‘It's Necessary to Step Outside the Furrow’: An Interview With Emili Boix‐Fuster

In this interview Emili Boix‐Fuster, one of the most prominent figures of post‐Francoist Catalan sociolinguistics, reflects on his work and academic trajectory as well as on the contribution of Catalan sociolinguistics to minoritized language scholarship and language revitalization efforts in Catalonia. The interview begins with a discussion of how his upbringing and the sociopolitical climate of his young adult years sparked his interest in sociolinguistics. He then discusses his academic trajectory and the many different roles he has played within Catalan sociolinguistics. This is followed by his appraisal of what Catalan sociolinguistics has contributed to ‘international sociolinguistics’ and his understanding of how the discipline has evolved over the last 40 years. The last part is focused on the impact of sociolinguistics on public debates in Catalonia. The interview concludes with a reflection of missed opportunities, projects that never came to fruition and pieces of advice for starting sociolinguists.