Competència i ús lingüístics entre els joves a Catalunya. Evolució i perspectives de futur

Resum

The development of the knowledge of Catalan among the young in Catalonia has advanced markedly since the 80's. The implementation of the teaching of Catalan and in Catalan, the system of immersion (1985-1992), and the subsequent process of language convergence (starting in 1992) are key factors in this development. The statistics analyzed come from the periodic studies carried out by the Generalitat (Autonomous Government of Catalonia) and from the surveys of the metropolitan area conducted by the Metropolitan Surveys Institute. The data included date from the beginning of the 80's through 1999. The statistics show an increase in the capacity to use Catalan in the four skill areas: speech, comprehension, reading and writing. The data regard knowledge, language habits and frequency of use. The latter, for example, is indicated by the language used on the Catalan Youth Survey of 1998: 66.1 % of the surveys were conducted in Catalan (the survey was an extended conversation consisting of 140 questions). The increase in the knowledge of Catalan is also confirmed in the Barcelona metropolitan area: in 1995, 41 % considered it their first language (alone or together with Spanish) and 87 % of the young people knew how to speak it. Regarding the media, from an overall Catalan perspective, the language of personal preference is for the most part Spanish in the print media (press, books), while a balance is evident in the audiovisual media. Regarding desires for future development, a majority of those surveyed are in favor of a greater presence of Catalan or of a balance between the two languages. With respect to transmission from one generation to the next, a balance between the two languages may be observed.