La normalització lingüística als ajuntaments

Resum

On the tenth anniversary of the passage of the Law on Language Standardization in Catalonia, the author presents an assessment of the way this law has been applied in local government. In 1988, in order to promote the knowledge, use and dissemination of Catalan, the Executive Council of the Catalan Autonomous Government approved the creation of a Consortium for Language Standardization. Through agreements entered into with numerous town councils throughout Catalonia, this Consortium has established Language Standardization Centers and Local Catalan Language Offices, charged with ensuring the standardization process on a local level and within city government. Furthermore, a mandatory Local Administration Program was established in 1990 for all Consortium municipalities, with a view towards encouraging and strengthening the use of Catalan. The task of standardizing language use in city government is not an easy one, and the author explains his personal reflections on the matter. The principal factors of language «non-standardization» are the lack of motivation among civil service employees, the low attendance rate at Catalan classes, the failure to take advantage of Catalan language training, the lack of interest evidenced at times by the political sector, and limited resources. To change negative attitudes, the author enumerates a series of benefits for municipalities as well as for civil servants, in order to convince both groups that Catalan is a useful and indispensable tool in the workplace. The author concludes that, in spite of the monetary and organizational efforts of the Consortium for Language Standardization, without well-structured internal regulations for the use of Catalan and an equally well-planned Program of Language Standardization that could be well implemented on the municipal level, and without optimal training and pay for Language Standardization Center and Local Catalan Language Office personnel, Catalan standardization efforts on the municipal level will be ineffective, and consequently, will be disappointing for the citizenry in general.