Catalan and young people: language policy proposals of the social council for the Catalan language

Abstract

In general terms, according to different studies, young people are the most qualified to use Catalan in all spheres and contexts but they are also, on the whole, the social group that uses this language the least. In metropolitan areas, where the majority of Catalonia’s population lives, the use of Catalan by young people is even lower. It is likewise known that the achievement of competence in oral expression in Catalan by the end of the first cycle of compulsory secondary education is not a generalised phenomenon. Everything seems to indicate, therefore, that the current school model has little influence on the most individualised language uses. In this context, the Catalan Government commissioned the Social Council for the Catalan Language to prepare a report on possible measures to strengthen the use of the language. The Council’s conclusions state that action should be taken with priority on the habits of intergroup and social use through the sociolinguistic training of primary and secondary school teachers. Furthermore, schools with a complex demolinguistic composition should become acutely aware of their role in the effective development of an L2 or second language. Likewise, the Council recommends that language policies should not ignore the cognitive-emotional functioning of individuals and that these policies should be accompanied by integrative legitimating discourses. In order to increase the perception of usefulness and functionality of the Catalan language, it is crucial to see that it becomes the most common language at the workplace, to which end the intervention on the socioeconomic sphere is of maximum importance. At the same time the Government should seek to influence the recreational and media sphere of children and young people as a whole, since today’s generations are fully integrated into the world of technology.

Key words: language policy, Catalan language, youth.