Lingcat is a multimedia presentation that describes the situation of the Catalan language today. It aims to answer exchange students' questions on sociolinguistic issues in Catalonia and the Catalan-speaking areas, with particular emphasis on the university context. Lingcat is a useful source of information for those who want to find out more about the language, either before they come to Catalonia, or shortly after their arrival.
Source: LingCat & Universitat de Barcelona
6. PREFACE Lingcat is a multimedia presentation that describes the situation of the Catalan language today. It aims to answer exchange students’ questions on sociolinguistic issues in Catalonia and the Catalan-speaking areas, with particular emphasis on the university context. Lingcat is a useful source of information for those who want to find out more about the language, either before they come to Catalonia, or shortly after their arrival. The materials compiled here have been used for many years in the introductory sessions that the University of Barcelona runs for students from abroad. Lingcat is part of Intercat, the language program organized by the Catalan universities for these students. Unlike other multimedia packages available, Lingcat provides a step by step introduction specifically for exchange students, focusing on aspects of the Catalan language and its uses in the social situations that they are likely to encounter. Lingcat is divided into eight sections: “Introduction”, “Catalan and Europe”, Sociolinguistics”, “ Linguistic proficiency”, “Catalan in the mass media”, “Catalan in the universities”, “Other information resources” and “Opportunities to learn Catalan”. Here students will find:
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8. INTRODUCTION 1 CATALAN AND EUROPE 2 LINGUISTIC PROFICIENCY 4 CATALAN IN THE MASS MEDIA 5 CATALAN IN THE UNIVERSITIES 6 OTHER INFORMATION RESOURCES 7 OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN CATALAN 8 SOCIOLINGUISTICS 3
10. Catalan, a European language INTRODUCTION 1 Catalan is spoken in four European states: Spain, France, Andorra and Italy. The population living in the area in which Catalan is spoken is distributed as follows: 95.8% in Spain, 3.2% in France, 0.6% in Andorra and 0.4% in Italy. The Catalan-speaking area occupies approximately 68,000 km 2 , and has a population of 13,500,000 inhabitants, of which some 11,000,000 (81.4%) understand Catalan and some 9,100,000 (67.5%) speak it. Area covered: 68,000 km² Population: 13.5 M Those who understand Catalan: 11 M (81.4%) Those who speak Catalan: 9.1 M (67.5%)
11. Areas where Catalan is spoken INTRODUCTION 1 Catalonia F our Autonomous Communities in Spain Balearic Islands Community of Valencia Eastern Aragon Catalan is spoken in four Autonomous Communities. Catalan-speakers comprise the second largest language group in Spain. Estimates suggest that one in every six people in Spain speaks Catalan and one in every four lives in one of the territories of the Catalan-speaking area ( 27.5% of the Spanish population). Catalonia (Population: 7,134,000): Catalan understood by 97.4% of the population and spoken by 84.7%. Vall d’Aran (Catalonia.Population: 7,130): Its language is Aranese, a dialect of Occitan, but Catalan is also spoken here. The official languages are Aranese, Catalan and Castilian. Balearic Islands (Population: 1,001,000): Catalan understood by 93.1% of the population and spoken by 74.6%. Community of Valencia (Population: 4,806,000): Catalan understood by 75.9% of the population and spoken by 53.0%. Eastern Aragon (Population: 45,000): Only the eastern sector of the Community of Aragon is Catalan-speaking. Spoken by 88,8% of the population and understood by 98.5%.
12. Areas where Catalan is spoken INTRODUCTION 1 Other European countries and the rest of the world South-Eastern France Andorra Alghero (Italy) South-eastern France (Population: 422,000): Catalan understood by 65.3% of the population and spoken by 37.1%. Andorra (Population: 78,000): Catalan understood by 96.0% of the population and spoken by 78.9%. Alghero (Sardinia, Italy. Population: 40,000): Catalan understood by 90.1% of the population and spoken by 61.3%. It was introduced to the city during the XIV century, following the expansion of the Crown of Catalonia and Aragon in the Mediterranean. We should also remember those Catalan communities further abroad, the legacy of the tens of thousands of Catalan citizens who were driven into exile by the Civil war.
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14. Catalan, one of Spain’s Romance languages INTRODUCTION 1 The Reconquest Catalan is one of the Romance languages of the Iberian Peninsular. Galician, Portuguese and Castilian are other neo-Latin languages of the Peninsular. Basque is not related to this Iberian family of languages and research has not yet determined whether it is related to other European languages. In historical terms, there are only three language areas of Latin origin in the Iberian Peninsular: Castilian, Galician-Portuguese and Catalan. All the language areas of Romance origin in the Iberian Peninsula run from north to south. This is explained by the historical process of the Reconquest. The result of this process for Catalan was that once the language had been consolidated as a neo-Latin language in the extreme north of the present-day Catalan-speaking area, it expanded throughout the XIII century to reach the present-day territories of the Community of Valencia and the Balearic Islands. XIII century
15. Catalan: origins of the language INTRODUCTION 1 Catalan developed between the VIII and X centuries as a result of the evolution in the Vulgar Latin being spoken in the northern parts of the present-day Catalan-speaking area. As a language, it originated in the counties of the Spanish March, which formed part of the Carolingian Empire. It was not, however, until the XIV century that the present-day territorial boundaries of the Catalan language were finally made permanent. The first known texts to be written wholly in Catalan date from the end of the XII century. One of these was the translation of a fragment of a code of Visigothic Law, Liber iudiciorum (1), and the other was the Homilies d’Organyà (2), the first text originally written in Catalan to be conserved. Later, in the XIII century and the beginning of the XIV century, Ramon Llull (3) wrote his body of work, which is a synthesis of all the philosophical and scientific thought of the age. At the end of the XV century, Joanot Martorell wrote Tirant lo Blanc (4), considered to be the first modern novel in world literature. 1 2 3 3 4
16. The dialects of Catalan INTRODUCTION 1 The territory in which Catalan is spoken is divided into seven different areas Dividing line between the two main dialectical varieties of Catalan: western and eastern The territory in which Catalan is spoken is divided into seven different administrative areas. Although Catalan is made up of different dialects, no one Catalan-speaking territory is uniformly characterised by just one of these. Valencian is the official name given to the Catalan language in the Community of Valencia. (1) The language spoken in the Catalan comarca or district of the Vall d’Aran is Aranese, a dialect of Occitan. The map shows quite clearly that the dividing line between the two main groups of dialects is unrelated to either territorial divisions between the states in which Catalan is spoken, or to the divisions between the Autonomous Communities of Spain. The differences between the dialectical varieties spoken in the territories of the Catalan-speaking area are slight and do not impede mutual comprehension. The linguistic feature that varies most between the two dialectical groups is the pronunciation of certain non-accented vowels.
17. Legal status of Catalan in the regions in which it is spoken The fact that a language is spoken in a territory or that it is the mother tongue of all or of the majority of the population is no guarantee that this language will be recognised as an official language. The status of Catalan in the countries in which it is spoken varies according to the legislation governing language matters in the state in question: Catalan as the official language : when Catalan is the sole official language in a territory. Two official languages : when Catalan is the official language in a territory, but another language also has official status. Non-official status : when the official language is a language other than Catalan. Catalan, the sole official language : Andorra Two official languages (Catalan and Castilian): Catalonia, Community of Valencia, Balearic Islands and Eastern Aragon (to be passed soon). A situation of official bilingualism, therefore, occurs in all the territories of the Catalan-speaking area that form part of Spain. In these cases, Catalan is considered not only one of the official languages, but the native language: that is, the language that is historically and culturally rooted in the region. Non-official status (the official language is a language other than Catalan): South-Eastern France (French) and Alghero (Italian). INTRODUCTION 1 Catalan has three categories of official status, which are decided according to the legislation of each territory
18. Spain: one of the EU’s most plurilingual states The legal status of the Spanish State’s multilingualism was established in the 1978 Spanish Constitution, in the statutes of autonomy for the Autonomous Communities where more than one language is spoken and in the Linguistic Policy Acts passed by these Communities (in Catalonia, in 1983 and 1998). In the State, 41% of the population lives in territories with two official languages. One in every four Spaniards (27.5%) lives in a Community in which Catalan is the official language. In the Communities of Galicia and the Basque Country (where Galician and Basque are spoken) the official languages are those of the territory and Castilian. There are areas of two more Autonomous Communities in which bilingualism is officially recognised: In Aragon, Catalan is spoken in the east and Aragonese in the north. In Navarre, Basque is spoken in certain areas. Finally, in the Community of Asturias, where Asturian is spoken, there is also a degree of co-official status between Asturian and Castilian. The remaining Autonomous Communities are officially considered to be monolingual. INTRODUCTION 1 41% of the population lives in Communities with more than one official language
19. CATALAN AND EUROPE Perspectives for Catalan inside the construction of Europe 2
20. The process of the construction of Europe and regional or lesser-used languages CATALAN AND EUROPE 2 The European continent is a mosaic of languages and cultures. Indeed, the number of languages spoken amounts to considerably more than the number of official state languages. In this section, we shall study the possible implications of the process of the construction of Europe in the future as this will affect the official recognition of minority languages , meaning languages limited to small areas or, simply, languages without a state. In this section, we reflect on the opportunity that the process of European integration represents for designing a new official multilinguistic model, beyond the official state languages.
21. The model of multilingualism in the European Union CATALAN AND EUROPE 2 The European Union is multilingual Not all the EU’s member states recognise the Union’s language diversity While being fully engaged in the construction of Europe, the member states of the EU are also defending their own national identity, though not by adopting a “nationalistic” stance, in the worst sense of the word. The defence of distinct state identities, therefore, should not constitute any impediment to seeking the common roots of all Europeans and a shared cultural inheritance. Provided that it is undertaken democratically, defending one’s identity, language and culture is a right that all peoples of the world should have. However, certain central and federal governments of European states are concerned that the recognition of regional linguistic and cultural identities might endanger the process of the construction of Europe. Yet it seems that these concerns are largely unfounded. On the contrary, the recognition of languages and cultures that do not have their own state should be seen as a clear indication that a united Europe is being built on foundations of tolerance and respect for diversity.
22. The model of multilingualism in the European Union Today 27 European states form the EU. There are 23 official languages in the Union – that is, the official languages of all its member states. Since 2005 Catalan, which ranks as the fourteenth most spoken language in the EU, has received semi-official status. This status means that treaties and basic texts produced by the EU are translated into Catalan and it upholds the right to be attended in Catalan in the offices of this institution in the territories of the Catalan-speaking area. However, Catalan does not have the same status as the state languages which, as well as being truly official languages of the EU, are also its working languages. CATALAN AND EUROPE 2 The European Union is multilingual Catalan and the 23 official languages of the European Union (January 2007)
23. The model of multilingualism in the European Union As can be seen in the map and in the table, the present model of multilingualism does not reflect the linguistic and cultural reality of many of the member states. In the 27 member states of the EU, around 45 regional languages are spoken. There are already more than 50 million people whose mother tongue is different to that of the official state language. What is more, some of these languages can hardly be considered minority languages as they are spoken by more European citizens than some of the official EU languages. This is the case of Catalan. Most member states of the European Union are also multilingual CATALAN AND EUROPE 2 Number of speakers of some regional languages of the EU
24. The need for changes in our understanding of multilingualism CATALAN AND EUROPE 2 The philosophy defended by the states in the construction of Europe, based on tolerance and respect for diversity, should also be seen to apply at regional level. It would therefore be appropriate to grant official status to any language spoken in any area of the member states and, particularly, to those languages that already have this status in the territory in which they are spoken. Furthermore, measures which favour the recognition of linguistic and cultural diversity complement those others which aim to strengthen Europe’s common heritage. For example, the implementation of language learning programs to facilitate understanding between speakers of the same linguistic family, such as the speakers of Romance, Anglo-Germanic, and Slav languages. A further essential measure is the introduction of a European dimension in the educational systems of all the countries in order to promote common European values and to eliminate those stereotypical images of certain cultures that can provoke misunderstandings. The introduction of a European dimension in education should also create a common awareness among the people of the European Union of what it means to be European.
25. The need for changes in our understanding and management of multilingualism The linguistic diversity of the new citizens should also be taken into account CATALAN AND EUROPE 2 So far we have spoken of the linguistic diversity of the languages and cultures that have historically been related to the EU territories. However, in the European Union today, and even more in the EU of tomorrow, languages from outside the European continent will become extremely important: these are the languages of immigrants. Immigration has come to typify modern societies. It would seem right to protect and promote the languages of the immigrants. Illustrative of this are the approximately 2 million Germans of Turkish and Kurdish origin and the more than 4 million Maghrebis and sub-Saharians that live in France. Catalonia and the other Catalan-speaking areas that form part of Spain are no exception to this process and are hosts to large numbers of immigrants from outside the EU. The number of foreign residents in Catalonia comprises 12.2% of the population according to the figures published for 2006. The Iberian Peninsula has, after all, strong historical and cultural links with the southern shores of the Mediterranean and South America. We will need to consider concepts such as linguistic diversity , multilingualism and interculturality which, as well as representing a new approach to the description of Europe today, are essential in achieving any process of union. In short, the languages and cultures of Europe are those of all European citizens. Moroccans Equatorians Colombians Bolivians Argentineans Chinese Pakistanis
26. The future of languages without a state What are the possible future scenarios for languages such as Catalan in the EU? CATALAN AND EUROPE 2 In short, in this section we have examined some of the possible implications that the process of the construction of Europe might have for the future viability of Europe’s regional languages and cultures. By way of summary, the following observations might be made: If all the member states do not grant all the languages spoken within their boundaries official status, then the EU will continue to recognise only one official language per member state (with the exception of Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Luxemburg and Malta). Were this situation to remain unchanged, then the chances of survival of stateless languages such as Catalan is more than doubtful. On the other hand, the construction of Europe should not represent a threat to the survival of any language. Above all, Europe should redress the situation caused by the linguistic policies of past centuries in some of the European nation states, which granted certain languages nothing more than minority status, or even sought to entirely replace them with other languages. Therefore, the survival of Catalan and other minority languages is perfectly viable if the process of constructing Europe is based on tolerance and respect for the diversity inherent in this continent and, at the instigation of the member states, if the EU recognises all languages spoken in these states as official languages, even though they are not spoken by the entire population of a given state. Catalan Galician Occitan Sardinian Basque Welsh Frisian Friulian Breton Corsican Luxembourguish
27. The model of multilingualism in the European Union CATALAN AND EUROPE 2 We have seen that the linguistic and cultural mosaic of the Union is made up of many more pieces than we might have thought just by looking at its member states. It would seem right to continue to consider all the official languages of the member states as official languages in the EU. At the same time, in all likelihood, the EU will have to restrict its number of working languages – that is, the number of languages used in documents produced by the EU and also spoken or used in simultaneous translation. The EU’s current model of multilingualism will have to be redefined in the near future.
29. SOCIOLINGUISTICS 3 Differences in proficiency in the main areas Oral comprehension: Oral expression: (data for various linguistic skills) This section and the section that follows it outline the current sociolinguistic profile of Catalonia. The proficiency in Catalan among those people living in Spanish territories in which Catalan is spoken is not uniform. As the data show in the lower part of the slide, in some language skills, such as oral comprehension, the rates are largely similar in all the Autonomous Communities (75% or more of the population). However, there are significant differences in overall language proficiency: in Catalonia 41% of the population is fully proficient in the language, but in the Balearic Islands this percentage falls to 22% and to 12% in the Community of Valencia. 97.4% 84.7% 53.0% 75.9% 74.6% 93.1%
30. SOCIOLINGUISTICS 3 Because in an overall study language competence would be shown to vary from region to region owing to the significant differences in sociolinguistic indicators (proficiency in the language and the use of the language), our assessment of the Catalan language will be based solely Catalonia. Catalonia represents the Community with what is by far the highest population: some 6 million people. In fact, as of 1990 and the arrival in Catalonia of approximately 1 million immigrants from outside the EU, for the year 2006 that figure had already increased to over 7 million. Rather than simply considering this figure, however, what this section sets out to do is to describe the Catalans in terms on their language proficiency; to examine whether or not Catalan society can be truly considered bilingual. To illustrate the nature of bilingualism in Catalan society today, we shall use the advertisement announcing the launch of the Catalan version of the daily newspaper, El Periódico de Catalunya . This paper, founded in 1978, was published only in Castilian until 28th October 1997. Since this date, a Catalan issue has been printed. What are we like ? Are we bilingual?
31. SOCIOLINGUISTICS 3 “ Catalan society is bilingual.” One newspaper, two languages “ One society, two languages.” The way we are Is the whole of Catalan society bilingual? “ We are bilingual” The language of Catalonia is Catalan: the historical language of this territory. One of the characteristics of present-day Catalan society is the widespread phenomenon of contact between two languages: Catalan and Castilian. This is the idea that the advertising campaign’s slogan “Tal com som” (the way we are) attempts to express. The idea behind the advertising campaign was to show that El Periódico , a newspaper printed in Catalonia, was adapting to the country’s sociolinguistic reality and so, since 1997, the paper’s readers have been able to choose the language they prefer to read it in. Nevertheless, this adaptation did not lead to any changes in the nature of the product itself. The first idea of bilingualism that the agency presents in this advertisement is based on the following hypothesis: All six/seven million Catalans are proficient in the two official languages of Catalonia: Catalan and Castilian. Thus, when present-day Catalan society is described as being bilingual, the description refers more to the individual language proficiency of its citizens (and, by extension, to the whole of society) than to territorial questions of the language Community, as it would do if our country of study were Belgium or Switzerland. This means that in theory and independently of their mother tongue, all the inhabitants of Catalonia are able to understand, speak, read and write in the two languages. In the section below, which examines the language proficiency of the inhabitants of Catalonia, we shall see that this premise is not altogether true. Indeed, the notion that Catalonia is a country where only two languages coexist is itself a simplification of the truth. In 2005, the University of Barcelona Study Group on Threatened Languages held an exhibition which testified to the fact that between 250 and 300 different languages are presently spoken in Catalonia.
33. Is Catalan society bilingual? PROFICIENCY 4 This section examine the language proficiency of the Catalans. The data describing the distribution of the proficiency of Catalan and Castilian across the different language skills of listening and reading comprehension, and speaking and writing. Models of theory always simplify the truth. The data should therefore be interpreted more as a general tendency or the major trend of Catalan society, or certain subgroups, rather than an exact portrait of the language proficiency of each person. The exhibition on languages in Catalonia was proof that many different languages are spoken here. In Catalan society today more than two languages live side-by-side. It can therefore be argued that the language contact that occurs in Catalonia today can be more accurately described in terms of multilingualism than bilingualism. However, here we will only describe the interrelationship between Catalan and Castilian. The data on the knowledge of Catalan and Castilian is drawn from the Spanish Population and Housing Census of 2001. Since that year, the number of foreign people who have come to live in Catalonia has doubled or in some areas even tripled so that foreign citizens presently account for more than 12% of the Catalan population. As yet there are no detailed statistics to describe the language knowledge of this sector of Catalan society. EU immigrants aside, the majority of recent newcomers to Catalonia have come from Morocco. They are followed, at some distance, by Ecuadorians, Colombians, Bolivians, Argentineans, Chinese and Pakistanis.
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38. Knowledge of Catalan Independently of their mother tongue, all Catalans under the age of 40 can understand, speak, read and write in Catalan. The language proficiency in Catalan among the younger generations can be accounted for by the fact that they received their schooling after the end of General Franco’s dictatorship. During the military dictatorship, the use of Catalan was prohibited and politically persecuted. Consequently, Catalan was not taught in schools, nor was it used as the language of instruction. With the return of democracy in Spain (1976), Catalan was introduced in Catalonia as a compulsory subject in both primary and secondary education. Today in Catalonia, Catalan is the main language of instruction in compulsory education. According to data for the 1999-2000 school year, 88.9% of primary schools and 51.2% of secondary schools taught all classes in Catalan (with the exception, in both cases, of the subjects of Castilian Language and Literature and foreign languages). In part due to the predominance of the mother tongue in infancy, during the first few years of schooling some schoolgoers demonstrate greater competence in Catalan while others have a greater mastery of Castilian. However, when at the age of 16 schoolgoers reach the end of compulsory education, no student can claim not to understand either language. Under the age of 40 PROFICIENCY 4 (especially all those between the ages of 16 and 40) Written comprehension Oral expression Written expression Oral comprehension = All the members of this subgroup are linguistically proficient
39. PROFICIENCY Over the age of 40 Knowledge of Catalan Catalan speakers The data for the population over the age of 40 is presented in two subgroups, according to the mother tongue of each subject. All the Catalan speakers (with Catalan as their mother tongue) can understand Catalan and speak it as it is the first language they learnt. In contrast, not all the members of this subgroup read in this language as a matter of course and a large number are not competent writers of Catalan. Only those that have chosen to study in schools for adults can write in Catalan, not having had the opportunity to do so in compulsory education. 4 Written expression Written comprehension Oral expression Oral comprehension = Not all the members of this subgroup are linguistically proficient
40. Catalan speakers Castilian speakers COMPETÈNCIA Knowledge of Catalan PROFICIENCY Oral expression A large number of Catalans over 40 who are Castilian speakers (with Castilian as their mother tongue) were either born outside Catalonia or are the children of people who were. Between 1950 and 1970, more than a million migrants came to Catalonia from other parts of Spain. The migratory movements during these two decades were to have a great demographic effect. In 1975, for example, 38% of the Catalan population was of migrant origin. In 1996, the migrants and their children born in Catalonia accounted for 41% of the Catalan population. Most Castilian speakers of the older generation can neither read nor write in Catalan because, like the other inhabitants of Catalonia, they did not have the opportunity to learn Catalan at school. However, in 2001 (the year in which the data for this study was gathered) all the members of this subgroup claimed to be able to understand Catalan because they had been born in Catalonia, or because they had lived in Catalonia for more than thirty or forty years. Furthermore, the similarities between Catalan and Castilian make the former much easier to understand for those who can speak the latter. Thus, the main difference between the two groups is in their relative ability to speak Catalan. On arriving in Catalonia, most members of this migrant subgroup did not make the additional effort required to speak a new language, because during Franco’s regime the use of Catalan was forbidden. In short, for what were largely historical reasons, the migrants did not learn to speak Catalan because they had little motivation to do so: it was not needed and, above all, they ran a risk by choosing to speak a prohibited language. Over the age of 40 4 Written comprehension Written expression Oral comprehension
41. Are all sectors of the population of Catalonia bilingual? PROFICIENCY 4 In terms then of language proficiency, can Catalonia be considered a bilingual society? For the time being, the answer would seem to be no. In the case of the population aged over 40, it might well be more accurate to speak of a situation of asymmetrical bilingualism . On the one hand, most Catalan speakers are virtually bilingual; if they are not, it is because, bizarrely, not all can read or write in their own language, their mother tongue. On the other hand, the Castilian speakers are virtually monolingual as they have fairly serious shortcomings in three of the skills in Catalan: reading, writing and speaking. But this is likely to change in the future, given that the population under 40 is fully bilingual. If the teaching of Castilian and Catalan continues to be compulsory in school,and bearing in mind that there are constant opportunities to use the two languages, the Catalan demographic pyramid shows us that in fifty years’ time the entire population of Catalonia should be proficient in Catalan and Castilian. CAT CAST Population over 40 Catalan speakers ? NO CAT CAST CAT CAST Population over 40 Castilian speakers ? CAT CAST CAT CAST NO Population under 40 ? YES
42. Freedom to use one’s language of choice Population under 40 SÍ Population over 40 Catalan speakers NO Population over 40 Castilian speakers PROFICIENCY 4 The present-day sociolinguistic profile of Catalonia does however guarantee its citizens linguistic freedom: that is, everyone can use either of the two official languages freely. This is possible as all citizens, regardless of their mother tongue, can at least understand both Catalan and Castilian. YES YES YES CAT CAST
43. CATALAN IN THE MASS MEDIA The language’s presence in the mass media and in culture 5
44. The way we are As discussed above, one of the essential conditions for Catalan society to be considered bilingual is that all Catalans should be proficient in their use of the two official languages of Catalonia. You choose MASS MEDIA 5 The second idea related to bilingualism that the advertising agency uses in the advertisement was based on the hypothesis that in Catalonia the right to choose which language to use at all times is guaranteed. This is the second condition which, in theory, ensures that the citizens of Catalonia can choose the language they prefer. In this next section, we shall look at the mass media, an area in which the aim mentioned above has not been fully achieved. For example, the conspicuous absence of Catalan in most of the mass media is due to the restrictions placed on the use of Catalan in this field and, more generally, to the political persecution suffered by the language from authoritarian regimes at various periods in the recent history of Catalonia, dating back more than 250 years. Undoubtedly, though, what might in part best explain the absence of Catalan in certain fields, particularly in the mass media, are the effects of globalisation . There are few real opportunities for minority languages in global relations. What’s more, in the internationalisation of political, economic, social and cultural exchange in our modern world, languages like Catalan find it increasingly difficult to find fields in which they can continue to be predominant, even in communicative situations inside their own territory. In its own natural market, for example, Catalan finds itself in constant competition with Castilian, a language that has great demographic and marketing power. Despite the challenges Catalan faces in establishing itself as the predominant language in the mass media of Catalonia, there are examples, both in the media and in the cultural sector, where Catalan is as present as Castilian or even more so. The slides that follow present the percentage use of Catalan in the various sectors of the media. The web pages of these sectors can be visited by clicking on the corresponding logotype. “ Can we always choose which language to use?” “ Is Catalan always represented?”
45. The use of Catalan in the press MASS MEDIA 5 36% The presence of Catalan in the general-information paying newspapers, together with those offering sports and financial information, comes to 19.2% . Three newspapers ( Avui , El Periódico and El Punt ), one sports paper ( El 9 esportiu de Catalunya ) and one weekly news magazine ( El Temps ) are on sale in most parts of the Catalan-speaking area. The remaining Catalan publications are local papers. The circulation of Catalan press publications amounts to 36% of total volume of newspapers and magazines in Catalonia. Data from the Language Policy Report
46. The use of Catalan in television broadcasting MASS MEDIA 5 30% Of the television programs broadcast in Catalonia, 30% are in Catalan. Today, throughout the Catalan-speaking area, ten television channels can be received, both public and private (not including cable and satellite TV). However, their ownership is not a factor determining whether they choose to broadcast in Castilian or Catalan. The channels that broadcast in the Catalan-speaking area do so either entirely or mostly in Catalan. These are TV3, Canal 33-K3 and 3-24 (owned by the Government of Catalonia), Canal 9 and Punt Dos (owned by the Valencian Government), IB3 (owned by the Balearic Government), and BTV, Td8 and CanalCatalàTV (broadcast in Barcelona). The state broadcasters, however, schedule programs almost entirely in Castilian: TVE1 and TVE2 (Spain’s state broadcasting corporation) and Antena 3, Tele 5, Cuatro and La Sexta (private companies). Data from the Language Policy Report
47. The use of Catalan in radio broadcasting MASS MEDIA 5 +50% On the radio, more than 50% of broadcasts are in Catalan. The four stations belonging to the Government of Catalonia (Catalunya Ràdio, iCat fm, Catalunya Música and Catalunya Informació) broadcast entirely in Catalan. There are two more public stations that also broadcast in Catalan: COM Ràdio and Ràdio 4. The local stations mainly use Catalan, as do about half the private stations (such as Ona Catalana, RAC1 and Flash FM). Data from the Language Policy Report
48. Language use in Internet MASS MEDIA 5 English dominates the Internet. Catalan is also a minority language on the net, yet the fact that there are about three million pages in Catalan is impressive if we consider the relative weight of the language in the world and compare the presence of Catalan on the Internet with that of other languages such as French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and Portuguese, whose demographic weight is much greater at a global level. Source: Softcatalà (October 2005) Number of webpages in each language
49. The use of Catalan in the cinema MASS MEDIA 5 2% Films in Spain (both those shown on television and those screened in the cinema) are nearly always dubbed. In most cases the films can only be seen in Castilian. Only in the major cities, such as Barcelona, is there a sizeable offer of foreign language films. Films dubbed into Catalan are few and far between: just 2% of films shown in Catalonia are screened in Catalan. Thus, Catalans have little choice of language when going to the cinema. If you wish to up-date this page just click on the link: Page update! Data from the Language Policy Report Page update!
50. The use of Catalan in the theatre La Fura dels Baus Els Comediants El Tricicle MASS MEDIA 5 63% The theatre is the only cultural sector in which Catalan is predominant. Approximately 62.6% of performances in Barcelona are given in this language. Plays drawn from Catalan literature, as well as those taken from world literature, are normally staged in Catalan. Among the plays performed in Castilian in Catalonia, most are works originally written in that language and therefore also performed in it. Data from the Language Policy Report
51. Catalan in publishing MASS MEDIA 5 Catalan is the 15th most published language in the world (UNESCO) 30% Although the percentage of publications in Catalan in 2003 was still small, representing 30.2% of all published titles, 18% of copies produced and 17% of total turnover, the absolute figures were encouraging: 8,386 new titles were published in Catalan in 2003 (including books written in this language and translations). The average print-run is approximately 2,000 copies, reaching 100,000 in a few cases. These figures are relatively high if we consider that Catalan is a language of limited demographic (and, therefore, market) force. According to figures published by UNESCO, Catalan ranks as the fifteenth language in the world in terms of its volume of publishing. Number of books published each year Data from the Language Policy Report 1989 4,327 1990 4,838 1991 4,965 1992 5,806 1993 5,905 1994 5,281 1995 5,793 1996 6,061 1997 6,844 1998 7,306 1999 7,261 2000 7,795 2001 8,015 2002 8,183 2003 8,386
52. Translations from Catalan into other languages Catalan is the 22nd most translated language in the world (UNESCO) MASS MEDIA 5 Moreover, Catalan ranks as the 22nd most translated language in the world, again according to UNESCO. This slide shows just some of the translations into other languages of works by leading authors of Catalan literature: the poet Salvador Espriu, the novelist Mercè Rodoreda, author of La plaça del diamant (translated into sixteen languages), and more contemporary authors such as Sergi Pàmies, Carme Riera and Quim Monzó. It should be remembered that Catalan literature has a history dating back many centuries. At the end of the XV century, Joanot Martorell wrote Tirant lo Blanc, considered the first modern novel in world literature. Information on translations from Catalan into other languages: www.llull.cat / llull /biblioteca/ trac.jsp?idioma=en
53. CATALAN IN THE UNIVERSITIES Catalan in the universities of Catalonia 6
54.
55. The use of Catalan in teaching at the universities of Catalonia UNIVERSITIES 6 Differences in the percentage of lectures given in Catalan are not only to be found from one university to another but also between the faculties within universities. Lecturers choose one of the two official languages in which they wish to give their lectures. The language of instruction for each university subject is made public and is published as a matter of course in student handbooks and guides . By clicking on the logotype of each university, information can be obtained about the percentage of teaching conducted in either language at each of the faculties.
56. Multimedia system for exchange students UNIVERSITIES 6 To help exchange students adapt to life in Catalonia and its academic institutions, the universities of Catalonia have agreed to provide a language support program. Given that Catalan is the language most widely used in the teaching at the universities of Catalonia, the aim of this program is to ensure that this poses no handicap to the exchange students. Backed by all the Catalan universities, the language support program for exchange students has its own Internet portal: Intercat. The portal is a multimedia system built by the universities’ language units under the direction of the Ministry of Innovation, Universities and Enterprise of the Government of Catalonia. It was designed with the idea that exchange students could begin to study Catalan and learn the language, thanks to a range of distance learning methods, while still at their home university and before leaving to study in Catalonia. http://intercat.cesca.es/eng/
58. Information provided by universities MORE INFORMATION 7 Most of the universities have web pages detailing the languages used in their teaching. Click on the images in the web pages to open information windows about the languages of instruction and the facilities available for learning Catalan. These pages also contain FAQs posed by exchange students before coming to Catalonia, and also an e-mail facility where students’ questions can be answered personally. Barcelona University Centre (BCU) and the Inter-University Board of Catalonia (CIC) also provide information on questions related to language.
59. Information provided by universities Index MORE INFORMATION You can use this selection of links as a list of university webpages or shortlist of useful information resources for the Catalan language. 7 Barcelona University Centre. Government of Catalonia; City Council of Barcelona; universities of Barcelona and the surrounding area Studying at the Universities of Catalonia. Government of Catalonia Catalan at the University of Barcelona. Information for incoming exchange students. University of Barcelona Information for foreign students. Autonomous University of Barcelona Where are you from? Technical University of Catalonia Did you know that in Catalonia we also speak Catalan? Pompeu Fabra University Languages at the Rovira i Virgili University. Rovira i Virgili University C atalan at the University of Lleida . University of Lleida Modern Languages Service. University of Girona
60. General information on the Catalan language MORE INFORMATION By clicking on the link image, access can be gained to other webs containing general information about the Catalan language. 7
61. MORE INFORMATION 7 The Cultural Routes offered by the Language Resource Program and ‘30 tips‘ guide book introduce visiting students in Catalonia to the various habits and customs of Catalan society. Guides to enjoy your stay
62. MORE INFORMATION 7 Guides to Barcelona and to Catalan culture Do you know Barcelona? and bcn.youth are guides to Barcelona and to Catalan culture aimed at visitors that have just arrived in the city or who are planning to stay here in the near future.
64. Courses taught at the universities of Catalonia All Catalan universities offer visiting students either free or subsidised Catalan language instruction to facilitate their academic studies during their stay in Catalonia. In particular, these language courses aim to help students and their university teachers communicate more satisfactorily. Exchange students also have the opportunity to learn Catalan by using the self-access centres . As we shall see, however, language learning can also be conducted before the beginning of the academic year or even before the student has arrived in Catalonia. By clicking on the logotype of each university, information can be obtained about the various language courses on offer. LEARNING CATALAN 8
65. Ideally, before the start of the academic year and as recommended for other European languages of restricted use, exchange students coming to Catalonia should enrol on the European action Erasmus Intensive Language Courses (EILC), which form part of the Socrates-ERASMUS program. The aim of this European plan is to help exchange students come to their host university a few weeks before the start of the academic year to study a language that is difficult to learn outside the country in which it is spoken. Unfortunately, intensive courses in Catalan do not yet form part of this program since Catalan does not have the status of an official language of the European Union. LEARNING CATALAN 8 Erasmus Intensive Language Courses
66. Programs for language exchange LEARNING CATALAN To complete a student’s language training, a further facility provided by virtually all the universities is the conversation exchange program. These programs aim to give exchange students the opportunity to practise the language they are studying. The success of these programs depends on the participation of local students and the various language volunteers. In addition to the language exchange programs, some universities also organise a range of social activities, from weekly meetings, parties and guided visits to places of interest to weekend outings, cinema clubs or theatre and cinema trips. 8
67. Programs for language exchange Index LEARNING CATALAN 8 You can use this selection of links as a list of programs for language exchange or shortlist of useful information about conversation exchange programmes. It is well worth taking advantage of the language resource programs offered at universities. First, learning Catalan will help you to keep better track of what our towns and cities can offer in terms of cultural and social events; second, you’ll find that you feel more at home in the local community and can become more involved in community initiatives. Once you’ve learned a little of the language, there will be many opportunities to practise it both inside and outside the University; and finally, the Catalan language learning activities are also a good way to meet other students! Mentor. Association des États Généraux des Étudiants de l’Europe Conversation exchange web. University of Barcelona Ajuda’m (Help in English).Language and cultural reception programme for mobility students at UAB. Autonomous University of Barcelona Ajuda’m (Help in English) is a cultural umbrella program aimed at students from outside Catalonia who come to study at UPC. Technical Universitat of Catalonia Linguistic exchange. University of Girona Conversation exchange. Pompeu Fabra University Gràcies , beginner’s Catalan. Rovira i Virgili University Linguistic exchange. University of Lleida
68. Catalan courses taught outside Catalonia LEARNING CATALAN 8 Courses in Catalan are also taught outside Catalonia and exchange students may have the opportunity to study the language while still in their home country or at their home university. Before coming to Catalonia, the student should contact the Lector of Catalan language and Literature, at their home university or a university in their country, to obtain information and language learning materials. By clicking on each of the countries the student can find out which universities or organisations in that country teach Catalan courses and, moreover, he or she can contact the teacher of the courses at the e-mail address provided. Andorra Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Bra z il Cameroon Canada Chile Costa Rica Cuba Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Ecuador Finland France Germany Great Britain Guatemala Hungary Ireland Israel Italy Luxembourg Mexico Morocco Netherlands Paraguay Poland Portugal Romania Russia Serbia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland United States Uruguay
69. Internet resources for learning Catalan LEARNING CATALAN 8 Because Catalan is a minority language, it is not widely taught outside the Catalan-speaking area. That is why the Internet is a very good tool for learning Catalan, particularly because many exchange students do not have the opportunity to go to class in their home country. By clicking on the image, a range of possibilities available for learning Catalan on the Internet are shown. In addition to materials organised by level of difficulty, you can also find the web site addresses of the various sectors of the media in Catalan. Among the resources for learning Catalan, there is the on-line course Parla.cat , promoted by the Language Policy Secretariat of the Catalan Government, the Institut Ramon Llull and the Consortium for Language Normalisation. http://www.parla.cat
70. Speakc@t Survival Catalan course (for exchange students) LEARNING CATALAN 8 Among the resources available to exchange students for studying Catalan before coming to Catalonia, there are the language training materials provided by Intercat . All the resources of this multimedia system have been designed in particular anticipation of the language needs of the exchange students, and the typical situations in which they might find themselves. Furthermore, they use the latest technology, exploiting the teaching possibilities that they provide to the full. Intercat also provides access to the Catalan survival course [email_address] .
71. University conversation guide LEARNING CATALAN 8 The University conversation phrasebook can also be accessed through Intercat . This phrasebook contains basic vocabulary and phrases for those situations that exchange students are sure to find themselves in when studying abroad. The web page of this phrase book contains voice files so that the student can listen to how the words and phrases in each chapter should be pronounced. The University conversation phrase book is available in different versions: Arabic-Catalan Chinese-Catalan English-Catalan French-Catalan German-Catalan Italian-Catalan Japanese-Catalan Portuguese-Catalan Spanish-Catalan To access these phrasebooks, click on the image.
72. Exercises for practising oral Catalan LEARNING CATALAN 8 Sisplau (Please) is a collection of exercises for those just beginning to study Catalan. The activities in this learning pack are designed as extra material to be used with other communicative language learning methods and reflect more closely the language needs of students at university.
73. Dictionaries: general, bilingual and specialist LEARNING CATALAN 8 Other useful resources for learning Catalan include monolingual dictionaries and bilingual dictionaries. By clicking on the dictionary icons that appear on this slide, you can either consult the dictionary on-line or, if this service is not offered, obtain the details you need to buy the dictionary.
74. On-line translation and language advice LEARNING CATALAN 8 Another highly useful tool are on-line translators, most of which translate from Castilian into Catalan. Some of those shown on this slide also translate from other languages, such as English and Portuguese. Catalan spelling, grammar and style correctors can all be found on the market today.
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