First scholarship recipients to study Catalan philology: "We have to save Catalan"

Barcelona"We must save the current situation of Catalan," says Núria Graner. She even changed her major and this year began studying philology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) after seeing the Tria Filologia campaign and realizing the state of Catalan in Barcelona: "They don't even understand you in Catalan, they look down on you if you speak it, and the Language Policy Law isn't being enforced." Beside her is Aniol Torreblanca, a fellow student at the UAB, who has chosen the same path: "I speak Catalan with everyone and correct them if they make a mistake, affectionately, because I believe we must take care of Catalan and spread it," he says, adding that his degree will give him the knowledge and authority to do so. Further afield, Arnau Trilla, who studies at the University of Lleida, says: "I was already interested in the humanities and the Catalan language, but given the decline in its use in urban areas, I wanted to help address this and promote Catalan among young people, who are losing it." These are three of the students who have received the first scholarship to study Catalan philology from the Generalitat (Catalan government), an initiative that aims to attract more students and graduates in Catalan. The number of Catalan philology students hit rock bottom a decade ago. The declining birth rate and the rise in the number of degrees affected a field crucial for ensuring the transmission of the language. Furthermore, the lack of competitive examinations for teaching positions, as they were filled by the first generation of Catalan teachers, created the feeling that the degree no longer had much of a future. "The situation has changed radically," says the Minister of Language Policy, Francesc Xavier Vila, a philologist who headed the department at the University of Barcelona. "Retirements and new social demands have led to a growing demand for professionals, who have a high placement rate. We have a shortage of graduates, to the point that people without a background in philology are being hired for this work," Vila points out, referring to one of the problems in the education sector.

That is why Language Policy launched the Tria Filologia campaign and the first scholarship to study Catalan philologyThe scholarships, which were awarded this Thursday to 25 first-year students, are valued at 4,500 euros each (500 euros per month during the academic year). They are for students under 25 and are awarded based on criteria of academic excellence, family income, and knowledge of immigrant languages. "This year, 325 students are enrolled in Catalan philology; the number of students has more than doubled compared to a decade ago, and we will reach the highest figure in the last ten years," Vila celebrated. Last year, enrollment increased by 21%.And this year, 8%. The cut-off score has risen from 5 to 6.16 at the UB, indicating growing interest in the degree.

The 'other' students are missing

However, university departments face several challenges, the regional minister points out. Further expansion is needed to meet market demand. It's essential to increase diversity in terms of gender and background, and to attract students who aren't necessarily connected to the language through their families and "who don't feel entitled to study Catalan philology," he adds, "Their experience is invaluable in encouraging more people to adopt Catalan." And "we need to create attractive degrees that are aligned with the 21st century," the regional minister affirms, addressing the professionals in the field who attended the event yesterday, held at the former Hospital de Sant Pau.

The young Valencian philologist Gal·la Martí shared her experience with the degree. Immediately after graduating, she began working as a teacher, which was her true calling. She works at a high school in the Baix Llobregat region, in an area where Catalan is a challenging language, and combines this with her work as a communicator, creating videos and content. "I want to teach students that with Catalan you can get anywhere. I am a teacher and influencer“Catalan isn’t something that only happens in the classroom,” she explains. Her videos about lifestyle and dialectology went viral after the pandemic, and she now has eight thousand followers on Instagram.

Activism for the Catalan language, as in the early years of democratic recovery, is once again among the priorities of the new generation. “There are few people who speak Catalan, especially in restaurants and shops where they serve you in Spanish, and it gets very tiring. It’s very important to be teacher "And to motivate people to speak Catalan, which is being lost," says Jana Folquet, from Badalona. The other unbeatable argument they agree on is "the passion" that language and literature teachers have instilled in them at the secondary schools, says Bruna Olivé, from Vilanova i la Geltrú, who wants to be a class reader. "Don't ask me why, but I love / my language with all my heart; / don't ask in vain, I can only answer you: / "I love it just because, because it's mine."