Diglossia in Castellón: Spanish and Valencian Coexistence

Understanding Diglossia and Linguistic Diversity

Diglossia has always been a matter of concern in any region where cultural and linguistic diversity creates peculiar situations in daily life. The term diglossia comes from Greek and literally means 'a bilingual state'. More accurately, it refers to a situation in which a community uses two different languages or varieties of a language for different social contexts, distinct from standard bilingualism.

A clear example is found in Zürich, where two varieties exist:

• High language: Standard German, used in formal contexts.
• Low language: Swiss German, used in colloquial speech (Trudgill, 1983).

In this article, I examine the interesting linguistic situation in my hometown, Castellón, where two languages coexist: Spanish and Valencian.

Linguistic Dominance in Castellón

At first, it seems that Spanish—being the most spoken language in the country and one of the most spoken globally—would naturally hold a prestigious position. However, the reality is more complex. At the official and public level, the local administration gives Valencian greater visibility to promote the regional language, effectively shifting the standard in Castellón despite Spanish having more speakers.

This reflects an intentional policy of linguistic dominance within the Valencian Community (Woest, 2015). While it does not reach the intensity seen in regions like Catalonia—where some view Spanish as an oppressive language—Valencian remains the traditional historical language. Consequently, two areas of different linguistic dominance have been established with differentiated legal treatments.

The Benefits of Bilingualism

As a bilingual region, Castellón should leverage the cognitive advantages of bilingualism, such as:

• Enhanced creativity
• Greater control over linguistic repertoires
• Improved problem-solving skills (Bialystok, 2008)

Conclusion: A Call for Linguistic Balance

All in all, I strongly believe that Spanish deserves better treatment in regions where more than one language coexists, especially in Castellón. Diglossia can be managed effectively, as Spain is a culturally rich country unified by a common language. Forced marginalization of the Spanish language by public entities does not aid the diffusion of either language; instead, it creates an unfair situation where both languages lose.