Let me introduce myself. My name is Lauren and I am an undergraduate student at the University of North Alabama. I am completing my senior project otherwise known as my capstone project. These are the projects that all members of the Honors Program must complete to graduate with honors, and they vary from student to student. I am Spanish major so most people would expect that my project would have something to do with Spanish grammar or literature. However, my interests lie in sociolinguistic studies. They make my little nerdy heart just giddy with happiness. And one thing that really upsets me is language extinction. The idea that a whole culture's way of expressing itself and communicating with the world around it can just disappear in one person's lifetime is heart breaking. If I haven't mentioned already, I am a nerd. So when I started to think about what I wanted to do for my capstone project I was very much interested in language extinction and the minority languages* spoken in Spain. I have chosen to look at to specific languages: Catalan and Galician. These languages are interesting to me because because of the constitution of Spain the communities that speak these languages are "autonomous communities" and have the ability to enforce language polices to preserve the language. Where many languages today are quickly fading into obscurity because they have no means of preservation, Catalan and Galician are adding new speakers. But there are problems. Catalonia is a destination for immigrants from all around the world, but especially from Spanish speaking areas of Latin America and other areas of Spain, and these people speak Spanish, not Catalan. Tensions have arisen here with the government of Catalonia enacting policies to make Catalan a more prominent part of the community, and many immigrants feel that these policies are discriminatory. In Galicia there is not as much immigration from abroad but more of outward migration from Galicia to other parts of Spain and to other countries, and a migration to cities from more rural areas. This has led to a decrease of Galician being taught between generations. But due to language planning many Galicians in urban areas are taught Galician in school, but it is a standardized form and not necessarily the Galician spoken by native speakers outside of urban areas. There are more things than this that I am looking into for my research but this gives you a idea of what my research entails.
Now I would like to say this: I realize that all the information I have comes from books, from research articles and studies. I have never been to Catalonia or Galicia, although I have been to Spain, to Andalusia in fact. So I don't know what the attitudes and thoughts are of the people in these regions apart from what I have read. So what I say here is a reflection of my understanding of my sources. I will be happy to provide a works cited from my research if anyone has any questions. And the writers of these sources are much smarter than I and have much more education and experience in the field of sociolinguistics, while I am only avidly curious. I say all this to say: I do not say anything to intentionally offend or upset anyone. I understand that language, and language use can be tied to politics and social groups and personal identity. I will try my upmost in my blog post to make no judgements, I only seek to report my understanding of things in as neutral a way as I can. I repeat if I offend anyone in the process of this blog it is, believe me, unintentional. I hate hurting peoples feelings. Some would disagree, as I have a habit of being sarcastic, but in all truth I never want to intentionally hurt or offend anyone. So if I get something wrong in my blogs or say something that bothers you, please feel free to comment in a constructive way. If you have an article or news clip that is useful please share! I will be in your debt. I don't know everything nor do I claim to, so if you happen to have more knowledge about something I am talking about and I mess something up, I apologize, and if you can tell me why I am wrong and back it up with articles and evidence I will listen. I am writing this long disclaimer because I am posting this on the internet, where it is very possible that people who live in these areas and speak these languages will be able to read my posts. They will have a much better understanding of what everyday life is like and what attitudes towards this subject are really like. I would love to hear from them since I can not go to Spain myself. I'm a college student and rather penniless. Traveling back to Spain and conducting extensive research myself is rather impossible. So please be patient with me during this process I only want to learn. I did mention I was a nerd, right? If you have comments and questions please feel free to post them, but please make them constructive and polite.
Alright so I'm done with my disclaimer. Well its rather late and I need to sleep because I have another long day of research ahead of me. So goodbye for now and good luck!
*I use the term minority languages in the strict sense of a language that is spoken by less than half of the population. This is by no means a reflection of these language's value or contribution to culture. It is used simply for ease of communication and in a strict numerical sense.
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