Linguae Europaeae

By Emilee McArdle I spoke with my friend, Albert Lozano, who lives in a Catalonian town, Lleida. He is a graphic designer for several different companies in Catalonia. He is 24 years old. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design 3 years ago from the BAU Design College of Barcelona. He represents one opinion from one person in Catalonia, but I believe that his thoughts on Catalonia are very important in representing Catalonian culture. I asked him several questions to see his impressions regarding the Catalan language. Flag of Catalonia What are your thoughts regarding the national government (Madrid) in relation to the region (Community) of Catalonia? That’s a tricky question. It’s not easy to define feelings about both institutions. If I am honest with myself. I need to recognize that my feelings towards Catalonia are significantly stronger compared to the combined feelings with Spain. I feel Catalonian more so than Spanish. It’s true that since the 20th centur...

by Marshall Janevicius How can a national language be considered legitimate when the president of the nation does not believe in it? Alexander Lukashenko has been the authoritarian president of Belarus since 1994. Lukashenko has previously taken a stance that Belarusian is inferior to Russian, saying, “nothing significant can be expressed [in Belarusian].” Belarus, formerly Byelorussian SSR, gained its independence on August 25, 1991. Even though the Eastern European country has been independent for just over two decades, a near-century of soviet influence makes many Belarusians still feel like they are under direct Russian influence. Due to this, there is a stigma in Belarus that anything Belarusian is boring and that Russian is superior. How can a national language be considered legitimate when the president of the nation does not believe in it? Alexander Lukashenko has been the authoritarian president of Belarus since 1994. Lukashenko has previously taken a stance that Belarusian ...

by Rafael Arturo Rodriguez Diaz History has taught us that when a region develops certain elements, such as a sense of identity and even independent governance, they will look for sovereignty. Language is one of those essential elements for a population to develop an identity and distinguish themselves from others. In Spain, a wealthy and highly industrialized region with a strong desire for independence is Catalonia (BBC). Catalan, with more than a millennium of history (“Latin American”, 3),  is recognized as the official language of the region, along with Spanish. However, the region is also known for its many Latin American immigrants which live in some of the most touristy places in Spain, like the city of Barcelona. In the next few paragraphs, I will present examples of how Latin American immigration and tourism in the region have reinforced the use of the Spanish over Catalan in the city of Barcelona, and how this represents a threat for the Catalan language and the eagern...