Regional Identities in the European Context: The Catalan Case
Beverly Leetch
Modern Languages
Towson University
This was a particularly interesting time to visit Spain: the controversy over the revision of the regional constitution of Catalonia, the continuing political turmoil and violence in the Basque Country, and regional elections in Galicia. The CIEE seminar dealt mostly with Catalonian nationalism, but this brand of nationalism was also compared with that of the Basque Country and to a lesser extent with the nascent nationalism of Galicia.
The program was divided into a series of eight 90-minute lectures, one three-hour lecture and documentary film, and five visits, three of which were directly related to the lectures. The remaining two visits were to places outside of Barcelona.
The three Autonomous Communities of Galicia, the Basque Country, and Catalonia are the only Communities of the seventeen in Spain which have their own language. Galician and Catalan are full-fledged Romance languages, not dialects of Spanish, as citizens as well as linguists will quickly inform the unknowing tourist. Basque is an ancient non-Indo-European language, one of the few left in Europe. It is because of these language differences and the rise of separate cultures that we find strong nationalist movements in these three Autonomous Communities of the post-Franco era.
What is “nationalism” within Spain, already considered a “nation” in the English-speaking world? There are several words in Spanish which more or less mean “nation,” including “Estado” (the State, usually reserved to refer to Spain itself); “país” (country, again seemingly reserved to refer to Spain alone); “patria” (homeland, the preferred word of the Franco era but also used in the democratic constitution of 1978); and “nación.” The word “nacionalidad” is used in the Spanish constitution to refer to the Basques, Galicians, and Catalans.
With the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, a new constitution was written to put an end to the oppressive dictatorship which had lasted for 35 years. With its passage by popular election in 1978, Spanish remained the official language of the State with Basque, Galician, and Catalan as co-official languages in their respective Autonomous Communities (which would be roughly equivalent to our “states”). Speaking, writing, or publishing in these languages had been forbidden in the Franco era. The new freedom gave rise to increasing pride in one’s cultural differences. In the Basque Country, however, the terrorist group ETA, compromised the new freedoms by its continuing acts of violence against the State and its citizens. (ETA was founded in 1959 to protest the repression of the Franco dictatorship and to seek the independence of the Basque Country from Spain.)
Many of our lectures focused on definitions of Catalan “nationalism.” The current debate in the Catalan parliament over the revision of the Catalan constitution has led in part to the insistence by all but one of the political parties that Catalonia be called a “nación.” Spain is still the “Estado,” which suggests that all but the most extreme nationalists actually want their independence from Spain.
Who then is a Catalan? The answer seems to be anyone who wants to become a Catalan, not just a person born in Catalonia. Catalonia’s population includes a large number of immigrants from North Africa as well as other parts of Spain, particularly Andalucía. There also is a growing population of retirees from northern Europe. More immigrants speak Spanish than Catalan.
Almost all Catalans speak Spanish; many people, primarily those in the middle class, now speak Catalan and will use it as their first language within the family, at work, in stores and restaurants and other public places. It is estimated that there are as many as eleven million Catalan speakers. It is the official language of Andorra, and it is spoken in parts of southern France and in those parts of Italy conquered by the Catalan kings in the Middle Ages. While we were in Barcelona, the European Union accepted Catalan as an official language, although not as one of the “treaty” languages used for legal documents.
Primary education in Catalonia is given in Catalan because it is believed that most children still learn Spanish first; secondary education is given in both Catalan and Spanish. Sixty percent of university classes are given in Catalan and forty percent in Spanish. The decision to conduct classes in Catalan or Spanish rests solely with the professor. Public signs are in Catalan; some also include Spanish as the second language. A few restaurants will automatically hand you a menu in Catalan, and you have to ask for one in Spanish or in another language. However, when it was evident I could not speak Catalan, the other person always responded courteously in Spanish.
In bookstores, the section of books in Catalan is still comparatively small to the books offered in Spanish. Catalan publishing houses produce seventy percent of their books in Spanish and only thirty percent in Catalan. However, one of our lecturers told us that although she was born Ana Romero, she must use the Catalan Anna Rumero in order to be accepted as a true Catalan author.
Cultural symbols also figure prominently in defining Catalan nationality: the Catalan national anthem; Saint George, the patron saint of Catalonia; the Catalan national holiday of, ironically, September 11; the Catalan flag. The Catalan government is attempting to get an internet designation of “.cat” instead of the usual “.es.”
Catalonia is home to a branch of Art Nouveau called modernisme, which began to develop at the end of the nineteenth century. The lecture on its origins and characteristics will add much to my class on Spanish culture and civilization. Prominent architects are Gaudí, Domènech i Montaner, and Puig i Cadafalch, whose works we later saw on our walking tours. Pablo Picasso, who began his career in the same era, spent his formative artistic years in Barcelona, where a former Renaissance palace houses a collection of his early works.
It was interesting to hear Basque nationality described by Catalan lecturers, who clearly felt that their brand of nationalism was more acceptable, and they are probably right. A few weeks ago the Spanish Parliament rejected the Basque plan for increased independence because they also included the Basque area of southern France and the Autonomous Community of Navarre in their document. The terrorist violence perpetrated by ETA is still a thorny issue even after forty-five years. A political scandal recently occurred in Catalonia when it was discovered that a prominent politician had held secret meetings with the Basques in an effort to help them resolve their political problems.
We also discussed Galicia on occasion, but there was not enough time to devote to a solid comparison, nor had this discussion been promised. However, what was discussed will be useful for my classes.
Our walking tours of Barcelona and visits to Sitges, the Medieval city of Gerona, the Iberian site of Ullastret, and, yes, visits to the vineyards and bodega of Codorníu and the Masía of Sant Pere Molanta were very worthwhile. A bonus of particular interest for me was the visit to the Cervantes exhibition in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the publication of Part I of Don Quijote. Part of the exhibit had been put together by Francisco Rico, Professor of Medieval Hispanic Literatures at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, who had been a professor of mine during his years at Hopkins.
The lectures, handouts, the documentary film on the Basques, and our visits will all be incorporated into my course on Spanish culture and civilization. The lecture on the Spanish family will be of interest to my intermediate students and the lecture and visits on Catalan modernisme will be useful in my language and literature classes. I was also able to buy books and slides which will not be available in the United States. My colleagues in the seminar have sent us all so many digital photographs that I will be able to make several PowerPoint presentations for classes.
I am most grateful to the University for this opportunity to participate in the CIEE seminar. In one short week, I gathered enough information and materials to enrich my classes for the next several years. Antonia Ferriol, our CIEE director, deserves special mention for her superb organization of the seminar, her extraordinary energy and her thoughtfulness in putting all of this together. I am grateful also to CIEE for letting this first seminar in Barcelona run with only eight participants, an unusual luxury.
Moltes gràcies