The work of the Immigrant Participation and Integration Centres (CEPI) in the prevention, detection and channelling of problems and conflicts arising from the use of the Spanish language in the context of immigration in the Community of Madrid.

Abstract

 The Antonio de Nebrija University's Research Group SEGERICO has sought to understand the problems and conflicts that may arise from the use of language between immigrants and the native population. Within the framework of this collective effort, this paper aims to examine in depth the work of the Centres for the Participation and Integration of Immigrants (CEPI) in the tasks of prevention, detection and channelling of problems and conflicts arising from the use of language. It can be deduced from the interviews we have conducted with the heads of the CEPI and from the answers to the questionnaires we have received both from the staff of these institutions and from the immigrants themselves, that the use of the Spanish language, or rather the lack of knowledge of it, generates important problems in the daily life of immigrants. Thus, serious problems have been highlighted in the field of employment or in accessing health services, which has taken on dramatic proportions in some cases during the pandemic. At the same time, our research has shown that there are no notable migratory conflicts in Madrid for linguistic reasons. Despite this, we note that there is frequent litigation, both in Madrid and in the rest of Spain, regarding appeals for refusal of Spanish nationality due to foreigners' lack of knowledge of the Spanish language, which is one of the requirements set by current regulations for granting nationality. In our opinion, the work of the CEPI contributes in a remarkable way to avoid serious migratory conflicts and to solve the logical problems that the lack of knowledge of the language poses to people who come to live and work in Madrid from abroad.