The Valencian Language Academy rejects changing 'València' to the PP and Vox invention of 'Valéncia'

BarcelonaThe battle over language has resurfaced in the Valencian Community under the PP government, supported by Vox, but also in the city council of the capital, where Mayor María José Catalá has launched a campaign against the Catalan language and the city's name. This marks the first year of her term. He already announced that he wanted to Castilianize Valencia and its toponym to include a bilingual name with Valencia in Castilian Spanish and a secessionist Valencian version, Valencia, with the support of Vox and anti-Catalan groups; and in July of last year the City Council He approved it and sent the proposal to the Valencian government.But this Friday the Valencian Language Academy (AVL) issued a harsh report rejecting the change, as has been reported. Levant And the ARA has confirmed it.

The regulatory body for Catalan in the Valencian Community, which collaborates with the Institut d'Estudis Catalans, has made it clear that the mayor's claim has no basis whatsoever. The institution's report, adopted by "an overwhelming majority," will be sent on Monday to the General Directorate of Local Administration of the Generalitat. Until then, the sources consulted warn that the fine print of the arguments against the claim cannot be made public. Valencia/ValenciaThe decision follows the same line as the one made in December 2016 when it gave the green light to the City Council, then controlled by Compromís, for the full normalization of the toponym in Catalan after four decades of democracy. At that time, the PP abstained from voting on Catalanization, but now, in the midst of a low election period, it is once again raising the language battle.

The Generalitat has the authority to change toponymy, and the AVL (Valencian Language Academy) has produced the required report, which adheres to the written tradition of the city's name, compatible with the evolution of pronunciation towards a closed 'e'. But the political decision could disregard the linguistic criterion, just as it has done with the recent attack on the language perpetrated in the education system, which removes from the school curriculum the authors of Catalan literature who are not from the Valencian Country. That is to say, it excludes all Catalan and Balearic writers.

In response to this offensive, the AVL (Valencian Language Academy) has already expressed in a statement "its concern that Valencian and Valencian literature may be perceived in an isolated and decontextualized manner." The intention of the Valencian government, led by Juanfran Pérez Llorca of the People's Party, is to separate the Valencian variant from the Catalan language, as is also the intention of the Valencia City Council, while simultaneously prioritizing Spanish in all areas and problematizing Valencian-language education with referendums in which In the end, there is a victory for the Catalan..

Mayor Catalá commissioned a tailor-made report from philologist and AVL member Abelard Saragossà, a supporter of the form ValenciaDespite being in the absolute minority, the proposal is essentially only supported by anti-Catalan entities such as Lo Rat Penat and the Royal Academy of Valencian Culture, which maintain that Valencian is a distinct language from Catalan, a claim Saragossà disputes. In fact, Juan Carlos Caballero, spokesperson for the PP and Vox coalition in the Valencian city government, has already issued a statement criticizing the AVL (Valencian Academy of Language) for having "missed" a "historic opportunity to get closer to linguistic reality" and reproaching it for a "lack of institutional loyalty." He laments having learned of the report against the name change through the press and stated that this step distances him from the Valencian spoken in the city and from its "true pronunciation." Vox, through its leader in the Valencian Parliament, José María Llanos, has advocated "strangling the AVL" until it "disappears," while President Pérez Llorca has remained neutral, although he has publicly defended his belief in the institution, despite the budget cuts. The PSPV-PSOE and Compromís have strongly opposed the name change of València and have maintained that, if they return to power, València will once again be València.