European parliament working paper
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CatalanIntroductionCatalan is a Romance language, which developed a character of its own in the early Middle Ages. Its linguistic characteristics have remained very stable with little regional variation: the linguistic distance between western and eastern Catalan is small. French Catalonia (pop. 380,000) is the northernmost tip of the Catalan-speaking lands, and covers nearly all the Pyrénées-Orientales department. The most important event affecting Catalan in the region was undoubtedly its annexation by France in 1659. The area is influenced by Catalonia proper (the most dynamic region of Spain, with a greater GDP than Greece or Portugal) south of the border. Catalonia’s language policy, with public support, is visible in the use of Catalan in the Parliament, institutions and society. Since Schengen came into effect (1993), Catalonia proper has improved language attitudes and use there. The use of the language in various fieldsDespite not having a legal status, Catalan is present in public life, reinforced or reintroduced by the development of administrative relations with Catalonia proper. Catalan has spread beyond traditional domains (agriculture, construction, and transport) and Catalan proficiency now figures as a requirement for certain jobs and professional training courses. Education: Strong parental demand for Catalan in primary and secondary schools is thwarted by administrative obstacles and the dearth of trained teachers. Perpignan’s Academic Inspectorate found in 1995 that 38% of families wanted their children to receive a bilingual education. But in State schools only 19% of primary pupils, and 6% of secondary students, had some kind of contact with Catalan in 1999: in all, only 8,200 students, of which only 1% were in bilingual classes. Two associations, La Bressola (Cradle) and Arrels (Roots), have for 20 years run infant school immersion schemes, followed by bilingual schooling. At Perpignan University, the Department of Catalan Studies and a research centre187 offer a complete degree course and three postgraduate courses; c. 200 students study the language speciality. Mass media: 40 hours of Catalan TV can be watched every day in Perpignan, thanks to the two Catalan channels TV3 and Canal 33. Booster stations installed along the frontier or inside France, at the initiative of local authorities, with regional authorities and EU funding, allow this. Yet the public French and private audiovisual media broadcast just c. 13 min. weekly on France 3, the regional TV channel. An association-run Catalan-language station, Ràdio Arrels, covers the whole of northern Catalonia. 36% of a survey sample listened to the radio, and half-watched TV, in Catalan. Its place in the local and regional press is marginal. Since 1999 the Girona daily, El Punt, publishes a local edition in Catalan, though it still has limited sales. L’Indépendant includes a short weekly article in Catalan on frivolous subjects. The arts: Local publishing in Catalan is limited by the lack of financial backing and poor distribution. 10-20 books are published each year (compared with the grand total of 7,359 in 2000). Most are published by Terra Nostra and El Trabucaire, and a few at the author’s expense. Several books by well-known local writers on subjects of wider interest are published every year in Barcelona, and distributed throughout the Catalan area. Social and family use: Surveys carried out by Média Pluriel (1993 and 1997) at the request of the Languedoc-Roussillon regional council indicate that basic proficiency in the language is quite high: 49% say they can speak Catalan and 40% can read it. Attitudes are favourable: 48% state their commitment to Catalan and 68% support bilingual signage, so ‘self-hatred’ has disappeared and diglossia has waned. 83% want Catalan teaching for all and 57% want it for children. After a severe decline from 1950 to 1990, the use and knowledge of Catalan has stabilised somewhat, though there are far more fluent speakers among the elderly (16% of the 18-24 age group, 35% of the 25-44 age group, 55% of 45-64-year-olds and 73% of over-65s). Language learning by adults (for learners, including in-coming pensioners) is also significant. Bibliography and data sources:Becat, Jean: La situació del català a França: aspectes jurídics i docents i estudis sobre la matèria, IEC, Barcelone, November 2000. Becat, Jean et Bernardó, Dominique: ‘Domaine catalan’, Rapport... (Bouvier), MEN, 1984, pp. 141-159. Fiche langues de France: Catalan, Ministère de la Culture, Paris, 1999. Inform’APLEC, Associació per a l’ensenyament del català, nov. 1999: ‘Ressenya del 13è col·loqui de la FLAREP’, ‘Catalunya Nord’, pp. 75-80. Rapport sur l’aire catalane en France, établi pour le MENRT, Perpignan, 1999. CorsicanIntroductionCorsican (Corsu) belongs the Italo-Romance group of languages. Though not imported Italian, peninsular influence was strong in medieval and modern times. It evolved on its own on a strongly latinized Tyrrhenian substratum, as happened in Sicily and Sardinia. The island has an area of 8,700 km2 and 260,000 inhabitants. The Corsican diaspora, though never recorded as such, is put at several hundred thousand. A 1995 survey188 showed that 64% of the inhabitants of Corsica claimed to speak Corsican, 57% to read it and 81% to understand it; and that 73% wanted their children to learn the language. A bill in the French Parliament regarding the special new status for Corsican allows for the transfer of limited powers and competencies and, above all, the extension of the teaching of the language to all students at all levels, unless parents request otherwise. In its current configuration, Corsica’s regional Assembly has a consultative body, the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (CRDP), which makes proposals and stimulates activity. The Assembly funds the CRDP for the production of school material, books and drama in Corsican. The use of the language in various fieldsThe unique 1991 law creating the Collectivité Territoriale (Territorial Community) of Corsica authorised it to adopt a development plan to incorporate Corsican teaching into the school curriculum. This has allowed contracts with State services to introduce educational back-up and extracurricular activities. Unlike other French regions, there are no Corsican association-run or private schools. Language provision is offered only by the State system, at the rates laid down by law, albeit under the effects of social and militant pressure. In 2000, 79% of the 25,000 students enrolled in infant and primary education had Corsican lessons, mostly a weekly sensitisation lesson, though 16% had at least three hours a week of Corsican. The first bilingual class opened in 1996 at Calvi infant school, and this model has spread very fast. There is at least one location per catchment area, and 1,100 pupils now follow such schemes. Three centres, run by associations at Savaghju, Loretu and Bastia, offer schools discovery camps in Corsican. Thanks to the significant number of CAPES places in Corsican (97 certificates being issued in ten years), and to the regular offer at grade 6 since 1999, 7,800 secondary school pupils took Corsican classes in 2000, i.e. 36% of the total (45% in secondary schools, 40% in technical schools and 15% in high schools). Three secondary schools have bilingual sections. Corsican is also taught at a high school in Marseille, on the mainland. At the University of Corte, there is a complete bilingual Corsican studies degree course and 50h of Corsican are included in all courses, as occurs in the IUFM. Mass media: The public Radio Corsica Frequenza Mora offers daily programmes and news in Corsican. Private or association-run radios use some Corsican, especially songs; one broadcasts solely in Corsican. The France 3 TV channel has increased its Corsican broadcasts to over 2h a week, with a daily 10-min bulletin and a 1h magazine, which uses Corsican at some points. Regional newspapers only have a few weekly articles in Corsican. The arts: Publishing in Corsican is limited. Musical production, though, is abundant and there are many courses of Corsican music and polyphonic choir music for schools and tourists. Bibliography and data sources:Fusina, Jacques: ‘Media audio-visuel et langue locale: le cas du corse’, Bretagne et peuples d’Europe. Mélanges à Per Denez, Rennes, 1999. Inform’APLEC, Associació per a l’ensenyament del català, nov. 1999: ‘Ressenya del 13è col·loqui de la FLAREP’, pp. 5-17. Pomponi, Francis: ‘Domaine corse’, Rapport... (Bouvier), MEN, 1984, pp. 160-166. Directory: RegData -> etudes -> document travail document travail -> Working paper a single market in financial services RegData -> European commission brussels, XXX RegData -> The european commission RegData -> Provisional agreement resulting from interinstitutional negotiations Download 1.21 Mb. Share with your friends:
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