Online Seminar Discusses Loss of Spanish and Llanito
An online seminar discussing the origins, development and future of Llanito took place this morning. Titled “Linguistic Diversity Under Threat: Global South and Global North Perspective,” the event was organised by Dr Pedro Álvarez‑Mosquera, Director of the LinguaSOUTH Chair at the University of Salamanca.
The seminar examined how linguistic diversity is increasingly under threat across both the Global South and the Global North.
Professor Elena Seoane (University of Vigo) discussed the linguistic situation in Gibraltar while Professor Andy Chebanne (University of Botswana) addressed the evolution of Khoisan languages in Botswana.
Dr Álvarez‑Mosquera opened the seminar by saying that the decline of minority languages is “almost never accidental” and that cases of language loss always raise questions.
Professor Seoane placed Gibraltar’s languages in a historical context and highlighted the decline in Spanish and Llanito experienced in the 21st century—a decline she attributes to colonial and postcolonial attempts to sideline and suppress the Spanish language via educational policies. She cited the fact that the speaking of Spanish was forbidden in local schools and even sanctioned with corporal punishment. In addition to this, Professor Seoane noted that attitudes that resulted from decades of Spanish political pressure and the tide of globalisation whereby English is positioned as a “neutral and useful commodity that you need” had also conspired to undermine the status of Spanish and Llanito.
She said that whether Llanito was a creole, a code-switching variety or bona fide language, it remained a “unique form of communication which carries identity.” Professor Seoane ended by arguing that the loss of Spanish and Llanito was “not inevitable” but the result of acts of “colonialingualism.”
Following contributions from Professor Andy Chebanne about the situation in Botswana and other parts of southern Africa where Khoisan speakers are marginalised, Dr Álvarez‑Mosquera highlighted the parallels between both communities of speakers, adding: “What we think is only happening to us is also happening to our neighbours.”
