Spanish and Catalan in the Balearic Islands

Abstract

The Balearic Islands are one of the autonomous regions of modern Spain, where both Catalan and Spanish are considered o‰cial languages and are widely spoken among the population. Historically, the main language of the region has been Catalan, brought to the islands during the Spanish Reconquest from the thirteenth century onwards. The presence of Spanish was noted much later, as a slow language substitution process starting in the sixteenth century took place. This article analyzes the functional distribution of both languages today, as well as consequences of secular language contact and some attitudinal aspects of Balearic social bilingualism.