In the Balearic Islands, up until this year, all children in elementary school where supposed to be schooled in Catalan. Although this model was not fully implemented, the Spanish Partido Popular (Popular Party), the ruling party in the Balearic government, decided that the model “enforced” Catalan and that parents should be given a choice. Catalan is the native language in the Balearic Islands, so the choice would be between a native language (Catalan) and an foreign one (Spanish). In spite of this, just 63% of the population speaks Catalan, while most everybody is able to speak Spanish. The linguistic model in schools was a useful tool to reverse this trend and help out the weaker language. One goal of PP is to eliminate Catalan from every public venue where it is still being used. However, the ultimate goal is to exterminate this language by marginalizing it. Accordingly, parents have been given the option to choose the language in which their children will be taught. In some parts of the islands no one at all has chosen Spanish, and in the rest just a few families have chosen it.
In the region of Manacor all 45 applicants at the School Jaume Vidal i Alcover chose Catalan. In Inca, out of fifty applicants, just two chose Spanish. In Sòller everybody chose Catalan. Final reports indicate that 87% of new students will be taught in Catalan, while the remaining 13% will be schooled in Spanish. This clearly thwarts the Spanish nationalists's intentions because Catalan ended up as the preferred language in all four Balearic Islands: Mallorca, Menorca, Eivissa, and Formentera. It's interesting to compare this with the news that the Supreme Court of Catalonia is trying to get Catalonia to reverse its long-standing policy of all education being in Catalan rather than Spanish. In public schools, 92% of students will be taught in Catalan and 8% in Spanish, while in charter schools, figures are 79% and 21% respectively. Both Catalan and Spanish will continue to be compulsory subjects for all students, regardless the language their parents choose.
Partido Popular’s policy has been denounced as genocide. In fact, one of PP's members, Antoni Pastor, Manacor's mayor, was recently kicked out of his own party for speaking out against the attempt to replace the foreign Spanish culture for the native Balearic one. A few days ago teachers and human rights activists condemned the genocidal policy by the Spanish unionists at the European Parliament.
Partido Popular’s policy has been denounced as genocide. In fact, one of PP's members, Antoni Pastor, Manacor's mayor, was recently kicked out of his own party for speaking out against the attempt to replace the foreign Spanish culture for the native Balearic one. A few days ago teachers and human rights activists condemned the genocidal policy by the Spanish unionists at the European Parliament.
I'm really angry and sad about all these lasts news. Today the Department of Education in Catalonia has issued a communiqué. Spanish government tries to abolish our language. We have to be ONE, we can do it, Catalan has to be fuss over for all of us.
ResponEliminaI love my language and lately I'm afraid of these bad news. Please, begin a big campaign in order all the village participate and stop this attack.
Are you not afraid that with the independent Catalonia, the bealears and Valencia will lose possibility to have education, work, etc. in their own language? and in fact you will lose other Catalonian Countries...
ResponEliminaQuite the opposite Tomasz. With an independent Catalonia, our nation will have institutions such as the British Council or the Institut Français, etc. to promote our language. Furthermore, with an independent state behind it, our common language will gain prestige, motivating those who do not see any point in its promotion to change their minds.
ResponElimina