On Monday afternoon, on the program The diary Jorge's On Telecinco, its presenter, Jorge Javier Vázquez, tried to mediate between two friends in conflict. Maria Dolors from Barcelona had arranged the televised encounter, surprised that her friend Ana María was unhappy with her for not having time to meet up. Jorge Javier checked Maria Dolors's schedule to make sure she was, in fact, very busy. Then Ana María appeared, who—supposedly—didn't know who had organized this blunder. She's from Argentina, retired, and has lived in Barcelona for fourteen years. The presenter made it convenient for her to discuss the reason for the lack of understanding between the two women. Afterward, Maria Dolors reappeared on the set to clarify the source of the tension between them. As is usual on this type of program, they stirred up controversy, engaged in back-and-forth, until, in the end—what a coincidence—Maria Dolors revealed a compelling point. Sometimes she invited Ana María to join in activities she did with her other friends, but Argentina didn't want to go because they spoke Catalan. "I don't like Catalan", He said forcefully. Jorge Javier asked him how many years he had been living in Catalonia: "I could be 50 more years old and I wouldn't like it.", He insisted emphatically. Then Jorge Javier made a fuss: "But what's the trouble with learning Catalan? It's so beautiful, it's so cultural, and it's such a wonderful language!"The guest repeated:"I don't want toJorge Javier drew a somewhat elementary conclusion: "Do you know why you don't like it? Because you don't want to learn it.". Ana María assured that, in part, it was because learning Catalan would erase her Spanish. Jorge Javier laughed: "That's what Catalan is like. It enters your ear and erases your Spanish!' he concluded sarcastically. The guest with Albert Om nor, more recently, with Ricard Ustrell in Collapse. On this program, he even claimed that he was embarrassed to talk to him, and he attributed it to political reasons that had to do with Jordi Pujol, which he didn't specify. But he scolded the Argentine woman who did the same thing: not talking to him. "it is a very beautiful language"It often betrays a kind of linguistic condescension, as if Catalan were an ugly piece of furniture and others had to be convinced of its beauty. And you say, "Well, wow!" and you've done your part. They don't argue that you have to learn it because it's the language of the country or to better integrate into the social fabric or out of respect. This may be, precisely, Jordi Pujol's fault.
