Language Ideologies and Language Practices in France and Spain: The Case of Breton, Occitan, Catalan and Galician Claire Miranda Donneky Doctor of Philosophy School of Modern Languages, University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne November 2011 i Title: Language Ideologies and Language Practices in France and Spain: The Case of Breton, Occitan, Catalan and Galician The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the situation of minoritised languages in France and Spain, by developing a comparative framework for the analysis, and taking into account the theoretical and empirical sociolinguistic research context with regard to language planning and language ideologies. To date, theoretical and empirical studies have tended to focus on one region, have adopted a comparative approach that focuses on individual languages without an explorative comparison of the regimes behind those languages, or have preferred to adopt a generalised theoretical approach that does not discuss in great detail the specifics of any one region. In my comparison of languages spoken in France and Spain that are not the state language, I explore the impact of contrasting political regimes on language planning to discover if state regime is an important factor behind the long-term survival of minoritised languages. The subject matter for this investigation concentrates on two languages from each country: Breton and Occitan for France, and Catalan and Galician for Spain. The empirical data for my investigation consists of questionnaire responses by native, non- native and non-speakers of the languages in question that covers an age-range from eighteen to eighty-five, rural and urban dwellers and lifelong residents and incomers. In addition, I have obtained data from language planners and I have analysed language plans and surveys via means of the Internet. The Internet has formed a key part of the research for this PhD, so that the methodology has taken advantage of new technology that could provide a change of direction for future research programmes. ii Dedication I dedicate this thesis to John Arthur Donneky, who always believed in me. iii Acknowledgements There are many people who have supported me in one form or another throughout this PhD without whose help I would have struggled to complete the project. First of all, I am indebted to my university – the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne – for allowing me to undertake this research in spite of my personal problems (M.E/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). The School of Modern Languages awarded me a one-year bursary, which was of great assistance. Catalan language assistant Josep Cru and Galician student Penelope Johnson distributed questionnaires on my behalf to Catalan and Galician speakers. Contacts, such as Josep and Penelope, have been very supportive. These are not limited to my own university but include language assistants and lecturers from other universities in the U.K, France and Spain. As far as France and Spain are concerned, the universities of Brest, Rennes, Toulouse, Montpellier, Girona, Vigo, A Coruña and Santiago de Compostela are all to be thanked for their help in answering my queries and finding informants. The society UACES (University Association for Contemporary European Studies) was also able to supply informants. Special thanks go to all the informants, who answered questions on a delicate and emotive subject. Two people to whom I owe especial gratitude are my supervisors Professor Ian MacKenzie and Professor Rosaleen Howard. They have had the arduous task of nursing me through the research process. I feel that without their help I would never have been able to attempt such a project. Last, but certainly not least, I must thank all my family. Above all, my parents, brother and sister have shown great encouragement to me, particularly when I have doubted my own abilities. iv Table of Contents Chapter 1. Introduction 1 1.0 The purpose of the dissertation 1 1.1 Terminologies 3 1.2 „Is state regime an important factor behind the long-term survival of minoritised languages?‟: Theoretical framework 7 1.3 The form of the dissertation 16 Chapter 2. Breton, Occitan, Catalan and Galician: A brief history 19 2.0 Introduction 19 2.1 Language origins and speaker numbers: Breton 19 2.1.1 Language origins and speaker numbers: Occitan 20 2.1.2 Language origins and speaker numbers: Catalan 21 2.1.3 Language origins and speaker numbers: Galician 23 2.2 The minoritisation process 24 2.2.1 Breton minoritisation 26 2.2.2 Occitan minoritisation 29 2.2.3 Catalan minoritisation 31 2.2.4 Galician minoritisation 34 2.3 Language planning 36 2.3.1 Breton language planning 40 2.3.2 Occitan language planning 41 2.3.3 Catalan language planning 43 2.3.4 Galician language planning 46 2.4 Conclusions 48 Chapter 3. Language policy in twenty-first century France and Spain 50 3.0 Introduction 50 3.1 Decentralisation? 50 3.1.1 The meaning of decentralisation: advantages 50 3.1.2 More local control in France? 53 3.1.3 Disadvantages of decentralisation 55 3.2 Language plans 61 3.2.1 Fishman‟s stages 1-3: „decision, elaboration and allocation of resources‟ 63 3.2.2 Fishman‟s stages 4-5: „evaluation and post-evaluation‟ 66 v 3.3 European policy 69 3.3.1 National policy versus supra-national policy 70 3.3.2 European funding 70 3.4 Conclusions 72 Chapter 4. Minoritised languages in practices and discourses: an overview 74 4.0 Introduction 74 4.1 Methodology 74 4.1.1 Online data retrieval: advantages 75 4.1.1.1 Disadvantages of online data retrieval 76 4.1.2 Questionnaire design 78 4.1.2.1 Exploratory questionnaires 79 4.1.2.2 Student questionnaire 80 4.1.2.3 The final stage and ethical considerations 82 4.1.3 The samples: exploratory sample 84 4.1.3.1 Stage two and three samples 85 4.1.4 Validity and writing up data 87 4.1.5 Other data 88 4.2 Views on language planning: acquisition planning 88 4.2.1 Views on status planning 92 4.3 Language ideology 94 4.3.1 Cultural ideology 94 4.3.2 Politically-influenced ideology 97 4.4 Conclusions 100 Chapter 5. The effectiveness of acquisition and status planning 102 5.0 Introduction 102 5.1 Acquisition planning: access 102 5.1.1 The efficacy of acquisition planning: immersion teaching or optional teaching 111 5.1.2 Exclusion: (a) education that creates barriers through the promotion of a particular corpus 113 5.1.3 Exclusion: (b) education that does not encourage a language to be used in a variety of domains 120 5.1.4 The benefits of education 125 vi 5.2 Status planning: the role of the volunteer 127 5.2.1 Competing domains 133 5.3 Conclusions 135 Chapter 6. Identities, networks and domains: language ideologies at the grassroots level 137 6.0 Introduction 137 6.1 Three key factors influencing language use: factor one, exclusion linked to nationalist ideology 137 6.1.1 Factor two: domains or networks of language use 144 6.1.1.1 Galician domains and networks 146 6.1.1.2 Catalan domains and networks 149 6.1.1.3 Breton domains and networks 154 6.1.1.4 Occitan domains and networks 157 6.1.2 Factor three: ambivalence 159 6.2 Compartmentalised language use 164 6.2.1 Language in the global context 164 6.2.2 Economic vitality for minoritised languages equates to more political control at a regional level? 167 6.2.3 The acceptance of compartmentalised language use: a localised use for minoritised languages 172 6.2.4 Language use as a necessary requirement of language prestige and language identity? 179 6.3 De-compartmentalised language use 184 6.3.1 Freedom of expression 185 6.3.2 Problems of de-compartmentalised language use 186 6.3.3 Solutions to combat ideological concerns about de-compartmentalised language use 187 6.4 A speech community in harmony: the ideology of language corpus 189 6.4.1 Alignment 189 6.4.2 Misalignment 190 6.4.3 Management or non-management of diverging ideologies 192 6.5 Conclusions 194 vii Chapter 7. Conclusions 196 7.0 Introduction 196 7.1 Null-hypothesis on the importance of state regime according to ideology 196 7.1.1 Null-hypothesis on the importance of state regime according to language planning resources 199 7.2 The future of minoritised languages in France and Spain 202 Appendix A. Bibliographical details of informants individually referenced in dissertation 209 Appendix B. Questionnaires 216 Appendix C. Breton and Occitan cultural advertisements 227 Bibliography 229 List of maps, tables and charts Map 2.1. Breton 20 Map 2.2. Catalan 22 Map 2.3. Regions of Spain 23 Map 2.4. Galicia 24 Table 2.1. The diglossic relationship between Occitan and French 30 Table 2.2. Bilingual educational models 39 Chart 4.1. Stage two and three data 86 Chart 5.1. Language of instruction at primary school according to first language 104 Chart 5.2. Language of instruction at secondary school according to first language 105 Chart 5.3. Impact of learning minoritised language as a taught subject for non-native minoritised language speakers 111 Chart 5.4. Impact of learning minoritised language as part of an immersion or shared teaching programme for native minoritised language speakers 112 Chart 5.5. Impact of learning minoritised language as part of an immersion or shared teaching programme for non- native minoritised language speakers 112 Chart 5.6. Feelings towards university and school minoritised language courses 120 Chart 5.7 University students who have heard of at least one language planning organisation 128 Chart 5.8.