Variability in patterns of national identity based on mother tongue: the case of Andorra (DOI: 10.2436/20.3000.02.51)

Abstract

Social psychology studies the psychological mechanisms involved in the construction of national identity. The theoretical framework of this study is based on integrating the main concepts of Social Identity Theory (Tajfel, 1984), which states that individuals are members of different social groups and that they identify as members of some of these groups with varying degrees of commitment and feelings. This article analyses the relationship between family language and identifying with the national project in a group of young people socialised in the Principality of Andorra. The data were collected through a survey of 514 people with different backgrounds, family languages and nationalities. The results show that the family language is the variable that correlates the most strongly with national identity. Among the population of Andorra, there are different degrees of levels of identification with the country according to family language, and while some languages are constructed as exclusive categories, others are considered compatible and inclusive in relation to the country.

Key words: family language, national identity, self-categorisation.

Original source: Treballs de Sociolingüística Catalana, 27: 321-334 (2017)