Only 15% of Northern Catalans know how to speak Catalan, despite the broad support to protect it

Barcelona44% of Northern Catalans understand Catalan, but only 15% know how to speak it and 3% speak it habitually. The sociolinguistic survey carried out by the Public Office of the Catalan Language (OPLC) confirms a general decline in the use of the language in Northern Catalonia. In the last study from 11 years ago, and even in the one from 22 years ago, the result was that six out of ten Northern Catalans understood it and 35%-37% could speak it well. The percentage of people who speak it habitually has fallen from 6% to 3% in a decade.

The decline contrasts, however, with the growing interest in the language being more present: almost six out of ten inhabitants over 15 years old ask for it (in 2015, this percentage only stood at 27%). 92% support the teaching of Catalan, 79% support bilingual education, and 63% want Catalan to be an official language and, therefore, have more protection. When asked about their sense of belonging, 59% of those surveyed consider themselves "mostly or quite Catalan," a percentage slightly higher than that recorded in 2015 (51%). Among non-speakers, 74% would have liked to learn the language or speak it.

Use and comprehension are falling

The results show a decline in both the use and understanding of the language, especially among the youngest and in more urban settings. Among those who understand Catalan, 51% are over 65 years old; 46% are between 45 and 65 years old, and 33% are between 15 and 29 years old, most of whom learned it at school. Only 8% of the young age group can maintain a simple conversation in Catalan. The loss of intergenerational transmission of the language that was observed in previous years continues. By area of residence, Catalan is understood most in the Conflent area (53%), Vallespir (53%), and the Roussillon plain (45%). In Perpignan, however, the percentage is 39%.

The survey –which was conducted by telephone among 1,800 residents of the department aged 15 and over– also grades speakers according to their knowledge of Catalan. 36% neither speak nor understand it, and another 19% do not speak it and only understand a few words: 55% of the population has no connection to Catalan. Of the rest, 30% know a few words and understand the general meaning of a conversation. Only the remaining 15% can have a simple conversation in Catalan.

Plataforma per la Llengua has demanded "immediate and decisive action from French institutions to guarantee the survival of Catalan in Northern Catalonia," after the survey confirmed "a very significant deterioration in the transmission and use of the Catalan language." The organization warns that Catalan "runs the risk of becoming a merely heritage and symbolic language, socially valued but increasingly less spoken and transmitted."