A fragment from a La 2 de RTVE program, presented by the renowned journalist Iñaki Gabilondo, has caused a sensation, concerning the imposition of Spanish on the original peoples of America, victims of the genocide perpetrated mainly by Spain and Portugal in what they still call "the conquest of the Indies", five centuries ago. In the program, titled La gran aventura de la lengua española, Gabilondo stated, verbatim, the following: “The Spanish conquest, contrary to what has been traditionally said and accepted, did not impose the learning of Spanish on the Amerindians [sic], nor was its use mandatory in any viceroyalty, captaincy, or audience of the New World [sic]. Nor did it prohibit the use of indigenous languages, but rather carried out the most important task of conservation and salvation that has occurred in the entire history of colonizations. A surprising finding, isn't it? But we tell you it is unquestionable”.It is a denialist discourse that we might expect more from Vox, Ayuso, or any commentator or influencer from the Spanish ultranationalist right. Hearing it from Gabilondo, a traditional example of equanimity, plurality, and progressive virtues, may cause rejection and disgust, but not exactly surprise. The construction of Spain as a national identity and as a nation-state (they are two different things, although they go together) has always shown a strong discomfort with its colonial past and, in particular, with the extermination of the indigenous peoples of America. This process of colonization and genocide had, as is logical, a linguistic policy that was particularly harsh against the languages of these peoples. Historians and linguists agree in calculating that hundreds of languages, more than a thousand, were completely abolished and eradicated from the American continent, in a massive linguisticide, to impose the use of Spanish and Portuguese. In Brazil alone, it is known that before colonization, about 1,300 languages were spoken, of which only about 300 currently survive. Regarding Spanish, the orders to teach it to "Amerindians," as Gabilondo says, especially to children, are documented in more than thirty royal charters (official provisions of the Spanish Crown) between 1550 and 1782.History is what it is and can no longer be corrected, some will say. It is true, but in the face of historical facts, various attitudes can be taken. When it comes to massacres and genocides, the reactionary and the patriot react with supremacism and with attempts to justify the unjustifiable (“we brought them civilization”). From the progressive, one should expect homage, even if belated, to the memory of the victims, and an official and complete request for forgiveness. Finally, there is the cynic, who denies the evidence (as Joan Carles I did in his day: “Spanish was never a language of imposition, but of encounter,” he said) and still wants to make us believe that it was not colonization, but a bargain. Surprising but unquestionable.
