Language Rights and the Law in Catalonia

Abstract

This chapter examines the language rights of linguistic minorities (e.g., Catalan, Galician, and Basque) in Spain vis-a-vis the Spanish-speaking majority with special focus on Catalan-speakers in Catalonia. Legal discourses as stated in the Catalonia Statutes of Autonomy of 1979 and 2006 and the Spanish Constitution of 1978 are exhaustively studied. The chapter also analyzes the ruling of the Constitutional Court of Spain of 2010 which annulled or reinterpreted articles of the Statute of Catalonia of 2006, including Article 6.1, which declares Catalan as the “preferential” language of Catalonia. The chapter offers suggestions for improving language rights for speakers of Catalan, both within the Spanish state and the European Union, to help de-escalate language conflict between Catalonia and the Spanish state. For example, the two sides may seek to amend Catalonia’s Statutes of Autonomy, as per Article 148 of the Spanish Constitution, which provides the legal mechanisms for expanding language rights for Speakers of Catalan in Catalonia.