Volume: 26  Number: 4  Page: 296–316

Attitudes Towards Basque, Spanish and English: An Analysis of the Most Influential Variables

David Lasagabaster Dpto. Filología Inglesa y Alemana, Facultad de Filología y Geografía e Historia, University of the Basque Country, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain

The enlargement of the European Union (EU) has strengthened the position of English, a situation which has led some voices to warn against the hegemony of this language. Yet, very few studies have been undertaken in contexts where English is added to the presence of both a minority and a majority language. This is the case of the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC) in Spain, a bilingual community where English is undoubtedly the main foreign language. In this study 1087 undergraduates' attitudes towards Basque (minority language), Spanish (majority language) and English (foreign language) are examined in an attempt to check which individual and sociolinguistic variables are the most influential when it comes to language attitudes towards the three languages in contact. The results showed the significant impact of variables such as language competence, the sociolinguistic context and the knowledge of a second foreign language (a key issue if, as the EU intends, multilingualism and multiculturalism are to be maintained).

Keywords: multilingualism, language attitudes, European Union

© 2005 D. Lasagabaster

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