Tag: Catalan
Desafío al español causa protesta
El mes pasado, la octava ley de educación en la historia democrática de España fue aprobada por el congreso, lo cual generó una tormenta de ira y protesta. Uno de los aspectos más controvertidos de dicha ley es la eliminación de un pasaje que establece que el español de Castilla (castellano) es la “lengua vehicular” de España. Los comentaristas...
Challenge to Spanish Causes Outcry
Last month, Spain’s eighth education law in democratic history was passed by congress while creating a storm of anger and protest. One of the most controversial aspects of the bill is the elimination of a passage stating that Castilian Spanish (Castellano) is the “vehicular language” of Spain. Right wing commentators view this as a concession to Cataluña’s “linguistic immersion”...
Spanish Musician Lau Noah Wows on NPR Tiny Desk
Lau Noah is a singer-songwriter from Reus, Spain who recently performed on NPR’s Tiny Desk series—a web series that showcases emerging and established musicians in a pared-down format similar to 90’s TV show, MTV Unplugged. Noah is multilingual and speaks Catalan, Spanish, English, and Hebrew. “There’s a language we speak in the Northeast of Spain called Catalan in a...
Catalan Publisher Leaves Amid Uncertainty
As uncertainty and anxiety over secession grip Spain’s autonomous region of Cataluña, publishing giant Planeta, the world's leading Spanish-language publisher and second biggest publisher in France, has moved its official address out of the region’s capital, Barcelona, to Madrid.
According to an official statement, the decision to move the publisher’s registered address was taken to “protect the interests of shareholders,...
Library of Congress Celebrates Hispanic Literature
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Library of Congress launched an online selection of recordings of renowned Hispanic authors reading their works in their native languages. "I am so excited that the entire world will be able to hear some of these wonderful writers, such as Gabriel García Márquez...
Three Languages for Catalan University Grads
The Generalitat of Catalonia announced in April that it would require future university students to have knowledge of a third language to earn a degree. While this new regulation will allow students to choose the language of study, English is highly encouraged.
“We want to guarantee that none of our students have problems with English when they leave the university,”...
Castilian Spanish Rules in Catalan Classrooms
A Catalan court has ruled that if a family in Catalonia wants more hours of instruction in Castilian Spanish, the school must comply. However, the ruling goes on to do more than make differentiated instruction mandatory. According to the court, the entire class will have to be instructed in Spanish upon the request of one student. The ruling comes...
Soccer Giants Defend Catalan
After Spain's education minister stated that he was drafting a proposal to make the teaching of Castilian Spanish obligatory in schools throughout the country, the world-famous FC Barcelona soccer team has defended the use of the Catalan language and how it is being taught in the region.
"Our language, like our team, is an element of integration which permits us...