C atalà. Sociolinguistic situation. General introduction. Linguistic competence in Catalonia. Personal usage among youth people

Transcription

1 C atalà T he Rambles (Barcelona. Catalonia) s Urban population G alego E uskara C ymraeg Elsässisch

2 s Linguistic normalization, the commitment of the people A vision of the knowlegde of the Catalan language among the territories Olimpic venues (Barcelona. Catalonia) The majority of the Catalan-speaking population is located within Spain, where the official Catalan-speaking regions occupy over 60,000 km 2 with a population of 10,700,000- over 7,400,000 speak it and almost 9,000,000 undestand it. The sociolinguistic in the Catalan-speaking Statutory Regions that form a part of Spain is as follows: Table 1: Catalan knowlwdge grade Competence Catalonia Community of Valencia Balearic Islands Understand, speak, read and write 41% 12% 22% Understand, speak and read 24% 19% 32% Unddestand and speak 9% 24% 17% Understand 22% 35% 23%

3 s Linguistic normalization, the commitment of the people A vision of the knowlegde of the Catalan language among the territories Urban population In the rest of Catalan-speaking territories, linguistic competence is as follows: South-western France (Department of the Eastern Pyrenees Region) According to data compiled in a survey conducted in 1993 by Media- Pluriel, 40% of the population (approximately 140,000 persons) stated that they could speak Catalan, while 16% admitted having difficulty in expressing themselves due to a lack of fluency. increases with age: while only 16% of young people between the age of 18 and 24 speak fluently, this figure increases to 73% in the case of persons over the age of 65. Eastern Aragon Although there are no official recent statistics regarding Catalan usage in the eastern Aragon region, it is estimated that 90% of the population (approximately 45,000 persons) consider Catalan their habitual mode of expression. Alghero There have been no census statistics in this region, but it is possible to extrapolate from partial studies. In this way, it is estimated that there are approximately 18,000 Catalanspeaking inhabitants in this region. Andorra According to a study commissioned by the Government of Andorra, Coneixements i usos lingüistics de la població d Andorra (Linguistic knowledge and usage of the population of Andorra) (1995), approximately 85% of the surveyed population understands Catalan, between 75% and 80% can read and write and over half write correctly.

4 Catalan, everyone's responsability Information from the 1986 municipal register and 1996 census data show the evolution of linguistic competence over that period. Understand Speak Read Write Table 2: Language competece % 64.0% 60.5% 31.5% % 75.30% 72.35% 45.84% s Basic information on the knowlegde of Catalan ( ) Urban view (Barcelona. Catalonia) Expressed in absolute terms, this means that 5,683,237 persons over the age of two understand Catalan, 4,506,512 can speak, 4,330,251 can read and 2,743,326 can write. Catalan linguistic competence is closely linked to cultural origins. In locations where the number of persons born outside of Catalonia is low, the generalized usaage of Catalan is practically 100% of the population. In regions where the majority of the population was born outside of Catalonia, the competence level still remains over 60% (except in the county of Baix Llobregat, where the percentage is slightly lower). It is important to note that the highest levels of competence are found in the segments of youth between the ages of 10 and 19.

5 The future: the recuperation of Catalan s usage by young people and language fluency Youth group A survey made by the Gabinet d Estudis Socials (Social Studies Cabinet) (1990) yielded the following results regarding Catalan usage among young people: Catalan usage by youth people Language used in the home Language of normal expression Language used with strangers Language used among friends Language used in the workplace Language used in taking notes Language used with schoolmates Language used in exams TABLE Catalan Spanish Both

6 The future: the recuperation of Catalan s usage by young people and language fluency Table 3: Catalan usage by youth people Catalan Spanish Both Language used in the home Language of normal expression Language used with strangers Language used among friends Language used in the workplace Language used in taking notes Language used with schoolmates Language used in exams GRAPHIC

7 The future: the recuperation of Catalan s usage by young people and language fluency It should be noted that the improvement in the level of Catalan knowledge and usage in recent years is also confirmed by the fluency and quality of the language used among young people Competence level among young people Speak Read Write Correctly With some errors With difficulty Not at all TABLE

8 The future: the recuperation of Catalan s usage by young people and language fluency Table 4: Competence level among young people speak read write Correctly With some errors With difficulty Not at all GRAPHIC

9 s Catalan: the official language of the Catalan Administration usage in the state, autonomous and local Administrations Both the statutoty and local administrations present a fairly avanced level of linguistic normalisation, both orally among public servants and between civil servants and the public in general, as well as in written documents. Fewer advances have been made in the Justice and State Administrations, where at informal oral, formal and written levels, Catalan is still a minority language. Within the scope of the State Administration with, the degree of linguistic normalisation is very low, although use of Catalan in relations between Administration employees and citizens is permitted (Law 30/1992, Legal Regimen of the Justice and State Administrations, Art. 35 and 36). For years now, there have been bilingual versions of Income Tax Forms and election documentation for the General Courts. In practice, full linguistic normalisation can be considered to be effective among employees of the Regional Government Administration and in the various documents that originate from the various departments. The data compiled in the 1991 survey can be confirmed for the employees of the Regional Government Administration. GRAPHIC

10 s Catalan: the official language of the Catalan Administration usage in the state, autonomous and local Administrations In the local Administrations, Catalan is the majority language in most cases, both in Town Halls and in Provincial Delegations (except in Town Halls in suburban Barcelona due to the special sociallinguistic and demographic configuration in these areas). This widespread usage refers to oral usage of Catalan in sessions and usage among functionaries, as well as oral and written communication between functionaries and citizens, including documents. In general, Catalan usage is minimal in the courts, except for some courts outside of Barcelona. Approximately 98% of the cases are held in Spanish, although the informal usage of oral Catalan is becoming more frequent. This is generally due to the fact that most of the judges are not of Catalonian origin and that the temporary status of their appointments does not motivate them to gain further knowledge of Catalan; many of them request to be transferred to their Autonomous Regions of origin. In spite of this, there are positive aspects that seem to indicate a change in behaviour: a) there is a greater knowledge of the linguistic, b) there has been an increase in oral Catalan usage in legal proceedings and c) the employees of the Justice Administration have been transferred to the Regional Government of Catalonia in April 1996.

11 s Catalan: the official language of the Catalan Administration usage in the state, autonomous and local Administrations Time-language distribution Catalan Spanish Hear Speak Read Write TABLE

12 s Catalan: the official language of the Catalan Administration usage in the state, autonomous and local Administrations Table 5: Time-language distribution catalan spanish Hear Speak Read Write GRAPHIC

13 The future of Catalan usage in the different levels of official education and adult Catalan language courses Preschoolar education Pre-school level According to data compiled by the Department of of the Regional Government of Catalonia, Catalan is the principal language of instruction in the majority of pre-school centers and, at any rate is an obligatory subject for all children. The information regarding Catalan usage at a pre-school level in the school year is as follows: almost 87% of children (138,858 students) receive the majority of their education in Catalan, while only 7.8% (12,556 students) receive part of their education in Catalan. In addition, there is a Language Immersion Program (PIL) offered in schools in which more than 75% of the students are not of a Catalanspeaking origin. Primary level Catalan is the principal language of instruction in the majority of primary level schools as well as being an obligatory subject in all of them. At this level, the majority of students are educated in Catalan. GRAPHIC

14 The future of Catalan usage in the different levels of official education and adult Catalan language courses Catalan Monolingual Catalan Bilingual evolutive (1) Bilingual evolutive (2) Bilingual static Monolingual Spanish Distribution of centers (3-14 years of age) school year Public schools Private schools Evol. 1 Evol. 2 Static Spanish Schools with full Catalan education Schools in which units in Catalan exceed level two Schools in which units in Catalan do not exceed level two Schools that regularly teach some areas in Catalan Schools with full Spanish education TABLE

15 The future of Catalan usage in the different levels of official education and adult Catalan language courses Table 6: Distribution of centers (3-14 years of age) school year Public schools Private schools Catalan Evol Evol Static 1 13 Spanish 0 0 GRAPHIC

16 The future of Catalan Students group usage in the different levels of official education and adult Catalan language courses Secondary level At the secondary level (BUP), Catalan is the principal language of instruction in the majority of schools as well as being an obligatory subject. As is the case in other levels, the presence of Catalan has been increasing steadily in recent years and at present, the students avail of a broad range of complementary texts for each age group and for each subject Catalan Catalan CTCS (1) CTCS (2) CTCS (3) Spanish Distribution of BUP (secondary level) schools academic year CTCS 1 CTCS 2 CTCS 3 Spanish Centers with full Catalan teaching Centers which over 50% teaching in Catalan Centers which less than 50% teaching in Catalan Centers in which all groups receive bilingual education Centers with full Spanish teaching TABLE Public schools Private schools

17 The future of Catalan usage in the different levels of official education and adult Catalan language courses Table 7: Distribution of BUP (secondary level) schools academic year Public schools Private Schools Catalan CTCS CTCS CTCS Spanish 0 0 GRAPHIC

18 The future of Catalan usage in the different levels of official education and adult Catalan language courses Within the scope of Technical Training (FP), the figures are lower than for high school students during the academic year. Only 17% of the schools consider that they teach in Catalan and 15% in half of their classes Distribution of FP (technical training) schools academic year Catalan CTCS 1 CTCS 2 CTCS 3 Spanish Public school Private schools Catalan CTCS (1) CTCS (2) CTCS (3) Spanish Centers with full Catalan teaching Centers which over 50% teaching in Catalan Centers which less than 50% teaching in Catalan Centers in which all groups receive bilingual education Centers with full Spanish teaching TABLE

19 The future of Catalan usage in the different levels of official education and adult Catalan language courses Table 8: Distribution of FP (technical training) schools academic year Public school Private school Catalan CTCS CTCS CTCS 3 Spanish GRAPHIC

20 The future of Catalan usage in the different levels of official education and adult Catalan language courses Post secondary level In order to evaluate Catalan knowledge among post secondary level students, the differences among faculties within the same university and among different universities must be taken into account Post secondary level language competence UB ( ) UAB ( ) UPC ( ) URV (1992) UdLI (1994) UPF (1995) Understand Speak Read Write TABLE

21 The future of Catalan usage in the different levels of official education and adult Catalan language courses Table 9: Post secondary level language competence Understand UB ( ) 96,20 UAB ( ) 97,80 UPC ( ) 92,70 URV (1992) 98,90 UdLl (1994) 95,30 UPF (1995) 93,80 Speak 83,20 92,70 68,20 86,40 84,90 83,30 Read 94,20 95,70 81,20 98,60 94,10 94,80 Write 77,50 87,30 47,50 86,40 79,90 74,70 UB UAB UPC URV UdLl UPF Universitat de Barcelona Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Universitat Rovira i Virgili Universitat de Lleida Universitat Pompeu Fabra GRAPHIC

22 The future of Catalan usage in the different levels of official education and adult Catalan language courses Adult and continuous education The purpose of the Consorci per a la Normalització Lingüística (Linguistic Normalisation Consortium) is to oversee and coordinate with Town Halls throughout Catalonia all of the initiatives for the support and diffusion of Catalan knowledge and usage. This includes the organisation of a large number of courses every year. During the academic year, approximately 2,000 courses were given to over 5,000 participants. The Junta Permanent de Català (Permanent Catalan Commission), ascribed to the Servei d'assessorament Lingüístic (Linguistic Consulting Service) of the Direcció General de Política Lingüística (General Directorate for Linguistic Policy) (Department of Culture of the Regional Government of Catalonia) has had an increase in applications for exams of various levels over the decade of the nineties (from 10,372 in 1991 to 35,498 in 1996).

23 Catalan, a working tool The following data is in reference to the usage of Catalan in the socioeconomic : publicity, labeling and companies Inside of a shop Publicity Within the scope of roadside publicity, a very small percentage of private publicity is in Catalan, while the majority of the institutional publicity is in Catalan. Similarly, practically all of the publicity in public radio is also in Catalan, as is the case with publicity in the two television channels of the Catalan Radio and Television Corporation (CCRTV) and in Spanish Television channel two (TV2) commercials are in both Catalan and Spanish. Most of the direct mail publicity is in Catalan or in a bilingual format. In 100% Catalan newspapers, the majority of the advertisements are in Catalan, except for multinational car sales advertising, which is in Spanish. Labeling The Associació per la Defensa de l'etiquetage en Català (Association for the Defence of Labelling in Catalan) (ADEC) has a record of almost 1,000 companies that provide Catalan labelling, of which, over two thirds are concentrated in six s: wines and liquor, bakery, dairy, meat and sausage, handicraft and oil products. Some supermarket chains label their products only in Catalan. Nevertheless, the use of Catalan in the supermarket is minimal.

24 Catalan, a working tool The following data is in reference to the usage of Catalan in the socioeconomic : publicity, labeling and companies Boqueria market (Barcelona. Catalonia) Companies In the banking, the is much better because a large number of savings banks operate only in Catalan and offer their customers the language of choice in their dealings. In the business and among self-employed professionals, more and more Catalan is being used in recent years, in spite of many gaps that continue to exist, making this one of the challenges for linguistic normalisation. A study made in 1992 by ICOP S.A., commissioned by the General Directorate of Linguistic Policy, analyses language usage among the major companies with head offices. This study is based on annual invoice figures (all of the companies under study invoice over 1,000 million pesetas annually). Almost 90% of the employees of these companies understand, read and speak Catalan correctly, although only 40% have a sufficient written knowledge. The oral use of Catalan in the workplace is relatively high for managerial posts: 82% of surveyed employees speak Catalan very frequently and 13% frequently. 66% of the employees that are in contact with the customer use Catalan very frequently (this figure is 78% for office employees). These percentages are lower for the reading knowledge of Catalan (40% read Catalan documents) and the written knowledge (only 12.3% of employees write in Catalan very frequently). Oral and written fluency in Catalan is a selection criterion in 47% of the companies and 30% respectively.

25 Put Catalan on the screen usage in written and audiovisual media: theate, film, literary and musical industries Rock group Newspapers With the advent of democracy, the first fully Catalan newspaper was edited after an absence of Catalan press over a period of almost forty years. In April 1976, the Avui newspaper was launched and the supply of daily newspapers gradually increased: Regió 7 (1978), Punt Diari (1979, currently El Punt). In 1986, the Diari de Barcelona was re-launched, although it is no longer in circulation today, and in , the Diari de Girona is born. Considering the significant increase in the number of newspapers in Catalan, it is important to note that their circulation (11% in total) remains far lower than Spanish language publications. Radio The publicly-funded radio stations of a general scope that offer 100% Catalan broadcasts are: Ràdio 4, Catalunya Ràdio, RAC 105, Catalunya Música, Catalunya Informació and COM Ràdio. The following private stations broadcast totally or partially in Catalan: Cadena Flash (100%), Cadena Nova (50%), Antena 3 Radio (30%), Onda Cero (30%) and Cadena SER (15%).

26 Put Catalan on the screen usage in written and audiovisual media: theate, film, literary and musical industries Television The with respect to Catalan usage in the television medium is as follows: a) Televisión Española: the two TVE channels broadcast mainly in Spanish, although TV2 has some Catalan programs. b) Televisió de Catalunya: the two CCRTV channels have exclusively Catalan language programs. Between the two channels, approximately 85% of the publicity is in Catalan, both oral and written. c) Antena 3 Televisión: the presence of Catalan is purely symbolic. d) Tele 5: the is similar to Antena 3, in spite of efforts to broadcast dual system programs in a few episodes of series such as "Melrose Place" and "Beverly Hills 90210". e) Canal Plus: there is no Catalan programming, other than rare and isolated examples of films once a month that are dubbed in Catalan.

27 Put Catalan on the screen usage in written and audiovisual media: theate, film, literary and musical industries Castellers Book Publishing The publications of books in Catalan had been constantly increasing since the advent of democracy, until 1994, when rates began to fall. The following are figures for the last few years: Table 10: Development of Catalan publishing

28 Put Catalan on the screen usage in written and audiovisual media: theate, film, literary and musical industries Theatre There are a number of professional companies that operate entirely (or almost entirely) in Catalan and which have been very active in the last decade and have gained a successful following in Catalan society. Among the many companies, we have Els Comediants, the Companyia Flotats (linked to the Department of Culture of the Regional Government of Catalonia), La Cubana, Dagoll-Dagom, La Gàbia Teatre, Els Joglars, El Talleret de Salt and the Teatre Lliure. In addition, the recently inaugurated National Theater of Catalonia has done both Catalan and foreign works. There are also a number of experimental theatre companies that offer works that are mainly in Catalan; one of these is the Teatro Fronterizo. Film Industry Practically all of the films shown n theatres are in Spanish, most of which are dubbed into Spanish in conformance with a 1942 Decree. A study made during the week of April 12th -18th, 1996 on Catalonian films in Barcelona yielded the following results: 0.50% projections/day, 0.33% projections/week, 0.56% ticket sales/day and 0.23% ticket sales/week. According to data compiled by INUSCAT in 1994 for the media and culture, the presence of Catalan in the film-making is 0.43%, compared to 91.64% for films in Spanish and 7.88% for original versions dubbed in Spanish.