La llengua catalana en terres valencianes al segle XVIII. Resistència, estudi i conreu [The Catalan language in the Valencian region in the 18th century: Persistence, study, and cultivation]

The years following the Decree of Nueva Planta were marked by Bourbon centralism and by the pressure of the Spanish language. However, the practise, study and writing of the Catalan language showed persistence throughout the Valencian land. Common people remained faithful to their language to a large extent, as proven by popular literature and historical evidence. People did not trust in the Castilian authorities and considered the Castilian and Valencian bourgeois that had begun to adopt the Spanish language foreigners. At the same time, the general public preserved a sense of social consciousness towards the Catalan language throughout the century, which then turned into an element of group identity, therefore assuring its survival. Many writers also maintained this sense of consciousness towards the Catalan language and the desire to improve its situation, not only regarding internal aspects (orthographic, grammatical, lexical) but also social ones (normative use, education, diffusion).