Some notes on language contact phenomena among the Japanese population in Catalonia

Abstract

This study explores the presence of the Catalan and Spanish languages in the discourses of the Japanese people living in Catalonia. Based on the data collected through interviews and participant observations, it has been found that it is quite common for language contact within this population to occur in a single word predominantly in Spanish. Catalan, on the other hand, has a much less significant presence compared with Spanish and the use of Catalan is limited to certain words particularly related to distinctive elements of Catalan culture. This phenomena occurs due to the following factors: firstly, Spanish forms part of the relation between Japanese citizens and Catalan society; secondly, from the phonologically standpoint, Catalan contains some sounds that are difficult for Japanese speakers to pronounce; and lastly, the use of Catalan is not very common amongst the Japanese population, which refrains from using this language to respect behavioral homogeneity.

Keywords: language contact, Japanese population, migration, Catalonia, code switching.