Page 47 - 《客語及少數族群語言政策》附錄_少數語言法律

CHAPTER VI. INSTITUTIONAL STIMULUS 60
ARTICLE 37 60
ARTICLE 38 60
ARTICLE 39 60
ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS 60

ONE 61
TWO 61
THREE 61
FOUR 61
FIVE 61
SIX 61
SEVEN 62
EIGHT 62
NINE 62
TRANSITORY PROVISIONS 62
ONE 62
TWO 62
THREE 63

FINAL PROVISIONS 63
ONE 63
TWO 63
THREE 63

Introduction

I. The meaningfulness and situation of the Catalan

language

The Catalan language is an essential element in the national formation and character of Catalonia, a basic
instrument for communication, integration and social cohesion of citizens, regardless of their geographic origin,
and a privileged link between Catalonia and the other Catalan-speaking areas, with which it forms a linguistic
community which has made a valuable contribution, in its original way, to universal culture over the centuries.
Furthermore, it has borne witness to the loyalty of the Catalan people towards their land and their specific
culture.
Developed originally within the territory of Catalonia, shared with other areas - where people and even laws
have given it different names - it has always been the language of the country and as such it has been
negatively affected by certain events in the history of Catalonia which have placed it in a precarious situation.
This situation has arisen due to various factors, such as the political persecution it has suffered and the legal
imposition of for more than two and a half centuries; the political and socio-economic circumstances in which
the demographic changes took place in recent decades and, moreover, the restricted scope that the language
has, similar to that of other official languages of Europe, especially in the world of today, where communication,
information and the cultural industries are moving towards globalisation.
Thus, as a result of all these circumstances the present sociolinguistic situation of Catalonia is very complex.
The situation of a people's language which has not achieved fully normal use and has a relatively small
number of speakers in the international context coincides with the fact that the mother tongue of many citizens
in the territory of Catalonia is Castilian, which they prefer to speak, and thanks to which they have often
contributed significantly to enriching Catalan culture itself, a contribution which has similarly been made by
citizens whose mother tongue is another language. This situation therefore requires a language policy which
47