Evolution and determinants of language attitudes among Catalan adolescents

This paper analyzes language integration from an intergroup-relations' perspective, using the social identity approach and socio-contextual model of second language acquisition. It focuses on the evolution of language attitudes in adolescents as an indicator of cultural integration between the two major language groups in Catalonia. The distinctive features of the Catalan case − the similar ethnolinguistic vitality enjoyed by the two official languages and the widespread bilingualism that common schooling has fostered − make it of great sociolinguistic interest. The empirical study focuses on the development of language attitudes towards Catalan and Spanish by using a panel sample of Catalan students (N = 1050) followed for a period of five years (three waves). Joint trajectory clustering was used to make a longitudinal analysis that shows the main patterns of coevolution. Logistic regression relates changes to other linguistic, identity and sociodemographic variables. Results show that there are three main types of change in attitudes: a majority one, whith a profile of integration, and two others, which tend to separation. The direct effects of language confidence and ethnonational identity are found to explain the likelihood of individuals following one of these types of change.