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Regional language as a tool for integration? Romanians and Valencian Catalan

Regional language as a tool for integration? Romanians and Valencian Catalan
Regional language as a tool for integration? Romanians and Valencian Catalan
Spain has witnessed substantial migratory flows in the last decade, some of which have been concentrated in autonomous regions with co-official languages. This article examines the responses of one migrant community, the Romanians, to the presence of two official languages, Castilian and Valencian where they work and whether the regional language can offer additional resources in the integrative process. We consider briefly the growth and specificity of Romanian migration to the Valencian region and examine the role of the discourse of Latinity in negotiating the situation of the Romanians within the host community and the perceptions and evaluations of language competences that emerge from it. We suggest that the migration experience, particularly as temporary and circular trajectories, and transnational modes of living foster a critical language awareness. Ultimately, the socio-economic evaluation means that the Romanian migrants reproduce dominant language ideologies towards the co-official regional language.
migration, latinity, regional language, integration, spain, romania
1364-971X
41-60
Vigers, Dick
54fd8e51-9d1b-4421-9a27-fee1272be9a0
Vigers, Dick
54fd8e51-9d1b-4421-9a27-fee1272be9a0

Vigers, Dick (2012) Regional language as a tool for integration? Romanians and Valencian Catalan. International Journal of Iberian Studies, 25 (1), 41-60. (doi:10.1386/ijis.25.1.41_1).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Spain has witnessed substantial migratory flows in the last decade, some of which have been concentrated in autonomous regions with co-official languages. This article examines the responses of one migrant community, the Romanians, to the presence of two official languages, Castilian and Valencian where they work and whether the regional language can offer additional resources in the integrative process. We consider briefly the growth and specificity of Romanian migration to the Valencian region and examine the role of the discourse of Latinity in negotiating the situation of the Romanians within the host community and the perceptions and evaluations of language competences that emerge from it. We suggest that the migration experience, particularly as temporary and circular trajectories, and transnational modes of living foster a critical language awareness. Ultimately, the socio-economic evaluation means that the Romanian migrants reproduce dominant language ideologies towards the co-official regional language.

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Published date: 2012
Keywords: migration, latinity, regional language, integration, spain, romania
Organisations: Modern Languages and Linguistics

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 198035
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/198035
ISSN: 1364-971X
PURE UUID: 0a376974-c3c2-4bb6-832e-1e0f236e0a2e

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Date deposited: 29 Sep 2011 13:33
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 04:12

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Author: Dick Vigers

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