Catalan, a vibrant language looking towards the future

Plataforma per la Llengua, an organisation that defends the linguistic rights of the Catalan-speaking population and promotes various actions and initiatives to preserve and promote the language, warns of a “linguistic emergency”. There is no single factor that explains this decline; rather, it is multifactorial. One obvious factor is globalisation and the growth of the migrant population, especially in Barcelona and its metropolitan area – one of the world’s major cities – which is attracting increasing numbers of people who speak different languages.

The metropolitan area of Barcelona, now the region of Catalonia with the largest population and at the same time the lowest percentage of people born in Catalonia, is also where Catalan is spoken the least, falling below the national average in terms of knowledge of the language and in the percentage of the population that has Catalan as their only first language (22.3%). And while it is true that Catalan is more visible in Barcelona’s streets, signs, shops and supermarkets than, for example, Galician in Vigo, A Coruña or Santiago de Compostela, there is also a gradual increase in the presence of Spanish in Barcelona. This contrasts sharply with areas such as Terres de l’Ebre (57.7% Catalan as first language), the Comarques Centrals (48%) or Alt Pirineu (51.2%).

However, this is not, and should not be, a reason to justify a gradual decline in the knowledge and use of Catalan, since institutions have the power to act to reverse this situation. School is a fundamental environment for promoting the knowledge and use of a language, especially when we see that it is declining in homes due to a notable decrease in intergenerational transmission. During my recent stay in Barcelona as part of the MIDAS Training programme at the editorial office of VilaWeb, the leading digital newspaper in Catalan, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) partially upheld an appeal by the pro-Spanish organisation Asamblea por una Escuela Bilingüe (AEB) and rejected the definition of Catalan as the only language of cohesion in schools, as the Catalan Government had previously indicated to educational centres. Earlier, in September, the same court annulled part of the decree that protected the use of Catalan in schools.

It is in this context that we should speak of “minorised” rather than “minority” languages, because once again the state apparatus is hindering the development of a threatened language that is becoming less present on the streets and needs a clear boost, especially among younger people, as they are the future of any language. In the case of the Spanish state, we see how – with their differences and varying degrees of implementation and presence – Catalan, Basque and Galician continue to suffer from the progressive imposition of Spanish, which for decades, and even centuries, has undermined the languages of the Països Catalans, Euskal Herria and Galiza.

My stay in Barcelona also coincided with the General Assembly of the European Language Equality Network (ELEN), where members of organisations representing 51 languages from 25 countries discussed the future of these languages and the actions that can and must be taken to preserve and promote them. They agreed with the diagnosis of Plataforma per la Llengua and warned of the “emergency” situation facing Catalan, whose presence in Northern Catalonia, the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands is weaker than in Catalonia. In the latter two territories, the rise to power of the political right has already led to significant setbacks since 2023.

By providing Catalan with the necessary spaces, increasing its presence and giving it the prestige it deserves, we will be able to reach new speakers. We must look to the future, think about young people and offer them role models and spaces in which they can live fully in a minority language. A good example is FC Barcelona, followed by millions of young people and probably the most influential entity in Catalonia. Its defence of the Catalan language and identity is commendable and undeniably brings many young people closer to the language. We recently saw two good examples in the Barça women’s team, with players Irene Paredes, from the Basque Country, and Kika Nazareth, from Portugal, giving interviews in Catalan.

Another noteworthy area is music, where young people can also find many role models. Music in Catalan is undoubtedly experiencing a boom – not everything is negative, far from it. The group Oques Grasses has just made history by filling the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona four times over for their farewell concerts, which were originally planned as just one but expanded to four due to demand.

The technological revolution of the internet and social media has also helped promote minorised languages. Although English and Spanish are dominant on these platforms, the visibility they offer to creators working in minorised languages – many of whom are role models for young people – is far from negligible. And we cannot miss this opportunity.

“It opens up many opportunities, but it is also true that today there is a digital divide between languages, and ours [such as Galician, Catalan and Cornish], as well as some medium-sized European languages such as Greek and Swedish, are lagging behind,” warns Davyth Hicks.

VilaWeb has been a pioneer in the digital environment for three decades, and its success has undoubtedly come from its ability to adapt to changing times and respond quickly to the digital revolutions that have shaken the media landscape.