Catalan language commissions are launching across Barcelona’s ten districts as part of a major initiative to promote the use of Catalan in daily life.
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The city council has approved this proposal from Junts party, aiming to address what they term a “linguistic emergency” highlighted by recent language usage surveys.
According to the latest Population Language Usage Survey (EULP 2023), only 36% of Barcelona residents use Catalan as their habitual language. Furthermore, eight out of ten Catalan speakers switch languages when addressed in Castilian Spanish. These commissions represent a concerted effort to reverse this trend through district-level studies and activities.
Catalan Language Strategy Gains Cross-Party Support
The initiative forms part of Junts’ “In Barcelona, Live in Catalan” campaign and has been presented as motions in district council meetings. The executive led by Mayor Jaume Collboni has accepted the proposal, introducing minor modifications in some cases.
Interestingly, only in Les Corts district was the initiative formulated as a formal proposition requiring a vote. All political groups positioned themselves favourably except Vox and the PSC, who voted against. Nevertheless, the measure proceeded with support from other political forces.
The working groups will focus on three main objectives: promoting social use of Catalan, monitoring approved linguistic initiatives, and driving specific actions to encourage language use. They will collaborate with district entities, the Commissioner for the Catalan Language, and the Generalitat’s Language Policy Department.
These commissions represent one of twenty concrete measures Junts recently delivered to the language commissioner. Other proposals include compliance with Language Usage Regulations, defence of educational immersion models, and promotion of Catalan in sports and culture.
Additionally, the plan involves collaboration with entities and libraries for awareness campaigns. As urban regeneration projects continue across the city, language promotion forms part of broader cultural preservation efforts.
Councilman Joan Rodríguez of Junts emphasised: “We’re not asking for anything extraordinary: only that the City Council complies with regulations and leads the defence of Catalan as the city’s own language. Barcelona cannot continue being the capital where Catalan retreats, but rather the engine of its recovery.”
The district commissions will work alongside existing language promotion structures to create a comprehensive network supporting Catalan usage across all aspects of city life, from commerce to education and public administration.
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