Galician-Portuguese and the Politics of Language in Contemporary Galicia

Abstract

This chapter investigates the tensions around the legitimisation and contestation of the institutionalised standard variety for Galician and examines governmental language policies through the lens of standardisation activism. It looks at how the politics of language operates by focusing on continuing orthographic conflicts and their connection to language revitalisation efforts in contemporary Galicia. The chapter examines two recent events in which the reintegrationist movement has come into the public sphere with an unconventional narrative to influence both the institutional and public discourses’ status quo. Although this is a minority trend in language revitalisation, the chapter shows how reintegrationism’s grassroots activism is a driving force in altering language perceptions and attitudes and as such deserves more attention.