July 2006

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A PH.D THESES ANALYSES THE LANGUAGE POLICY BY THE AUTONOMOUS GOVERNMENTS OF VALENCIA BETWEEN 1983 AND 2003 (Univesity of Valencia)

July 2006 – The University of Valencia’s researcher, Anselm Bodoque, is the author of a doctoral thesis that analyses the language policy of the Valencian Autonomous governments between 1983 and 2003.

Dr. Bodoque’s aim was to identify the similarities and the differences between the language policies by the different executives of the Socialist Party of Valencia (PSPV) and of those of the conservatives Popular Party (PP). He has also research the influence that these policies have had on the evolution of the Valencian linguistic conflict on its double contemporary debate: the discussion about the identity of Valencians and the process of linguistic substitution of Valencian by Spanish language.

The research of Anselm Bodoque, with the title of "The Valencian Language and the Policies of Autonomic Governments (1983-2003). A Case Study of Public policies", concludes that observing the basic features of the models of implementation followed by the PSPV and the PP it can be said that that they are quite similar, in spite of the different networks of social actors with which each Executive has collaborated with and the differences that originally sustained both parties in relation to the Catalan language identity.

Other conclusions are that "the implemented language policies have proved to be inefficient to overcome the conflict –originated during the Spanish transition- about the Valencian identity. According to Bodoque, they have not found a way to depoliticise the language debate, no they have achieved the main goal in any government’s language which is to favour the recovery of the social use of the language and to end -in this case- the processes of language substitution and minoritsation of the Catalan language or Valencian in Valencia.