The language of freedom
This slogan alone would suffice to respond to the constant (and well-intentioned) suggestions that Catalan should try to become a more "friendly" language. The argument, as is well known, stems from the unease of some sectors (almost always Spanish-speaking) regarding the existence of coercive or punitive measures to protect the use of their own language. They say this, of course, for our own good and for the good of the language. We have no doubt about that. But since it is fitting to respond with the same empathy and the same selfless good faith, here comes yet another attempt. This time, it's not to justify the coercion or sanctions, but also to justify the desire for primacy: Catalan is not just any language. It is not only official. It is not even merely "our own." It also possesses a universal value, inherent in itself, which is the fact that it can be identified as the language of freedom.
From the outset, Catalan was born and developed in a unique political space within medieval Europe, associated with forms of government based on agreements, early representative institutions, and a legal culture that placed limits on power: in fact, while it was being born, the Catalan counts were emancipating themselves from the Frankish crown. Later, it became the language of the Catalan Courts, municipal councils, commercial contracts, and secular literature, but it was not imposed from an imperial center. Nor was it imposed by a desire for uniformity: it spread with trade, law, self-government, and tradition. It grew organically with the freedom of its speakers, not against it.
It is also due to geographical reasons. The Catalan linguistic domain is one of transit, exchange, Mediterranean, and interconnected. Ports, trade routes, and migrations have made Catalan a language accustomed to contact, to blending, and to the incorporation of others. Despite its small territory, it has always been permeable, capable of absorbing influences without sacrificing continuity. It demonstrated this again during the wave of immigration in the 60s and 70s, and consolidated it in subsequent decades (we'll see if we can do it again). Identity, in our case, is not built despite being open, but precisely because of it. "You are a very closed-minded people" is, therefore, an unfair expression: if anything, we are a people who have learned from past experiences. Obsessed with survival. Self-protected. That much is true.
Third: Catalan has never been the exclusive domain of a ruling class. It has been the language of peasants, artisans, the bourgeoisie, workers, and intellectuals. It has been a family language and a public language, a street language and a language of culture. This transversality explains why, even in contexts of repression, it has remained alive thanks to the daily, voluntary, and persistent use of the people. Speaking Catalan has almost always been a free act, not forced (even today its obligation (It's relative). But speaking it (or writing it) has, in fact, been an act of freedom in itself. A true icon of resistance against authoritarianism. And it is so in a way that few languages can claim. Catalan, to put it simply, would be a kind of The Marseillaise of languages.
Finally, Catalan doesn't define an exclusionary identity. It doesn't ask where you come from, but if you want to be part of it. Anyone can embrace it, without giving up anything. In this capacity for integration, in this absence of dogma, individual and collective freedom merge as if they were one and the same. Catalan doesn't demand submission, but rather adherence. Here we don't issue passports (for now): here we ask if you speak or understand our language, and then you become one of the family. When we walk through airports, we notice and recognize it immediately. When we walk down the street, too.
Therefore, the protection of Catalan is not justified (only) by its position of weakness, nor only by the attacks it receives, nor even because it is the native language of this corner of the world, but because it historically embodies a way of understanding human coexistence, culture, and the future. And these values well deserve some sanction in the face of a lack of respect. They cannot be left to the mercy of goodwill, because freedom also needs protection.Freedom is not free"(as the Americans say). It demands commitment, awareness, and, when necessary, determination. A setback for Catalan is a setback for freedom. They know it, and so do we. Everyone should know it too: those who pass through, those who stay, and those who watch us."