Against the monolingual presumption: A normative defence of multilingualism in the Spanish case

Abstract

Promotion policies for minoritized languages are usually criticized on the grounds of a pro-monolingual presumption; in Spanish public debate, this presumption usually relies on considering that the status of Spanish language as the «common language» of Spanish citizens is a «brute fact» that should not be modified through public policies. This article argues: (1) that such «fact» is actually the result of a set of public policies, past and present; (2) that such public policies put speakers of minoritized languages in a position of unjust subalternity; and (3) that, therefore, the effects of those public policies can and should be corrected through other policies based upon a pro-multilingual presumption, thus ensuring a fair distribution of the costs and benefits of living together among speakers of the dominant language and those of minoritized languages.