dimecres, 26 de setembre de 2007

Reason 4: unfair situation of Catalan language.

Nobody can deny that Spanish (=Castilian) culture thinks to have the right to impose itself over Catalan culture.
They always did it using the military forces and absolutist regimes. The first time they prohibited our language and they forced us to study their language was in 1714 with the help of the French absolutist kingdom. With what right? NONE!

Dictator Franco, with the help of Mussolini and Hitler, till only 30 years ago, won the Spanish civil war and imposed again upon us a language that is not ours.

They forced us to be part of a concept of nation-state, of which we had chosen by democratic means not to be part of as the Catalan democracy had chosen to be an independent federal state.
Spaniards (=non Catalans) got used to this for them convenient situation. They didn’t have to learn Catalan while living in Catalonia.
Even most Catalans got used to this painful situation. Because of this, many people in Spain see this situation as normal.

Spaniards find it normal that we are obliged to speak their language. Spaniards would not find it normal if we Catalans would force them to speak Catalan while not living in Catalonia. If we forced people in Madrid to study, write and speak in Catalan.

They think it should be normal to come to Catalonia and be able to speak Spanish. But they would see it as an insult if Catalans would go to Madrid and would speak in Catalan language. But why?
Why do we have to learn their language while not living in a Spanish speaking territory, and they do not have to learn our language?
There is no reason.
In fact, if I want or not learn Spanish it should be my problem.

In the same way that a Flemish citizen is free to speak or not the French language, a Catalan citizen should be free to speak or not Spanish.
It is not possible to force a Wallonian citizen to learn Flemish, it is not possible to force a German speaking Swiss citizen to learn Italian, but still today Spain is forcing Catalans by law to learn and speak their language.

The problem is even worse. They don’t only find it insulting if Catalans would force Spaniards outside of Catalonia to learn Catalan, they find it insulting and even fascist that Catalonia wants to force everybody who lives in Catalonia to learn Catalan.

They believe we impose Catalan language in Catalonia, while the only language that has been imposed in Catalonia is Spanish.
Of course people who come to live to Catalonia should be forced to learn Catalan!
Of course Catalan should be compulsory in Catalonia, and not Spanish.

It is for me clear that Spain will never accept a relation with Catalonia with equal rights. I don’t think this unequal situation that was born out of military dominance will ever change.

As long as Catalans are forced to learn Spanish, companies will not see the need to use Catalan language at all, Spaniards, South Americans and the big majority of foreigners who come to live in Catalonia will not see the need to learn a language that is not necessary. And as long Catalan language is not necessary it will become less and less spoken. No doubt about it.

I was in a ski resort in Catalonia last winter. The Spanish waitress had lived for some months in Italy. She was proud to speak Italian and did her best to help Italian costumers in Italian language. When it was my turn she told me not to speak Catalan because she did not understand me.
She just not even did an effort to understand me. And anyway, if you understand Spanish and Italian, is it so difficult to understand Catalan? We are speaking here of coffee with milk and sandwiches!
She knew I am obliged to understand her mother language. So why understand Catalan?
No need. Why make an effort for Catalan if it is not necessary?

This all tells me again one thing: independence from Spain is essential in order to get out of this unfair situation.

9 comentaris:

Pol G.G ha dit...

Miquel, una gran iniciativa fer un bloc com aquest en anglés pq molta gent arreu del món conegui quina és la nostre realitat.

Entre tots, encara que no ho sembli, estem construint dia a dia una Catalunya més justa i més lliure i estic convençut que més tard o més d´hora veurem el somni acomplert.

Salut !!!!!!!

Miquel Marzabal Galano ha dit...

Sí noi, em sembla que el meu bloc en anglès és més important que no pas en català, però posats a fer el faré en les dues llengües. Està clar que de blocs en català ja n'hi ha prous. En canvi informació en anglès sobre el problema català poca. D'altra banda jo tinc una altra manera de veure les coses, després d'haver viscut 15 anys a Holanda i un any a Anglaterra.
Gràcies, necessito gent que em doni ànims.
En aquest sentit aquí a Holanda estic bastant solet.

Phil ha dit...

Yes, it's definitively important, that the world also sees the full reality of catalan nationalism. :-)

Miquel, do you know the smart guys who sent this picture to Albert Rivera? Why don't you mention anything about that murder threat for instance? ;-)


Miquel Marzabal Galano ha dit...

Hi Phil, no I don't.
Tell me more about it please!
What happened?

Roger ha dit...


another death threat for you to ponder. I think the world should know about these too.


Two magistrats of the Spansh Constitutional Tribunal have received death threats. Why? Just because they are Catalans. Very worrying indeed.

Pol G.G ha dit...

Jo t´ho puc explicar però en català :-)

L´Albert Rivera líder del partit anti-català CIUDADANOS va rebre a casa seva una fota seva amb una bala de veritat clavada al cap i un text amenaçant.

A més, el tema ha agafat més volada pq s´ha descobert que qui li va enviar la foto eren dos militants d´ERC i això ha fet que la premsa de Madrid n´hagin dit de molt grosses.

En fi, una bretolada més...

Miquel Marzabal Galano ha dit...

I honestly don't want to mingle in anything that smells of aggression, threats, violence or anything like that. That leads to war, it leads to hurt innocent people, to destroy lives. I don't like anyone to threat anyone. I don't think it is necessary to burn any flags or pictures of anyone. The Catalan nationalist media and the Spanish nationalist media act in a similar way. Defending the ones on their side and severely criticizing those on the other side. I don't want to be part of that. I don't think to threaten people that think differently helps anyone. It just makes the world less tolerant and scary. It makes it more difficult to talk and understand each other. It creates enmity, hatred.
I felt threatened once. Because I am gay. Moroccan teenagers who hung around my street started to do things like that. Threaten, scratch on my door, just like the Jews who were threatened in their homes during WW2. It was a horrible experience not to feel safe at home or in your street.
Fortunately, before it became too scary they stopped.
I disapprove the threats by a Spanish nationalist against the Catalan officials at the Spanish Constitutional Tribunal as much as the threat to Albert Rivera. I think they are both horrible things to do that undermine the principles of democracy.
The fact that the Spanish government doesn't prosecute acts of intolerance by Spanish nationalists in the same way as they do prosecute acts of intolerance by Catalan nationalists, that is a sad fact we should severely criticize.

Roger ha dit...


You seem to be concerned about a particular threat that was not carried out. The two people responsible have been identified and they have even apologised. However there are plenty of attacks actually happening in Spain. I wonder what’s your view on these. I think the rest of the world should know about these:

What do you have to say about this physical attack that actually happened? It was carried out by nationalists against a councillor in Valencia.

And what about this guy in Berga, who was actually killed because of being a "Catalufo"? (slang for Catalan used by Spanish braindead thugs)

To add insult to injury, the judge obliges the witnesses (friends of the accused) to declare in Spanish, banning them from using Catalan in their own town.

Any comments "Phil"?

Bryce ha dit...

Here's a great Catalan website you might enjoy:

Català wiki browser