The parliament in the Spanish region of Catalonia has approved controversial legislation designed to increase use of the local Catalan language.

In the future, civil servants will need to be fluent in both Catalan and Spanish, radio and television stations must broadcast a minumum quota of programmes in Catalan and shop signs and advertisements should all be bilingual.

Correspondents say the legislation could damage the national coalition in Madrid between the Catalan Convergence and UnionParty which proposed the language bill, and the Popular Party of the Prime Minister, which opposed it.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service