Aproximació als aspectes jurídics de la qüestió lingüística als Jocs Olímpics de Barcelona 1992

Resum

The present article is based on a more extensive paper, written after Barcelona was designated as the site of the Games of the XXV Olympiad. It focusses on the language regulations of the Olympic Charter, and considers the language issues that will arise in the organization and realization of the Games in Barcelona, with two official languages: Catalan, which is Barcelona's own language, and Spanish. Various regulations of the Olympic Charter, whose norms must be given priority during the Olympics, deal with the language question. A distinction is made among the official languages of the International Olympic Committee (French and English), the working languages, and the language of the organizing country. The Committee attaches varying degrees of importance to the organizing country's language, depending on the circumstances. In Barcelona's case, the two co-official languages, together with French and English, have become the official languages of the Games, with equal treatment being granted to all. After discussing the commitments Barcelona made as part of its candidacy, the author briefly analyzes some situations regarding the co-official status of Catalan and Spanish in the Games that might turn out to be controversial. Although according to the principle of non-discrimination, the coofficial status of the four languages in the Games implies using them on an equal footing, a general formula must be found for circumstances where this is not possible, especially where a conflict develops between Catalan and Spanish. The author proposes the use of Catalan, an official language native to Catalonia, when it is a matter of an internal organizational problem regarding the Games. This proposal does not violate the equality of the official languages of the Olympics, since this unequal treatment does indeed have an objective justification: the acknowledged inferiority of Catalan vis-a- vis the other official languages.