Abstract:

In this paper, we present an approximation of the relationship between language and identity in Galicia. Specifically, we focus on the discursive strategies reproduced by subjects in processes of identity construction. In light of the fast socio-economic changes caused by the current phase of globalization, there is a need for identities to be (re)-defined, and within this context minority languages have begun to take special relevance in traditional spheres, becoming a category of resistance. Here we shall analyze the strategies developed by social actors in order to maintain an identity of their own within the context of globalization, with particular attention to the Galician language and its social representations. Furthermore, we shall verify if these representations differ from the rural to the urban world, or if these two worlds also tend to merge (processes of suburbanization and contra-urbanization).

Author: Ana Iglesias-Álvarez, Fernando Ramallo