Language attitudes and loyalties in the Valencian Country, by Lorena Císcar, David González and Pau Pérez

The habitus to which we refer are linked and are the product of combining different types of language loyalties. These loyalties are indicators that we have constructed using the questions from surveys. We have used these indicators to measure: the level of Competential loyalty in terms of knowledge of a language; Primary, Secondary and Written Instrumental loyalties according to oral and written use of the language; lastly, we have observed Valuational loyalty, which concerns the valuation of language.

As we have said, we can use this combination of loyalties to observe certain attitudes or habitus located within specific language groups in the social structure. Thus, we find five types of language habitus, which we have termed Loyalty, Competence, Idealisation, Use and Assimilation. These terms relate to the main feature of each language group.

2. Social and Linguistic Loyalties

As we pointed out earlier, the indicators of language loyalty were constructed using the questions on knowledge, use and evaluation of Valencian from the surveys that we analysed.

Depending on its function, we can consider language in an instrumental or valuational dimension. The instrumental dimension takes place ‘on’ the language, whereas the valuational dimension is that used when we talk ‘about’ the language. Ninyoles (1975) credits this distinction to Fishmann (1989). For our analyses, we have added a third dimension – competence.

We have processed the information from the questions using weighted averages of response.

The weighted average consists in giving different values to the answers according to their relation with our central concept: linguistic loyalty. Of course, this weighted average can be challenged but it allows us to objectivize our measurement and its further discussion.

This has given us five loyalties which relate to language competence, use and valuation.

2. 1. 1. Competential loyalty

This type of indicator aims to measure the capacity to understand, to speak, to read and to write.

We assign to the understanding of Valencian a weighted average of 1, as it is the lowest level of competence; we allocate a 2 to speaking and reading insofar as both skills show a higher level of competence than only to understand the language and they imply a process of codification and decodification, both oral and written. Finally, we assign a weighted average of 3 to writing as we consider it as the higher possible level of competence.

We apply this allocation of weighted averages to the four options of answer in each and every of the four questions: "any" is rated with 0 as it shows no competence; "a little" is rated with 1; "fairly" with 2; "fluently" with 3. At the end, from this we get a new variable according to which an individidual can reach a maximum score of 24 (understand, speak, read and write fluently) and a minimum score of 0 (not to have any of the four competences). In order to work with an indicator ranging between the values 0 and 1, we divide it by 24. We call this new variable Competencial Loyalty.

2. 1. 2. Primary Instrumental loyalty

By means of this indicator which has been built up from variables q5a, q5b, q5c and q5f, we aim to measure the level of use of Valencian compared to Spanish, in the main spheres of primary social relationships, i.e. at home, with friends, in small, privately-owned shops and in the workplace with workmates. We allocate a weighted average of 1, 2, 3 and 4 to take into consideration a stronger loyalty of use of Valencian in the spheres more distant from the family circle.