BarcelonaA theory is circulating that the use of Catalan is declining in Catalonia because it has become "unpopular" due to language normalization policies. This theory has been embraced by the People's Party (PP), according to [source missing]. he told NOW the Catalan general secretary, Santi Rodríguez, and before by CitizensSeveral Popular Party leaders maintain that they are "concerned" about the decline in the social use of Catalan, which they attribute to this supposed antipathy, especially, they say, among young people. The PSC also had pointed out in 2019 to the "instrumentalization" of the language by the independence movement and how this may have damaged it. Is there a solid basis for this theory? In those territories where the same policies have not been applied, has the use of Catalan not declined?
Coneixement del català
Resultats obtinguts de les enquestes oficials de cada territori en diferents anys
In short: no. This can be seen in the level of knowledge recorded by surveys of the different regional governments: in Catalonia, 80.4% of citizens can speak Catalan—one point less than twenty years ago—consolidating a wide lead over the figures for the Valencian Community, which stood at 52.7% in 2001 and 50.6% in 2016. The situation in the Balearic Islands is significantly different from that of the Valencian Country. Although there is no recent data on the knowledge and use of Catalan, all indicators in schools and among young people point to a decline in the language. In 2014, 80.5% knew it. A recent survey by the INE (National Institute of Statistics) estimated that only 59.4% of the population between 18 and 69 years old in the islands knew Catalan, four points less than in 2016.
The concern about Catalan expressed by the PP (People's Party) coincides with its lack of support for the official status of the language in EuropeThe rejection of linguistic immersion in schools and the commitment to Spanish on equal terms with Catalan in public administration are key principles. But where they govern, this is not the case. In the Valencian Community, the Popular Party's executives are "strangling" the Valencian Language Academy, as one Vox leader even celebrated, and are promoting Spanish in the Balearic Islands in education and administration, even with secessionist formulas in Menorca
The slump and the reasons
In 2003 in Catalonia, 36.2% of the population had Catalan as their first language (for 46% it was their habitual language), and twenty years later, this had fallen to 29% (32.6% in the case of those who used it as their habitual language). In the Valencian Community, where PP governments predominated, the trend was much more detrimental to Catalan: according to the survey on the knowledge and social use of Valencian conducted by the Valencian Generalitat, 35.9% of citizens had Catalan as their first language in areas where Valencian is the predominant language. In 2021, the same survey reduced the percentage to 21%. The most serious case is that of Galicia with the Galician language, which has fallen from 61.2% of citizens speaking it as their first language in 2003 to the current 45.51%. Furthermore, only 16.2% of children aged 5 to 14 now choose Galician, 24 percentage points less than twenty years ago. A third of children say they don't know how to speak it at all.
Ús habitual del gallec a Galícia
What are the reasons for the decline? Vicent Climent Ferrando, a Valencian professor of language policy at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), explains to ARA that the reasons are "multifactorial," but that "there is a very strong demographic element": the arrival of people who do not have Catalan as their first language is combined with a lack of incentives for them to use it. "Without strong language policies, they only learn Spanish, which many of them also have as their first language," he explains, pointing out that the economic model, with a strong service sector, and the growth of social networks, "predominantly in Spanish," are also key factors.
Gerard Furest, a linguist and author of the Irreverent Decalogue for the Defense of Catalan, To counter any antipathy a language might generate, he points out that the greatest period of expansion of Spanish was through armed conflict in Latin America. He believes that a significant factor in the decline of Catalan is the influx of many foreigners sought after by employers as low-wage laborers. The percentage of people born outside of Spain is similar among the three main Catalan-speaking territories: 28% in the Balearic Islands, 26% in Catalonia, and 23% in Valencia. Andorra also faced this situation, implementing, however, more forceful policies to promote the language. For example, they have made it... requirement to live. In Andorra, Spanish was the primary language of citizens since 1999, but since 2022 Catalan has regained that status (44.1%, four points higher than Spanish).
In Galicia, however, there are only 6.35% immigrants, and the decline in the use of Galician continues. According to Furest, the 2010 decree by the then-president of the Xunta, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, "clearly has an impact" because it "prohibits teaching mathematics in Galician" and other core subjects in schools, adding to the similar negative "inertia" in the Valencian Community, where "demographics are mixed." Climent agrees, believing that the Feijóo decree has contributed to making it "more of a minority language." In the Franja de Ponent, where Catalan is neither an official language nor taught in schools, 52.8% of the population had Catalan as their first language in 2014, a drop from 71.1% ten years earlier, particularly pronounced among young people aged 15 to 29 (24%). In Northern Catalonia, only 9.2% of citizens have Catalan as their first language, almost ten points lower than in Alghero.
Ús habitual del gallec a Galícia
Youth and immigration
So, is Catalan declining among young people? In Catalonia, 30.9% of young people speak it as their first language—two points above the average—and 7.1% are bilingual. In contrast, a recent survey by the Balearic government shows that 20% of young people aged 15 to 34 speak Catalan as their first language, compared to 47% who speak Spanish, 9% who are bilingual, and 23% who speak other languages. In the Valencian Community, the data is only broken down by language proficiency—among young people, proficiency is higher than the average at 64.6%, but still far from Catalonia. In the Principality of Asturias, the impact of migration is evident in the 30-44 age group, with only 22.9% of citizens speaking Catalan as their first language and 18.4% speaking a foreign language as their first. Among foreigners, only 50.5% of those born abroad know how to speak Catalan – in contrast to 97.8% of those born in Catalonia and 63.1% of those born in the rest of the State.
What has the PP done in the Catalan Countries?
Voluntary linguistic segregation promoted in the Balearic Islands; the imposition of Castilian Spanish in Menorca and a focus on dialectal forms far removed from the standard ; an office for linguistic rights in defense of Castilian Spanish; the imposition of Castilian Spanish in the administration and the Parliament's official gazette; and the exemption of Catalan for healthcare workers are some of the measures against the Catalan language in the Balearic Islands. In Aragon, there is an offensive against Catalan, including its funding for regional promotion, as well as the intention to remove its recognition from the heritage law—yet it is not even present in compulsory education.
In the Valencian Community, the future law on symbols of identity is being looming, targeting Catalan nationalism and linguistic unity. This comes after the government promoted the exemption of Catalan from classroom instruction in Spanish-speaking areas of the Valencian Community—where the subject is no longer required—while imposing a mandatory 25% of instruction in Spanish in Catalan-speaking areas. Other recent actions include the divisive referendum allowing parents to choose their children's language of instruction in segregated tracks—which resulted in an unexpected victory for Catalan— the promotion of linguistic secessionism through unscientific entities, and the "strangulation" of the Valencian Language Academy (AVL) through minimal funding and the reduction of its requirements and merits. The People's Party (PP) has also advocated in Alicante for the city to be removed from the Catalan-speaking area, which would mean Catalan would cease to be an official language and become optional in schools.