sign in sign up
<<
Home , Corts Valencianes, Gulf of Valencia, Nou 24, Valencian nationalism

HÖFER, Karel. 2012. Valencian Identity, Language and Language Policy . The Annual of Language & Politics and Politics of Identity, Vol. VI./2012

Reviewed journal ALPPI is published by Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Political Studies. www.alppi.eu

Valencian Identity, Language and Language Policy

Karel Höfer1

Abstract: The general aim of this paper is to analyze policy and Valencian language itself. Specifically it means, whether there are certain specific features in the region that distinguish it from the other Spanish regions, including a specific regional identity, language and other attributes. This issue is examined from broader historical, institutional, identitical, linguistic and political angles. Particular emphasis is placed on the Spanish decentralization process and on the specifics of the Valencian history, identity, politics and language.

Key words: , Valencian region, Valencian identity, Valencian language, Valencian language policy, Spanish language policy

Introduction

The field of language policy is a rapidly expanding discipline of social sciences. It is an interdisciplinary field at the boundary of political science, sociology, ethnology and linguistics. Language policy, unlike many other disciplines of social science, allows the application of its findings, derived from research into practical policies, which increases both its usefulness and attractiveness. Language policy deserves more attention, because it is an important aspect of everyday life, which directly affects all individuals, and affects the future of entire communities. Language policy is closely linked with decentralization processes in many countries. Decentralization is accompanied with the processes of integration, at least in the European area. The integration process takes place for example in the field of economics and politics within the European Union or for example the Council of Europe. In contrast, decentralization

1 Bc. Karel Höfer is a student of the Master‘s programme in Political Science at the Institute of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague and also a student of the Master‘s programme in Political Theories and Contemporary History at the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague. Main fields of his specialization are comparative politics, electoral systems, decentralization, constitutional enigneering and methodology of social sciences. Contact: [email protected]. This article was written as a part of Research Grant of Department of Political Science, Institute of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague. processes occur mainly within individual European state units. It is therefore a process that is specific each country and to some extent unique. Both of these facts are ideal for case studies, which can clarify the specifics of each language policy. Consequently they could be put in the broader context based on a comparative approach. This paper is also a case study dedicated to the Valencian region, Valencian language, and Valencian language policy within the Spanish decentralization process. The case of the Valencian region was selected because despite the very reflected Spanish decentralization process, it is not devoted as much space as to as the other Spanish regions. Although it is a unique region that definitely deserves attention. Its uniqueness lies mainly in the specific identity of its inhabitants, their language and its long history. The general aim of this text is to clarify the situation in the Valencian Community in the context of ’s decentralization. Its main aim is the description and reflection of the Valencian language and Valencian language policy. Specifically it means, whether there are certain specific features in the Valencia region that distinguish it from the other Spanish regions, including a specific regional identity, language and other attributes. Particular emphasis is placed on the Spanish decentralization process and on the specifics of the Valencian region. The issue is comprehensively examined from historical, institutional, identitical, linguistic and political angles. This paper is sourced by constitutional and statutory Spanish and Valencian documents, political science, historiography monographs and scholarly articles, encyclopedias and statistical databases.

1. Spanish decentralisation 1. 1. Transition of the regime The authoritarian regime of Francisco Franco, which ruled between 1939-1975, could be characterized by rigid centralism, which violently suppressed any attempts to decentralize political power including an expressing of autonomous identity and culture. For almost forty years the overshadowed issue of political decentralization ranked along with the issues of transformation or transition of political power in the forefront after Franco’s death in 1975.2 3 The issue of the power structure have been a historical theme, which have been always present in history of Spain. It was always about the statuses of the historically and culturally distinctive Spanish regions, mainly of , the Basque Country and .

2 Officially dated 20 November 1975 (Dvořáková, Kunc in Říchová et al. 2009: 217). 3 Other traditional Spanish cleavage is Church vs. State and monarchy vs. republics (Buben 2010: 4). After Franco’s death, attempts to preserve Franquism were not successful. Franco named his successor Juan Carlos I, grandson of the last Spanish King, Alfonso XIII. Juan Carlos I actually had been the head of the Kingdom of Spain since November 1975, but generally he was not expected to play any significant role in the further development of the country. After an uncertain initial position and orientation4 of Juan Carlos, his effort to democratize and stabilize the country was becoming evident. Spain slowly set out the way to gradual democratization, which passed off by the negotiated reform also known as ruptura pactada (Buben 2010: 4). To this day, this transition is cited as a example of rapid and successful democratization. The main advantage of peaceful transition to democracy was the impartial supervision of Juan Carlos, who was trying to democratize gradually, through negotiation and consensus within the legal system. In December 1976, citizens expressed themselves in a referendum on political reforms,5 which meant democratization (parliamentary democracy). The first free parliamentary elections took place in June 1977. (Kunc 2000: 148-150). Decentralization emerged as one of the key political issues of democratization.6 Local elities in the Spanish regions logically claimed their share of political power within the process of transformation. The requirement for decentralization, in addition to the above historically specific regions joined other regions that were neither historically nor culturally distinctive. Pressure on the central political representation and constituents was mounting and it was clear that the new institutional power structure will need to reflect the requirements of regions for decentralization. The effort for decentralization was directed at the very political center, which was aware of potential problems with transition to democracy without a certain degree of decentralization, because separatist efforts could substantially disrupt the new arrangement.

1. 2. Constitution and political power The draft of the new constitution was drawn up by experts in January 1978. Comments on this proposal were subsequently incorporated in the text so that the proposal did not contain anything that would be completely unacceptable for any group. The final text of the new Spanish constitution was endorsed by citizens in a referendum on 6 December 1978.

4 Mainly his noble birth and Francoist education. Franco hoped that Juan Carlos would reign it the same authoritarian style as he did. 5 Turnout was 77.72%, while 94.45% of the voters favoured reforms and 2.57% were against (Gobierno de España - Ministerio del Interior 2010). 6 This was mainly decentralization down to the level of autonomous communities (Fungačová in Jüptner, Polinec, Švec et al. 2007: 35). 88.54% of participating citizens7 voted for the generally accepted text of the Constitution, which was subsequently signed into law by King Juan Carlos I on 27 December (Consulta de Resultados Electorales [online]). According to the Constitution, the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España) became a constitutional monarchy headed by a king who is also a symbol of Spanish unity. Executive power lies within the government headed by the prime minister. Legislative power consists of a bicameral parliament (). The House of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados), which is the lower house, consists of 350 deputies elected by a proportional system for a four-year term. The Senate (Senado), which is the upper house, consists of 208 Senators also elected for four years, 157 of them are elected by a majority system and 51 Senators are delegated by the Autonomous Communities. The highest standard instance of the judiciary is the Supreme Court. Constitutional issues are considered by the Constitutional Court. Ombudsman is the protector of human rights. (Spanish Constitution, 1978) The question of self-government came out as the most problematic aspect of the new constitutional arrangement.8 The most important from the point decentralization of the state is the second article of the Constitution, which guarantees the right of regions and nationalities to self-government, but also declares the indivisibility of the Spanish nation and Spain itself. The Constitutional text distinguishes between a united and an indivisible Spanish nation (national identity) and nationalities (regional identity).9 Autonomy for the regions and nationalities was a compromise between the concept of a united indivisible Spanish nation and the full self- determination of minorities (Kunc 2000: 154). It came about in the interplay between the socio-psychological domain (identity) and the political domain (institutions) in Spain (Llera 2009: 306).

1. 3. Establishment of autonomous communities The regions received their specific expression through the creation of Autonomous Communities (Comunidades Aútonomas) (AC). The initiative totoof request for autonomy was left to individual regions. All Spanish regions could get but didn't not have to or didn’t have to request autonomy. The Constitution merely only established procedures through which an autonomy could be gained and its status and competence approved. All regions have

7 7.89% of participated was against and 3,57% abstained. The turnout was 67,11%. (Gobierno de España - Ministerio del Interior 2010) 8 In addition to topics like is the role of the churche in the state, and the role of the armed forces. 9 Catalonia revised its Status via referendum in 2006, in which was Catalans defined as a nation (Buben 2010: 7). formally equal status, both among themselves and in relations to the central Spanish authorities, but they differ in their degree of competences. For this reason Spain cannot be described as a standard federal state and has become, known as a regional state or a state of autonomies. The Kingdom of Spain is made up of seventeen autonomous communities10 and two autonomous cities which make up for fifty provinces (provincias), further subdivided into 8,110 municipalities (municipos) (Fungačová in Jüptner, Polinec, Švec et al. 2007: 36–39). The Spanish regions, according to Articles 143 and 151 of the Constitution, were in fact divided into historical and unhistorical regions.11 The establishment of each region was preceded by pre-autonomous bodies. According to Article 151 regions consist of neighboring provinces, which have distinct historical, cultural and economic characteristics and were at any time granted a historical regional status. These regions had their autonomy greatly facilitated as it had been assumed that the possibilities of achieving autonomy would be used mainly by them. The recognized historical regions were Catalonia, Basque Country, Galicia, the regions which gained certain autonomy during the Second Republic (1931-1939), and also (Dvořáková, Kunc in Říchová et al. 2009: 227).12 13 The opportunity to achieve autonomy according to Article 143 of the Constitution was immediately (surprisingly for the central institutions) used by all other regions. The achivement of autonomy would have been more complicated for the regions considered unhistorical. The status of historical and unhistorical regions was de facto equalized after 1992 (Dvořáková, Kunc in Říchová et al. 2009: 227). An autonomy was granted to , Castile and Leon, Castile-La Mancha, and Valencia on the basis of combination of two or more provinces with common historical characteristics; to the Canary and on the basis of their insular character, having previously consisted of several provinces; to Cantabria, , and Murcia on the basis of historical identity of the province. Madrid was established as a province on the basis of national interest. Special autonomous status belongs to the cities of and in North Africa. The first

10 The autonomous communities are: Andalusia, Aragon, Principality of Asturias, Balearic Islands, Basque Country, the , Cantabria, Castile and León, Catalonia, Extramadura, Galicia, La Rioja, , , Chartered Community of , Valencian Community. 11 Čepová (in Fiala, Říchová et al. 2003: 184) believes that the reason for this division was to allow self- government to the historic regions and to make it difficult for the others. 12 Andalusia wanted to be included in this group on the basis of its geo-socio-economic distinctiveness and not its cultural, historical or linguistic identity (Strmiska in Barša, Strmiska 1999: 216-217), but it unrealistically referred to its Arabian cultural traditions (Kunc 2000: 154). 13 Referendums on the autonomy took place in Catalonia and Basque Country in 1979, in Andalusia in 1980 and in Galicia in 1981 (Čepová in Fiala, Říchová et al. 2002: 51). autonomous statutes were approved in 1979, and the last in 1983, when the first elections to the autonomous parliaments were held in most of the Autonomous Communities. (Čepová in Fiala, Říchová et al. 2003: 186)

1. 4. Powers of the autonomous communities The autonomous communities have the same political institutions, but with different levels of competences. Each autonomous community has its own parliament (Parlamento autonómico), government, flag and coat of arms and some of them even have an anthem. The exact extent of the powers is set out in the autonomous status (Estatuto de Autonomía) of each autonomous community. The highest degree of political autonomy was achieved by the Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia, Andalusia, Navarre, Valencia and the Canary Islands. The arrangement of the autonomous communities meant moving many powers from the center to the regions. Spain became one of the most decentralized countries in Europe after the fall of Fraquist centralization. The state exercises exclusive powers on: defense and armed forces, foreign relations, nationality, immigration and asylum policy, foreign trade, monetary policy, regulation of the banking sector, railways, airports, infrastructure, and cultural heritage. The exclusive powers of the autonomous communities include: institutions of the autonomous communities, agriculture and fisheries, tourism, social services, trade and consumption, industry, railways, airports, infrastructure, urbanism. The shared competencies include: management of the economy, education, health, public administration, the environment, transport, employment laws, commercial law, and intellectual property. (Čepová in Fiala, Říchová et al. 2003: 192) Basque Country, Catalonia and Navarre even have their own police. (Llera 2009: 324). Although the powers of the autonomous communities are increasing, it has not weakened their requirements for further extension. These requirements are mostly non-violent and there have been no immediate political violence or separatist terrorist attacks in recent years. Decentralization remains a major issue in the functioning of Spain. It betrays the real weakness of Spanish national identity and vice versa specific nationality identities come to the surface (Buben 2010: 7).

1. 5. Language policy A fundamental aspect of Spain’s transition and decentralization was the issue of official language. The Constitution (Spanish Constitution) states in its preamble: “Protect all Spaniards and peoples of Spain in the exercise of human rights, of their culture and traditions, languages and institutions”. The Constitution states in the Preliminary Title in Section Three: “1. Castilian (castellano)14 is the official Spanish language of the State. All Spaniards have the duty to know it and the right to use it. 2. The other Spanish languages shall also be official in the respective Self-governing Communities in accordance with their Statutes. 3. The richness of the different linguistic modalities of Spain is a cultural heritage which shall be specially respected and protected.” Further it stipulates that the State shall guarantee access to public media for significant social and political groups, respecting the pluralism of society and of the various languages (Section 20) and that the autonomous communities may assume the teaching of its languages (Section 148). The power to recognize other languages as official beside Castilian is thus left to the autonomous communities through their statutes. The following co-official languages are currently recognized in the autonomous communities stated below: Catalan (catalán) in Catalonia (it is understood by 94% of the local residents), Valencian Community15 and the Balearic Islands (88%); Galician (galleo) in Galicia (99%) Basque (euskera) in Basque Country (57%) and Navarre (31%); Aranese16 (aranés) in the Val d'Aran within Catalonia (Spain at the beginning of the 21st century, 2001: 18). The recognized regional languages with protection are Aragonese (aragonés) in Aragon, Leonese (lengua llionesa) in Castile and León, and Asturian (asturianu) in Asturias. The geographic distribution of the particular languages is very diversified.17 The languages mentioned here are spoken by considerably diverse numbers of inhabitants of these particular regions. Bilinguality ranges from 25% (Llera 2009: 324) to 40% (Stewart in Brown et al. 2005: 601) of the population. Co-official languages are actively promoted by the particular autonomous communities.

14 Generally known as Spanish (español). 15 For the use of Valencian/Catalan in the Valencian Community see below. 16 It is a dialect of Occitan. 17 See Fig. 1. Fig. 1

1. 6. Identity of population The identity of the Spanish population experienced several crises during the 20th century. It is based on Spanish national identity and on the regional nationality identity. This dual identity is now fairly widespread in Spain. There has been change in political culture, which includes common national identity and the identity of particular nationalities. The Spanish national identity at present appears to be almost purely political, but it contains some cultural elements such as the Spanish language (Castilian) (Archilés, Martí 2001: 779, 793). Fifty-six precent of the population of Spain considers themselves Spaniards and members of a regional nationality at the same time. Only four percent of them reagard themselves as members of a regional nationality and 16% feel only as Spaniards. The identity of the inhabitants of Spain covers cultural, social and political pluralism of identities in most cases. The model of the Spanish nation is a model of pluralist by nature. Three quarters of the Spaniards are, according to government surveys, satisfied with the current state of autonomies. On the contrary, most people disagree with a diversified approach to the autonomous community centers. (Llera 2009: 313-317)

1. 7. Party system The strong regional identity of the Spanish population should be logically reflected in the party system. The Spanish party system headed towards a multiparty system with two strong poles since its re-construction during the transition. The stable poles are PSOE – Partido Socialista Obrero Español on the left, and PP – Partido Popular on the right. This party system can be found on the national and sub-state levels with a number of regional sub- systems. (Buben 2010: 4) The successful regional parties in the nationalwide elections that regularly receive mandates are those from Catalonia, Basque Country, Galicia and the Canary Islands. The region-based parties receive on average about 10% of the vote (Llera 2009: 319). The two largest parties, PP and PSOE often have to rely on regional parties, as otherwise they would not have a majority of the seats. The regional parties thus capitalize on their coalition potential. Backing governments by the regional parties is balanced by compromises of nationwide parties with the regional parties, which substantially affects the entire political system.18

18 For a more detailed description of the Spanish party system see e.g. Dvořáková, Kunc in Říchová et al. 2009: 228-240 a for its re/construction see Kunc 2000: 127-163. 2. Valencian region 2. 1. Basic facts The Valencian Community (Comunitat Valenciana)19 is located on the east coast of Spain and occupies an area of 25,255 km2. It borders on Catalonia in the north, on the Autonomous Community (AC) Aragón in the northwest, on AC Castile-La Mancha in the west and on AC of the Region Murcia in the southwest. The Gulf of Valencia in the lies in the east. Valencia (València) is the main and largest city in the Valencian Community.20 The population of the Valencian Community is around 5,084,502 (2009, fourth largest Spanish region), most of which, 807,200 people, live in the city of Valencia (Spain’s third largest city). The Valencian Community is subdivided into three provinces: Castellón in the north with the capital city Castellón de la Plana; Valencia in the center with the capital Valencia; in the south with the capital city Alicante. These provinces are further divided into the 34 comarques and those further still to 542 municipalities.21 (The Comunitat Valenciana in figures 2009, 2009)

2. 2. Historical development Until the first quarter of the 13th century, the name Valencian meant the inhabitant of the Roman colony of Valentia (founded in 138 BC), which Islam later renamed Balansiya (Archilés, Martí 2001: 781). The shape of the present Valencian Community is derived from the Valencian Kingdom, which was connected to the Kingdom of Aragon as a third independent kingdom by within the reconquista in 1238. The Valencian region enjoyed a relatively high degree of autonomy at the time. This was due mainly to a system of indigenous institutions and laws, known as Furs de València, signed into law by James I in 1240.22 Inhabitans of Islamic faith were forced either to convert to Christianity or to leave the province, in the 16th century. The area’s new residents were mainly of Catalan stock. They brought along with them their , which became widespread in the Valencian region and later became known as Valencian. The autonomy of the was abolished by the Nueva Planta decree in 1707, during the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714), when the Castilian King Philip

19 In Castilian Comunidad Valenciana, in Valencian Comunitat Valenciana or País Valencià. 20 In Castilian Valencia, in Valencian València. 21 Comarca Rincón de is an exclave of the Valencian Community, is located between the autonomous communities of Aragon and Castile-La Mancha. 22 Valencian law was based on Roman law and contained some of the principles of the common law of Barcelona and Lleida. (Ubieto Arteta in Ubieto Arteta et al. 2007: 157) V of Spain subordinated all parts of the federated Kingdom of Aragon directly to the Crown of Castile. As a result, the Furs de València legal system was abolished and the use of Valencian (Catalan) was banned in official conduct and education. Castilian become the official language and it was also accepted by the local elites. Valencian was reduced for use in informal conduct but remained fairly widespread. The original ethnic identity of the Valencian population23 started to change into regional identity in the 19th century. The new regional identity was not in conflict with the Spanish national identity, and thus it allowed political loyalty to the Spanish nation, of which Valencia’s inhabitants were considered a part. One of the few visible expressions since the mid-19th century were folk festivals called Falles, which take place every year in Valencia, and the Catalan literary movement Renaixença. Regional identity was visible mainly in the field of culture and everyday non- political social interaction. (Archilés, Martí 2001: 784–787) Attempts to restore some autonomy could be encountered during the (1931-1939), but they were halted by the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The authoritarian regime of Francisco Franco excluded and punished any attempts to disrupt its highly centralized state, including any use of other languages than Castilian. The issue of decentralization of the system surfaced after Franco’s death in 1975. Spain was democratized and the autonomy of particular Spanish regions was made possible within the creation of a new institutional framework. There was significant demographic transformation of the Valencian region evident even under Franco. The 1960s signalled a steep increase in population, caused by in immigration from other parts of Spain. This trend has significantly changed the population’s structure and collective identity. Valencian identity was overshadowed by Spanish national identity.

2. 3. Establishment of the Autonomous Community A referendum on the autonomy of the Valencian Region was held in 1978, while only 62% of those attending voted in favour of the proposed autonomy (Kern 1995: 334). The institutions of the Valencian Community are known as the . Generalitat Valenciana covers the autonomous parliament Corts Valencianes, autonomous president President de la Generalitat Valenciana and autonomous government Consell. The official status of the Valencian Community was declared on 12 January 1982 (Kern 1995: 334). It recognized Valencian as the second official language of the Valencian Community.

23 Here and further in the meaning of the Valencian region, not city Valencia. The Status was updated in 2006 and currently it refers to the Valencian Kingdom, the traditional Furs de València legal system and primarily the recognized Valencian nationality. (Statute of Autonomy of the Valencian Community, 2007) According to the Status, are considered a historical nationality, but it also declares affiliation with the unity of the Spanish nation. Valencian identity was redefined as a regional nationalities identity and was progressively wekened during the 20th century. Valencian identity was again strengthened with the building of a state of autonomies. Valencian selfawareness is enhanced by its affiliation to Spain and Catalonia.24 Overall it could be summarized that besides its regional affiliation, the current Valencian is based on cultural and linguistic aspects, which are not nearly as noticeable as in comparision with the other Spanish regions (Archilés, Marti 2001: 780, 793). Surveys in the Valencian Community confirm the thesis of dual identity of Spain’s population. Three quarters of the respondents identified themselves as Valencian and another three quarters called themselves Spaniards from Valencia region. (Casesnoves Ferrer, Sankoff 2003: 54).

2. 4. Identity of population Valencian is relatively weak with regard to the Spanish situation during the 20th century. Valencians do not come up to the level of ethnic of the Basques or the cultural separatism of the Catalans (Kern 1995: 333). In contrast, there are centrifugal rather than centripetal tendencies. This trend is especially evident in the linguistic and political areas. In politics there is at least partial homogenity with the Spanish national identity. The Valencian region keeps its distinctiveness in culture and language, but the real strength of this distinctiveness is questionable in the case of language and in the failure to reach as high a degree of diversity as the other regions do. Nevertheless the Valencian Community is officialy recognized as a historical nationality due to its historical roots, its distinct personality, its language and culture and its own distinct civil law (Statute of Autonomy of the Valencian Community, 2007).

2. 5. Party system The party system of the Valencian Community consists of parties with national outreach. The strongest support goes to the nationwide PP – Partido Popular, PSOE – Partido Socialista Obrero Español, and IU – Izquierda Unida. The regional Valencian parties

24 Pancatalan thesis was refused in 1983 (Archilés, Martí 2001: 792). are minimally represented, even though the main cleavage apart from the socio-economic gap was between the center and the periphery at the level of autonomous communities (Llera 2009: 325) and the legal threshold is applied only at the level of autonomous communities. Bar a few exceptions, parliamentary representation in the lower chamber (Congreso de los Diputados) of the Spanish parliament is achived mainly by the nationwide parties. Only one party, the now-defunct Unió Valenciana had parliamentary representation until 2011. It gained one seat in 1986, 1993 and 1996 and two seats in 1989. In the 2011 elections, the Compromis-Q coalition (Bloc Nacionalista Valencià, Iniciativa del Poble Valencià, Els Verds – Esquerra Ecologista) also gained one mandate. (Consulta de Resultados Electorales [online]) The other slightly significant parties are Esquerra Unida and Esquerra Valenciana. If the political aspect of Valencian identity resonated with society, the Valencian regional parties would be better represented in the party system.

3. Valencian language and language policy 3. 1. Language classification According to the Etholugue classification, the Valencian language or simply Valencian (valencià neboli llengua valenciana) is an Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western Gallo-Iberian, Ibero-Romance, East-Iberian, Catalan-Valencian-Balear language (Catalan-Valencian-Balear [online]). The family of Catalan languages, known as becavés includes besides Catalan itself also its local variants, which are almost completely interchangeable and mutually intelligible.25 Specifically this concerns Catalan (the official language in: Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, the Principality of Andorra and the town of Alghero in Sardinia), Valencian26 (Valencian Community) and Balearic27 (the Balearic Islands) (Kern 1995: 333). The Valencian language is considered by most linguists and a small segment of population as a dialect of Catalan (Gil, Rust, Winglee 1996: 118). In accordance with the International Standard ISO 639-3, becavés has a unified code cat and both Catalan and Valencian names are official (Catalan-Valencian-Balear [online]). The same position is held by the Valencian Language Academy (Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua), an official institution supervising codification of Valencian and its expansion and propagation since 1998 (Casesnoves Ferrer, Sankoff 2003: 50). Its document, Resolution concerning principles and criteria for protecting the name and identity of Valencian (2005) states that Valencian is “the Valencian people’s own historical language,

25 See Fig. 2. 26 Catalan language used in the Valencian region is here and further called Valencian. 27 Balearic is officialy called Catalan. identical from the philological viewpoint with the language spoken in the autonomous communities of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands and in the Principality of Andorra. It is also the historical and autochthonous language of other regions of the former (the eastern strip of Aragon, the Sardinian city of Alghero and the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales).“ An analogical institution in Catalonia, the Institute of Catalan Studies (Institut d'Estudis Catalans) also considers Catalan and Valencian one and the same language. In fact, the language called Valencian is only a territorially used name of becavés. Differencies could be found mainly in pronunciation and could be labeled as the southwestern dialect.28 The role of the term Valencian is entirely political, not linguistic. From the political point of view, there is in fact fear that classifying Valencian as a dialect of Catalonian may put the Valencian Region in a situation of cultural and political dependency on Catalonia (Gil, Rust, Winglee 1996: 118).

28 Within Valencian, five regional dialiects could be identified (Casesnoves Ferrer, Sankoff 2003: 62).

Fig. 2

3. 2. Official status Apart from Castilian, Valencian (valencià) was recognized as the official language of the Valencian Community way back in 1982. In contrast to practical and expert stances, Valencian is officially considered a different language from Catalonian. The language issue is addressed by Article 6 of the Statute of Autonomy of the Valencian Community (2007). It describes Valencian as the indigenous language (llengua pròpia) of the Valencian Community and a co-official language with Castilian, which is the official language nationwide. Everyone has the right to know, use and be taught in Valencian and the Generalitat Valenciana shall guarantee the normal and official use of both languages and shall adopt measures to achieve that. No one may be discriminated against because his/her language. Special protection and respect shall be given to the recuperation of Valencian. The normative institution of Valencian is the Valencian Academy of Language. Further the Statute states that citizens shall have the right to address the administrative bodies of the Valencian Community in either of its two official languages and receive a response in the same language as they used (Article 9), the laws shall of the Generalitat Valenciana be shall be promulgated and published in the two official languages (Article 25), the norms, provisions and acts that emanate from the Consell shall be published in the two official languages (Article 29).

3. 3. Usage and knowledge In 1900 Valencian was spoken by three quarters of the population of the Valencian Region, the rest spoke Castilian only. Since the beginning of the 20th century, there has been massive strengthening of the knowledge and use of Castilian in the Valencian Region. However, the position of Valencian was significantly weakened during the 20th century. Castilian became the main language of the local elites and the media, and the only language used in administration and education. Total exclusion of Valencian from the public domain occurred during the rule of Franco, who suppressed any manifestations of regional and non- Spanish identity, including the use of any other language than Castilian. There was a language break at that time, and Castilian emerged as the dominant language. Valencian was frowned upon as a peasant and underdeveloped language with no future. The position of Valencian was affected by the immigration of a significant number of people from other parts of Spain and abroad, who did not speak Valencian. In contrast, all those who consider themselves Valencian in the first place also speak Castilian (Casesnoves Ferrer, Sankoff 2003: 53). For example, the number of Valencian-speaking people decreased from 72% to 56% between 1978 and 1998. (Archilés, Martí 2001: 789–791) Based on the survey Knowledge and Social Use of Valencian Language (2010), conducted by the Generalitat Valenciana in 2010 with a sample of 6,666 respondents, there is a fairly extensive set of statistical data on the knowledge and use of Valencian in the Valencian Community.29 Valencian-speaking regions can be found, and therefore also a better use and knowledge of Valencian can be encountered especially on the Mediterranean coast and in the north of the Valencian Community. In the south and the east, by contrast, there are

29 For the methodological reasons it is appropriate to note in this place, that this research was not assigned by an impartial institution but by the institution that directly supports development and spreading of Valencian. Spanish-speaking regions, where the use and knowledge of Castilian is predominant. 68.8% of those interviewed were able to understand Valencian well or nearly well; 48.5% of the respondents were able to speak it fluently or quite well, 45,3% could read Valencian fluently or fairly well, and 26.4% of those asked had a perfect or fairly good written Valencian. 93.7% of the respondents had a limited perception of the language, 76,7% the control group spoke at least some Valencian, 85,6 percent of those interviewed had at least a limited command of written Valencian, while 6.1% of the sample was not able to understand spoken Valencian, 23.3% were unable to speak it, 14.1% could not read it, and 41.7% of those questioned were not able to write in Valencian. Fifty-three percent of the respondents (at least spoken Valencian was common among 76.7% of those surveyed) learned the language in their family, 36.6% learned it at school, and 20.5% from their neighbours, 18% from friends, and 11% of those asked learned the language from other sources. 52.3% of the respondents learned written Valencian at school, 41.2% were self-taught and 8.4% learned it elsewhere. It is evident that most respondents learned to speak and write Valencian in their families and at school; readers were either self-taught or learned the language at school or on their own. Consequently, the most important role in acquiring the knowledge of Valencian goes to education, families and self-instruction. In the Valencian-speaking regions, Valencian was used more often than Castilian by 31.6% of the respondents in their homes; 27% used it with friends, 28.8% of those asked used it in shopping centres, 17.5% in traditional shops, 25 per cent browsed Valencian-language websites, 27% interacted with friends, 22.6% learned it at work and through internal relationships, and 20.7% at work through external relationships. On the contrary in the same regions, Castilian was always used by 56.2% respondents at home, 49.6% always used with friends, 60.5% at shopping centers, 53.2% in traditional shops, by 53.9% from talking to strangers, 53.1% used the language while web browsing, 47.1% at work in internal relationships, 44.7% at work in external relationships. 54.3% of the population of the Valencian-speaking regions is able to speak Valencian fairly well, 82.5% at least a little. This goes to show that even in areas identified as Valencian-speaking, most respondents preferred communication in Castilian, including the family environment, communication with friends and business communication. The research also concerned such respondent characteristics as gender, age, social class, education, and socio-economic orientation. Geneder-wise there are no significant differences among the respondents concerning their knowledge. By contrast, age-wise the youngest inhabiants have the best Valencian language skills. The ability to read and write proportionately decreases with age. In contrast, the ability to understand is relatively balanced in different age groups. Knowledge rises along with affiliation to the higher social classes and the achievement of higher education. In the Valencian-speaking areas Valencian is usually used according to 65.5% of the respondents. According to 77.5% of the respondents Valencian is more often than in the past, according to 88.5% it should be used equally or more intensively, and 76.9% of those interviewed believe it will happen. By contrast, the Castilian-speaking regions usually use Valencian according to 28.2% of the respondents. According to 79.1% of the respondents Valencian is more intensively used now than in the past; 69.2% of those surveyed indicate it should be used equally or more, and according to 72.2% the respondents this will happen. It shows that there is a noticeable difference in the views on the use of Valencian in the Valencian and Castilian-speaking regions. In the Castilian-speaking areas there is more obvious perception of the increasing use of Valencian and a weaker desire to spread the use of Valencian. Overall there prevails awareness of gradual increase of the use of Valencian and its further dissemination..

3. 4. Language policy Generalitat Valenciana released a publication on its language policy in 2012 (Valencian Language Policy Regarding Education, Public Administration and Media, 2012). It indicates that the use of Valencian is massively promoted and supported by the Generalitat Valenciana. Generalitat Valenciana is in favour of Valencian without any exclusion and it intends to guarantee the teaching and use of Valencian to all citizens. It also intends to promote a balanced presence of Valencian and Castilian at all educative stages. Instruction in the Valencian language increases year by year. There were 74,277 students in 1996, who received education in the language, compared to 222,902 students in 2012. The period from 2004 and 2012 saw an increasing number of schools offer education in Valencian; the increase was from 950 to 1081 institutions including pre-school, primary and secondary education. Three bilingual education programmes have been introduced, catering respectively to institutions with a prevalence of Valencian-speaking students, institutions with a specific methodology for Castilian-speaking students, and institutions where Valencian is the instrumental language in some areas. Seventy-eight percent of teachers in the Valencian Community have linguistic training to teach in Valencian. Valencian is a minority language at the public universities, but the objective of the Valencian Community is to introduce bilingual instruction over the next 25 years. Valencian is promoted in regional administration and public service. Seventy-three percent of public employees have an official accreditation of Valencian knowledge and 91.4% of public employees under 35 reach the same level. All public employees, before joining their posts, have to participate in a compulsory module to reach B1 level. An automatic translation and advisory programme has been introduced along with online education, telephone service and information systems. All bills passed by the Valancian parliament Corts Valencianes and all internal documents shall be written in Valencian and Castilian. Both texts are equally official and valid. Place-names shall adjust to the linguistic and historical traditions of the municipalities. All municipalities are classified according to the prevalent language as predominantly Valencian-speaking or predominantly Castilian-seaking or bilingual. Thus the municipality denomination shall be in Valencian or in Castilian, or in both languages. All road signs not owned by the state shall be bilingual. The Valencian public media group is known as RTVV – Ràdio Televisió Valenciana, and comprises four television channels (Canal Nou, Canal Nou 2, Canal Nou 24, Canal Nou Internacional) and two radio stations (Ràdio Nou, Sí Ràdio). Canal Nou broadcasts 24 hours a day mainly in Valencian, Canal Nou 2 broadcasts 24 hours in Valencian and Canal Nou 24 broadcasts also mainly in Valencian. The two radio stations broadcast only in Valencian. All stations broadcasting through Valencian multiplexs shall broadcast in Valencian for at least 25% of their air time. There are more than 170 media sources published in Valencian, although there is no daily publication in the language and there are only special sections of other dailies. The media published in Valencian receive an annual institutional subsidy of € 120,000. The Valencian Community also promotes authors writing in Valencian and the dubbing of films into Valencian. Among the other fields encouraged by the Valencian Community to use Valencian there is financial support for shops and businesses, non-profit civic organisations, universities, trade unions, professional associations, municipalities and communities. Conclusion

The new constitution, adopted after the fall of Franquism defined Spain as a unified, indissoluble and democratic state of the Spanish nation. The Spanish constitution guarantees the right to self-government to regions and nationalities. The Constitution thus distinguishes between the nation and the nationalities. It envisages dual identity of the inhabitans of Spain, which should be based on the Spanish national identity alongside regional nationality identity. The national identity is primarily political in its nature, but it comes complete with cultural aspects as the common Castilian language. The nationality identity is primarily cultural in its nature (regional language and history), but also political (efforts for a greater degree of autonomy, regional political parties). The institutional self-expression of self-government is the product of the creation of autonomous communities, making Spain one of the most decentralized states in Europe, and virtually a state of autonomies. Castilian is the official State language according to the Constitution, but each autonomous community can through its status recognize other Spanish languages as official. Catalan, Valencian, Galician, Basque and Aranese are recognized as co- official languages. The Constitution considers the wealth of Spain’s many languages a cultural heritage which shall be specially respected and protected. The protection of these languages is carried out by autonomous communities. The language policy is shifting from the central level to the autonomous communities. The Kingdom of Valencia was founded in the Valencian region within the Reconquista in the 13th century. The Kingdom included a set of dedicated institutions and legal norms, known as Furs de València. At that time there was a migration wave from Catalonia, with the migrants bringing becavés alias Catalan with them, and the language soon spread in region. The autonomy of the Kingdom of Valencia was abolished in the early eighteenth century. At the same time Castilian was introduced as the official language of administration and education. Nevertheless Valencian remained widespread until the early 20th century, especially in rural areas. After that there was a massive decline in the use and knowledge of Valencian, which culminated during the Franco era, when no expressions of regional nationality identity, including language were tolerated. This trend came along with massive immigration of people who did not speak Valencian or feel as members of the Valencian nationality. After the fall of Franco régime, an autonomous community of Valencia was established. The Statutes of the Valencian Community declare Valencian nationality, but also the unity of the Spanish nation, which corresponds to the concept of duality of identities. The Statutes refer to the tradition of the Kingdom of Valencia and Furs de Valencia and recognize Valencian as a co-official language besides Castilian. The distinctivness of the Valencian region could be found besides its territorial demarcation also in the cultural and language sphere, where the strength of both aspects is disputable. In the political sphere it came to overshadow the Valencian identity, as demonstrated by the Valencian party system, which is similar to a nationwide party system without the benefit of parties defined primarily as regional. According to the linguists and offical position of the Valencian Academy of the Language, Valencian could be seen as partly becavés, which means the language commonly referred to as Catalan. Valencian is only a territorially specified appellation of becavés, differing mostly by dialects. The function of the term Valencian is primarily political and it serves to delimit the Valencian against Catalonia. The Valencian Community guarantees the right to know, use, be taught in and employ both languages in official conduct. Special protection and respect is given to the recuperation of Valencian. The reason is that the position of Valencian was weakened at the expense of Castilian during the 20th century. Education, administration and media existed only in Castilian. The language break in favor of Castilian came to pass during the Franco regime at the latest. The position of Valencian has been strengthening since the fall of the Franco regime. The Valencian-speaking areas are traditionally found mainly along the Mediterranean coast and in the north of the Valencian Community and bear mainly a rural character. On the contrary, Castilian-speaking areas are dominant in the south, the east and in the cities. Valencian is basically understood (94%) and spoken (77%) by the majority of the population, but only about half of the population understand (69%) and speak Valencian (49%) fairly well. On the other hand, six percent of the population do not understand and 23% do not speak Valencian at all. By contrast, all residents who know Valencian know Castilian as well. Communication in families, education in schools and self-education contributes in a major way to the spread of the knowledge of Valencian. Even in areas known as Valencian- speaking, everyday communication in Castilian is preferred. Castilian is used exclusively in social interaction by the majority of local inhabitants, while Valencian is prefered only by one third of the local population. Nevertheless, two thirds of the respondents indicate that Valencian is commonly used. The highest level of knowledge of Valencian including reading and writing is being scored by younger, better educated and wealthier residents. In contrast, the ability to understand and speak is relatively balanced across all age groups. Residents perceive the increased use of Valencian, while it is evident that the increase is more obvious and the unwillingness to expand further is more significant in the Castilian-speaking areas. The use of Valencian is massively promoted by the Generalitat Valenciana through its language policy. This includes an increasing support for and use in all educative stages, where most teachers have linguistic training in Valencian. There is a plan for univeristies, where Castilian still predominates, to introduce bilingual teaching at that stage in the next 25 years. Also most of the regional administration and public service staff is accredited in the Valencian language. All laws and official internal documents are written in both languages and both versions are equally valid. Road and public signs are also bilingual. Four television channels and two radio stations broadcast in Valencian. There are almost two hundred media sources published in Valencian, but none of them is a daily newspaper. The Valencian Community subsidises the use of Valencian in the media, literature, films, shops, business, civic organisations, universities, municipalities and on the community level. The real use of Valencian in the Valencian Community is not as widespread as the use of Castilian, but both languages are equal from the official point of view. Nevertheless the language policy of the Generalitat Valenciana is to promote and subsidize the use of Valencian at all the stages of social interaction, which is in accordance with the official Spanish language policy. The Valencian region is historicaly and culturaly specific, but not significantly. Its particularities lie in common historical consciousness, common cultural traditions, the Valencian language and a teritorial sense of belonging. Nevertheless these factors are not too strong as they might seem, but the Generalitat Valenciana is working to strenghten the Valencian identity, including the Valencian language.

List of Figures

Number Name Type Resource 1. Languages in Spain map www.proel.org 2. Spread of becavés map Wheeler in Brown et al. 2005: 239

References Sources ACADÈMIA VALENCIANA DE LA LLENGUA. Resolution concerning principles and criteria for protecting the name and identity of Valencian. 2005, 49 s. Avaiable from: http://www.avl.gva.es/dms/info/Libro-Valencia-ENG- FINAL/Resolution%20over%20the%20Name%20and%20Identity%20of%20Valencian.pdf. CORTS VALENCIANES. Statute of Autonomy of the Valencian Community. Valencia : Corts Valencianes, 2007. 46 s. GENERALITAT VALENCIANA. Knowledge and Social Use of Valencian Language. Valencia, 2010. Avaiable from: http://www.cefe.gva.es/polin/docs/sies_docs/encuesta2010/A4en.pdf. GENERALITAT VALENCIANA. Valencian Language Policy Regarding Education, Public Administration and Media. Valencia, unpublished, 2012. INSTITUT VALENCIÁ D'ESTADÍSTICA. The Comunitat Valenciana in figures 2009. Valencia : Institut Valenciá d'Estadística, 2009. 56 s. INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE ESTADÍSTICA. Spain at the beginning of the 21st century. Madrid : Instituto Nacional de Estadística, 2001. 56 s. REINO DE ESPAÑA. Spanish Constitution. 1978.

Literature Books BARŠA, Pavel; STRMISKA, Maxmilián. Národní stát a etnický konflikt : Politologická perspektiva. Brno : Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury, 1999. 332 s. ISBN 80-85959- 52-6. BROWN, Keith et al. Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science, 2005. ISBN 978-0080442990. FIALA, Vlastimil; ŘÍCHOVÁ, Blanka et al. Úloha politických aktérů v procesu decentralizace. Olomouc : Moneta, 2002. 616 s. ISBN 80-900965-8-1. FIALA, Vlastimil; ŘÍCHOVÁ, Blanka et al. Úloha politických aktérů v procesu decentralizace evropských zemí. Olomouc : Moneta, 2003. 121 s. ISBN 80-900965-7-3. CHALUPA, Jiří. Španělsko. Praha : Libri, 2005. 220 s. ISBN 80-7277-281-3. JÜPTNER, Petr, et al. Evropská lokální politika. Praha : Fakulta Sociálních věd, Univerzita Karlova v Praze, 2007. 252 s. ISBN 978-80-254-1187-2. KERN, Robert. The regions of Spain. Westport : Greenwood Press, 1995. 412 s. ISBN 0-313- 29224-8. KUNC, Jiří. Stranické systémy v re/konstrukci. Praha : Sociologické nakladatelství, 2000. 264 s. ISBN 80-85850-79-6. ŘÍCHOVÁ, Blanka, et al. Západoevropské politické systémy. Praha : Oeconomica, 2009. 292 s. ISBN 978-80-245-1516-8. SPOLSKY, Bernard. Language policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. xi, 250 s. ISBN 0-521-01175-2. UBIETO ARTETA, Antonio, et al. Dějiny Španělska. Praha : Lidové noviny, 2007. 920 s. ISBN 978-80-7106-836-5. Articles ARCHILÉS, Ferran; MARTÍ, Manuel. Ethnicity, region and nation: Valencian identity and the Spanish nation-state. Ethnic and Racial Studies. 2001, Vol. 24, No. 5, s. 779-797. ISSN 1466-4356. BUBEN, Radek. Stále rozdělené Španělsko. Mezinárodní politika. 2010, Roč, 34, Č. 2, s. 4-7. ISSN 0543-7962. CASESNOVES FERRER, Raquel; SANKOFF, David. Identity as the primary determinant of language choice in Valencia. Journal of Sociolinguistics. 2003, Vol. 7, No. 1, s. 50-64. ISSN: 1467-9841. EXTRA, Guus a Durk GORTER. Comparative perspectives on regional and immigrant minority languages in multicultural Europe. Avaiable from: http://ip- ladiva.com/Zeynep_Alat_files/IM%20RM%20languages%20(1).pdf. GIL, Guillermo A., Keith RUST a Marianne WINGLEE. Comparison of Reading Literacy Across Languages in Spanish Fourth Graders. Reading Literacy in an International Perspective. 1996. Avaiable from: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs97/97875.pdf#page=123. LLERA, Francisco José. Spain: Identity Boundaries and Political Reconstruction. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics. 2009, Vol. 15, s. 305-335. ISSN 1557-2986. Internet ACADÈMIA VALENCIANA DE LA LLENGUA. Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua [online]. 2012 [cit. 2012-06-03]. Avaiable from: http://www.avl.gva.es/. GOBIERNO DE ESPAÑA - MINISTERIO DEL INTERIOR. Consulta de Resultados Electorales [online]. 2012 [cit. 2012-06-03]. Avaiable from: http://www.infoelectoral.mir.es/min/. GENERALITAT VALENCIANA. Generalitat Valenciana [online]. 2009 [cit. 2012-06-03]. Avaiable from: http://www.gva.es/portal/page/portal/inicio/presentacion. THE ETHOLOGUE. Catalan-Valencian-Balear [online]. 2012 [cit. 2012-06-03]. Avaiable from: http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=cat.