Variability in the patterns of national identity based on the mother tongue: the case of Andorra

Abstract

The psychological mechanisms involved in the construction of national identity have been studied by social psychology. The theoretical framework is based on the integration of the main concepts of the Social Identity Theory (Tajfel, 1984), which states that individuals are members of various social groups and that they identify themselves as members of some of these groups with varying degrees of commitment and feelings. This article analyzes the relationship between the family language situation and the fact of identifying oneself with the national project in a group of young people socialized in the Principality of Andorra. The data were collected through a survey of 514 people of different origin, family language situation and nationality. The results show that the family language situation is the variable that correlates most strongly with national identity. Among the population there are different degreesor levels of identification with Andorra according to the family language situation, and while some languages are constructed as exclusive categories, others are built as compatible and inclusive categories in relation to the country.

Keywords: mother tongue, national identity, self-categorization.