Speaking of power: politicisation, hierarchy, and language ideologies in post-23J Spain

Byrne, Lewis (2026) Speaking of power: politicisation, hierarchy, and language ideologies in post-23J Spain. MRes thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This thesis explains the increasing politicisation of Spain’s minoritised languages during and after the 2023 general elections, and what this reveals about language ideologies and hierarchies. Bringing state and regional materials into one framework, it analyses party manifestos (2023, 2024), Spanish parliamentary debates (2023, 2025), and briefly discusses the bid for EU recognition of co-official languages (2023-2025). It asks how languages and speakers are discursively constructed in these texts, and how these discourses reproduce or disrupt hierarchy. Using the Discourse-Historical Approach within Critical Discourse Analysis, the study links textual strategies to socio-historical context. Findings show that the explicit positioning of language in party politics reorders or cements the asymmetries codified in Article 3 of the 1978 Spanish Constitution. Hierarchy persists where Castilian functions as the unmarked common medium and recognition of other languages remains largely symbolic. It is challenged where co-official languages are normalised as civic infrastructure, backed by enforceable obligations, budgets, and routine institutional use. The thesis models hierarchy across state, regional, and EU institutional scales, showing why recognition without material responsibility fails to shift practice.

• Item Type: Thesis (MRes)
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Keywords: Minoritised languages, Spain, multilingualism, ideology, hierarchy, Critical Discourse Analysis, language politics.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities
• Supervisor's Name: O'Rourke, Professor Bernadette
• Date of Award: 2026
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2026-85704
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 23 Jan 2026 09:51
• Last Modified: 25 Jan 2026 09:04
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.85704
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/85704