Language-in-education, language skills and the intergenerational transmission of language in a bilingual society

We investigate the causal effect of parents’ linguistic skills on intergenerational language transmission in a bilingual society. consider case Catalonia, where two main speech communities, Spanish and Catalan, are similar sizes, both languages official, exploit natural experiment generated by language-in-education reform. discuss theoretically alternative channels through which such policies may affect parents speak to their children. Empirically, we find that reform improved oral Catalan among native speakers. These greater increased propensity with offspring, highlights spillovers overs also show is not confounded spurious trends, potential changes identity, linguistically mixed partnership formation.