A CASE STUDY Thesis Submitted in Accordance with the Requirements of the University of Liverpool for the Degree of Doctor in Philosophy by Elizabeth Anne Burgess
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INVESTIGATING CURRENT LANGUAGE POLICY IN ALICANTE: A CASE STUDY Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy by Elizabeth Anne Burgess 15th April 2017 1 Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. 5 Table of Figures ........................................................................................................................ 7 Chapter 1 – An Introduction to Language Policy in Alicante ................................................. 10 Chapter 2 - Literature Review ................................................................................................ 20 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 20 2.2 Language Policy: current scholarship........................................................................... 20 2.3 Language Policy as an Area of Academic Research ..................................................... 22 2.4 Spolsky’s Framework of Language Policy ..................................................................... 27 2.5 Additional Theoretical Concepts to Consider .............................................................. 34 2.5.1 The Reversal of Language Shift (RLS) .................................................................... 34 2.5.2 Identity .................................................................................................................. 39 2.5.3 Linguistic Repertoires ............................................................................................ 45 2.5.4 Diglossia ................................................................................................................ 49 2.5.5 Dilalia ..................................................................................................................... 53 2.6 Concluding Remarks ..................................................................................................... 55 Chapter 3 - Sociolinguistic Context: historical, political, linguistic and social background ... 56 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 56 3.2 Political and Linguistic Conflict in the Valencian Community ...................................... 57 3.2.1 The Creation of the Valencian Community ........................................................... 57 3.2.2 The Name of the Valencian Community’s Language ............................................ 60 3.2.3 Ruling by the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL) ...................................... 64 3.2.4 Valencian and Catalan in current academic scholarship ...................................... 65 3.3 Catalan: an overview .................................................................................................... 68 3.3.1 Historical Overview of Catalan in Spain ................................................................ 69 3.3.2 Valencian in the Valencian Community ................................................................ 79 3.3.3 Analysis of Previous Surveys ................................................................................. 82 3.4 Concluding Remarks ................................................................................................. 95 Chapter 4 - Methodology Chapter ......................................................................................... 96 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 96 4.2 Data Collection ............................................................................................................. 97 4.3 Reflections on the Pilot Study .................................................................................... 103 4.4 The selection of Research Sites .................................................................................. 106 2 4.5 Concluding Remarks ................................................................................................... 111 Chapter 5 - Language Policy in Alicante ............................................................................... 112 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 112 5.2 Linguistic repertoires ................................................................................................. 116 5.2.1 The Composition of Individual Linguistic Repertoires ........................................ 117 5.2.2 How the Individual and Community Repertoire Influence Language Choice ..... 133 5.2.3 The Composition of the Community Repertoire ................................................. 148 5.3 Valencian Identities .................................................................................................... 151 5.3.1 Conceptions of Valencian Identity ...................................................................... 151 5.3.2 Language-Based Identities: Valencians and Castilians ........................................ 153 5.3.3 Gent del poble ..................................................................................................... 160 5.3.4 The Changing Value of Valencian on the Local Linguistic Market ...................... 167 5.3.5 Gent de fora ........................................................................................................ 172 5.3.6 Multiple and Overlapping Identities: a typology of Valencian identities ........... 175 5.4 Valencian in the Audio-Visual Sphere ........................................................................ 179 5.4.1 Overview of Valencian in the Audio-Visual Sphere ............................................ 182 5.4.2 Previous Debate: concern about the quality of Valencian output ..................... 185 5.4.3 Current Debate: absence of Valencian from the audio-visual sphere ................ 194 5.4.4 A Linguistic Citizenship Approach ....................................................................... 206 5.4.5 Concluding Remarks ............................................................................................ 210 Chapter 6 - Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 214 6.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 214 6.2 The Main Findings ...................................................................................................... 215 6.3 Significance of this Study ........................................................................................... 219 6.4 Next Steps and Plans for Future Research ................................................................. 222 6.5 Final Comments ......................................................................................................... 224 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................... 226 Appendix 1 – Fieldwork Questionnaire in Castilian ............................................................. 240 Appendix 2 – Fieldwork Questionnaire in Valencian ........................................................... 265 Appendix 3 – Fieldwork Questionnaire in English ............................................................... 290 Appendix 4 – Overview of Respondents .............................................................................. 316 Appendix 5 – Respondents and their Social Characteristics ................................................ 319 3 Abstract This thesis provides an assessment of language policy (Spolsky, 2004) in Alicante, one of three provinces in the Valencian Community in the south east of Spain. The Valencian Community was founded in 1982 during Spain’s transition to democracy. Its Statute of Autonomy (Corts Valencianes, 1982), which was created in the same year, declares Castilian (the language of the state) and Valencian (a geographic variety of Catalan) as co-official in the autonomous community. Prior to this, Franco’s regime (1939-1975) had prohibited the public use of regional varieties such as Valencian. Yet, whilst the two languages now share equal official status, there is disparity between official language statements and de facto language policy (Shohamy, 2006). This project contributes to the growing research areas of language policy and language revitalisation. The findings of this study are positioned in the context of Catalan-speaking territories, Spain, and the wider European setting. This thesis provides a localised view of language policy in Alicante and uncovers the complexity of the current sociolinguistic setting. In order to present such a nuanced view of local language policy, this project draws upon qualitative and quantitative data collected during the administration of fieldwork questionnaires in 2014 in the towns of Sant Vicent del Raspeig and La Vila Joiosa. Both towns are in the province of Alicante; Sant Vicent del Raspeig is in the comarca (county) of L’Alacantí whilst La Vila Joiosa is in La Marina Baixa. Drawing upon Spolsky’s tripartite theoretical model, the questionnaires sought