Catalan dialect: Catalan language | Britannica

HISTORY

What stands out the most in the history of Catalan, is that it has been involved in an almost continual struggle for prominence with Castilian (Spanish). In the tenth century, the Catalan counties began to reconquer territory from the Moors. The Count of Barcelona came to power over the counties and Barcelona became known as the capital or “family seat”.

At this time, the language of Catalonia began to change and it actually came to vary quite a bit from the other Romance dialects in the surrounding regions. According to Vallverdú, it was this moving away from the original dialect that caused “a typical case of diglossia: the H(igh) language was Latin (used as the formal language and in all kinds of written documents), while the L(ow) language was the Romance of the Marca (used by everybody in normal speech)” (15). It is interesting to note, however, that the diglossia only existed among the upper classes and within the clergy, as these people were the only ones who understood Latin. This indicates that a class distinction based on language existed from the very beginning of Catalan history.

With the union of Catalonia and Aragon at the beginning of the twelfth century, Catalan began to spread south toward the islands and establish itself in literature as a defined language. Latin was not disregarded but did take somewhat of second place to Catalan not only in literature but in the common spoken community.

By the early 13^th century, Catalan became solidified as the national language, especially regarding its position in the literary works of the time. Even works that were originally written in Latin were translated into Catalan and distributed. The literacy rate climbed and Latin became less and less important.

The 15^th century proved to be one of great importance in the history of all languages as it is known for the invention of the printing press. With the new technology, the prominence that Catalan had come to enjoy was even more widely recognized: the first book to be printed on the Iberian Peninsula appeared both in Valencia and in the Catalan language (Vallverdú 19).

Despite this triumph, however, Catalan suffered somewhat of a blow at this time as well. The Renaissance humanists of the day contributed to a revival of Latin as a cultural language and within the Church as well. Translation of Latin to Catalan happened less and less as a result and, in fact, the trend was one of becoming familiar with many different languages, including French and Italian, leaving Catalan to suffer in its popular standing.

Some say that these circumstances are the complete cause of the downfall. Vallverdú would disagree. He states that, “it was neither the partial resurrection of Latin nor the sporadic cultivation of Castilian, Italian, or French–common phenomena throughout Europe–which endangered Catalans position as a literary language, but the political submission of the Països Catalans to the Crown of Castile” (Vallverdú 19).

The submission occurred when Ferdinand of Catalonia-Aragon married Isabelle of Castile in 1469. Their goal became to unify Spain and, in this sense, this historical event is a major turning point in Catalan history. Catalonia became part of the Spanish crown and the idea was that, in order for Spain to achieve her desired “unification,” all of her people must speak the same language: Castilian. The Catalan regions were, of course, the main target of the effort and Castilianization began to take effect throughout all of Valencia and Catalonia. Castilian became known as the language of the upper class and as such, also had the support of the Church. “Catalan was progressively relegated to plebeian rank, and the superordinate language was adopted as a status symbol even by some nonmobile segments of society” (Azevedo 310). This, as would be expected, caused the spread of Catalan to slow to a near stand still. However, “Catalan never ceased to be spoken or written, and remained the normal medium of elementary education, business, and regional government affairs until early in the eighteenth century” (Azevedo 307).

Nevertheless, there continued to be a battle between Catalan and Castilian as each language reflected a certain group in society: “on the one hand the popular classes (agricultural workers, laborers, craftsmen) and sectors of bourgeoisie, who spoke only Catalan and understood nothing (or little) of Castilian; and on the other the ruling classes and those intellectuals who were diglossically bilingual” (Vallverdú 21).

The answer to the struggle didnt seem immediately apparent. The issue had obviously become one of economic status and it was the very economy of Spain in 1714 that provides an interesting backdrop to the continuing history of Catalan:

The year 1714 marked an increase in agricultural production, full employment, the opening-up of new markets, commerce with America–which combined to foment the economic development of Catalonia. This development is of vital importance if one is to understand the paths which contemporary Catalan history has followed. The unity of Spain, which neither the victorious Bourbon army nor the subsequent repressive measures had managed to achieve, was about to be realized thanks precisely to the economic progress of Catalan society (Vallverdú 21).

The positive economic conditions that Spain was enjoying at the time only contributed to the effort to Castilianize everyone. Latin was, for the most part, abandoned and all official institutions were made to use Castilian. For the first time, Castilian became the H(igh) language, followed by Catalan, followed by Latin.

At this point, the distinct social class factor played a major role in the decline of the use of Catalan. The people wanted to climb the social and economic ladder and they recognized that the speaking of Catalan would, in societys eyes, impede that process. “Since the upward mobility [was] regarded as a desirable goal, diglossia is reinforced by an overvaluation of the superordinate language as a means of social and economic improvement, and it generates contempt towards the subordinate language identified as the tongue of those who cannot rise socially” (Azevedo 310).

This idea that a Catalan-speaking person was socially and monetarily inferior effected dramatically the basic unit of society: the family. Realizing that their children would be societal failures if they couldnt speak Castilian, they tended to “bring up their children speaking the superordinate language, even though [they] themselves [spoke] Catalan to each other” (Azevedo 310).

Such a situation and cultural loss seems tragic but there was somewhat of a re-birth as a result of a national “coming together” in war against France. From 1793-1795, “Spanish authorities even used Catalan in official proclamations, and for a brief period under Napoleonic rule it was made an official language as a propaganda measure to win Catalan support” (Azevedo 311).

With this, literature began to thrive again which, by virtue of the written themes, peaked the publics interest in Catalan history. This led to a revival of the use of the language itself and in 1841 the first periodical in Catalan was published (called Lo Pare Arcangel).

This revival was followed by a rise in the wealthy middle class and these people began to desire regional cohesion, which included the desire to use Catalan. “In 1892, a coalition of parties, Unió Catalanista (Catalanist Union), called for making Catalan the sole official language in Catalonia, the appointment of Catalans (born or naturalized) for public office, a regional currency, and full legislative, judiciary, and executive powers–in other words, near complete autonomy” (Azevedo 312). The struggle for a regional identity, through the use of their native tongue, continued to progress.

Positive strides were not taken, however, without opposition. In 1936 the Civil War brought the efforts to an end that may have had the strength to restore the Catalan language for good. The government viewed Catalonias autonomy as a “threat to the integrity of Spain” (Azevedo 315) and Castilianization again became strong in its efforts. Teachers in even private schools were fired if they were heard to be speaking Catalan, no less teaching it in their classes. Again the idea that Catalan was the language of the lower class was predominant.

Still, the effort to recover the use of Catalan went forth. There were petitions and campaigns on the part of individuals and private organizations. Progress was slow and, in fact, not until 1966 was there a printing law passed that eased the restrictions of the printing of literature in Catalan.

Even today, their struggle is not over. Presently, there are two major dialects of spoken Catalan: Occidental, subdivided into West Catalan and Valencian; and Oriental, subdivided into East Catalan, Balearic, and Roussillonnais and including the dialect spoken in Alghero and Sardinia. But even now, Catalan has been unable to achieve full normalization. It remains a mystery as to whether or not the Catalan people possess the desire and the endurance to continue the fight. Surely in the past they have demonstrated their loyalty to their native tongue and their desire to identify themselves with it. But, as history has proven, the religious, political and cultural issues of Spain as a whole are powerful destructive forces. The survival of the Catalan language, then, will depend on the will and dedication of its people, as they fight to overcome the conflict that is so much a part of their history.