Catalan as a language of entertainment for young people

This year, one of the research projects I served on as a panel for reached a fascinating conclusion, which I'll reveal at the end of this article. The project analyzed the range of leisure activities in Catalan aimed at young people. There was something for all tastes and ages. For the youngest children, there were musical and theatrical activities. These, of course, were chosen by their parents. As for young people, there's a group of artists who are remarkably successful, considering the limited market for Catalan music. These range from singer-songwriters performing in small venues to bands that fill large stadiums. The literary scene also seems fairly well-established, despite the data on Catalan usage and the difficulty in creating new readers. However, as long as reading in Catalan is "required" in schools and high schools, there will be a market for children's and young adult literature. On the other hand, there's a limited selection of films and series in Catalan or dubbed into Catalan. Getting young people to watch a film spoken entirely in Catalan is still rare. However, the Catalan Film Academy wants to encourage the release of titles that appeal to different age groups, including young people. If a quality offering is created and well-promoted, an audience will surely emerge or be created anew.

Promoting Catalan-language content

Meanwhile, teenagers have stopped watching television en masse and prefer to follow current events through online platforms. This is where the appearance of Catalan-language content should be encouraged and rewarded. influencers, strimeres, YouTubers and TikTokers Catalans prefer to connect with their immediate surroundings rather than with an abstract global perspective, and therefore prefer to explain reality in Catalan. Subsidies in this area would be a sound investment for the future and a vital boost for the generational renewal of the language. The "Montserrat Pujol" effect", which asks Catalans to consider making content in Catalan (also) or at least alternating it with Spanish, shows that it is a debate that needs to be opened.

It is at this point that we arrive at the final surprise of the research. A survey stated that Catalan speakers consume leisure activities in Catalan and also alternate between Catalan and Spanish and English. In contrast, young Spanish speakers living in Catalonia almost never consume leisure activities in Catalan. And yet they understand the language perfectly and can even speak it. Why, then, are they not interested in it for leisure time? I think we should try to change their minds, because in my opinion, it is basically a matter of prejudice and prestige. Because, as Dalí said, the most local can become universal.