Linguae Europaeae

By Nick Ortiz Nick Ortiz is a graduate student in History at The University of Illinois. Nick’s future plans include finishing his research. Nick wrote this blog post in the 418 ‘Language and Minorities in Europe’ course in spring 2019. Source: Wikimedia Commons It has been twenty-seven years since the writing of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages (ECRML) and eighteen years since its ratification in Spain. Since then, the Spanish government has cultivated its own image: one of a country that guarantees the protection of regional languages required by the Statutes of Autonomy in the Spanish Constitution and by the ECRML. However, this image can be deceiving. Every language, even the co-official ones, remain suppressed and marginalized to various degrees in Spain due to the neglect and the weakness shown by the Charter and the central government in Madrid. There are numerous marginalized languages that span across almost every region of Spain: Leonese in Ca...

By: Nidhi Shastri Nidhi Shastri is a senior in Environmental and political Science at The University of Illinois. Nidhi’s future plans include graduating and working is Chicago regarding communications. Nidhi wrote this blog post in 418 'Language and Minorities in Europe' in spring 2019. Figure 1: Joe Penma, also known as MysteryGuitarMan Source: YouTube "E aí, galera! Tudo bem?” These are the famous (Portuguese) words of Brazilian filmmaker, musician, and youtuber Joe Penna, also known as, MysteryGuitarMan. He typically says this phrase at the start of each video, and it roughly translates to: “What’s up guys! Is everything good?” in English, and “¿Qué tal? ¿Todo bien?” in Spanish. For many years I watched his videos and tried to figure out what exactly he was saying, and as a Spanish speaker, it took a few tries to parse out exactly what the similar phrasing would be in Spanish. As I explored the relationship between the language of one of my favorite stars, Joe...

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 Eider Etxebarria Zuluaga Eider Etxebarria Zuluaga is a graduate student in Spanish Linguistics at the University of Illinois. Eider is planning on finishing her Master’s degree and continuing with a Ph.D. in the same field. She is planning on teaching Basque and Spanish in the future. She wrote this text as a student in 418 ‘Language and Minorities in Europe’. Image Source 1896 è stato un’anno memorabile per la storia della riabilitazione della lingua basca. Fu in questo anno che Kolejio-Ikasteche a adottò integralmente l’euskera, the Basque language, come lingua d’insegnamento; fu la prima scuola e venne fondata da Resurrección María de Azkue (1864-1951) in Bilbao. Sfortunatamente chiuse dopo quattro anni per la mancanza di studenti. All’inizio del XX secolo si svilupparono scuole di indole più comunitaria nelle regionivasco-parlanti: auzo-eskolak (scuole di vicinato). La Seconda Republica Spagnola (1931-1939) permise, fino ad un certo punto, l’insegnamento in euskera...

by Eider Etxebarria Zuluaga Eider Etxebarria Zuluaga is a graduate student in Spanish Linguistics at the University of Illinois. Eider is planning on finishing her Master’s degree and continuing with a Ph.D. in the same field. She is planning on teaching Basque and Spanish in the future. She wrote this text as a student in 418 ‘Language and Minorities in Europe’. Image Source 1896.ean Resurrección María de Azkuek (1864-1951) Kolejio-Ikastechea sortu zuen, osoki euskaraz irakatsi zuen lehenengo eskola. Tristeziaz baina, lau urte geroago itxi behar izan zuen ikasle gutxi zituelako. XX. mende hasieran auzo-eskolak, izaera komunitariodun eskolak, sortu ziren eskualde euskaldunetan. Bigarren Errepublika Espainiarrak (1931-1939), puntu batera arte baina, euskaraz irakastea baimendu zuen. Nire izeba txikiak sarri kontatu izan du berak euskaraz ikasi zuela eskolan. Errepublikak askatasun erlijiosoa aldarrikatu zuen (“Espainiak ez dauka erlijio ofizialik” 1931ko Konstituzioko 3. artiku...

by Bernard Brennan Bernard Brennan is a graduate student in Political Science at the University of Illinois. Bernard is planning on researching the politics of separatism in Europe and is interested in regional integration and challenges to sovereignty. He wrote this text in PS 418, ‘Language and Minorities in Europe.’ Image Source El próximo año, voy a tener la gran oportunidad de estudiar la lengua y cultura catalana, gracias a una beca universitaria que se llama “Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship.” Esta beca será administrada por el Centro de la Unión Europea aquí en la Universidad de Illinois. La primera cosa que he aprendido es que las personas van a decir ciertas cosas y van a formular muchas preguntas sobre este tema. Por esta razón, les presento mi entrada de blog. ¿Por qué? Why? Soy estudiante de posgrado en el departamento de ciencias políticas aquí en la Universidad de Illinois. Por eso, la razón por la que quiero aprender esta nueva lengua está basa...

by Ann Abbott Ann Abbott  is the Director of Undergraduate Studies and an Associate Professor of  Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese  as well as an  Affiliated Faculty of  Latin American and Caribbean Studies  at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Her work focuses on student learning outcomes in as well as critical analysis of foreign language community service learning, social entrepreneurship, social media and languages for specific purposes. This summer, the European Union Center was pleased to co-sponsor the 5th Summer Institute for the Languages of the Muslim World (June 10-August 3, 2013) in collaboration with  The Department of Linguistics at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in collaboration with the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies , Center for African Studies , CIBER , Center for Global Studies , and REEEC . The Foreign Languages Building at UIUC Image Source Spanish doesn't need to w...