Learn Catalan

That no one fromCatalan International Institute for Peace To see no problem in using the phrase "Let them learn Catalan!" as a sign of racism or exclusion is a mistake that's hard to swallow. It's surely another indication, and a significant one, of the extent to which we've lost that broad political and social consensus we had since the end of the Franco dictatorship regarding making Catalan the language of everyone, and doing so as the lowest common denominator for coexistence in a country that doesn't have the political power to issue identity cards.

Over the years, the defeat of the Process, the profound demographic shift, and the silent, weary, and wounded resignation of the masses of Catalan speakers from the social use of the language because they don't want problems, we've gone from the enthusiasm for sharing Catalan to letting it be, to a fear of being labeled a "pico," a historically inverted world that is absolutely unacceptable, a fascist, as has happened in public recently. All that's missing is for a far-right Catalan option to make a considerable electoral dent, and for this to be exploited by those who are persecuting Catalan in schools, so that the entire language is tainted and the insecurity of its speakers increases.

Whenever I write about language, I draw on my daily experience, because the debate on the printed page cannot replace the evidence of the street, and this is also made up of thousands of newcomers who not only have no problem with Catalan, but use it—in shops, in restaurants, in taxis. Teaching Catalan is about inclusion, not exclusion. Let's have more confidence in ourselves.