Llengua i ensenyament a Catalunya (1714-1931): revisió crítica d'una reivindicació històrica desatesa = Language and Teaching in Catalonia (1714-1931): a Critical Review of an Ignored Historical Demand
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The article shines critical light on the legal regulation of language use in Catalonia's classrooms during the period between 1714 and 1931. Our analysis of regulatory provisions, from the New Regime Decree (Decret de Nova Planta) to the rise of the Second Spanish Republic, is enriched by a political review that considers the sociopolitical context of the time and the arguments put forward during parliamentary debates, which ultimately contributed to a number of political initiatives of influence in this domain. By examining regulatory history and past political debates, we can verify that the presence, teaching and use of Catalan in the classrooms of the Principality of Catalonia were no less than a milestone reached after centuries of regulatory imposition of Spanish as the sole language of instruction and learning. Given such a past, the political demand for full normalisation of Catalan in teaching would go on to become a recurring element in a number of political initiatives put forth in recent centuries. In fact, this demand has underlain every debate held to attain recognition and autonomy for Catalonia. As it would seem, it would become a central element of linguistic policies devised, in one way or another, to influence the regulation of language use in the Principality