The main aim of this study is to find out which social and ideological factors determine the maintenance of Catalan language in public contexts, and particularly the relative weight each factor contributes to the choice. The question is which of the socio-demographic and ideological factors determines to a greater extent the use of Catalan.
Methodology:
Participants completed a survey, which consisted of a sociolinguistic questionnaire and an attitudinal test based on the matched-guise technique. Sociolinguistic inferences concerning the relationship between different factors and language use were made using statistical methods.
Data:
Six hundred university students from the cities of Valencia, Palma and Barcelona answered the same survey. University students are a very interesting research group, since they are going to become part of the most influential social groups.
Findings:
Results from the analysis support the importance of social networks in understanding language maintenance, apart from making some differences between the territories clearer: this relative importance of social networks is very high in Valencia and Palma, but not in Barcelona.
Originality:
This study shows the first comparison between the influence of different kinds of factors in the use of the Catalan language, as well as the comparison between the behaviour of the three major Catalan-speaking cities. Furthermore, the focus on the factors related to university students’ language use is not a much-visited field.
Significance and implications:
The use of Catalan seems to be naturalized in Barcelona, whereas in Palma and Valencia the use of this language is more ideologized – and minor. The coincidence in the same territory, Catalonia, of the major language use in all situations and the more incisive and inclusive language policy should point out the direction that campaigns to promote Catalan in the other two regions should take.
AlcarazM. (2005). Ara que té vint anys. In AlcarazM.IsabelF.OchoaJ. (Eds.), Vint anys de la Llei d’Ús i Ensenyament del Valencià (pp. 5–12). Alzira, Spain: Bromera.
2.
AndrewsD. R. (2000). Male versus female: The role of gender in a Russian matched-guise experiment. Australian Slavonic and East European Studies, 14(1–2), 29–43.
3.
AndrewsD. R. (2003). Gender effects in a Russian and American matched-guise study: A sociolinguistic comparison. Russian Linguistics, 27(3), 287–311.
4.
AnisfeldE.LambertW. E. (1964). Evaluation reactions of bilingual and monolingual children to spoken languages. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 69, 89–97.
5.
BakerC. (1992). Attitudes and Language. Clevedon, New Zealand: Multilingual Matters.
6.
BayardD. (2000). The cultural cringe revisited: Changes through time in Kiwi attitudes toward accents. In BellA.KuiperK. (Eds.), New Zealand English (pp. 297–326). Victoria, NZ: Victoria University Press.
7.
BayleyR.CameronR.LucasC. (2013). The Oxford handbook of sociolinguistics. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
8.
BlasJ. L. (1995). De Nuevo el español y el catalán, juntos y en contraste. Estudio de actitudes lingüísticas. Sintagma, 1, 29–41.
9.
BodoqueA. (2011). El model valencià de política lingüística. Revista de Llengua i Dret, 56, 143–171.
CasesnovesR. (2010). Changing linguistic attitudes in Valencia: The effects of language planning measures. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 14(4), 477–500.
14.
CasesnovesR.SankoffD. (2003). Identity as the primary determinant of language choice. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 7(1), 50–64.
15.
CasesnovesR.SankoffD. (2004). The Valencian revival: Why usage lags behind competence. Language in Society, 33(1), 1–31.
16.
CasesnovesR.MasJ. À. (2015). Un tema oblidat: les relacions interdialectals del català. Zeitschrift für Katalanistik, 28, 55–94.
17.
CasesnovesR.MasJ. À. (2016). Usos lingüístics i ideologia: què fan els universitaris valencians?Caplletra, 60, 113–139.
18.
CasesnovesR.MasJ. À. (2017). Transmissió intergeneracional del català i característiques sociodemogràfiques dels progenitors. Treballs de sociolingüística catalana, 27, 77–97.
19.
CastellóR. (2001). Nacionalismes i actituds lingüístiques al País Valencià: una aproximació. In MollàT. (Ed.), Ideologia i conflicte linguistic (pp. 145–199). Alzira, Spain: Bromera.
20.
CastellóR. (2008a). Especulació lingüística al País Valencià. Saó, 42, 6–7.
21.
CastellóR. (2008b). Parlem valencià, però no som Catalans. In MassipA. (Ed.), Llengua i identitat (pp. 55–66). Barcelona, Spain: Universitat de Barcelona.
22.
ClyneM. (Ed.). (1992). Pluricentric languages. Different norms in different countries. Berlin-New York, Germany-USA: Mouton de Gruyter.
23.
DabèneL.MooreD. (1995). Bilingual speech of migrant people. In MilroyL.MuyskenP. (Eds.), One speaker, two languages (pp. 17–44). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
24.
DarquennesJ. (2015). Language conflict research: a state of the art. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 235, 7–32.
25.
De BotK.StoesselS. (2002). Introduction: Language change and social networks. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 153, 1–7.
26.
De Federico de la RúaA. (2005). Redes de amistad e identificación europea. Las redes transnacionales y las identidades de los estudiantes Erasmus. In SantacreuO. (Ed.), European Union social changes: Migrations, participation and democracy (pp. 191–226). Alicante, Spain: Observatorio Europeo de Tendencias Sociales.
27.
DenissonC. L. (2006). The effect of gender stereotypes in language on attitudes toward speakers. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
28.
DeweyD. P.BownJ.EggettD. (2012). Japanese language proficiency, social networking, and language use during study abroad: Learners’ perspectives. Canadian Modern Language Review, 68, 111–137.
29.
EsteveA. (2004). La política lingüística del PP al País Valencià: anàlisi de la legislació de 1995 a 2003. Revista de Llengua i Dret, 41, 219–242.
30.
FishmanJ. A. (1991). Reversing language shift: Theoretical and empirical foundations of assistance to threatened languages. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
31.
FraserC. C. (2002). Study abroad: An attempt to measure the gains. German as a Foreign Language Journal, 1, 45–65.
GarcíaM. E. (2003). Recent research on language maintenance. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 23, 22–43.
35.
GelabertJ. (2009). Dades sobre l’ús del català a l’ensenyament secundari de les Illes Balears. Treballs de Sociolingüística Catalana, 20, 97–128.
36.
GenesseF.HolobowN. E. (1989). Change and stability in intergroup perceptions. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 8, 17–39.
37.
GilesH.BillingsA. (2004). Assessing language attitudes: Speaker evaluation studies. In DaviesA.ElderC. (Eds.), The Handbook of Applied Linguistics (pp. 187–209). Malden-Oxford-Carlton: Blackwell Publishing.
38.
GómezJ. R. (1998). Actitudes lingüísticas en una comunidad bilingüe y multilectal. Área metropolitana de Valencia. València, Spain: Universitat de València.
39.
GonzálezJ.BlasJ. L. (2012). Patterns of change and continuity in the language attitudes of several generations in two bilingual Spanish communities: The rural regions of Els Ports and Matarranya. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 15(2), 199–216.
40.
Govern de les Illes Balears. (2004). Enquesta sociolingüística 2003. Palma de Mallorca, Spain: Govern de les Illes Balears.
41.
GrenobleL. A.WhaleyL. J. (2006). Saving languages. An introduction to language revitalization. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
42.
GumperzJ. J. (1982). Social network and language shift. In GumperzJ. J. (Ed.), Discourse strategies (pp. 38–58). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
43.
HulsenM.De BotK.BertW. (2002). Between two worlds. Social networks, language shift, and language processing in three generations of Dutch migrants in New Zealand. International Journal of the Sociology of the Language, 153, 27–52.
44.
Institut d’Estadística de Catalunya (Statistic Institut of the Catalonia), online (2017). Retrieved from http://www.idescat.cat/
45.
Isabelli-García’sC. (2006). Study abroad social networks, motivation and attitudes: Implications for second language acquisition. In ChurchillE.DuffonM. A. (Eds.), Language learners in study abroad contexts (pp. 231–258). Buffalo, NY: Multilingual Matters.
LabovW. (1972). Language in the inner city. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
48.
LabovW. (1986). The social stratification of English in New York City. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.
49.
LabrieN. (1988). Social Networks and code-switching: A sociolinguistic investigation of Italians in Montreal. In DittmarN.ScholobinskiP. (Eds.), The sociolinguistics of urban vernaculars (pp. 217–32). Berlin, Germany: Mouton de Gruyter.
50.
LambertW. E. (1967). A social psychology of bilingualism. Journal of Social Issues, XIII(2), 91–109.
51.
LambertW. E.HodgsonR. C.GardnerR. C.FillenbaumS. (1960). Evaluational reactions to spoken language. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 60, 44–51.
52.
LambertW. E.FrankelH.TuckerR. G. (1966). Judging personality through speech: A French-Canadian example. Journal of Communication, 16(4), 305–321.
53.
LandryR.AllardR. (1987). Étude du développement bilingue chez les Acadiens des Provinces maritimes. In ThébergeR.LafontantJ. (Eds.), Demain, la francophonie en milieu minoritaire (pp. 63–111). Winnipeg, Canada: Centre de recherche du college de Saint-Boniface.
54.
LaurE. (2008). Contribution à l’étude des perceptions linguistiques. La méthodologie des faux-couples revisitée. Quebec, Canada: Office québécois de la langue française.
55.
Loureiro-RodríguezV.BoggessM. M.GoldsmithA. (2013). Language attitudes in Galicia: Using the matched-guise test among high school students. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 34(2), 136–153.
56.
LubbersM.MolinaJ. L.McCartyC. (2007). Personal networks and ethnic identifications: The case of migrants in Spain. International Sociology, 22, 721–774.
57.
MaríI. (2011). De la normalització a la sostenibilitat: els límits de la planificació de l’estatus. Treballs de sociolingüística catalana, 21, 83–94.
58.
MasJ. À (2012). Catalan as a pluricentric language: The Valencian case. In MuhrR. (Ed.), Non-dominant varieties of pluricentric languages. Getting the picture (pp. 283–300). Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Peter Lang.
MilroyJ.MilroyL. (1978). Belfast: Change and variation in an urban vernacular. In TrudgillP. (Ed.), Sociolinguistic pattern in British English (pp.19–36). London, UK: Arnold.
61.
MilroyJ.MilroyL. (1985). Linguistic change, social network and speaker innovation. Journal of Linguistics, 21, 339–384.
62.
MilroyL. (1987). Language and social networks. 2nd ed.Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.
63.
MilroyL.GordonM. (2003). Sociolinguistics: Method and interpretation. Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.
64.
Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte. (2011). Datos y cifras del sistema universitario español. Curso 2011/2012. Madrid, Spain: Gobierno de España.
65.
MuhrR. (2012). Linguistic dominance and non-dominance in pluricentric languages: A typology. In MuhrR. (Ed.), Non-dominant varieties of pluricentric languages. Getting the picture (pp. 283–300). Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Peter Lang.
66.
NewmanM.Trenchs-PareraM.NgS. (2008). Normalizing bilingualism: The effects of the Catalonian linguistic normalization policy one generation after. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 12(3), 306–333.
67.
NicolásM. (2004). De la identitat del poder al poder de la identitat: algunes consideracions sobre la situació de la llengua catalana al País Valencià. Revista Catalana de Sociologia, 20, 63–83.
68.
O’RiagáinP. (1997). Language policy and social reproduction: Ireland, 1893–1993. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
69.
Pellegrino AveniV. A. (2005). Study abroad and second language use. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
70.
PitarchV. (2005). Vint anys de la llei d’Alacant. Un balanç d’urgències. In AlcarazM.IsabelF.OchoaJ. (Eds.), Vint anys de la llei d’Ús i Ensenyament del Valencià (pp. 23–50). Alzira, Spain: Bromera.
71.
PradillaM. À. (2002). La política lingüística contemporània al País Valencià. Treballs de sociolingüística catalana, 16, 101–119.
72.
PradillaM. À. (2004). El laberint valencià. Apunts per a una sociolingüística del conflicte. Bernicarló, Spain: Onada Edicions.
73.
PradillaM. À. (2008). Vint-i-cinc anys de Llei d’Ús i Ensenyament del Valencià: un futur incert per a la llengua. In Boix-FusterE. (Ed.), Els futurs del català: un estat de la qüestió i una qüestió d’estat (pp. 51–79). Barcelona, Spain: Publicacions de la Universitat de Barcelona.
PujolarJ.GonzálezI.FontA.MartínezR. (2010). Llengua i joves: usos i percepcions lingüístics de la joventut catalana. Barcelona, Spain: Generalitat de Catalunya.
76.
QuerolE. (2000). Els valencians i el valencià. Usos i representacions socials. València, Spain: Denes.
77.
QuerolE. (2004). Comparació dels usos i les representacions de les llengües a les Illes Balears, Catalunya, el País Valencià i Andorra. Treballs de sociolingüística catalana, 18, 43–62.
78.
RiutortM. (2011). Les varietats estàndards catalanes com a condicionants d’un futur diccionari alemany-català. Zeitschrift für Katalanistik, 24, 53–72.
79.
RosM. (1982). Percepción y evaluación social de hablantes de cinco variedades lingüísticas. In NinyolesR. L. (Ed.), Estructura social al País Valencià (pp. 664–696). València, Spain: Diputació de València.
80.
RyanE. B.GilesH.SebastianR. (1982). An integrative perspective for the study of attitudes towards language variation. In RyanE.GilesH. (Eds.), Attitudes towards language variation: Social and applied contexts (pp. 1–19). London, UK: Edward Arnold.
81.
SallabankJ. (2010). The role of social networks in endangered language maintenance and revitalization: The case of Guernesiais in the Channel Islands. Anthropological Linguistics, 52, 184–205.
82.
Servici d’Investigació i Estudis Sociolingüístics [SIES]. (2005). Enquesta 2005 sobre coneixement i ús social del valencià: síntesi de resultats. València, Spain: Generalitat Valenciana.
TorresJ. (2005). Estadística sobre els usos lingüístics a Catalunya 2003. Barcelona, Spain: Generalitat de Catalunya.
85.
Trenchs-PareraM.NewmanM. (2009). Diversity of languages ideologies in spanish-speaking youth of different origins in Catalonia. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 30(6), 509–524.
86.
TrudgillP.CampoyJ. M. (2007). Diccionario de Sociolingüística. Madrid, Spain: Gredos.
Van DijkT. (1999). Ideología. Un enfoque multidisciplinario. Barcelona, Spain: Gedisa.
89.
VernetJ.PonsE.PouA.SoléJ. R.PlaA. M. (2003). Dret lingüístic. Valls: Cossetània-Servei Lingüístic de la URV.
90.
VilaX. (2013). Survival and development of language communities. Prospects and challenges. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
91.
VillaverdeJ. A. (1998). Avaluació de varietats lingüístiques implicades en un procés de substitució: català i castellà a Mallorca. Llengua i ús, 12, 59–65.
92.
VillaverdeJ. A. (2005). Introducció a la part monogràfica. Treballs de Sociolingüística Catalana, 18, 19–28.
93.
WeiL. (1994). Three generations, two languages, one family: Language choice and language shift in a Chinese community in Britain. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
94.
WhitworthK. F. (2006). Access to learning during study abroad: The roles of identity and subject positioning. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Pennyslvania State University.
95.
WoolardK. A. (1984). A formal measure of language attitudes in Barcelona: A note from work in progress. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 47, 63–71.
96.
WoolardK. A. (1989). Double talk: Bilingualism and the politics of ethnicity in Catalonia. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
97.
WoolardK. A. (1992). Identitat i contacte de llengües a Barcelona. Barcelona, Spain: Edicions de la Magrana.
98.
WoolardK. A. (2008). Language and identity choice in Catalonia: The interplay of contrasting ideologies of linguistic authority. In SüselbekK.MühlschelegelU.MassonP. (Eds.), Lengua, nación e identidad. La regulación del plurilingüismo en España y América Latina (pp. 303–323). Berlin, Germany: Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut PK.
99.
WoolardK. A. (2009). Linguistic conciousness among adolescents in Catalonia: A case study from the Barcelona urban area in longitudinal perspective. Zeitschrift für Katalanistik, 22, 125–149.
100.
WoolardK. A.GahngT. (1990). Changing language policies and attitudes in autonomous Catalonia. Language in Society, 19, 311–330.
101.
WoolardK. A.FrekkoS. (2013). Catalan in the twenty-first century: romantic publics and cosmopolitan communities. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 16(2), 129–137.
102.
ZentellaA. C. (1997). Growing up bilingual. Puerto Rican children in New York. New York, NY: Basil Blackwell.
