El règim jurídic de la llengua en la retolació pública, la toponímia i la denominació dels ens locals a Catalunya

Resum

This essay, for which no precedent exists in its field, presents in detail the legal norms that are applied in Catalonia in matters relating what its title describes, and points out what the main difficulties of interpretation and application of these norms are.  The study is structured in three parts. In the first place, the conceptual delimitation of expressions such as «public signmaking», «toponymy» and «naming of local entities» encompasses its terminological explanation.  Part two, dedicated to the limits of competence between State and Autonomous Community, is divided into a series of smaller sections that are concerned with each one of the notions already mentioned. In addition to that, in this part of the essay some general considerations on language matters and on the nature of Catalan as the autochthonous, as well as official, language of Catalonia are made.  In the last part, which deals with language policies, the general prescriptions of the linguistic Normalization Act of Catalonia are discussed and the different norms that have developed the use of Catalan in the various contexts dealt with in this study are analysed.  As a way of concluding, the authors expound the legal observations that have been pointed out throughout the essay. They also underline the importance of a certain policy of consumed facts in the various areas under study. Through the examination of the normative framework, the selection of a system of bilingualism is observed instead of a system of linguistic coofficiality.  Finally, the authors offer some suggestions of a legislative nature that, in their opinion, would solve the difficulties that the norms now enforced entail in the areas that are examined in this article.