Exploring Official Certifications for Romance Minority Languages in the European Context

Article Sidebar

Open / Download PDF
Published: Oct 30, 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.47743/lincu-2024-si-0390
Keywords:
language testing Aragonese Asturian Catalan Corsican Galician Occitan Romansh

Main Article Content

Antony Hoyte-West
Independent Scholar, UK

Abstract

This article presents a brief overview of the official language certifications available for seven Romance minority languages which are spoken in Europe: Aragonese, Asturian, Catalan, and Galician (primarily spoken on the Iberian peninsula), Corsican and Occitan (spoken in France), and Romansh (spoken in Switzerland). As a component of a broader project which has previously examined official credentials for selected Celtic and Slavic languages, the study first outlines general information about the Romance language family and the minority and minoritised languages which are members of it, before giving a short overview of language certifications as well as the study’s methodology and research questions. Subsequently, in adopting a similar approach to the previous analyses, each of the seven linguistic case studies is presented with the objective of obtaining core information about the types, levels, awarding institutions, and wider recognition relating to the certifications concerned. These findings are then discussed, after which some conclusions and additional research possibilities are offered.

Article Details

How to Cite
Hoyte-West, A. “Exploring Official Certifications for Romance Minority Languages in the European Context”. Linguaculture, vol. 15, no. Special Issue, Oct. 2024, pp. 141-58, doi:10.47743/lincu-2024-si-0390.
Issue
Vol. 15 No. Special Issue (2024): Interconnected Learning and Teaching in the Post-Pandemic Era
Section
Articles
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Author Biography

Antony Hoyte-West, Independent Scholar, UK

Antony HOYTE-WEST is an interdisciplinary researcher focusing on linguistics, literature, and translation studies. He is particularly interested in historical and contemporary language policy, sociological aspects of the translation and interpreting professions, literary translation studies, and institutional translation and interpreting. A qualified translator and conference interpreter from several languages into his native English, he holds a doctorate in linguistics and postgraduate degrees in languages and social sciences from the universities of St Andrews, Oxford, Galway, and Silesia, as well as two diplomas in piano performance. He is the author of forty-six publications and has presented his research at international conferences in a range of countries.

References

Academia de la Llingua Asturiana. “Prueba de conocencia.” https://alladixital.org/pruebes-de-conocencia-de-la-llingua-asturiana/. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Acadèmia de su Sardu. “Mission.” https://www.academiadesusardu.org/chi-siamo-3/mission/. Accessed 10 April 2024.

African Union. “AU Languages.” https://au.int/en/about/languages. Accessed 10 April 2024.

ALTE. “Our Full Members.” https://www.alte.org/Our-Full-Members. Accessed 10 April 2024.

ALTE. “Our Mission.” https://www.alte.org/Mission. Accessed 10 April 2024.

ANPE Asturias. “Pruebas certificación de Llingua Asturiana B2 / C1.” https://anpeasturias.es/notices/165339/Pruebas-certificaci%C3%B3n-de-Llingua-Asturiana-B2--C1. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Areny, Maria, Pere Mayans, and David Forniés. Catalan: The Catalan Language in Education in Spain. Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning, 2013. https://www.mercator-research.eu/fileadmin/mercator/documents/regional_dossiers/catalan_in_spain_2nd.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Arrighi, Jean-Marie. Corsican: The Corsican Language in Education in France. Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning, 2024. https://www.mercator-research.eu/fileadmin/mercator/documents/regional_dossiers/corsican_in_france_2nd.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Barni, Monica, and Luisa Salvati. “The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).” Language Testing and Assessment. Encyclopedia of Language and Education, edited by Elana Shohamy, Iair G. Or, and Stephen May. Springer, 2017, pp. 417-426. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02261-1_29

Bassot, Barbara. Doing Qualitative Desk-Based Research: A Practical Guide to Writing an Excellent Dissertation. Policy Press.

Bier, Ada, Gabriele Zanello, and Antonella Ottogalli. Friulian: The Friulian language in education in Italy. Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning, 2024. https://www.mercator-research.eu/fileadmin/mercator/documents/regional_dossiers/friulian_in_italy_2nd_2024.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Bizjak, David. “Perspectives for the Use of Lesser-Spoken Languages in Academic Contexts: The Example of Friulian.” Discourses on Culture, vol. 11, 2019, pp. 155-172. https://doi.org/10.36145/DoC2019.08

Byram, Michael. “Reflections on Working for the Council of Europe.” Chuzhdoezikovo Obuchenie – Foreign Language Teaching, 51(1), 2024, pp. 9-20. https://doi.org/10.53656/for2024-01-01

CAIB. “Certificats” https://www.caib.es/sites/catalaebap/ca/certificats/. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Certificatu di Lingua Corsa. “Certificatu di Lingua Corsa.” https://www.certificatu.fr/index.html. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Clackson, James. “Latin as a Source for the Romance languages.” The Oxford Guide to the Romance Languages, edited by Adam Ledgeway and Martin Maiden, Oxford University Press, 2016, pp. 3-13. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199677108.003.0001

Costas, Xosé-Henrique, and Andrea Expósito-Loureiro. Galician: The Galician Language in Education in Spain. Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning, 2016. https://www.mercator-research.eu/fileadmin/mercator/documents/regional_dossiers/galician_in_spain_2nd.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Council of Europe. “The CEFR levels.” https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages/level-descriptions. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Escudé, Pierre. Occitan: The Occitan Language in Education in France. Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning, 2019. https://www.mercator-research.eu/fileadmin/mercator/documents/regional_dossiers/occitan_in_France_2nd.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2024.

European Union. “Languages.” https://european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-history/languages_en. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Fau Blimming, Erik. The Aragonese Resistance: A Qualitative Study on the Attitudes and Motivations of New Speakers of an Endangered Language in Zaragoza. Unpublished Master’s thesis, Uppsala University, 2019.

Fide. “Examens da rumantsch.” https://fide-service.ch/en/proofs/rumantsch. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Fide. “Fide rumantsch: Examen da rumantsch (rumantsch grischun).” https://fide-info.ch/doc/1703/fideRM_ReglamentRumantschGrischun.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2024.

France Compétences. “Répertoire spécifique: Certificat de langue corse – Certificatu di lingua corsa.” https://www.francecompetences.fr/recherche/rs/5204/%3Ca%20target=/. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Galán, Inaciu. “Adautación del enseñu d’asturianu al Marcu común européu de referencia pa llingües (MCER).” CURS, vol. 8, 2014, pp. 60-69.

Garvida, Mignette M. “A Review of Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera (DELE).” International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning, vol. 5, no. 1, 2009, pp. 4-10. https://doi.org/10.5172/ijpl.5.1.4

Generalitat de Catalunya. “Certificats de català.” https://llengua.gencat.cat/ca/serveis/acreditacio_coneixements/certificats_de_catala/. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Generalitat de Catalunya. “Equivalències i acreditacions.” https://llengua.gencat.cat/ca/serveis/acreditacio_coneixements/certificats_de_catala/equivalencies-acreditacions/. Accessed 10 April 2024.

González-Riaño, Xosé Antón, and Alberto Fernández Costales. Asturian: The Asturian Language in Education in Spain. Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning, 2014. https://www.mercator-research.eu/fileadmin/mercator/documents/regional_dossiers/asturian_in_spain_2nd.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Govern d’Andorra (2023). “Exàmens oficials de llengua catalana, nivells A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 i C2.” https://www.educacio.ad/examens-oficials/examens-oficials-de-llengua-catalana-nivells-a1-a2-b1-b2-c1-i-c2. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Gross, Manfred. Romansh: The Romansh Language in Education in Switzerland. Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning, 2017. https://www.mercator-research.eu/fileadmin/mercator/documents/regional_dossiers/romansh_in_switzerland.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Heraldo de Aragón. “Los exámentes de lengua aragonesa convocan a 500 personas” (20 April 2019). https://www.heraldo.es/noticias/aragon/2019/04/20/los-examentes-de-lengua-aragonesa-convocan-a-500-personas-1310331.html. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Hoyte-West, Antony. “On the Road to Linguistic Equality? Irish and Maltese as Official EU Languages.” Discourses on Culture, vol. 11, 2019, pp. 99–111. https://doi.org/10.36145/doc2019.05

Hoyte-West, Antony. “Exploring Official Certifications for Irish, Upper Sorbian, and Catalan: Implications for the Diaspora.” Endangered Languages and Diaspora. XXV Annual Conference – Proceedings. Foundation for Endangered Languages. Tirana, 16-19 December 2021, edited by Eda Derhemi. Foundation for Endangered Languages & Center for Research and Publications on Arbëresh, 2021, pp. 248-253.

Hoyte-West, Antony. “Official Language Certifications and the Celtic Languages: An Overview of Relevant Offerings.” Analele Universității „Ovidius” Constanța. Seria Filologie, vol. 34, no. 1, 2023, pp. 183-200.

Hoyte-West, Antony. “Exploring Official Language Certifications for Six Slavic Languages.” Linguistic Problems, vol. 3, 2023, pp. 298-304.

Hoyte-West, Antony. “Scaling Olympus: Exploring Official Language Certifications at the CEFR C2 Level.” Ezikov Svyat (Orbis Linguarum), vol. 21, no. 2, 2023, pp. 78-87. https://doi.org/10.37708/ezs.swu.bg.v21i2.10

Institut Ramon Llull. “Certificats de català.” https://www.llull.cat/catala/aprendre_catala/certificats_normativa.cfm. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Institutul Limbii Române. “Atestate.” https://www.ilr.ro/atestate/. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Ivars, Camino. “Primera prueba de certificación de nivel Avanzado C1 del aragonés: “Es un hito histórico”.” Heraldo de Aragón (17 November 2022). https://www.heraldo.es/noticias/aragon/2022/11/16/primera-prueba-de-certificacion-de-nivel-avanzado-c1-del-aragones-es-un-hito-historico-1612829.html. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Junta Qualificadora de Coneixements de Valencià. “Informació sobre els certificats de valencià.” https://jqcv.gva.es/va/informacio-certificats-valencia. Accessed 10 April 2024.

L’Ofici public de la lenga occitana. “Certificar vòstras competéncias en occitan.” https://www.ofici-occitan.eu/oc/desiratz-certificar-vostras-competencias-en-occitan/. Accessed 10 April 2024.

López Susín, José Ignacio. “Politica linguistica en Aragon. Estado de la cuestion. Lenguas minoritarias en Europa y estandarizacion, edited by Javier Giralt Latorre and Francho Nagoe Laín, 2018, pp. 209-229.

López, Jaume, and Marc Sanjaume-Calvet. “The Political Use of De Facto Referendums of Independence in the Case of Catalonia”. Representation, vol. 56, no. 4, 2020, pp. 501-519. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344893.2020.1720790

Martínez Cortés, Juan Pablo and Santiago J. Paricio Martín. Aragonese: The Aragonese Language in Education in Spain. Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning. 2017. https://www.mercator-research.eu/fileadmin/mercator/documents/regional_dossiers/aragonese_in_spain.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2024.

miGijón. “Convocada para el 28 de mayo la prueba de conocimiento de asturiano de la Academia de la Llingua” (15 May 2022). https://migijon.com/convocada-para-el-28-de-mayo-la-prueba-de-conocimiento-de-asturiano-de-la-academia-de-la-llingua/. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Ministère de l’Éducation nationale et de la jeunesse. “Le diplôme de compétence en langue.” https://www.education.gouv.fr/le-diplome-de-competence-en-langue-dcl-2978. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Mittelstadt, Daniela Doneda, Juliana Roquele Schoffen, and Margerete Schlatter. “Cultura e diversidade no ensino de português como língua adicional.” BELT – Brazilian English Language Teaching Journal, vol. 10, no. 1, e34390, 2019, pp. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.15448/2178-3640.2019.1.34390

Monteagudo, Henrique. “Commentary: Language Policy in Galicia, 1980-2020. An Overview.” Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe, vol. 23, no. 1, 2024, pp. 1-20. https://doi.org/10.53779/XPLM3788

O’Sullivan, Barry. “A Brief History of Language Testing.” The Cambridge Guide to Second Language Assessment, edited by Christine Coombe, Peter Davidson, Barry O’Sullivan, and Stephen Stoynoff, Cambridge University Press, 2012, pp. 9-19.

Posner, Rebecca, and Marius Sala. “Romance Languages”. Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Romance-languages. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Premat, Christophe. “Les conditions du succès aux épreuves de DELF/DALF en Suède.” Synergies Pays Scandinaves, vol. 14, 2020, pp. 35-45.

Sanchez, Daniel and James Hawkey. Catalan: The Catalan Language in Education in France. Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning, 2019. https://www.mercator-research.eu/fileadmin/mercator/documents/regional_dossiers/catalan_in_france_2nd.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. “The Council will Continue Working On Spain's Request to make Catalan, Basque and Galician Official in the EU” (19 September 2023). https://spanish-presidency.consilium.europa.eu/en/news/council-will-continue-working-spain-request-make-catalan-basque-galician-official-eu/. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Torresan, Paolo. “Some Critical Issues in Tests Taken From CELI and CILS Certifications.” The Journal of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. Series: Foreign Philology. Methods of Foreign Language Teaching, vol. 82, 2015, pp. 53-59.

United Nations. “Official Languages”. https://www.un.org/en/our-work/official-languages. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Verra, Roland. Ladin: The Ladin Language in Education in Italy. Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning, 2016. https://www.mercator-research.eu/fileadmin/mercator/documents/regional_dossiers/ladin_in_italy_2nd.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Xunta de Galicia. “CELGA.” https://www.lingua.gal/o-galego/aprendelo/celga. Accessed 10 April 2024.

Yücelsin, Yaprak. “Un aperçu sur les diplômes de langue française: DELF-DALF”. Synergies Turquie, vol. 2009, no. 2, 2009, pp. 139-144.