The Spanish government has been accused of undermining the unity of the Catalan language by officially treating 'Valencian' as a distinct language. This approach, seen in various ministry websites and some ATM interfaces, contradicts scientific consensus and legal definitions, according to an analysis published in Nació Digital.
Catalan is spoken by 10 million people across four European states, making it the 13th most spoken language in the European Union and ranking above 12 official EU languages such as Danish, Croatian, and Slovak. It is also the seventh most learned language in Europe and one of the top 10 most active languages online, relative to its number of speakers.
Historically, Catalan was a pioneering language in Europe, used for scientific, theological, medical, astronomical, and philosophical texts by figures like Ramon Llull, at a time when Latin dominated these fields. Today, it is taught at universities worldwide and boasts a significant literary output, with over 10,000 titles published annually.
Attacks on Linguistic Unity
Spanish nationalism's objective, according to the analysis, is to deny the reality of Catalan's demographic and territorial importance. A key strategy to weaken the language is to attack its scientific unity. The principle of 'divide and conquer' is applied by attempting to reclassify regional variants, such as Valencian, Mallorcan, or Tortosí, as separate languages, rather than dialects of a single language.
This offensive is particularly evident in the Balearic Islands, the Valencian Country, and La Franja, where efforts are made to deny the local language's status as Catalan. While it is common for languages to have multiple popular names, Catalan is uniquely targeted with constant attacks on its scientific unity. For example, Spanish and Castilian, or Flemish and Dutch, are recognised as different names for the same language, without being presented as distinct languages on official platforms or ATMs.
Former Popular Party leader Pablo Casado, for instance, publicly stated that residents of Menorca, Mallorca, Ibiza, and Formentera spoke 'Menorcan', 'Mallorcan', 'Ibiza-dialect', and 'Formentera-dialect' rather than Catalan. However, the Statute of Autonomy of the Balearic Islands and the Law of Linguistic Normalisation explicitly refer to the language as 'Catalan'.
Official Disregard for Unity
The King of Spain also faced criticism in 2024 for granting the title of 'Royal' to the 'Reyal Acadèmi de Sa Llengo Baléà'. This entity promotes a linguistic standard that lacks academic support, with no writers or philologists endorsing it. The Institute of Catalan Studies, the University of the Balearic Islands, the Obra Cultural Balear, and even the Balearic government led by the Popular Party have protested this decision, calling for the withdrawal of royal patronage from what they describe as a display of scientific ignorance and political bad faith.
Even the current Spanish government, described as the most progressive in history, officially maintains the distinction between 'Valencian' and 'Catalan' as separate languages. This is evident on the websites of the Ministry of Culture, led by Ernest Urtasun of the Comuns; the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, headed by Jordi Hereu of the PSC; the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, under Diana Morant of the Socialist Party of the Valencian Country; and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, led by Lluís Planas, another Valencian socialist.
This stance persists despite the Constitutional Court and the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language recognising the unity of Catalan. The analysis questions the silence of political parties like the Comuns, PSC, PSPV, PSOE, and Sumar, suggesting their inaction makes them complicit in undermining the language's unity.
Banking Sector Inconsistencies
In the banking sector, inconsistencies are also apparent. In Catalonia, major banks typically offer 'Catalan' as the sole language option for card transactions. However, smaller entities like IberCaja simultaneously differentiate between 'Catalan' and 'Valencian' in the same territory, while only offering 'Spanish' without options for 'Castilian', 'Andalusian', or other regional variants of Spanish.
In the Valencian Country, Banc Sabadell, CaixaBank, and Cajamar exclusively offer 'Valencian', while BBVA, Santander, and Caja Rural Central only provide 'Catalan'. IberCaja again stands out by offering both 'Valencian' and 'Catalan' as distinct languages. In the Balearic Islands, local banks such as CaixaBank, Banc Sabadell, and Colonya Caixa Pollença, along with other national banks, only offer 'Catalan' alongside foreign languages. IberCaja, however, continues to differentiate between 'Catalan' and 'Valencian', a move seen as intentional and harmful to the language's unity.
