three-Year Plan 44 understanding/speaking skills 19 university-related language policy 137, 139, 163–4 Use and Teaching of Valencian Act 1983 44, 94 Valencian 155 language dispute 35 official use of 95 see also Catalan Valencian Academy of the Language see Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua ‘Valencian, of course’ campaign 170–1 Valencian Use and Teaching Act 131–2, 160 Vall d’Aran 91, 92 Verdaguer, Fr. Jacint 27 Vernet, Jaume 238–9 Veu Pròpia 8 Vidal Alcover, Jaume 29 Vilarroya, Tomàs de 27 Villalonga, Llorenç 28 Villangómez, Marià 29 Vinyoli, Joan 29 Voluntariat pel Valencià programme 172 War of Spanish Succession 26, 120 ‘We have a language to be heard/felt’ campaign 177–8 ‘Wind up Catalan’ campaign 167–8 ‘You are a teacher’ campaign 164–5 ‘You are a winner’ campaign 166


254

Zaplana, Eduardo 36


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