Emma Riverola
Tuesday, 10/08/2019 – 19:00
It is not new, but the phenomenon has intensified. Twitter has been populated with complaints of premises or services – bars, bakeries, restaurants, also medical centers – in which the user has been served in Spanish. Catalan, as the official language, must be protected and encouraged. Even more so when it comes to a minority language. A different thing is the way you choose to promote its use.
In the 70s, working-class neighborhoods claimed for public school in Catalan. The neighborhood movement, supported by the PSUC, knew that the claim was essential for the children of immigration to integrate into Catalan society. That was the mood: integrate, not attack. Languages are loaded with emotion, they can become a bridge or a border. The choice is relevant. That the purpose of the complaint through Twitter has as its main objective immigrants who do not know Catalan adds to the denunciation a social contempt difficult to digest. Protecting a tongue with barbed wires is not the best way to encourage love for it. One last note: Castilian language has been part of Catalan culture since the 16th century.
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