The last attempt to get the Catalan from the UCI to Alghero

BarcelonaThe situation of Catalan is complex in Alghero, where it is only the first language of a quarter of the population, 88% understand it, but the transmission to children today does not reach 4%, according to the latest survey of language use, from 2015. Catalans, in a territory then governed by the Crown of Aragon. The mayor, Raimondo Cacciotto, has taken a step forward this February to make the name of the city in Catalan official and preferential, but he also has a plan that will come into force next school year so that the language reaches schools. In fact, 400 parents have already requested the learning of Catalan.

The city of 42,000 inhabitants that bears the flag on the coat of arms already has its name in Catalan first instance, so it is officially, therefore, City of Alghero - Città de l'Alguero. But the changes do not end here, as public documents and all titles of the town hall signs and events will first be in Catalan. "The service, for example, will first be 'public works' and then 'public works'. «published operations», to give visibility to the language. The first impact that you have is this", stresses Giovanni Chessa, head of the Municipal Linguistic Office at the ARA. Precisely, this office, which carries out "a wide-ranging programme of awareness and valorisation of Catalan in Alghero", works to promote the language, also in the administration, in addition to disseminating the task. Ciotto assured that he wants to "increase the use of the language, which is of general interest".

And this is where the school comes in. Sardinia's 2018 law on regional languages opens the door to incorporating them into teaching – Catalan is not currently available, only some teachers voluntarily incorporate Alghero in subjects such as music – but Chessa himself maintains that it has been "a bit difficult to implement" at first. In order for it to be included as a subject in teaching, the trustee has carried out a teaching project with experts: "So that it can be taught twice a week," he says. This is the objective, but with a realistic vision for September – bearing in mind the number of teachers – they are finalising as a pilot test, "to start with, one hour of Alghero a week as a regular subject with a defined programme" to reach "at least one class a week in each elementary course, covering ages 5 to 10". "There is a lot of demand, since 400 children last year already asked for lessons in Alghero in a school questionnaire," he explains, and the council has made an effort to "certify new teachers" with the C1 certificate. The aim is "for children to be able to speak Alghero and Italian" and for the language to reach all classes.

Catalan boost

"Every day a Catalan-speaking person dies and a person is born who speaks Italian," describes the delegate of Plataforma por la Lengua in the city, Mauro Mulas. "But we still have time to keep Alguerés alive, although it is difficult to go back to the 50s when more than 90% spoke it," he adds. According to him, "it is normal to hear a 60-year-old person speak Catalan," but he wants to "hear from the young." He explains that since the 60s there has been a pronounced process of linguistic substitution and, for that reason, the organization tries to weave recipes to "bring the younger part closer to Catalan" such as the contest CantAlguer to "encourage Alghero singer-songwriters to use Catalan" –with the prize of publishing a record–, as well as bringing Catalan to schools with recreational projects and music. The entity, which collaborates with the historic Obra Cultural de Alguer, is part of the Consulta Cívica, which brings together a dozen Catalanist organisations that have worked with institutions and has given them a guide for promoting Catalan from institutions with posters and toponymy –which the council has now adopted–, to schools.

Chessa himself sees that "there is a renewed interest, despite the interrupted intergenerational transmission", and explains his case: "My parents spoke in Alghero among themselves, but to me in Italian". He heard Catalan as a family language, but he clung to it as a commitment. A different case is that of Marcel Farinelli, an Alghero native who emigrated to Barcelona, ​​​​where he works as a teacher: "My family is all Italian-speaking, but I learned it by choice, through friends in the neighborhood, with families from the mainland and others from Alghero. I spoke Alghero with a friend, that's how I learned it, on the street," he says. Farinelli adds that the changes in favor of Catalan are happening "because there is an interest that is growing," in a "transversal" way, and that he has noticed it since the Generalitat Office was set up in Alghero in 2004 and direct flights were reactivated - in summer. He also points out that "analyzed from here [Catalonia] it may not seem like much, but decisions such as the officialization of the city's name are important." Regarding teaching, despite the "technical problems" in implementing it fully, he stresses that it is important that "the majority wants the language" and that "many of the parents in favour are not of Alghero origin, but come from the mainland [the Italian peninsula]". For his part, Mulas comments that he also observes this resurgence and that he has welcomed the new developments "with satisfaction": "But there are many more things to do, because the situation is fragile," he says.