Abstract
AbstractThe independent microstate of Andorra lies on the border of France and Spain and constitutes a case of complex societal multilingualism. The country’s official language, Catalan, coexists with French and Spanish, among others. French is an important vehicle of education, with around three quarters of Andorran children taught exclusively or partly through French. However, recently, the position of French has become increasingly precarious, and the language is rarely heard or used in the public domain. This article presents the results of a mixed-methods study that seeks to determine the current and future place of French in Andorra by studying language attitudes, ideologies and policies. Quantitative analysis of attitude survey data reveals that French is associated with employment opportunities but does not fulfil in-group solidarity roles. A critical analysis of semi-structured interview data shows how lack of in-group ‘pride’ (Heller and Duchêne 2012) attached to French reinforces its perceived lack of instrumental value. Finally, the analysis of public discourse from Emmanuel Macron in his role as co-Prince of Andorra highlights how combining existing strategies that emphasize historicity and civic duty with discourses appealing to the extensive migrant population could be a more suitable means to safeguard French in Andorra.
Highlights
Andorra is an independent microstate in the Pyrenees and is the only country in the world where one of two joint heads of state is directly elected by the citizens of a foreign country – France
Catalan is the sole official language enshrined in law, French is widely used in education, and Spanish fulfils the role of lingua franca between different migrant groups in the country
The overarching research aim of this study is as follows: How can a holistic approach to language attitudes, ideologies and policy allow for a better understanding of the present and future status of French in Andorra? The adoption of such a broad approach to the sociolinguistic study of French in Andorra raises several contingent theoretical and conceptual questions, to be addressed
Summary
Its current population of 77,543 (Govern d’Andorra 2020: 5) has grown steadily from 6,186 in 1950 (Lluelles 2004: 145) due to labour migration, from Spain and Portugal In his role as Co-Prince, Emmanuel Macron delivered a 2019 address to the Formal Session of the General Council of Andorra in which he revealed an awareness of the potentially diminishing economic, cultural and linguistic importance of France in the face of the shifting demographics of the country: Je crois qu’il existe actuellement un risque à ce que l’esprit d’équilibre qui a toujours prévalu dans la société andorrane, en particulier dans ses relations avec l’Espagne et la France, s’affaiblisse. These results comprise the basis for the critical discursive analysis of language ideologies and policy, in order to better understand the present and future of French in Andorra
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