The use of different languages at the University of Barcelona

Catalan is the institutional language of the University of Barcelona, and is therefore used in all the University’s institutional and administrative affairs. Teaching is conducted in both Catalan and Spanish, which are Catalonia’s official languages. But while it seeks to guarantee its students the standardised use of Catalan, the University’s increasingly international involvement and its participation in interuniversity mobility programs have led it to adopt language policies that also foster the study and use of other languages, to consolidate the UB’s presence as a multilingual institution.

At the UB, the teachers’ use of Catalan and Spanish varies from one centre to another, but the particular language in which the different classes are taught is always specified in the Faculty home pages. It is possible to study at the University without knowing both Spanish and Catalan well, although for the general purposes of study you are required to have some knowledge of the two languages.

On the other hand, it is also true that the UB’s students and teachers may exercise their individual rights to use the language they prefer, for studying and for teaching, for written assignments and for all oral communication: a student may choose, for example, to write course assignments and complete exam papers in one of these two languages even while that student’s teacher has taught classes and given lectures in the other.

Catalan belongs to the family of Romance languages, and the common ground between these languages makes it easier for visiting students and non-Catalan-speaking students who can speak a Romance language to begin to understand those classes taught in Catalan. In practice, it also helps that the kind of language being used there is typically scientific or technical, rather than non-academic and informal.

Finally and apart from this, the UB’s Language Services also offer visiting and non-Catalan-speaking students a wide range of opportunities to learn Catalan, including free Catalan courses for beginners —including an information session describing features of the language— and the chance to sign up at the Services’ Language Exchange Program and participate in different cultural events. Taking part in the Program is a particularly effective way to become involved in the University’s academic, social and cultural life; and of course it also makes it easier for you to get to know the other students!