Heritage street names project completed in collaboration with Multilingual Gibraltar

The Government of Gibraltar has completed its heritage street names project in collaboration with the local organisation Multilingual Gibraltar.

The initiative, which has been carried out jointly with the Ministry for Heritage, aims to preserve and promote Gibraltar’s multilingual identity by recovering historical street names once used by earlier generations.

A spokesperson for Multilingual Gibraltar welcomed the completion of the project, describing it as a clear step towards preserving the Rock’s linguistic heritage.

“We are absolutely delighted with the results of this joint venture between our association and the Ministry for Heritage,” the spokesperson said.

“It represents a clear declaration of intent by the Government to preserve and promote our unique multilingual heritage as pledged in their manifesto commitments.”

According to the organisation, the heritage street names project is an important contribution to normalising Gibraltar’s multilingual identity and reflects broad public support for linguistic preservation.

“This is hardly surprising as all surveys that have been conducted by different institutions and multiple researchers show massive support for preserving Llanito, which its speakers consider to be an integral part of Gibraltarian identity,” the spokesperson said.

The organisation highlighted the historical value of the restored street names, many of which were in use before English names were introduced in 1870.

“By recovering the names of streets which were used by previous generations of Gibraltarians and making them accessible to present and future generations we are preserving an aspect of our intangible heritage, and in this way avoiding them being forgotten forever.”

Multilingual Gibraltar also underlined the importance of linguistic diversity in a modern, globalised world and rejected any politicisation of language.

“We believe in equipping our younger and future generations in the best way possible for a modern globalised world where bilingualism and multilingualism are by far the predominant linguistic models.”

The organisation commended the Government of Gibraltar for its commitment to the initiative.

“We applaud the Government of Gibraltar for having the foresight to acknowledge the importance of maintaining and promoting our multilingual culture and identity, as well as the courage to rise above any politically motivated criticism that may come their way either locally or from beyond our borders.”