Linguistic Diversity in Spain and Catalonia
Linguistic Diversity in the World
Diversity is a concept originally used in ecology to refer to the richness of living species within an ecosystem. In the field of linguistics, linguistic diversity means the coexistence of different languages. There are more than 6,000 different languages, many of which are endangered.
The Language Families
The evolution of languages has established language families that have diversified into subgroups of different languages.
Linguistic Diversity in Spain
- Spanish: Official state language, spoken by 31 million speakers in Spain and more than 300 million in Latin America and other regions.
- Catalan: Nearly 6 million speakers. Official in Catalonia, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands. It is also spoken in Aragon, Andorra, Northern Catalonia, Alghero, and Murcia.
- Galician: 2 million speakers. Official in Galicia, Asturias, and the western part of Castile and León. Closely related to Portuguese.
- Basque: 540,000 speakers in the Basque Country, Navarra, and 80,000 to 50,000 in the French Basque Country. Official language of Euskadi.
- Leonese: In the process of decomposition, heavily Castilianized. Asturian (100,000-450,000 speakers), Mirandese (from 10,000 to 15,000 speakers).
- Aragonese: 23,000 speakers in Aragon, only 9,000 active speakers.
- Aranese: Aran Valley, 4,000 speakers of Occitan.
The Linguistic Diversity in Catalonia
In Catalonia, various languages coexist due to historical and social reasons.
- Catalan: Catalonia’s own language, shared with Valencia, Balearic Islands, Andorra (the only state where it is the sole official language), a strip in Aragon, Alghero, and the North Catalonia region of Carxe (Murcia). Recovered in 1979 and is one of the official symbols of national identity in Catalonia.
- Aranese: Language of the Aran Valley, shared with the rest of the Aranese lands. Rooted in and retains the vitality of Occitan. Declared an official language in 1990. While not a Catalan language, it is present in the region.
- Catalan Sign Language: The language of the deaf community in Catalonia. Broadcast on the Espaciovisual Channel. Officially recognized in 1994 and used by 32,000 people.
- Spanish: The second language in Catalonia. It is present in the linguistic history of the territory and is recognized as an official language alongside Catalan in the Statute of Autonomy of 1979. It is the first language spoken by half the population.
- English: The third language in Catalonia, although not reflected demographically. Its presence stems from its widespread international use. It is the main foreign language taught in schools in Catalonia.
- Other Languages: Catalonia is home to more than three hundred languages, including Tamazight, Arabic, and others. Their presence is due to tourism (European languages) or immigration (Galician).
The Phenomena of Language Contact
Sociolinguistics is the discipline that studies the relationship between language use and society. It deals with language variation according to the use made by speakers, and especially the use of different languages within the same society.
Bilingualism
The alternative use of two languages.
- Individual: Where the individual masters, more or less balanced, two languages and selects one or the other depending on various factors.
- Territorial: When a political space has two clearly distinguished languages from a linguistic point of view.
- Social: When two languages coexist within a given society, where one language is native to the territory and the other is introduced.
Diglossia
: two languages in contact situation in which speakers are used for purposes other formal and for informal purposes. minority: the process of reducing its use by the community that speaks in its own territory that it may end up leading to language shift. Language minority that is discriminated against in their own territory and is pressed the dominant language. Minority language that has a relatively small number of speakers but has no pressure from any language. Normalization: the process of social reorganization that aims to extend knowledge and attitudes favorable to use the minority language. Normativitizació: establishment and dissemination of the official regulations of the language. Normalization: awareness by the community and changing attitudes that encourage substitució.Planificació linguistic action organized public administration in favor of standardization of the language. · Spanish : second language Catalan. It is present in linguistic history of the territory, which is the official language of the Statute of Autonomy of 1979 recognize the official, international language and first language spoken by half the population. ·