Language, Ethnicity, and the State: Minority Languages in the EU

1
Language, Ethnicity, and the State Minority
Languages in the EU

• Ch4 Catalan is Everyones Thing Normalizing a
  Nation
• By Susan DiGiacomo

2
Introduction language and nation

• Catalan has had an ambiguous relationship to
  standardization -- valuing natural continuity
  on the one hand, and a modern unifying language
  on the other

Earliest manuscript of Catalan, by St. Emilian
Cucullatus (who died in 574)
3
Catalan in social historical context

• Catalan texts date back 1000 years, making
  Catalan no less ancient or literary than
  Castilian Spanish, with major works of
  literature, esp. in 15th c
• Though Castilian rose to greater power, Catalan
  continued as both a spoken and written regional
  language
• Catalan was rediscovered in 19th c tension
  arose between asserting archaic origins (Jocs
  Florals -- poetry contests) and representing true
  spoken language (containing significant
  Castilianisms)

15th c Catalan Manuscript in UC Berkeleys
collection
4
Catalan in social historical context, contd.

• 1907 Prat develops a modern Catalan standard (to
  avoid dialectal fragmentation), then presided
  over a consolidated Catalan territory
• 1917 Fabras Orthographic dictionary and grammar
  published with hopes of elevating Catalan to full
  public use
• Both are conceived as scientific endeavors

5
National reconstruction and language planning

• 1932 Fabras General Dictionary, and granting of
  autonomy to Catalonia
• 1936 outbreak of Spanish Civil War 1939-1975
  Franco regime erases Catalan from public life and
  in the meantime there is large inmigration from
  elsewhere in Spain
• By the end of Franco regime, all Catalans are
  bilingual (speak Castilian), and there is concern
  that continued bilingualism will lead to complete
  loss of Catalan

6
National reconstruction and language planning,
contd.

• 1982-3 Language normalization law promoting
  Catalan in education, media, and official uses,
  accompanied by promotional campaign led by
  10yr-old Norma
• Concern shifts from support for Catalan to
  purifying language of barbarisms (dialectal
  features, borrowings), denying authenticity of
  non-Barcelona dialects

7
The teaching of Catalan

• A course for adult speakers of Catalan who needed
  to improve their literacy skills focused on
  weeding out Castilianisms -- Castilian syntactic
  constructions are especially invasive
• Instruction relies on students knowledge of both
  Castilian language and Castilian teaching
  practices

8
Conclusions

• Catalan identity is rooted in language,
  specifically the Barcelona dialect, which is used
  in all spheres
• Catalans refer to dominant language as
  Castilian (not Spanish), asserting it is also a
  regional language, and to the Spanish state
  (not Spain), suggesting the state is not a
  natural institution