Normalisation of linguistic cosmopolitanism among young people in the 21st century? An exploration of language ideologies in Catalonia

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the research conducted by the members of GREILI -UPF (Research Group on Intercultural Spaces, Languages and Identities – Pompeu Fabra University) on the linguistic ideologies of various groups of young people from the Barcelona metropolitan area. The study examines the differences between local youths who have Catalan as their first language and those who have Spanish as L1, comparing the results with previous findings from other authors. Generally speaking, an increase is observed in ideologies pointing at linguistic cosmopolitanism (as defined by Newman et al., 2008), especially among young people with Spanish as L1. Among local young people, a coherent unidimensional spectrum of positions towards languages ranging from pro-Catalan monolingualism to pro-Spanish monolingualism is generally observed, with most participants holding to intermediate positions consisting of cosmopolitan views that either downplay national identities or assume that they are fluid and mutually compatible. In contrast, among young Latin American newcomers, who arrived in Catalonia in their adolescence, no clear spectrum of ideologies was observed but rather many different positions reflecting either pan-Hispanism and a view of Spanish as an anonymous (i.e. non-identity anchored) language or the view of Catalan as a means of social advancement. A central component of these first-generation Latin Americans’ linguistic awareness is their opposition to European Spanish, while their attitudes to Catalan are linked to practical and everyday experiential factors, not on identitary aspects. The Chinese young people who arrive in adolescence accept the linguistic situation of the destination society and do not reject any language, even though they often verbalise a monolingual ideology. Despite this, however, they accept in a natural way multilingual everyday practices that reflect a cosmopolitan attitude.

Keywords: Catalan, Spanish, linguistic cosmopolitanism, linguistic ideologies, young people, immigration, Chinese.