While Catalan remains a core language of instruction in Barcelona’s schools, its use dramatically drops once the final bell rings. A new study reveals that Spanish is the exclusive language in 75% of interactions among young people during leisure and sports activities, highlighting a significant challenge for the social use of Catalan outside the classroom.
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The findings are part of the “Joves i Català” (Youth and Catalan) project, an initiative by the prestigious Institut d’Estudis Catalans (IEC) and funded by the Barcelona City Council. Researchers followed approximately 700 young people and 100 monitors, coaches, and workshop leaders in youth centres, sports clubs, and other recreational facilities to create a detailed snapshot of linguistic habits. Vicent Climent, the project manager, described the shift in language as a tale of two parallel realities. “Once they step a foot outside the classroom, it’s another world,” he remarked during the study’s presentation on Wednesday. Data, first reported by El Periódico, shows Catalan use is “very minority” in peer-to-peer conversations; Spanish dominates three out of every four exchanges.
Perception and Generational Shift
The study suggests this disparity stems from language perception. Many young Barcelonians view Spanish as the “natural” or default language for informal socialising. Conversely, Catalan is often seen as a more “connoted” language, primarily linked to academic or institutional contexts.
“Many monitors tell us that young people ‘aren’t interested’ in Catalan, but Catalan isn’t an object, it’s a vehicular language,” Climent highlighted, pointing to a dynamic where Spanish has become the established lingua franca for youth entertainment.
Sociolinguist Nacho Sorolla, from the IEC’s Philological Section, noted Barcelona’s social use of Catalan lags behind Catalonia’s average and suffers from “generational erosion.” He observed that a young person speaking Spanish in a group today is less conspicuous, while a Catalan speaker often draws more peer attention.
This linguistic trend occurs against a backdrop of significant demographic change. As previously reported, by 2025, projections indicate half of the city’s residents under 35 will have been born outside of Spain, adding complexity to language integration and identity.
Adult Mentors: A Key Influence
Despite the dominance of Spanish in informal settings, the study identified a key lever for change: the influence of adults. When a coach, instructor, or monitor addresses a group in Catalan, its use among young participants increases significantly, rising to between 30% and 40%. “When the monitor speaks Catalan, the language is activated a bit more among the group,” Climent noted.
However, the project lamented a widespread lack of explicit linguistic policies in municipal youth and sports facilities, like the upcoming Grassot Youth Space in Gràcia. Without clear guidelines, professionals choose the language used on the playing field or in the workshop, allowing social inertia to favour majority Spanish use.
To counter this, organisations like Òmnium Cultural are championing the role of coaches as linguistic leaders. Ignasi Buyreu of the sports innovation school ESIDE emphasised this, stating, “Wherever the coach naturally maintains Catalan, the group adapts.” Marina Masseguer, from the Consortium for Linguistic Normalisation, concurred, adding that “the monitor has the power to decide which is the unmarked language, the usual one in that environment.”
Catalan in the Digital Arena
To prevent Catalan from being perceived as an “old” language, the study also stresses the importance of conquering the digital world, a central sphere in youth culture. This includes social media platforms, like the homegrown network ‘xiuxiuejar’, and the global world of video games.
Rut Carandell, director of Plataforma per la Llengua, argued for normalising the language in mass-market games, a topic recently debated after Nintendo faced criticism for omitting Catalan in a promotion. “Having matches broadcast in Catalan is basic for developing terminology and then playing with friends in Catalan,” she said.
Climent echoed this sentiment, setting a clear goal for the future. “The challenge is for ‘casters’ to narrate ‘League of Legends’ matches in Catalan and for the use of the Catalan language to be normalised in virtual entertainment.”
The project’s authors propose a coordinated effort at three levels: macro (public administrations), meso (centres and clubs), and micro (monitors and citizens). The ultimate five-year goal, Climent explained, is to ensure Barcelona’s young people can choose to live their lives fully in Catalan, from the sports pitch to the world of e-sports. “Languages are cumulative,” he concluded, “and Catalan adds value.”
