The Valencian linguistic conflict, also known as Valencian sociolinguist conflict, refers to the conflict between the use of the Spanish and Valencian languages in Valencia, Spain.
The term is also used to refer to the controversy about the Valencian language and its consideration as an independent language or a dialect of the Catalan language. This conflict involves two different standards: the first one, commonly known as Norms of El Puig, treats Valencian as an independent language, and the other one, based on the Norms of Castelló, considers Valencian as a variety of Catalan. These standards are codified by two rival academies the Royal Academy of Valencian Culture and the Valencian Academy of the Language respectively. This discussion is considered to be secondary when compared to the Valencian language controversy, the institutional diminution of the Valencian language, and the dominance of the Spanish language.
Valencian sociolinguist Rafael Ninyoles i Monllor coined the term linguistic conflict by the end of the 1960s to refer to certain diglossic situations, such as the Valencian one. In his late works, he described the process of the ongoing substitution of Valencian for Castilian by social elites and the resulting loss of prestige of the vernacular language.