Implicit language attitudes in Catalonia (Spain): investigating preferences for Catalan or Spanish using the Implicit Association Test

Abstract

In line with the increased interest in studying implicit language attitudes, this study aims to explore implicit attitudes towards Catalan and Spanish in the multicultural and multilingual context of Catalonia (Spain) using the Implicit Association Test (IAT). A sample of 113 adolescents completed the IAT and a set of explicit measures of attitudinal and motivational variables. Results show a general preference for Catalan over Spanish. However, differences appear when home language is taken into consideration, as participants tend to prefer their home language. The paper discusses the relationship between implicit and explicit attitudes, highlighting the importance of incorporating implicit measures in language attitudes research in Catalonia.

This work is part of a larger research project funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (reference number: EDU2017-82479-R), the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (reference number BEAGAL18/00234) and the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants – AGAUR of the Government of Catalonia (reference number: 2017 SGR 322). The work of Andrei Rusu was supported by a grant of the Romanian Ministery of Research and Innovation, CNCS - UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P1-1.1-PD-2016-1912, within PNCDI III.