"In cities like Elche, Valencian can disappear in a generation."

Why they chose the word temper?

Because it's a word that means "seasoning, a rooftop ready to bear fruit," and as such, it's only used in Camp d'Elx and Girona. It's a word that connects the entire linguistic domain, as it is reborn after hundreds of kilometers.

People often complain that the south of the Valencian Community is invisible. To what do they attribute this neglect?

Between Elche and Alicante, we have almost as much population as the city of Valencia. Furthermore, of the six or seven most populated cities in the Valencian Community, four are in the south: Alicante, Elche, Torrevieja, and Orihuela. But the historic Biar-Busot line [a line born from the peace treaty signed by the crowns of Aragon and Castile on March 26, 1244, which established the boundaries of both kingdoms] still has a significant impact. Valencians in the north, when they look south, first look at the city of Alicante, which is deeply Castilianized, then at the city of Elche, which is not as Castilianized, but also Castilianized. They generate a very blurred vision of what the south is, ignoring the fact that in the south we have towns where 80% of the population speaks Valencian, such as Mon. Added to this is the fact that the Generalitat Valenciana has no project to integrate the south. And given this lack of a project, who fills that space? The Alicante Provincial Council lacks a Valencian identity project, but rather a clear Spanish and Castilian identity linguistically.

Why is being Valencian associated with speaking Catalan in the south, unlike in other parts of the Valencian Community?

The language defines the Valencian character in the south because it has a provincial influence. This is a phenomenon that is also occurring in Castellón, which is beginning to generate a rejection of Valencia. Beyond the necessary and basic infrastructure for social welfare, in Elche we don't have a large macro-structure paid for by the Generalitat (Catalan government), such as an auditorium, a conference center, etc. All of this is paid for by the City Council, because we don't have any from the Alicante Provincial Council either. Therefore, there is a grievance. pack Improvements in living conditions that include Valencian. Otherwise, the other option is across the border, because in the Vega Baja, Murcia is 25 kilometers away by highway.

He blames the Valencian government for not disseminating a cohesive Valencian identity, but the discourse that permeates society is generated by the mainstream media, especially television.

Obviously, because we are a society in which foreign media dominate, and when you have a right-wing government with the judiciary and media power in its favor and pursuing anti-Valencian politics, that's obviously the prevailing discourse and narrative. This is a desire of the Generalitat to explain the multilingualism law.

What language policy would you apply in the south of the Valencian Community?

First, we must gradually end the exemption from Valencian [an option that the 1983 education law, still in force, recognizes for residents of municipalities in eight regions where the language has historically not been present]. That is, we must establish a year after which students beginning their education stage no longer have access to it. Second, we must ensure that teachers in Vega Baja [the most populated of the eight regions and the only one in the Alicante district, and the only one where the exemption is actually exercised] have the necessary support in educational means and resources. And finally, we must implement specialized teaching methods, because Valencian will have to be taught as a second or foreign language, because that's the reality. Teaching methods similar to those used for English should be used. You can't teach Valencian like Spanish because the educational context is entirely Spanish.

What explains the rejection of Valencian?

It's a form of political erosion. There's been a whole process of poisoning since the Transition, with the approval of the Statute of Autonomy and the implementation of the law on the use and teaching of Valencian, since the exceptional and specific objective [linguistic exemption] is now a consolidated right. That's the problem we have now, that you've approved the law on multilingualism and we have a contradiction, because [in eight regions] you can be exempt from studying Valencian, but at the same time you must study 25% of the subjects in Valencian [as the vehicular language].

Are you disappointed with the Council?

All of the southern entities expected more sensitivity and a clearer response, because in the south, the language is in danger. If you rely entirely on teaching and, from a language policy perspective, there's no progress in the media, no progress in leisure time, and no promotion of other areas of use, then we are Latinizing the language.

If nothing changes, how many years does the Catalan language have left in the south of the Valencian Community?

In the case of Elche, one generation. In towns and surrounding areas, more.