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Catalan: Culture and Society

Code: 103567
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Humanities OB 2

Contact lecturer

Name :
Pau Francesch Sabate
Email :
pau.francesch@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

- Interest in history and sociolinguistics.

- Willingness to discuss critically about social, political and linguistic issues.

- Willingness to carry out independent study and reading work from the bibliography provided.

- Willingness to prepare an oral in person exposition in group.

Objectives

The subject Catalan language: culture and society aims to offer a comprehensive view of the current situation of Catalan, analyse the main historical facts that have conditioned its use, deepen the concepts of standard language and its regulations, identify the works that shape the normative corpus of Catalan, get to know the main features of standard oral Catalan, study the areas of use of the standard and show the most relevant institutions related to the Catalan language.

Learning outcomes

  1. Analysing and interpreting oral texts of different nature.
  2. Applying and adapting in a coherent way the characteristics of the standard dialect in various communicational situations.
  3. Knowing the main institutions associated to language (academic, public administrations, foundations, consortium, etc.) and their functions and development.
  4. Knowing the main data about the current situation of language (legal status, territorial extension, number of speakers...).
  5. Mastering the varieties of oral discourse, and its level of adequacy and formality.
  6. Mastering the main linguistic variation parameters.
  7. Understanding the concept of linguistic planning and applying it.
  8. Expressing contents and arguments in a reasoned manner in (oral and written) formal discourses.
  9. Communicating in a properly, organised, and suitable manner in an oral conversation or presentation.
  10. Detecting and correcting any type (grammatical, spelling, stylistic, pragmatic, argumentative...) of inadequacy in a text.

Contents

1. Current situation of the Catalan language. Legal status, territorial extension and number of speakers.


2. The geolectal division of Catalan and its historical justification.


3. The Catalan language throughout history. Facts that have conditioned the use of the language.


4. The authority and the normative corpus of the Catalan language. The works of Pompeu Fabra. The diffusion of the regulations.


5. The standard variety: definition, construction process and fields of use.


6. Orality: adequacy, functional variation and register. The oral standard of the Catalan language.


7. The standard in the mass media. Style books.


8. Institutions and organizations related to the Catalan language: language policy.


7. The standard in mass media. Style references.


8. Institutions and organizations linked to the Catalan language.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Readings, exercises, exercicises and short questions about the readings, one oral presentation in groups and self-study. 100.5 4.02 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Lectures, discussions about the readings, solving exercises in the class. 45 1.8 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

The subject Catalan language: culture and society combines two types of educational activities: (a) directed (33%), such as theoretical lessons and solving homework exercises in class, and (b) self paced (66%), such as readings, exercises (short questions about the readings + an oral in person presentation in group) and studying.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Oral presentation (in person) 35% 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Final exam 40% 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10
Midterm exam 25% 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Continuous evaluation

The evaluation of this course includes three activities that will be done in class on previously announced dates:

(1) partial written exam (25%)

(2) in person oral presentation in group (35%)

(3) final written exam (40%)


At the beginning of each evaluation activity, the professor will inform the students about review of grade procedure and date.


Unique evaluation

  1. Written test (40%)
  2. Oral test (35%)
  3. Exercise (25%)

Plagiarism and irregularities

In the event that the student commits any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment act, this assessment act will be graded with 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be instructed. In the event of several irregularities in the evaluation acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject will be 0.


Review

On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.

Failed students may recover suspended assessment activities or compensate for those not submitted, provided they meet the following two conditions. First of all, they have completed assessable items corresponding to two thirds of the total grade of the course or module; second, they must have obtained a weighted average gradeof the set of assessable items of at least 3.5. Only the final written test can be re-evaluated. The maximum grade for recovery is 5.

As for unique evaluation, the student must deliver all three assessment items to participate in the recovery procedure. The same assessment method as continuous assessment will be used.

The teacher will inform the students of the recovery procedure throughthe Virtual Campus when he / she publishes the provisional final grades. Theteacher will be able to establish an evaluation activity for each activity passed or not presented or a single activity to cover all these activities.

Students will obtain a Not assessed/Not submitted course grade unless they have submitted more than 30% of the assessment items.

Bibliography

Aires-Bennett, Wendy (2021). Modelling Language Standardization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Junyent, M. Carme i Bel Zaballa (2020). El futur del català depèn de tu. Barcelona: La campana.

Ballot, Josep Pau (1815) [2006]. Gramática y apología de la llengua cathalana. Alacant: Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. < https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra/gramatica-y-apologia-de-la-llengua-cathalana--0/>.

Benavent, Laia (2018). «La transmissió de segones opcions de la Gramàtica catalana de Pompeu Fabra (1918)». <http://diposit.ub.edu/dspace/handle/2445/144199>.

Boix-Fuster, Emili (2004). «Poder i llengües a Catalunya». Revista Catalana de Sociologia, 20, p. 25-42.

Branchadell, Albert (2022). «El català no està “greument amenaçat”. Una crítica tècnica de l’alarmisme lingüístic a propòsit d’El futur del català depèn de tu». Els Marges, 126, p. 27-43.

Casals, Daniel; Massanell, Mar; Segarra, Mila [eds.] (2018): L'extensió social de la normativa als mitjans de comunicació. Barcelona: Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat.

Coromina, Eusebi. (2008): El 9 Nou / El 9 TV. Manual de redacció i estil. Vic: Eumo Editorial.

Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals (2006): ésAdir. Barcelona [en línia: http://esadir.cat]

Fabra, Pompeu (1891). Ensayo de gramatica del catalan moderno. Barcelona: L’Avenç.

 —(1918). Gramàtica catalana. Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Fernàndez, Josep-Anton (2008). El malestar en la cultura catalana. Barcelona: Edicions 62.

Ferrando, Antoni i M. Nicolás Amorós (2011). Història de la llengua catalana. Barcelona: Editorial UOC.

Fuster, Joan (1962). «Qüestió de noms». Barcelona: Edicions d'Aportació Catalana.

 —(1962). Nosaltres, els valencians. Barcelona: Edicions 62.

Haugen, Einar (1966). Language conflicte and Language Planning. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.

Heinz Kloss (1967). \"'Abstand Languages' and 'Ausbau Languages'\". Anthropological Linguistics, 9, 7, p. 29-41.

Hockett, Charles F. (1958). A Course In Modern Linguistics.

Institut d'Estudis Catalans (1990 [1999]4): Proposta per a un estàndard oral de la llengua catalana. I. Fonètica.Barcelona: IEC [www.iec.cat].

— (1992 [1999]3): Proposta per a un estàndard oral de la llengua catalana. II. Morfologia. Barcelona: IEC [www.iec.cat].

— (2018): Proposta per a un estàndard oral de la llengua catalana. III Lèxic. Barcelona: IEC [www.iec.cat]

— (1995 [2007]2): Diccionari de la llengua catalana. Barcelona: IEC, PAMSA, Edicions 62. Edició en línia [www.iec.cat]

— (2016): Gramàtica de la llengua catalana. Barcelona: IEC.

— (2017): Ortografia catalana. Barcelona: IEC.

— (2018): Gramàtica essencial de la llengua catalana. Barcelona: IEC.

— (2019). Gramàtica de la llengua catalana. Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans. <https://giec.iec.cat/>.

Marfany, Joan Lluís (2009). «Llengua, nació i diglòssia», Llengua i ús: revista tècnica de política lingüística, p. 118-21.

Murgades, Josep (1996). Llengua i discriminació. Barcelona: Curial.

Pauné Xuriguera, Gemma i Garcia i Quera, Oriol (2017). Pompeu Fabra: l'aventura de la llengua. Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis Catalans.

Perea, Maria-Pilar (2020). \"Dialèctica de l’estàndard, dialèctica de les varietats dialectals\". Llengua i dialectes: esperances per al català, el gallec i el basc. p. 107-124.

 — (2022). «Les fronteres ideològiques entre Antoni M. Alcover i Pompeu Fabra», eHumanista, 22, p. 388-408.

Rico Busquets, Albert (2009). «Llibres d’estil dels mitjans de comunicació escrits en català». <http://kane.uab.cat/llenguaimedia/>.

Segarra, Mila. (1998): Pompeu Fabra. Barcelona: Empúries.

Solà, Joan. (1987): L'obra de Pompeu Fabra. Barcelona: Teide.

Solà, Joan. [dir.] (1995): Llibre d'estil de l'Ajuntament de Barcelona. Barcelona: Ajuntament de Barcelona.

Veny, Joan.; Massanell, Mar. (2015): Dialectologia catalana. Aproximació pràctica als parlars catalans. Barcelona, Alacant i València: Universitat de Barcelona, Universitat d'Alacant i Universitat de València.

Woolard, Kathryn A. (2016). Singular and Plural: Ideologies of Linguistic Authority in 21st Century Catalonia. New York: Oxford Academic.

Software

In this course the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed exclusively in the bibliographic or information research. The student must clearly specify the contribution that AI has made to the work or activity and specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. Lack of transparency in the use of AI in this assessable activity will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may result in a partial or total penalty in the grade of the activity or more serious sanctions.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed