Language functions
as a carrier for culture. The very concept of a culture is rooted in its
language. On language, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, one of the most prominent poets
and philosophers of the Romantic period, said that it is the armoury of the
human mind that contains the trophies of the past and the weapon of its future
conquests. Language is the mold that surrounds our cultural identity. The culture
is carved in our language – the primary method of identity.
John E
Joseph, Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh, in his
book ‘Language and Identity’ (2004) defines linguistic identities as ‘double-edged
swords’. While acting in a constructive manner to give individuals a sense of
belonging by representing an ‘us’ opposed to a ‘them’, it also becomes easy for
linguistic identities to demonise themselves. A language’s cultural allegiance
also gives rises to regionalism, which often converts itself into a political
ideology, and, on occasions, separatism.
Catalan case
On one day
towards the end of the summer of 2012, an unwonted development occurred in
Catalonia, an autonomous region of Spain. Under the slogan ‘Catalunya, nou
estat d'Europa’ (‘Catalonia, new state in Europe’), up to 2m Catalans gathered
in central areas of Barcelona, bringing the city centre to a standstill for
hours.
The rally –
the largest ever organised in Catalonia since La Transición (the Spanish
transition to democracy) following the death of the Spain’s military dictator Francisco
Franco in 1975 – marked the culmination of a series of protests called ‘Marxa
cap a la Independència’ (‘March towards Independence’) that had begun in June
that year to demand independence of the region from Spain.
This was
not the first time Catalans poured into the streets en masse as part of their
independence movement. The political movement started in nineteen-twenties,
though the movement in modern days had its seeds sown in 2010 when the
Constitutional Court, Spain’s highest judicial body, annulled parts of constitutional
regulations granting Catalonia powers of self-rule. The move has since prompted
protests on various occasions over these years.
The issue
significantly escalated in the second half of 2017, with unprecedented events
such as independence referendum held in October and the Constitutional Court
declaring it illegal, the imposition of Spain’s direct rule on Catalonia, arrests
of several regional government officials, and regional elections in December in
which pro-independence parties won a majority.
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| Catalan separatist flag outside the regional government headquarters in Barcelona (pic courtesy: Reuters/Juan Medina) |
The separatist sentiment in Catalonia has long been fuelled partly due to the perception that Spain threatens Catalan linguistic identity by attempting to ‘hispanicise’ the region. Catalan language was banned for around forty years during the dictatorship of General Franco, who came into power following the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939. The tyranny of military rule not only impacted Catalonia politically but culturally as well. As democracy returned in Spain in the nineteen-seventies, Catalans have contributed by letting flow their time and money into safeguarding the centuries-old language.
Death of linguistic
identities and cultures occur in severe cases of marginalisation. Fortuitously,
it is not the case with Catalonia. Catalan ideologies about their identity can
be viewed in two ways: language-and-identity and language-and-territory, with
the former sharing more an emotional link with language and the other implying
that Catalan language should be the one practiced as the main language in public
settings. Catalonian’s law mandates the use of Catalan language at schools,
hospitals and public sector offices.
In
comparison with majority of socio-political and cultural movements that are
based on race and ethnicity, language has played a crucial role in firmly determining
a Catalan identity. Conversely, a pivotal part of the Catalan identity is not
only the local language, but the fact that Catalans are amicably bilingual in
both Spanish and Catalan. The Catalan Institute for Statistics suggests that more
than fifty percent of Catalans adjudge Spanish to be their native language despite
the fact that over eighty percent of the regional population can speak Catalan.
Amid an unceasing, heated pro-independence movement and nationalist parties coming back in power in regional parliament, the time may be ripe for Catalans to realise that secessionism is bad not just for Catalonia but also Spain, as well as Europe. There are constructive social elements such as pluralism and integration that Catalans ought to hold in high regard rather than embracing separatist groups. Multiculturalism and multilingualism can not only aggrandise socio-economic opportunities but also counter marginalisation and culture decay of the region.
