“Those who monitor language on the networks are doing him a disservice”

Helena with hair? Let’s start right away…

Let’s start well, because hac is how it should be written in Catalan. But hey, everyone can write it however they want.

Are you linguistically liberal?

I wouldn’t say liberal. The book does not advocate that everyone speak whatever colloquial language they want, but rather that these languages ​​have their place in public communication. And also the dialectal diversity. Central Catalan, mostly from Barcelona, ​​​​does not just have to have space. That’s not fair because it’s tantamount to saying that there are better and worse languages. What I advocate is that all dialects play an equal role in the language.

Can overprotecting a language be counterproductive?

Let’s talk about whether Catalan should be saved? We have a language that is being pushed into the background, it is clearly in decline. And more and more. If we don’t do anything about it, it won’t end well. That’s why Catalan needs protection.

Doesn’t it make the Catalans unfriendly to be too rigid?

There should be no corrections in informal language. When we constantly correct a person, we create insecurity in him. Then the “Oops, I don’t write in Catalan because I make a lot of mistakes” thing happens. Yes, that creates antipathy towards a language. Anyone who monitors the language on social networks is doing Catalan a disservice. Maybe they do it in good faith, but they create uncertainty. Individual corrections are not a solution. Good role models are needed.

He asked me before if Catalan should be saved. Now I’m asking you.

hey hey Do you want a unified society with only one language across the world?

Um…

Everyone realizes that fauna diversity is good, right? Well, the cultural diversity is also interesting. To keep Catalan culture alive, Catalan is essential. In fact, we have put language at the heart of the Catalan nation.

Did politics harm him, the language?

It has become a very popular language. Despite the good intentions, the Pujolist-era subsidies to Catalan culture were counterproductive. Catalan was identified with the establishment. The counterculture had no place there; it did not fit into the idea of ​​real Catalan. This does not mean that there should not be support for Catalan culture, because it is done everywhere. But at the time it caused a certain hostility towards Catalan. We have to get over this, Catalan cannot be used as a militant option.

Has Catalan been identified with a political option more recently?

Apparently we have stereotyped ourselves: Catalan speakers are seen as pro-independence and non-speakers as constitutionalists. And it’s not like that. But these stereotypes have created divisions, not helped. It was not possible to disassociate the Catalans from a particular political option.

Castile are inevitable?

In spontaneous speech they are unavoidable. As many people say Bueno?

all

(Laughs) We’ve had Castilianisms for centuries, some of them are in the dictionary. Going back is impossible. What should worry us is that the structure of Catalan is becoming more and more similar to that of Spanish. It’s difficult to slow down because Spanish is everywhere: immigration, phrases that undermine the school project …

How about Catalan from TV3?

A decline in voice quality was noted, but this occurred throughout society. Journalists have language training, but social media and employees are exempt from language supervision. We should do something here. If you invite a member of staff, make sure they speak Catalan well.

When I hear someone say “even,” “well,” “somewhat,” I start running

Ha, ha, that’s called “language fidelity,” people who do that to protect the language. But it doesn’t make sense, we can’t go back and talk like we did a hundred years ago. Already Salvador Espriu said he didn’t understand why some people used “straight”. Languages ​​evolve, you cannot recreate the language of the past. However, we don’t have to turn it into a sieve and let everything in.