Ús formal del català a la Catalunya Nova els anys 1154 i 1173?: Reflexions metodològiques sobre lingüística històrica i sociolingüística

Abstract

In the year 1975 Sebastià Mariner presented two documents (from 1154 and 1173), surprisingly written in Catalan rather than in the Latin in general use. The documents set the boundaries of Siurana (reconquered in 1153). The substitution of the language was explainable given that some of the Muslims living there, though they did not know Latin, understood the Romance language and could sign without reservations a text in Catalan. However, the documents brought forward by Mariner were not originals, but late copies. Though the lack of authenticity invalidated the thesis proposed, the incident led me to a methodological consideration of the relative validity of late copies which, under certain conditions, may serve a useful informative purpose (with one reservation: they do not in any way serve to familiarise us with the Romance language of the period of the original documents). In any case, though this further observation accentuates the invalidity of the proposal, we can also detect some indications that lead us to believe that the originals, which have disappeared, may have been written in Catalan. There is not, however, any authenticated material evidence for that hypothesis.