I know we are in the middle of the monthAugust And for the vast majority of people this is a complete arc. Many companies and corporate departments lower the curtains, and automated emails are activated that tell us that from one day to the next this or that will be the case. vacationSocial media is filled with ice cream, parties, beach lunches, and trips to corners we haven’t discovered yet, and sometimes it seems like everyone is. happy That the problems have faded away or are part of something from a bygone era.
But amidst all this strange calm, drowned in heat and ever-growing tourism, reality remains the same or even worse. All over the area, in our house, a CataloniaAlmost everyone speaks Spanish, and those of us who speak Catalan are that rare minority that I unfortunately already call myself an “endangered species”. And at this moment the question of the official character of Catalan in European institutions comes back to my mind. What remains of the Junts and PSOE Pacts that were supposed to definitively reflect the weak social use of the Catalan language? When will we see Catalan recognized in our states and first-class organizations? How long will we see Catalan being disregarded in the regulatory, legal and economic fields?
“In Catalonia, almost everyone speaks Spanish, and those of us who speak Catalan are that rare minority that I unfortunately already call myself an ‘endangered species’.”
The officialization of Catalan is not a hoax, let alone a boast of the pro-independence parties, but quite the opposite. It is a claim that comes from afar. Since Spain joined the European Union in 1986, many efforts have been made to make Catalan an official language in the highest European institutions. Without a doubt, on certain occasions, these efforts have borne fruit because Catalan has a limited recognition in some second-line Community entities, such as the Committee of the Regions. But this in no way means that MEPs can express themselves in Catalan in plenary sessions of the European Parliament, nor does it mean that this language can be used in meetings of the European Commission.
On the contrary, Catalan is currently the thirteenth most widely spoken language in Europe. There are already four European countries where it is spoken: France, Andorra, Italy and Spain. Catalan has as many native speakers as English in the European Union and is the largest of the languages considered “regional or minority”. For years, even decades, the Catalan institutions have been claiming that a language spoken by 10.8 million European citizens, and therefore “technically” official in Europe, is also an official language in the European institutions. It is undoubtedly a unique case in the Union: it is the only intermediary language that does not have official status throughout its own country, Spain, nor is it official in the European Union. In fact, hence the vociferous complaint about the situation, there are as many as a dozen languages with fewer speakers that are actually considered official in Europe, as might be the case with Danish and Finnish, to name but a few, two, with 5.2 and 5.1 million speakers respectively.
More information: Catalan climbs ranks in world rankings
I dare say, without fear of being wrong, that many celebrated too early that letter signed by the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, in which he informed the European Union of his desire to reform the language regulations and add Catalan, Basque and Spanish. Galician as official languages. More than a year has passed since August 17, 2023. Today everything seems to have come to a standstill. Apart from the General Affairs Council meeting of March 24, in which the Spanish government incorporated into its demand the obligation of all states to respect the national identity of each member state and linguistic multiplicity, today we know nothing new. Catalanism in Europe seems to have entered, if I may say so, a state of hibernation that has never left.
And here, in our home, in Catalonia, and I want to emphasize this, the community continues to grow without taking Catalan into account. Newcomers do not see the need to learn our language when everything can be done in Spanish today. In fact, we are the first to change our language if we are addressed in Spanish. Eight out of ten Catalan speakers switch to Spanish when someone speaks to them in this language, according to the latest news Inform CatHow do we mean then that the situation of the Catalan language is not going from bad to worse?
“The regular use of Catalan among younger generations has increased from 43.1% in 2007 to 25.1% in 2022.”
The data confirms the poor state of the Catalan language. The regular use of Catalan among the younger generations has fallen by fifteen percentage points in the last fifteen years. Specifically, it rose from 43.1% in 2007 to 25.1% in 2022, eleven points below the overall average. Not a promising scenario.
I am the first in Europe to yearn so hard for Catalan to be official. I do not give up and I will never give up. You can find it on the labels of our home-made products, in their instructions, in the leaflets of medicines or in some official notices and announcements. It is exciting just to imagine.
But, above all, today more than ever, we must look at our navel and begin to be a linguistic example. For those from here and those abroad, for those who are coming and those who will come, for everyone and everywhere. As they say, moving from theory to practice.
Living in Catalan, here, at home, in Catalonia.
“Freelance social media evangelist. Organizer. Certified student. Music maven.”
