NGO warns Catalan language is facing 'emergency' as social use declines

The Catalan language NGO Plataforma per la Llengua has warned that Catalan is in a linguistic emergency that is not being "reversed."

The organization's president, Òscar Escuder, stressed that the use of Catalan is "declining" and in a "worrying" situation.

According to the organization, Spanish laws are to blame for this decline, arguing that they are "totally against" Catalan language.

"We have some laws that could benefit us, such as those for cinema or consumer rights, but we do not enforce them," Escuder said.

Escuder stressed that the challenge of preserving the language lies with "the citizens themselves," noting that 80% of Catalan speakers "unnecessarily" switch to Spanish.

"It has been a longstanding demand to citizens: do not switch languages, because it is detrimental to Catalan," he said.

Despite many switching to Spanish, eight out of 10 Catalan speakers consider knowing how to speak Catalan very important to being Catalan, according to a Catalan government survey.

"The link between identity and language is key to ensuring the future of Catalan," the organization said.

Among people aged 15 to 34, 12% say they only speak Catalan, while 22% say they only speak Spanish, according to the InformeCAT 2024 survey.

"In the transition from primary to secondary school, many Catalan speakers begin to use Spanish much more frequently, while Spanish speakers continue to speak only Spanish," says Miquel Gil, the study's head.