600,000 new speakers and more classrooms: where the 255 million euros from the National Language Pact will go

BarcelonaIn a symbolic setting such as the headquarters of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans, President Salvador Illa presided this Tuesday at noon over the signing of the long-awaited National Pact for Language, the roadmap that should guide the country's language policy until 2030. The objective is to promote the knowledge and social use of Catalan, which is in hours Only 32.6% of citizens speak it regularlyt, 14 points lower than 20 years ago. The Pact provides for a budget of 255 million euros dedicated to language policy by 2025, the highest amount ever allocated to language, and a minimum of 200 million euros annually. The entire Government attended the event, which was attended by a broad representation of society and symbolic figures such as former President Jordi Pujol, but with notable absences, especially those of Junts and the CUP.

"Today is a great day for Catalonia, for all Catalans," declared President Illa, who linked Catalan identity with language: "Catalan is the backbone of the Catalan nation." The President defined the Pact as an "example of generosity, rigor, responsibility, and sense of country," and opened the door to parties that have not joined until now: "Catalan belongs to everyone, it needs us all; this Pact belongs to everyone," he stated. He also emphasized the need to attract more speakers to ensure its continuity: "Catalan is our language. If we act intelligently, Catalan will continue to incorporate new speakers who love it and make it loved. Catalan has a thousand-year history, but we want it to be a language in its own right, a language of prosperity." The President acknowledged the drive of the Aragonese government and the work of the Minister of Language Policy, Francesc Xavier Vila, the signatory of the Pact on behalf of the Catalan government. Salvador Illa quoted Ovidi Montllor—he sided with those who "like Catalan to be spoken, written, and thought in"—and ended the speech with a quote from Pompeu Fabra: "We must never abandon either the task or the hope."

Four years on the road

The first objective of the Pact, which It began operating in 2021 with the government of Pere Aragonès. and the support of 85% of Parliament, was intended to regain the linguistic consensus that would facilitate the rollout of ambitious measures. Finally, although the signing took two years longer than expected—due to negotiations and the elections—the Government has not achieved a unified vision. The investiture partners of the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), ERC (Electrical Workers' Party), and Comuns (Comuns), as well as the main language organizations (Òmnium Cultural, Plataforma por la Lengua, CAL, IEC, Fundació.cat), and supported by social, cultural, and economic stakeholders (CCOO, UGT, Foment, the Catalan Table of Municipalities, among others), signed the agreement in defense of Catalan. As it has been explained in recent daysNeither Junts nor the CUP, nor the right-wing parties, nor the majority teachers' union, USTEC, have supported the initiative.

The other objective of the Pact was to identify the main black holes in Catalan in order to develop measures and laws to address them. The massive participatory process carried out in 2022 and the subsequent negotiation have resulted in a document outlining nine work horizons and 21 areas of action that cover all contexts of life. One of the challenges is to strengthen "society's connection with the Catalan language," which is why "a collective linguistic awareness will be promoted" so that "all ideological and social options feel challenged in promoting the language as an element of cohesion and a shared project." In other words, so that the language truly becomes everyone's business once again.

Education, adult courses, culture

The axes of the Pact respond to the forceful diagnosis carried out in 2022 by a group of academics, which described the minoritization of Catalan in all areas. If we look at it by budget items, those that will receive the most resources are education (104 million), language learning among adults (55 million), and the provision of cultural content (73 million). On the other hand, there are sectors in which Catalan is also in serious crisis, such as the world of work, justice, and health, and in which only around 1.2 million euros are planned to be invested for each area, figures that entities such as the Platform for the Language consider insufficient.

In the educational field, one of the most sensitive awaiting the Constitutional Court's ruling on the 25% of Castilian In the classroom, the Pact defines Catalan as the "normal vehicular language of the educational system" and maintains that students "must have oral and written proficiency in the official languages"—it does not mention either Spanish or bilingualism. Of the 104 million euros, 78 million will be used to expand the reception classrooms. The text denounces the "discrediting" campaigns that the language has suffered, the "undesirable judicialization" of Catalan schools, and urges "updating the educational model and immersion programs," stating that classes have not even been taught in Catalan in many schools. Both Junts and the CUP, as well as language organizations, expect a firmer response from the Generalitat when the ruling is announced than the Pact allows. For universities and research in Catalan, the budget is 2.2 million.

One of the objectives is for the number of Catalan speakers to grow above the rate of demographic growth: they hope to incorporate 600,000 new speakers in the next five years (in the last one, they added 117,000 frequent speakers). Therefore, the training offer for adults will be strengthened due to a lack of resources, materials, activities, and teachers: nearly 55 million euros will be allocated to relaunching the Consortium for Linguistic Normalization.

To create a communication ecosystem in Catalan, the two projects of the Government are 3Cat and Catalunya Media City (which have a separate specific budget), while the Pact includes the creation of content in Catalan for platforms, networks, audiovisual and media, especially thinking about young people's access to Catalan (16 million) and cultural creation, production and dissemination (57 million). Digital language policies will have a contribution of 1.9 million. The text also includes more symbolic elements, such as the fact that Catalan reaches the official level in companies. The Generalitat "does not always comply" with its regulations, which is precisely what language entities are suspicious of regarding the Pact, which also does not specify coercive measures.

The Pact will have periodic monitoring, before Parliament and the Social Council of the Language, and among the most immediate measures there is a new awareness campaign and a welcome campaign for immigrants to inform them of the linguistic reality of the country and facilitate immediate access to courses.

But, with the budget extended, where will the government get the 255 million euros it wants to allocate to the National Pact for Language? "They will come from the overall budget of the Government," said the regional minister and spokesperson, Sílvia Paneque, at a press conference on Tuesday. Paneque emphasized that the budget is a "living tool" and that, in addition to what each regional ministry contributes to fund the Pact, new revenue may emerge throughout the year. However, she maintained that the financing of the measures presented this Tuesday is guaranteed and will not depend on the third supplementary credit pending negotiation with ERC and Comuns, worth 469 million euros. Furthermore, the spokesperson admitted that "it was not easy" to create the Ministry of Language Policy with the extended budget. However, she did not clarify its total allocation this year. Paneque also He emphasized that the National Pact is not against Spanish or any other language. "Languages are loved when they are used, and in no case is this to the detriment of another language."