The Valencian revival: Why usage lags behind competence

Abstract

This study of bilingual competence, linguistic attitudes, and language choice among secondary students in Valencia explores the effects of linguistic normalization since the removal of Franco's repressive measures against the Valencian language variety. The introduction of Valencian into the educational system and other measures have substantially reversed the decline of levels of competence and expanded its domains of usage but have only marginally decreased the dominance of Castilian. A survey of attitudes toward Valencian, Catalan (Barcelona variety) and Castilian reveals two distinct groups of patterns. One ascribes status and integrative value chiefly to Castilian, the other to Valencian and Catalan. Identifying the students manifesting the variants of these patterns according to socio-demographic, ideological, and behavioral factors shows how the current political dynamic between progressive nationalist forces and anti-Catalanist, Castilian-speaking forces is reflected in ongoing attitudinal divergence. (Linguistic attitudes, language choice, linguistic normalization, Valencian, Catalan)* I N T R O D U C T I O N Attempts to undo the effects of 40 years (since 1939) of linguistic suppression under Francisco Franco, in those parts of Spain where languages other than Castilian are traditional, have had mixed results. The case of Valencia-one of the six out of seventeen "autonomous communities" constituting the Spanish state 1 to have its own official language-is particularly complex. The economic, political, and demographic forces that favor either Castilian or Valencian are crosscut by influences from the highly successful restoration of Catalan in all domains in

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“…People are endowed with the ability to adjust their linguistic repertoires to ever-new circumstances and construct their languages for certain purposes. Ferrer and Sankoff (2004) find that the language preference of a speaker is influenced by dominant languages.…”

Language Choice Used by Chinese Family in Langsa

“…People are blessed with the ability to adapt their linguistic repertoire to new situations and build their language for a specific purpose. Ferrer and Sankoff (2004) find that the language preference of a speaker is influenced by the dominant language because it is mostly bilingual and multilingual that can choose the dominant language as a communication medium as it gives them greater benefits, economic benefits, expansion of social networks and better opportunities. The choice of dominant language can be triggered by wider acceptance and function of the language.…”

Language Choice Among Children of Couples of Different Languages: A Case Study of Techiman Municipality in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana

“…The preference for the choice of a particular language over another may be prompted by factors like social status, educational attainment, ethnicity, age, occupation, gender, topic, and place, among others (David, 2006). The preference of the bilingual and multilingual speaker for a particular language/code may be influenced by dominant languages and the selection of a dominant language can be triggered by wider acceptance and functions of that language (Ferrer & Sankoff, 2004). That is, some bilingual and multilingual may select a dominant language as a medium of communication because it gives them some advantages such as economic benefits, social network expansion and better opportunities.…”