Ideologías y actitudes lingüísticas en Mallorca en una era de crisis económica

What is it about?

From 2011 to 2015, the president of the autonomous region of the Balearic Islands carried out a series of language reforms aiming to encourage the islands’ entrance into the local and global marketplace. In response to these language policies, a significant number of residents of the Balearic Islands filled the streets to protest against what they perceived as a concealed attack on the Catalan language. In this study, we rely upon qualitative and quantitative data from 316 surveys and 20 personal interviews completed by residents of Mallorca to analyze the diverse language attitudes and ideologies related to this language conflict. The governments discourse, and the population’s reactions to that discourse, is inextricably linked to the ongoing economic crisis. We highlight the perception of economic profit linked to the use of English and Spanish vs. Catalan and its local variety (i.e., mallorquin) during a period of economic recession.

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