Ivan Sevilla, a journalism student from Barcelona, puts it as follows: \u201cWhen you walk in the streets, there are more people who speak Spanish than Catalan.\u201d The shift, he suggests, is not only measurable. It is audible.<\/p>\n\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-18-at-17.39.53.png” panorama=”off” imgwidth=”50%” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n\n
What\u2019s the explanation for this sudden decline?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Inside schools, Catalan still sounds like the default. \u201cAll the subjects are done in Catalan,\u201d says Gemma Mart\u00ednez Hern\u00e1ndez, a teacher with 27 years of experience at a secondary school in Terrassa near Barcelona. \u201cEverything is in Catalan.\u201d Spanish, she adds, \u201cis just a subject.\u201d<\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2026\/01\/DSCF4982-scaled.jpg” panorama=”off” imgwidth=”50%” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n So why is Catalan fading outside of the classroom?<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a big part of the population that does not speak Catalan at home,\u201d Gemma says, because their families are \u201cfrom other parts of Spain or maybe abroad.\u201d Over time, she adds, \u201cevery time there are more immigrants from abroad,\u201d and many arrive solely speaking Spanish, not Catalan.<\/p>\n In Barcelona, that demographic reality turns into a daily habit. \u201cWith my family\u2026 sometimes in Catalan,\u201d Ivan says. \u201cWith my friends\u2026 depends on the location\u2026 Catalan or Spanish.\u201d He repeats the same idea in a simpler form too: \u201cIt depends.\u201d<\/p>\n Marcel Camacho, from Sant Andreu in Barcelona, starts with Catalan automatically. \u201cIt\u2019s my first language,\u201d he says. \u201cCatalan was always the main one for me. Even now, I usually speak Catalan every day, with my family, friends, and when I meet new people; it comes naturally. It\u2019s my default language.\u201d<\/p>\n But when the group becomes mixed, he also sees why Spanish wins. In Barcelona, he says, \u201cit\u2019s easier for people who come from another country to speak Spanish than to learn Catalan, which can be a little bit more difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n Gemma describes how Spanish becomes the safest option in places where strangers meet. People know customers will come \u201cfrom outside and won\u2019t speak Catalan,\u201d she says, so they are \u201cprepared to speak in Spanish.\u201d It starts as \u201can alternative.\u201d Then it becomes routine.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the customer is used to talking in Spanish, then in your business, you\u2019re going to speak in Spanish also,\u201d she says, \u201ceven if the paper you\u2019re going to sign is in Catalan.\u201d<\/p>\n That is why Catalan can stay official but lose conversational space.<\/p>\n And it is not only about migration. It is also about confidence. \u201cFor presentations\u2026 I prefer Spanish,\u201d Ivan says. Spanish, he explains, \u201cfeels better for technical words,\u201d and in public he can \u201cexplain better than Catalan.\u201d Catalan is not impossible, he says, but Spanish feels smoother when he has to perform.<\/p>\n How do Catalans feel about the decline?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n For Marcel, Catalan is not just a tool. \u201cIt\u2019s part of my identity,\u201d he says. \u201cSomething that makes me feel connected to my roots.\u201d He describes feeling \u201cproud\u201d of it and proud of the culture attached to it. \u201cI love it,\u201d he says, talking about Catalonia, \u201cthe language, the food\u2026 I love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t