Milli mála - 2022, Page 38

MILLI MÁLA
Milli mála 14/1/2022 37
Abstract
Mapping Spanish in Iceland
In this article the preliminary results on Spanish language compe-
tence in Iceland are presented, as part of an ongoing interdisciplinary
research project called Spanish in Europe (s. El español en Europa),
directed by scholars at the Heidelburg Center for Iberic-American
Studies and the University of Zurich. The project brings together
over 30 scholars from across Europe, where the Icelandic participants
join forces and collaborate with colleagues from Denmark, Finland,
Norway and Sweden. The aim of the project is to map proficiency
levels and the use of Spanish in Europe by focusing on the dynam-
ics of migration, demography and education. The Cervantes Institute
in Madrid is responsible for the publication of the results in a series
of reports, initiated in 2020 with a volume on Spanish language in
Germany. The volumes on Switzerland and Portugal are scheduled to
be published later this year. The results from the Nordic countries will
be published together in a special volume the following year.
The project falls within the field of demolinguistics, an approach
that combines both quantitative and qualitative data, applying meth-
ods used in sociolinguistics and demography. The article describes a
methodology (Moreno Fernandez & Otero Roth 1998, 2006, 2007;
Moreno Fernandez 2014) by which speakers are counted and catego-
rized according to their level of competence into three groups: the
first includes native speakers of the subject language, the second
comprises those individuals with limited competence due to several
factors (e.g., second- or third-generation heritage language speakers)
and the third group is composed by learners of Spanish in different
educational stages. Examples and data from those specific groups in
Iceland are provided. Such methodology shared by all research teams
enable the comparison of results between the Nordic countries and
the rest of the European continent.
Keywords: Demolinguistics, Spanish in Europe, Spanish in Iceland
ERLA ERLENDSDÓTTIR, HÓLMFRÍÐUR GARÐARSDÓTTIR OG NÚRIA JIMÉNEZ