¡Vámonos!

Hola Lisa,

As you know, I adore languages and respect and celebrate the cultural diversity within Spain.

Catalan is a beautiful romance language with more speakers than Finnish or Latvian. It rightly enjoys first language status in Catalonia and is the language of the media and education in this region.

I therefore don't understand why you say Catalan (ought) to be given more prominence and power, and feel aggrieved by its treatment by Spanish authorities. What more do the people you refer to as aggrieved want? Shall the rest of Spain adopt Catalan as first language?

Franco, to whom there is frequent reference in this video, died 35 years ago , and with him dies his disastrous and unjust regime. I find it terribly sad that there are people in Catalonia who still think other Spaniards and are often characterised as having an undying hatred of everything Catalan and support far right politics. Terribly sad.

I think you would agree that things have moved on a bit in Spain since 1975 (yes! it's THAT long!). Spanish democracy has enabled a state of affairs where Catalonia has more and more independence, which is great. If one day the Catalan people decide to secede from Spain, I am sure it will happen. The problem for the people who have made this video is that that majority does not, in reality, exist, so they turn their frustration towards all things Spanish.

What I find even sadder, however, is the overt xenophobia and contempt which is displayed against other Spaniards - the video opens up referring to other Spaniards as cave dwellers, implying a lesser state of development, I presume.

I am from southern Spain, as you know, and enjoy Catalan culture and the Catalan language, but I deplore intransigence and xenophobia.

Thanks for your comments José.

As I said - it's made by people that believe that Catalan has been repressed by Spain and, as you rightly point out, in the past this was certainly very true.

However, I didn't say I agreed with them - I said it was interesting. And it is to someone who studied the history of Catalan at university, and experienced the complications that reign even within 'Catalan' between valencià, català and mallorquí.

Perhaps I was looking at the use of Star Wars and didn't see the commentary as being as offensive as it seems to be to you, a proper Spaniard (not a wannabe like me). And it was probably naive of me to think that it would not be assumed that I shared the opinions expressed in the video.

If I have caused you (or anyone else for that matter) offence, I unreservedly apologise.

Perhaps I'd better steer clear of blogging until my head is a bit less bunged up and I can think more clearly!

Lisaxx

I never, for one moment, thought you shared these views, so really there is not need whatsoever to apologise.

It is I who should apologise in any case for making you feel you ought to apologise...

Ok, let's all apologise!! ;)

A frustrated, "proper" Spaniard (in more ways than one by the looks of things!)

José