Multilingualism in mixed families of foreign origin in Catalonia

Abstract

Catalonia has seen a significant increase in mixed unions between immigrants and natives, which has given rise to an increasing number of individuals with mixed origins. Little is known about how mixed households negotiate cultural differences and view the issue of “mixed cultural capital”. Drawing on 30 in-depth interviews with mixed youth of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds residing in Catalonia, and 58 in-depth interviews with immigrant parents in an intermarriage relationship, this paper focuses on the role of language. Do mixed families and individuals use a number of languages in their everyday lives? Which languages are transmitted, preferred and used, and why? Since Catalan is Catalonia’s official public language in practical and symbolic terms, we specifically examine its knowledge and use. On the one hand, we find that mixed families are generally multilingual, as the knowledge of different languages is thought to contribute to social integration and social mobility. But on the other hand, we have found that mixed individuals who belong to minority ethnic or racial groups may resist learning or using different languages (whether their immigrant parent’s native language or Catalan) because they experience an “identity mismatch” by which, despite being born in Catalonia, they are socially perceived as “foreigners” because of their different “visible” traits and are often spoken to in Spanish rather than Catalan. Therefore, rather than having mixed individuals and their society benefiting from the cultural capital that multilingualism represents, prevalent stigmatization and prejudice in Catalonia may actually be deterring the practice of multilingualism.

Keywords: Catalan language, mixed families, immigration, multilingualism, cultural capital, identity, stigmatization, prejudices.