Joelle Bonamy
 

Gibraltar is an ideal example of law dictating language habits.  Politically, this 2.5 by .75 mile area at the southern tip of Spain has been a colony of the United Kingdom since the eighteenth century; however, ethnically the inhabitants of Gibraltar have traditionally and primarily been of Spanish, Portuguese or Italian descent.  Historically, Spanish has been considered the lingua franca of Gibraltar with English used only for official purposes.  However, these strict distinctions have blurred since the 1940’s with the issuance of legislation encouraging the use of English.  Additionally, economic factors have influenced the language choice decisions of the Gibraltarian. This presentation will make use of data collected in Gibraltar between 2003 and 2005.  The data include primary source interviews and recorded conversations, as well as other research and theory on language choice, code-switching and societal language evolution.  In particular, survey results indicating domain use for Spanish and English and perceived ability in both languages are presented.  Furthermore, excerpts from interviews conducted with members of the Gibraltar Department of Education are examined. Finally, results from the analysis of over six hours of recordings on the use of Spanish and English in Gibraltar are presented.  In conclusion, it is argued that Gibraltarians are presently employing English more frequently than Spanish and that choice is a direct result of the enactment of pro-English laws.