Menorca Council seeks cultural heritage status for local dialect

The Menorca Island Council has commissioned a philological report to support declaring the local dialect and the ‘article salat’ as Immaterial Cultural Heritage. The report, prepared by former PP legislator Sili Pons Sabater, argues that standard Catalan poses a threat of ‘linguistic homogenization’ to the Menorcan way of speaking.

The initiative has drawn criticism from various political groups. Més per Menorca described the move as an ‘attack on the language under the umbrella of false protection,’ while the PSOE Menorca argued that the Council should focus on the declining social use of Catalan rather than pursuing unilateral linguistic initiatives that could become political tools. The socialists also noted a contradiction in the Council’s actions, citing a moratorium that exempts employees from proving Catalan proficiency while simultaneously pushing for local dialect protection.