Intergenerational transmission of Catalan in the Franja is not stable

Abstract

This article analyses the intergenerational transmission of Catalan in La Franja (Aragon) as a central indicator of Language-shift processes in contexts of minoritisation. It proposes a new indicator for this purpose. Drawing on data from the linguistic usage surveys of La Franja (2004 and 2014), the classic Catalan index (ITIC) suggests that the transmission of Catalan from parents to children remains slightly positive in both survey waves. However, the application of the new indicator — the global intergenerational transmission index (ITIG), which integrates the full range of sociolinguistic dynamics — reveals that it shifts from being favourable to Catalan to yielding a negative result in 2014. This divergence demonstrates that, beyond demographic changes and the apparent stability of transmission in absolute terms, there are signs of intergenerational rupture and language shift in certain regions, particularly in La Litera and La Ribagorza. The findings are in dialogue with other quantitative and qualitative studies that likewise point to an emergent substitution process, and they highlight the need to incorporate the social and symbolic dimensions of change — including glottophobia —to understand how linguistic discrimination shapes family and youth language choices.