A mixed methods study into language use among young adults in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It examines attitudes towards speaking English and Spanish, and includes the first ever data set on the code-switching vernacular: Llanito, exploring the uses and acceptance of Llanito in Gibraltarian society. English is found to be the most appropriate language in all settings and Llanito emerges as the language of choice in social and intimate situations.
The future of English-Spanish bilingualism on the rock is deemed uncertain, and the suggestion of a bilingual education system is endorsed by a majority of the participants. At a challenging time in Gibraltar’s unique post-Brexit trajectory, the author concludes that the local government, and Gibraltarian parents and carers, should ensure the survival of English-Spanish bilingualism for both practical and ancestral reasons, and that Llanito should be accepted and protected as a local dialect in the British Overseas Territor.
