Last weekend was Catalonia's national holiday, and the fiercely independent Catalans wasted no time in taking the streets and demanding their independence from Spain. And in a few weeks, they might actually get it. England's The Prospect reports that on September 27, the region's parliamentary elections are "what amounts to a de facto referendum on independence, a second best to the Scotland-style plebiscite they were denied by Madrid last year."
In the meantime, the region's leader and perhaps the most outspoken advocate for Catalonian independence, Artur Mas (who some in Madrid refer to as "Arturo" just to annoy him), has seized on the forward momentum. He has harsh words for more Madrid-centric political figures, whether they be conservative PM Mariano Rajoy or even the charismatic leader of the country's leftist Podemos coalition, Pablo Iglesias. According to Spain's El Confidencial, Mas bashed a recent speech by Iglesias as an attempt at the "division of the Catalonian society". But what is it that makes Catalonia different from the rest of Spain (which includes, to be fair, a number of other regions vying for independence)? The answer often comes down to what gets referred to as a distinct culture that is incompatible with the rest of Spain. And perception owes in large part to the region's distinctive language: Catalan. As many of the world's culturally aware already know, Catalan is not Spanish, despite its similarities. But unlike another language that is not Spanish despite its similarities - Portuguese - Catalan's differences from Spanish don't branch off in an entirely different direction but instead lean toward words already found in another language spoken near Catalonia: French. When I visited Barcelona a number of years ago, I was aware of the fact that there, people speak Catalan, not Spanish. But I was expecting the differences to be minor, and not to have anything to do with any other language. When I got off the train, the first thing I saw was a sign directing me to the "sortida". I quickly inferred that this meant the exit, but what surprised me was how perfect a split of the difference the word was between the Spanish "salida" and French "sortie". So, which of the two languages is Catalan closer to? Some passionately argue that Catalan is in fact closer to French. In a language forum, one commenter from France who moved to Barcelona remarked that listening to people speak there was very similar to his own language. Another thread points out that the sentence "I want to eat eight apples" is remarkably similar between French ("je veux manger huit pommes") and Catalan ("vull menjar vuit pomes "). The Spanish version ("quiero comer ocho manzanas") is completely different. On the other hand, there are still plenty of vocabulary similarities between Catalan and Spanish. Take for instance the word for onion. It's "cebolla" in Spanish, "ceba" in Catalan, and "oignon" in French. Or a much more important one: beer. That's "cerveza" in Spanish, "cervesa" in Catalan, and "biere" in French. Perhaps one way of thinking of Catalan is not the halfway point between French and Spanish, but rather by a saying that a Catalan translator who identifies herself as Anna relates on her blog: "The worst of Spanish put together with the worst of French". But regardless of the linguistic hair-splitting that can go on endlessly between Catalan, Spanish, and French, one thing is certain. The existence of Catalan as a distinct language is a driving force in the region's push for independence. And it may prove decisive. An interesting comparison can be drawn with Scotland's push for independence. In Scotland, a region where people are much more likely to use English than Catalonians are to use Spanish, the independence vote failed. But now, Mas appears poised to win his vote later this month. It's a testament to just how inseparable the languages we speak are from our cultures, our friendships, and the very core of who we are as people. |
The Pantera Language Studio BlogUpdates on our language services, and any and/or all of our thoughts on funny, weird, or wild language related stories. Come join the fun! Archives
December 2016
Categories
All
|