Català

Madre y niño, by Oswaldo Guayasamín

Catalan is a Romance language (i.e., with Latin as its most influential ancestor, like French, Spanish, Occitan, Galician and others) spoken by some 10.5 million people throughout Catalunya (politically distributed in the territories of Spain and France), Androrra (where it is the official national language), the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean sea (also administratively dependent of Spain), and the city of L'Alguer, in Italy (see maps below).

There is an extensive literature in Catalan, which dates from the medieval times of Joanot Martorell and Ramón Llull to present times, with authors publishing in all possible genres (I like Jaume Fuster and Maria Mercè Roca) and and important editorial industry of classic and contemporary translations. Catalan people have a strong feeling of cultural identity, and discussions about the constitution of an independent Catalan state are a current topic in public and private conversations. Catalan as a language plays an important role in the formation of such identity.

Catalan is considered an endangered language. It has a history of enduring prosecution, with landmarks in 1714 when Catalunya lost its political independence from Spain, and the dictatorship of Francisco Franco (from 1939 to 1975.) With the achievement of democracy in Spain, many efforts were paid to the normalization of Catalan in the territories where it was traditionally spoken. The Catalan case is often cited as a relatively successful example of language planification and revitalization. Despite the many achievements (laws ensuring education in Catalan and presence of Catalan in public services, some autonomous newspapers, radio and TV, many linguistic publications and support for the arts, etc.), such a task faces many obstacles, some of which are: political and social insensitivities from the centralist Spanish and French governments (who see the defense of Catalan language and culture exclusively as a politicoeconomic conflict, if not directly as a threat to their unificative supremacy), and even European institutions (where it is not accepted as an official language, claiming that it is not an official language of any independent constitutive state --a side effect of the Spanish government not supporting the Catalan efforts); lack of firmness in the defense of their linguistic rights (and existing laws) from the Catalan government and people; internal struggles (segregation of Valencian from Catalan), and non-particular effects of the general globalization of today's world on minoritary languages and cultures (migration, omnipresence of the English language, market and political internationalization, etc.), which might be at the root of all the preceding points.

Some think that the restoration of Catalan necessitates the independence of the Catalan Countries, so that a legal and political space is created for the protection of this language and culture. Others think that such a line of thought goes against the contemporary (and more desirable) tendencies of European (if not global) unification. There is also the pressure to accomodate and not discriminate against the roughly half of inhabitants that do not use the language in the Catalan territories without it being at the cost of the Catalan speakers, as it is now. The debate is lively and current, and not a day goes by without it being mentioned in the local media. Catalunya just changed its autonomous government in 2004, and the general hope is that the new one shows some more commitment to the already existing laws (both Spanish and European) for the protection of Catalan and the Catalan culture. An arduous task without external support from both Spain and Europe.

Here are some useful links to learn more about Catalunya and the Catalan language and culture:

Generalitat de Catalunya

Diari Avui

Televisió de Catalunya  and Telenotícies

Institut d'estudis catalans

Diccionari descriptiu del català contemporani