The intergenerational reinforcement of Spanish in Galicia (Spain)

Abstract

This article presents a case study on family language policies (FLP) in Galicia (official bilingual community of Spain), based on the analysis of semi-structured interviews with three Spanish-speaking parents who live with their partners and children in urban or semi-urban settings where Spanish is the dominant language. The results indicate a FLP model that reinforces the position of this language in the family, in interaction with the environment, since the informants attribute their children’s learning of Galician exclusively to school, even though they see it as insufficient to incorporate this minority language into their everyday linguistic repertoire, both now and in the future. The assumption of this result is revealed to be rooted in the ideologies about languages, since Galician has little or no economic or even symbolic value for these parents and continues to be strongly associated with the rural world, with the elderly or with no education, reproducing a persistent diglossic culture in Galician society. This language micropolicy is interpreted as a mirror of the laissez-faire attitude that has characterised language policies at the macro level in Galicia, as well as a reflection of its shortcomings in achieving true prestige for Galician.