76% of Catalans defend linguistic immersion, according to CEO survey

BarcelonaBroad consensus in favour of linguistic immersion. A recent CEO survey has shown 76% of the Catalans are in favour of defending the linguistic immersion model in schools. The support for immersion is even more widespread among Catalan speakers, since 95% of them defend it. So do 75% of those who speak Catalan and Spanish bilingually and 88% of speakers of other languages. On the other hand, it drops considerably when Spanish speakers are asked, since only 50% agree. This consensus with immersion, however, contrasts with the situation of Catalan: 78% of Catalan speakers consider that the situation of the language has worsened in recent years and, moreover, 68% of these believe that the language is under threat. The analysis is diametrically different if Spanish speakers are asked: 48% believe that Catalan has remained as it was and 22% that it is a threatened language.

These are the data from a CEO survey carried out among 1,929 people between December 23 and 28, 2021. As explained by new CEO director Jordi Muñoz, they wanted to ask about four "important issues in the public debate": Catalan, immersion, the management of covid and climate change. Regarding the pandemic, 68% of those surveyed considered that the vaccine against the coronavirus should be mandatory. Those over 65 years of age are the most in favour (75%), while young people in the 16 to 24 age group are the least favourable (58%). At the same time, 90% of those surveyed agree with the fact that developed countries should finance the vaccine in the poorest states, and 76% would even pay more taxes for this to happen.

On the other hand, covid passes - now eliminated even though it was in force at the time of the survey– also enjoyed a high level of acceptance. On average, 80% of Catalans agree with covid passes being a requirement in nightclubs, restaurants, theatres, cinemas, shows and also sports installations. There are also more people in favour of implementing it in workplaces, public transport or shops than against it, but there is not so much consensus.

Informal conversations

Muñoz explained that with this survey the CEO wanted to innovate with several questions, and one of them deals with the change of language in informal conversations. For example, 60% of Catalan speakers change their language when they meet someone who speaks Spanish, but only 41% of Spanish speakers change their language when someone speaks Catalan. In parallel, and regarding language in the classroom, 58% of those surveyed believe that the use of Catalan in education is adequate, while 20% consider it insufficient and 22% excessive.

These data are transferred to the voters of the various political parties, since more than 90% of the voters of ERC, Junts, the CUP and En Comú defend immersion. So do 64% of PSC voters. On the other hand, more than 70% of Cs, PP and Vox voters are against it: in the case of Vox the percentage rises to 92%.