Defending the linguistic empire

A manifesto signed by intellectuals aimed at protecting the Spanish language has revived a debate that has been going on for years in Spain. La Vanguardia, a newspaper published in the Catalonian capital of Barcelona, comments: "Naturally the goal [of the manifesto] is not to defend freedom. They say that the language does not belong to a country, but its citizens. Fantastic. I would like to see these high-minded [signatories] defending Farsi, Arabic, Finnish and all the other languages that are spoken by the new Spaniards. I would also like to see them defending the Catalans' right to use their language anywhere within the [Spanish] state. And of course I would like to see them abolishing all the laws that prescribe Castilian [Spanish] for the entire territory. Or was that not the idea behind this manifesto? ... Let us not be naïve. [The manifesto is] just one more in the series of unashamed attempts to defend the empire."

» more information (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Education, » Cultural Policy, » Spain

» To the complete press review of Wednesday, June 25, 2008