As Barcelona receives a large proportion of the immigrants who arrive in Catalonia, it has become an exceptionally diverse mosaic of cultures and languages. In this edition, linguistics specialists and representatives from organisations linked to the study and defence of language paint a portrait of Barcelonian society and outline solutions to the problems arising from the multilingual nature of the city.
The list of the most widely-spoken languages in Barcelona shows that languages transcend borders and that linguistic diversity is the norm. This can facilitate exchanges and represents an additional asset for the city’s economic future.
The list of the most widely-spoken languages in Barcelona shows that languages transcend borders and that linguistic diversity is the norm. This can facilitate exchanges and represents an additional asset for the city’s economic future.
Globalisation has led to more mobility and cultural exchange around the world. More than 300 languages are spoken in Catalonia, including Abo’o, Armenian, Beti, Hawaiian, Inuit and Welsh. The city of Barcelona is home to a large number of the immigrants who come to the region and has become a mosaic of very diverse cultures and languages.
While Catalan is the main working language in Catalan classrooms, Spanish enjoys more than just a token presence. Whether or not Spanish is used as a teaching tool is not based on an explicit design, but rather through the combination of the personal preferences of some teachers and students.
Approved at the start of the World Conference on Linguistic Rights held at the University of Barcelona, the declaration proclaims equal rights without differentiation between language types, and considers the collective and individual aspects of these rights to be inseparable.
There used to be a myth that the centre of “Catalanness” lay in the hills of the Empordà region. I would like to suggest that it is in Barcelona, in any square where children coming home from school might play and chase each other… in Catalan. Where a language that has been so mistreated by history is, in spite of everything, alive and well.
Linguistic sustainability would recognise the rise of plurilingualism and intercommunication, while also reclaiming the conditions required to guarantee the continuity and development of various linguistic groups.
History shows that great innovations take place in societies that have been able to accommodate contributions from other cultures and that have taken advantage of the arrival of other groups to transform themselves and strengthen their creativity.
