Identity and social prestige in the Comunitat Valenciana. A case study on Valencian and English

Abstract

This paper studies the case of the western variety of the Catalan language (henceforth Valencian) as a sign of identity for it speakers in contrast to the eastern variety of Catalan (henceforth Catalan), as well as the future role of English in the Comunitat Valenciana. The aim of this study is twofold. On the one hand, we would like to discover if Valencian is a sign of identity for its speakers and, on the other hand, to find out if English could have more presence in the Comunitat Valenciana than Valencian in the future as the latter seems to have lost prestige. In order to obtain the required data, six interviews are conducted according to the qualitative research method, which allows smaller but more in-depth samples. The selected participants are classified into two groups according to whether they have been living only in the Comunitat Valenciana or in both the Comunitat Valenciana and Catalunya. The results obtained, which are displayed in the form of tables, suggest that Valencian is a sign of identity for its speakers and that English could not occupy its place in the future in the Comunitat Valenciana. This, consequently, allows us to conclude that speakers of Valencian feel identified with their own language and, although English has increased its presence in this area, this cannot be regarded as a threat for the survival of the minority language, nor for its future presence in the Comunitat Valenciana.