The twenty-point difference in the
use of Catalan in oral and written internal communication reveals an increased use of
spoken Catalan in informal situations between employees, while Spanish is still more
dominant in written communication.
At the two
poles, employees of the services sector always communicate with each other orally in
Catalan, while industry uses both Catalan and Spanish. At this level, small-medium
enterprises use Catalan much more often, whereas microcompanies and large enterprises tend
to use Catalan less in this area.
C. Payslips
and employment contracts
Spanish is the language of this type of document in 58% of companies who acknowledged
that Catalan is seldom or never used in this area. However, one in four companies surveyed
declared that they often or always used Catalan in company payslips and employment
contracts. A further 5.3% of companies stated that they sometimes used this language.
3.5. Advertising and written communication with customers and suppliers
A.
Advertising (press, radio and television)
Although, by and large, Catalan is the language of advertising, there is a certain
diversity as regards language use in this field: 32.5% often or always used Catalan,
whereas 11.5% sometimes used it and 28.3% seldom or never used this language. However,
27.5% of the CECOT companies that we surveyed did not use this type of service.
By sectors of
activity, commerce uses Catalan more frequently than the services or construction sectors,
which employs a modest use, and the industrial sector, where use of this language is
minority.
B.
Leaflets and brochures
Although leaflets and brochures are also a form of advertising, Catalan is used less here
than in advertisements in the press or on the radio or television. A total of 33.8% of
companies surveyed acknowledged that they seldom or never used Catalan in their leaflets
and brochures, 25% always or often used it and 8.3% sometimes used this language. However,
32.8% of CECOT companies did not advertise in this way.
The commerce
sector makes the greatest use by far of Catalan in leaflets and brochures, whereas
construction companies make a more modest use of the language, and industry has the lowest
score in this area.
C. Forms
and invoices
A total of 51% of CECOT companies never used Catalan in their forms and invoices,
whereas 34.5% often or always did so and 10.3% did so only sometimes.
Considerable
differences can be observed between sectors of activity: although construction companies,
commerce and services mainly use Catalan in their forms and invoices, the industrial
sector make a minority use of it.
D. Written
communication with clients
Written communication with clients is subject to the language preference of the latter and
to the language usually used in relations with them. There is a strong tendency to use
Catalan in written communication with clients: 37.5% of companies often or always use it
and 23.8% sometimes use this language. However, 32.6% seldom or never use Catalan for this
type of communication.
The services
and commerce sectors chiefly use Catalan at this level of communication with clients;
construction companies use it more modestly, and industry makes a minority use of this
language. Moreover, small-medium enterprises often or always use Catalan in their written
dealings with clients, whereas this use becomes minority in microcompanies.
3.6. Language norms
Seven out of
ten CECOT companies declared that they did not use their own set guidelines for the use of
Catalan, although 28.3% did have some.
Of the
companies that had set down their own guidelines, almost eight out of ten ruled that
Catalan had to be used in dealings with clients, whether in person or over the telephone.
Furthermore, almost two in three companies had adopted Catalan as the language of written
communication with clients and of oral communication within the company. Lastly, 48.7% of
companies had established a norm stating that Catalan was the language of internal written
communication.
Despite the
wide variety of companies, a greater number of managerial staff from the services sector
have adopted Catalan as the language of use for all situations, whereas managers of
industrial companies point out the use Catalan in written communication with clients.
Large enterprises set down more guidelines for written communication with clients than
other types of company. |
