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 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...

by Chase Krebs Chase Krebs is a graduate student in the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. She composed this blog entry on the techniques and esthetics of discourses of independence in Catalonia in the ‘Language and Minorities in Europe’ (SPAN 418) course in the spring of 2013.     Cuando escuchas la palabra Cataluña, ¿en qué piensas? Si sabes algo de la historia de Cataluña, la comunidad autónoma en el nordeste de España, quizás vas a pensar en el sentimiento independentista que ha sido tan prevalente en esta región a través de los siglos.     De hecho, se podría argumentar que este deseo para la autodeterminación ha culminado en el llamamiento a la independencia que los catalanes han demostrado en las últimas décadas.     Es verdad que se puede encontrar las raíces del movimiento independista en la época medieval de la historia de Cataluña, pero ese no es el objetivo aquí. El propósito de este post es hablar de la actualidad...

Jacqueline Yonover is a Global Studies major at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She composed this blog entry in the ‘Language and Minorities in Europe’ (GER  418) course in the spring of 2013. by Jacqueline Yonover Location of Cataluña Image Source   The Catalan language is a Romance language that is has been characterized by many years of conflict related to issues of identity among the Catalonian people (Gruyter, 2008). It is language that has always maintained linguistic, cultural, and economic differences compared to that of the rest of Spain (Cos Pujolar, 2006).   The origins of Catalonia’s contemporary linguistic controversy can be traced back to the dynastic developments, which began with the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile and furthermore the unification of Spain in 1469 (Gruyter, 2008). The state of the Catalan language has changed continuously since the 1400’s—experiencing periods of dominance and also years...

by Jeremy Schmitz | Editor: Jessica Nicholas (PhD Candidate in French) Jeremy Schmitz is a Senior in Psychology and Spanish, and has an interest in languages and cultures of the Iberian peninsula. He studied abroad in Granada, Spain for four months in the spring of 2010. In this blog entry on Catalan that he wrote for the ‘Language and Minorities in Europe’ (418) EUC survey class, he uses his skills in Spanish to write about the importance – and the courage it takes – to speak Catalan in public. Siempre es difícil ganar prestigio para un idioma minoritario, no importa si tiene autonomía o no. El catalán ha conseguido mucho éxito desde la restitución de la democracia en España y tiene un estado oficial en Cataluña y las Islas Baleares . Aunque la promoción del catalán ha sido un paso importante para la revitalización y mantenimiento del patrimonio cultural, también ha presentado problemas. Tener dos lenguas oficiales crea dificultades en la vivienda o en los viajes si uno solam...

by Alyssa Vorkapic | La bandera de la independencia de Cataluña. Barcelona es el capital de Cataluña, una región autónoma de España. Por muchos años, Cataluña quería ser independiente de España. Todavía, Cataluña está luchando por la independencia. Por eso, hay muchas actividades que promueven la independencia cultural. Una cosa es La Festa per la Llibertat , (en español significa La Fiesta para la Libertad). Cada año, esta fiesta se pasa el 11 de septiembre. También, hay La Mercè , una fiesta en los fines de septiembre que muestra la cultura catalana. Esta fiesta es diferente de La Fiesta per la Llibertat, pero los dos funcionan para promover la cultura catalana y la independencia de Cataluña. LA FESTA DE LA LLIBERTAT, L'ONZE DE SETEMBRE Un video que se muestra parte de la Festa de la Llibertat de 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCDc-gx7Wz8 La Festa per la Llibertat es organizada por Ómnium Cultural, una organización que fue fundada en 1961. Ómnium Cultural es...