The problem of languages: Socio-discursive imaginaries on linguistic diversity in Spain Cover Image

El problema de les llengües: imaginaris sociodiscursius sobre la diversitat lingüística a Espanya
The problem of languages: Socio-discursive imaginaries on linguistic diversity in Spain

Author(s): IVAN SOLIVELLAS
Subject(s): Media studies, Sociolinguistics
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego
Keywords: glottopolitics; language diversity; language ideologies; socio-discursive imaginaries; X; Twitter;

Summary/Abstract: In Spain, linguistic diversity has often been presented as a problem, to the point that there are different discourses (public and private) that reject the languages of the State other than Span- ish, as Catalan. In this article, I analyze the discourses against linguistic diversity that circulate through the social network X (formerly Twitter), as well as the arguments used to justify them. The starting hypothesis is that in a part of Spanish society there is a socio-discursive imaginary that understands linguistic diversity as a problem, given that it questions the hegemony of the Spanish language and the unity of the state. Thus, based on a corpus of X posts, obtained through a digital ethnography method, the article reports on the different ideologies on languages and linguistic diversity that have been documented, such as debates about the value of different languages, the interested relationship often established between “regional languages” and nationalism, as well as the dichotomy between languages of the world (Spanish) and local languages (the rest), strongly linked to the concepts of anonymity and authenticity.

  • Issue Year: 31/2023
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 71-84
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: Spanish