plik

Title

World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Spain : Valencians

Publisher

Publication Date

2008

Cite as

Minority Rights Group International, World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Spain : Valencians, 2008, available at:
http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/49749ca83c.html [accessed 3 September 2010]

World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Spain :

Valencians

Profile

There are an estimated 1 million Valencian-speakers in Valencia and another 1.5
million who can understand the language. Valencian is a variant of Catalan. It has
been  described  as  a  distinct  dialect.  However,  there  is  disagreement  within
Valencia  about  its  status.  The  regional  government  and  supporters  of  the
regionalist  political  party  Unión  Valenciana  consider  it  a  separate  language,
whereas the cultural association Acció Cultural del País Valencià and trade union
Sindicat de Treballadors i Treballadores de l'Ensenyament-Intersindical Valenciana
have fought for its inclusion in Catalan. The majority of Valencian-speakers work
in services, especially the tourist industry.

Historical context

King John I of Aragon and Catalonia drove the Muslim rulers from Valencia in the
thirteenth century and the Catalan language was introduced to the region. There
is  controversy  over  how  prevalent  Catalan  was  at  this  time  and  whether  the
Valencian version derived principally from Mozarabic (Romance languages written
in  Arabic  script  and  spoken  during  the  centuries  of  Muslim  rule),  or  like  Catalan
itself,  from  an  old  version  of  Occitan.  The  Valencian  culture  and  language
experienced  a  golden  age  in  the  fourteenth  century  but  declined  from  the
fifteenth  century  as  Castilian  was  adopted  by  the  aristocracy  and  bureaucracy.
Valencian  literature  revived  in  the  nineteenth  century.  The  Second  Republic's
proposed autonomy for Valencia in 1931 came to nothing.

Autonomy  was  revived  in  1978.  Under  Valencia's  1982  Statute  of  Autonomy,
Valencian  and  Castilian  are  the  official  languages  of  the  Valencia  Autonomous
Community.  This  was  followed  by  the  1983  Law  for  the  use  and  teaching  of  the
Valencian  language,  which  included  provision  for  its  standardization.  This  has
been carried out by the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua. Despite this work and
a new government directorate from 1989 to promote the use of Valencian, in 1991
the government invited educational establishments to draw up their own language
standardization plans. Teachers keenly took up the proposal.

Reversals for Valencian as a distinct language from Catalan started when the Acció
Cultural  del  País  Valencià  and  Sindicat  de  Treballadors  i  Treballadores  de
l'Ensenyament-Intersindical  Valenciana  took  the  Valencian  government  to  court
over  its  1995  instruction  that  Catalan  language  teaching  qualifications  issued  in
Catalonia  and  Balearic  Islands  should  no  longer  be  recognized  in  Valencia.  This
culminated in a ruling by the Spanish Supreme Court in May 2006 that Valencian
was  part  of  the  Catalan  language.  The  Supreme  Court  took  into  account
dictionaries and studies in Catalan philology. An earlier decision by the European
Parliament  found  that  the  Catalan  and  Valencian  translations  of  the  European
Constitution  were  essentially  the  same.  Spain  was  obliged  to  translate  the
constitution  into  all  Spanish  official  languages  and  deliver  copies  to  the  EU
institutions before holding its referendum on the EU Constitution in 2004.

Current issues

The dispute over whether Valencian is a distinct language or a variant of Catalan
has hindered its revival. There is growing interest from young people, and families
outside the main cities use Valencian at home. There is little use of Valencian in
business.  The  regional  government  has  been  criticized  for  scarcely  using  the
language  despite  its  programmes  for  promotion  of  Valencian.  However,  regional
laws  are  published  in  Valencian  and  Castilian,  while  national  laws  are  published
only in Castilian. Municipalities and other lower levels of public administration use
Valencian to a lesser or greater extent. It is hardly used in judicial proceedings,
although  speakers  have  the  right  to  demand  documents  in  the  language  and
interpreters.

Valencian  is  a  compulsory  subject  at  all  educational  levels  and  it  is  the  main
teaching  language  in  some  schools.  Valencian  has  increased  as  a  language  of
instruction  and  as  a  subject  in  pre-school,  primary  and  secondary  levels,
especially  away  from  the  main  urban  areas  where  Castilian  predominates.  The
provision of Valencian in higher education is limited.

There is a weekly newspaper, El Temps, and a monthly magazine, Saó, published
in Valencian. Book publishing, especially of poetry and short story collections, is
on the increase. In 1988 the regional government set up Canal 9 Ràdio, which
broadcasts entirely in Valencian, and in 1989 the government set up Canal 9 TVV,
which broadcasts around 60 per cent of it programmes in Valencian.

The regional government has published a Valencian word-processing package,
ILLA. A second Valencian word-processing programme, DITEXTO, is put out by a
private company.