Identitat i llengua

Abstract

The term identity involves four components: differentiation, continuity, awareness and recognition. Without differentiation there can be no distinction between any of them; without continuity, we cannot talk about the same person over time; self-awareness allows us to have a critical awareness and specific vision of the world around us; and the external recognition of difference comes in answer to the need to be accepted by others. Language is not just about identity, it is also a cultural thing: a form of symbolic mediation with reality and groups that is part of the wealth of human experience accumulated in the course of history. Culture is not just language, although in the case of Catalonia it is the vehicle of cultural production and one of the most characteristic embodiments of its cultural and national personality. To attain normality, the use of Catalan language must be fostered, its unity as a language of the Catalan-speaking areas must be defended and its recognition in Spain and the European Union promoted. To this end, there are two fundamental elements: public policies that compensate the disequilibrium with regard to the minoritised language, and a certain linguistic reassertion by Catalan speakers. Ensuring that everyone knows Catalan language in its specific territory means promoting equal opportunities, including linguistic opportunities, for all the citizens of Catalonia.