The Galician Standardization Dilemma: Analysis and Mediation

Current and recent trends in Galician sociolinguistics merit a study into the ongoing theoretical deadlock surrounding the standardization and normalization of Galego—the endonym of the local language. To this effect, this research aims primarily to i) evaluate the ideological frameworks of the two prevailing theories regarding the institutionalization of a Standard Galician (reintegrationism and isolationism) and the enduring conflict therein, ii) to cross-examine these theories' foundational assumptions and assertions with actual linguistic attitudes among the Galician (and, where relevant, Portuguese) public and their corresponding trends, and iii) to present relevant suggestions for practical mediation between the competing linguistic institutions advocating their own linguistic tenets with rigid austerity. By drawing upon previous academic material investigating these and other cultural, social, political and economic influences on the ongoing reestablishment of the Galician language, we can adequately appraise the transitional presence in modern Galician society as both a tool of communication and a symbol of sociocultural identity within Galicia and across its borders.