Raquel Casesnoves, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Eva Juarros-Daussà, SUNY Buffalo

Maintenance of Catalan and Galician In and Out of Their

Territories

Outline

1) Introduction: population and research questions

2) Historical and sociolinguistic background in the territories of Catalan (Catalunya) and Galician

3) Pilot study in NYC4) Conclusions

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Catalans and Galicians in NYC

Fortunate immigrants: migration driven by opportunity, not by necessity.

Interesting combination of languages potentially available for transmission: two ‘globalized’ languages, English and Spanish, and a minority language, Catalan or Galician, that has been subjected to revitalization campaigns during the formative years of the parents.

Catalan and Galician populations have in common their native bilingualism, but they differ in their attitudinal profiles regarding their minority language in their original territory.

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Research Questions

What are the linguistic practices of these populations?

Regarding Intergenerational Transmission: What are the parent’s linguistic choices? What factors influence their choices?

What are the long term and long distance effects of linguistic campaigns in Catalonia and Galicia?

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Catalan-speaking territories

6Italy

France

Spain

Galician-speaking territories

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Spain

Portugal

Spain’s 40 years of dictatorship:cultural and linguistic unity

1936-1939: Spanish Civil War. 1940-1975: Franco’s dictatorship.

Spanish as only official language. Catalan and Galician were banned and

confined to private use. Emergence and extension of mass media. Schooling in Spanish only. Extinction of monolingual Catalan and

Galician speakers. Asymmetric bilingualism.

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Democracy 1977: Democracy restored 1978: Spanish

Constitution Model of Autonomous

Communities Linguistic regulation:

Central Monolingualism Bilingual Territories (Catalonia, Balearic Islands, Valencia, Galicia, Navarre and Basque Country). 9

Who are the Catalans today?

Catalan linguistic challenge after Franco

After Franco’s ban on Catalan, a whole generation couldn’t read or write Catalan, since they had not learnt it at school.

In the 1960s and 1970s huge waves of Spanish in-migration settled in Catalonia. These immigrants, from Andalucía, Galicia and Extremadura, never learned Catalan.

For the first time, important sectors of the Catalan population have Spanish as a first and habitual language, and in many cases as their only language.

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Catalan linguistic challenge in the21st century

The globalized migratory movements of the 21st century bring a large and sudden increase in foreign population in Catalonia: Between 2000 and 2007 the population increased

from 6 to 7.5 million. Big efforts were launched to linguistically

integrate the immigrants. Recent data show that the knowledge and use of

Catalan has decreased during those years. Immigrants are mainly from North Africa and

from Latin America. Large arrivals also from East Germany, Europe and Asia.

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Linguistic composition of immigrant population in Catalonia

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Linguistic Policy 1983: Llei de Normalització Lingüística (Language

Normalisation Law): All students, independently of their family language,

should be competent in both Catalan and Spanish by the time of graduation.

50% classes in Catalan and 50% in Spanish. 1998: New Language Normalisation Law

established the Model de Conjunció en Català: Catalan exclusive language of instruction.

2006: Nou Estatut d’Autonomia (New Statute of Autonomy): “Catalan Nation” Put on a same level Catalan and Spanish: each

individual in Catalonia has the right to use and the right and duty to know Catalan.

Contested articles lead to a ban by the Supreme Court. 14

Sociolinguistic Context:Introduction

Effects of the last 30 years of linguistic revitalization campaigns.

Comparison between knowledge and use of Catalan in different contexts.

Based on linguistic censuses and official surveys.

Quantitative data reflect no so much proficiency and actual speech, but the speaker’s perception or image of what he thinks he knows or does.

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Knowledge of Catalan 1986-2007

General increase between 86-07

2 periods:

1. 86-96: increased

2. 96-07: stopped 16

Use of Catalan 2003-2008

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Decrease in all contexts

Transmission of Catalan 2003-2008

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Levels of use decrease with time

But increase with new generations

Who are the Galicians today?

Galician linguistic challenge after Franco

After Franco, Galicians, like Catalans, were illiterate in their language but completely bilingual (Galician-Spanish).

Historically, and particularly during Franco’s dictatorship, the substitution of Galician by Spanish, which affected mainly high social classes, was more pronounced.

Negative prestige of speaking Galician, unlike speaking Catalan.

Galicia produces emigrants, unlike Catalonia (which receives immigrants.)

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Galician linguistic challenge in the 21st century

Galicia does not have to face the linguistic integration of foreign immigrants, because recent migratory fluxes have not affected this traditionally rural and poor community.

An internal linguistic conflict, not present in Catalonia, affects the standardization of Galician: the existence of two different norms (fragmentation) –one bringing it closer to Castilian, one closer to Portuguese.

Galician’s main problem is the disengagement of its speakers, especially young ones.

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Linguistic Policy 1983: Lei de NormalizaciónLingüística

Galician is a compulsory subject all the way up to University.

Upon graduation, students must show equivalent proficiency in Galician and Spanish.

2004: Plan xeral de normalizaciónda lingua galega: In order to facilitate the use of the language in

all social spheres and to ensure that Galicians can fully live in Galician.

Increase linguistic prestige. 2007: Decreto 204/2007.

Elementary, middle and high school 50% in Galician

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Knowledge of Galician 1991-2007

Knowledge of Galician higher than Catalan.

Evolution very similar:

1. 91-01: increased

2. 01-08: stopped (except writing)

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Use of Galician 2003-2008

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Like in Catalonia, decrease in all contexts

Transmission of Galician 2003-2008

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Similar situation to Catalan: decrease of Galician with time, but without loss between generations.

Summary

Linguistic censuses indicate that knowledge of both Catalan and Galician increases during a 1st phase, and there is a decrease in a 2nd more recent phase.

In absolute percentages, more Galician is used in Galicia than Catalan in Catalonia.

In both populations there is a decrease in use in all contexts starting in the year 2000.

In the Catalan case, the decrease in knowledge and use can be attributed to the global migration. In the Galician case the only explanation is a decrease in the motivation to use Galician by the natives. 26

Catalans and Galicians in NYC: a pilot study

Linguistic reality in USA

Even though the USA does not have an official language, its inhabitants tend to think that English is their country’s rightful language. Knowing English is necessary in order to participate in USA society.

USA have a long tradition of receiving immigrants from many different cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

According to the American Community Survey , in 2007 over 55 million people (19,7%) speak a language other than only English (LOTE) at home.

However, there is a complete abandonment of family languages other than English by the third generation (with some exceptions). 28

Linguistic Policy: goals ofthe ‘English only’ movement

English to be declared official language of the USA.

All public functions must be conducted in English, all immigrants must learnt English, and schooling must be exclusively in English.

Minority languages be restricted to home and private use.

So far, 30 states have declared English to be official language .

Bilingual programs in public schools have been declared illegal in many states (CA).

The study of foreign languages (other than Spanish) has been eliminated at the university level in many cases.

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NYC: linguistic and cultural diversity

In NYC, one can marry in 22 languages; attend Catholic mass in Spanish in 204 churches, in Italian in 66, in French in 18, in Polish in 16, in Haitian Creole in 9 and in Korean in 6. Among others.

Government agencies offer interpretation services in 64 languages; in court, 44 (most requested, in order: Spanish, Mandarin, Russian, Korean, Arabic, Polish and Wolof).

There are more Spanish speakers in NYC than in 13 capitals in Latin America (Asunción, Guatemala, La Paz, Lima, Managua, Montevideo, Panama, Quito, San José, San Juan, San Salvador, Santiago de Chile and Tegucigalpa).

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Our NYC Study: Sample 20 families living in NYC: 15 Catalans and 5

Galicians. Mix marriages; children USA born. Living at least 2 years in NYC. Maintain and transmit a minority identity to some

extent. Both associate to certain extent: Catalans

affiliated with the Catalan Institute of America; Galicians have the Casa of Galica and live nearby (Queens).

Some sign up their children for free Spanish classes through the Instituto Cervantes. 31

The NYC Study: data collection

Participants recruited through CIA and IC, snow ball technique and opportunity.

Ethnographic data Interviews Observation Partaking in activities and family

outings Questionnaire about uses and ideologies

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Questionnaire: Use

Language: English 1

Understand

Speak Read Write

Me

My spouse

Child 1:

Child 2:

Child 3

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Questionnaire: linguistic attitudes

General attitudes toward multilingualism. Attitudes toward each language:

Instrumental –economic or academic value

Integrative –feeling part of the community(ies) and partaking in their activities

Personal –pleasure, prestige or personal gain.

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Use at home

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Catalans Galicians

Attitudes toward Multilingualism

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Extremely positive attitudes, specially among the Catalans

Linguistic Attitudes

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Catalans Galicians

Summary Regarding uses:

The use of Spanish is widespread among children of the Galician community but no so among the Catalan one.

The use of Galician, in contrast with Spanish, is not general among the children of the Galician community.

The use of Catalan is more widespread than that of Spanish among children of the Catalan community.

Regarding attitudes: Catalans, who transmit Catalan to their children in

higher proportion, are also the ones who give higher integrative and personal values to Catalan.

Galicians, who transmit more Spanish than Galician, assign higher values of all kinds to Spanish.

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Integrational: Country of origin (Catalans)

Mother: I spoke to my first daughter in Castilian, since I thought that it was the right thing to do, being in a foreign country […] I screwed up! […] I am speaking to my second one [baby] in Catalan.

Intervieweuse: How come?Mother: Because now you go to Catalonia, and

everything is in Catalan: street signs, shops, school, afterschool… and you can use it –time ago, it wasn’t like this.

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Changes in the original territories affect their choices

Integrational: NYC (Catalans)

“No els agrada venir a les activitats del Catalan Institute perquè diuen que no parlen català [vs. espanyol] i no entenen res […] però després s’hopassen tan bé, que volen tornar”

(They [participant’s children] don't like coming to the activities of the Catalan Institute because they say they don't speak Catalan (vs. Spanish) and they understand nothing ... but later on they enjoy themselves so much that they want to come back.)

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Some integrative value in the immediate context of NYC

Integrative: Country of origin (Galicians)

“En A Coruña nadie habla gallego hoy en día. Hace tiempo, sí –estaba de moda-- pero ahora ha cambiado: vas y nadie lo habla.”

(In A Corunha nobody speaks Galician nowadays. Time ago, they did –it was fashionable-, but now it has changed: you go there and nobody speaks it.)

“Quiero que pueda comunicarse con su familia y con los otros chicos de la aldea, cuando volvemos […] con el español, ya le vale […] no necesita el gallego para nada […] además muchos niños no lo hablan […] aunque lo sepan, no lo hablan”

(I want him to communicate with his family and the other kids in the village when we go back […] with Spanish, he can […] no need for Galician […] many children do not speak it [..] even if they know it.) 41Low integrative value

Integrational: NYC(Galicians)

“No… [más que hablar gallego] aquí lo que importa es sentirse gallego, querer serlo. Hay otros que sólo hablan inglés […] y en realidad cuando estamos juntos hablamos castellano […] y los niños si los dejas, en seguida se cambian al inglés también”

(No…[more than speaking Galician] here what’s important is feeling Galician, the wish to be one. There are others who speak only English […] and actually, when we are together we speak Castilian […] and children, when left alone, immediately change to English also.)

42No value in the immediate context

Conclusions (1) English is present in all homes. Language transmission patterns involving

Spanish and the minority language vary: Catalans are more likely to include Catalan, in a

significant number of cases at the cost of Spanish,

Galicians are less motivated to include Galician, and not at the cost of Spanish

These tendencies might be related to the sociolinguistic history and current conditions in the homeland: Economic value associated with Spanish is more

important for Galicians. Integrative and instrumental value of the

minority language is more important for Catalans.

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Conclusions (2)

Language policies at the local and transnational level have a direct effect on the transmission of languages in the immigration context.

This study complements previous studies that describe one of the most diverse communities in the world by including information on two non-reported linguistic populations.

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Moltes gràciesMoitas grazas

Thank you very much