Sociolinguistic ISSN: 1750-8649 (print) Studies ISSN: 1750-8657 (online) Review Llengua i identitat. Ángels Massip (ed.) (2008) Publicacions i edicions de la Universitat de Barcelona ISBN 978---84---475---3329---9 Reviewed by Carmen Pena This book is the outcome of selected papers from a set of conferences on language identity delivered at the Centre Universitari de Sociolingüística i Comunicació at the University of Barcelona in Spain. The purpose of these con- ferences was, on the one hand, to reflect on the relationship between language and identity and, on the other, to revise the sociolinguistic context in the Catalan territory as well as in other regions where more than one official languages coexist. Llengua i identitat is divided into four sections which deal respectively with general issues about language and identity, these same issues in territories where Catalan is spoken, language and identity in other regions such as Galician, Friuli and Occitane and language and identity in Europe. The commencing article from the first section is written by Ángels Massip, the editor of the volume. She analyses the multidimensional relations between language and identity from a very interesting top-down perspective, ecology. For the author, the ecological framework is pertinent to the study of language and identity due to our human condition and our relation to the planet we live in and due to this same planet being organised into social systems which define us. Language is the tool we use to communicate with our equals and is based on symbols from the world, expressing our individual and group identity. Ángels Massip views culture and, thus education, as a means of adapting biologically to Affiliation Universidad de Alcalá, Spain email: [email protected] SOLS VOL 4.3 2010 677–680 doi : 10.1558/sols.v4i3.677 © 2012, EQUINOX PUBLISHING 678 SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDIES the evolutions of the species. The article talks about language, culture and education giving a general overview of these interrelated concepts from a biological and ecological perspective which is not too common in Linguistics and thus makes it the more interesting. The second article is again written from a very interesting and infrequently addressed perspective, that of sign language. The author, Esperanza Morales, deals with the issue of symbolic power and identity in the deaf community linguistic minorities. Sign language has changed throughout the nineties from being the mode of communication used among the deaf to becoming a tool which represents power and identity since its official recognition as language and therefore, one more language for education. She raises the issue of the different sign languages in Spain, and whether the same socio-cultural patterns occurring in the non-deaf community will take place in the deaf one, for example, if the Catalan deaf youngsters will also identify themselves through their Catalan sign language to nationalist movements or if they identify with a broader international cross-cultural community. This is indeed a very interest- ing question which should definitely be studied. The second section includes articles about language and identity in areas where Catalan is spoken. It begins with an article by Josep Espluga, who addresses social identity in La Franja, an area of Aragón (a territory bordering Catalonia in Spain) where Catalan is spoken. In this case, identity becomes a relative concept, as on the one hand, in La Franja they speak Catalan and may consider themselves part of the Catalan society yet are not thought of as such due to territorial borders and on the other hand, they do not really fit into their administrative territory, Aragón, as they speak Catalan (which is not the case in the rest of this region) and are viewed suspiciously by their neighbours. The author very wisely states the need to maintain fluid relations across borders. The second article in this section deals with language and identity in Valencia. As the author, Rafael Castelló, manifests in his abstract, there is a dis- tinction between language and identity in Valencian society, as, though Catalan and Valencian are technically and officially the same language, the latter consider themselves different from Catalans. He explains his very descriptive title ‘We speak Valencian but we are not Catalans’ referring to the feelings of Valencians who share a language but not an identity with their Northern neighbours, the Catalans. The author thinks that the adherence to a language depends on the adherence to an identity and not viceversa, basing his perspec- tive on authors such as Marx and Wittgenstein. The inconsistencies and ambi- guities occurring in Valencian society due to how language and territorial policies have been made should be defined in order to create a clearer identity, closer to real Valencian feelings. REVIEW: PENA 679 In the last article on language and identity in Catalan-speaking territories, Joan Mira also writes about Valencia, analysing what he qualifies as the ‘identi- fication and names given to a mother tongue’ from both historical and present perspectives. As in the previous article, he addresses the linguistic closeness between Valencian and Catalan which has led to the language being spoken in Valencia being considered Catalan and yet not being the expression of a Valencian identity. Once again, the author mentions the political manipulation which has given way to social tensions. The third section of the book deals with language and identity in non-Catalan territories, the three authors address these concepts in Galician, Friuli and Occitain. The first one is by Sabela Labraña who writes about Galician and Spanish being in constant conflict. She begins by reviewing the history of Galicia since the enforcement of Spanish as the language of social prestige and culture which has maintained this way to a great extent until present times. The author distinguishes between belonging and identity, the latter involving a common collective project ‘endorsed by common significations, beliefs and expectations’. Sabela Labraña bases her analysis on data taken from the official sociolinguistic map of language use in Galicia, which reflects a loss of speakers of Galician, and claims that this does not mean they do not feel Galician, but in this case, language does not seem to be essential for Galician identity. However, the author claims that in order for a proper common identity to be formed in the future it is necessary to use ecological frameworks which deal with horizontal rather than vertical communication among community members. The second paper in this section is an empiric study of the sociolinguistic situation of Friuli by Raimondo Strassoldo. In this northeastern Italian region about 60 per cent of the population speak a language very close to Ladin. The author begins by giving an account of the problematic situation of historical minority languages in Italy, amongst them Friulian, and offers a socio-historical overview of its sociolinguistic situation. The author concludes that Friulian is a language the use of which has declined. He estimates that it belongs to the category of languages ‘sliding into extinction within the next two generations’. Although there are many actions and promotional efforts being made to reverse this situation, as Joshua Fishman states ‘intergenerational language transmis- sion’ is the only guarantee of a language’s survival. The last article in this section is written by Patric Sauzet. It is a very thorough and detailed, though somewhat longish paper in which the author presents Occitain as a ‘naked language’. The exposition of the argumentation line in the abstract at the beginning could have done with some improvement. 680 SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDIES The author begins by talking about the difference between a dialect and a language, then goes on to explain that Occitain is a language without a state which is spoken in different regions or departments in France, thus relating the terms ‘dialect’ and ‘language’ to the concept of ‘nation’ as well as political and social status. The author considers it a necessity that Occitain be considered a language proper in order for it to unfold its cultural strength, a key requirement for its survival. The last section ends with a chapter dedicated to language and identity in Europe written by Emili Boix-Fuster who emphasizes that there has always been an important interest in Catalan academics, as well as legal and social institu- tions, in the study of languages in Europe. Basing his analysis on a question- naire, the author analyzes the situation of language accross Europe, stating that it is rather homogeneous compared to the rest of the world. He talks about European political fragility and how languages are also treated in different ways in the different nations, making a distinction between state assimilationism (France), protection of minorities (Frisland and Wales), linguistic autonomy (Spain), linguistic federalism (Belgium) and institutional bilingualism (Ireland and Finland). All articles but one are written in Catalan which obviously lessens the vol- ume’s impact in present-day academia. With the help of the English abstract it should nevertheless be accessible to people who read French or Spanish. The papers in this book are quite enlightening in the sense that they deal with issues that we frequently encounter such as language and identity but from innovative and updated perspectives which shed light on some conflictive situa- tions occurring throughout Europe as far as minority languages are concerned. I particularly like how each of the authors gives his or her own point of view without falling into the ‘politically correct’ categorisations we lately tend to follow. The articles are well chosen and put together, making it an interesting read for those studying identity issues. .