"No Hay Una Única Identidad Válida."

This scene from the French film L'Auberge Espagnole (lit. "The Spanish Inn/Hostel/Refuge", but I believe it was released in English-speaking countries under the French title; in Spanish it was Una Casa de Locos, "A House of Crazies") always gets me emotional.  Here's the dialogue:

Catalan 1: Jo parlo català senzillament perquè sóc català i perquè visc a Catalunya.
I speak Catalan simply because I’m Catalan, and because I live in Catalonia.
Isabelle: A mí me parece contradictorio defender el catalán en un momento en el que estamos construyendo Europa.
I find it contradictory to defend Catalan at the same time we’re building Europe.
Catalan 2: Yo no estoy de acuerdo. Primero porque creo que, o sea que, estamos hablando de identidades, y no hay una única identidad válida. O sea, hay muchas identidades que son perfectamente compatibles. Se trata de respeto. Por ejemplo, yo tengo por lo menos dos identidades. La identidad gambiana, que traigo conmigo mismo, y la identidad catalana. Yo no creo que sea contradictorio combinar las dos identidades.
I disagree.  First because I think, in other words, that we’re talking about identities, and there isn’t just one valid identity.  In other words, there are a lot of identities that are perfectly compatible.  It’s about respect.  For example, I have at least two identities.  The Gambian identity, which I bring within myself, and the Catalan identity.  I don’t think it’s contradictory to combine the two.

The movie takes place in Barcelona, hence some of the dialogue being in Catalan.  It also follows a moment where Isabelle (in the screencap, she's the girl in the lavender shirt) stands up to her Economics prof who's giving the class in Catalan and insists he speak Spanish instead, which he declines to do (I'll dedicate another entry to that part some other time, since it goes with the whole language politics thing.).

The main reason why I love this whole sequence and bit of dialogue is because, well, I can identify myself in it.  I am, in a way, Catalan 2, who is the African guy shown in the screencap above.  Not necessarily Catalan, but it still works in any case.  I am American by virtue of the fact that I was born in the United States to American parents, and I am also Spanish, because of the time I spent living there in that culture (those cultures...).  And I think trying to be either one or the other keeps me from being who I am.

I just love this movie.  Everyone needs to see it.

Catalan Pronunciation Guide

I just put a Catalan pronunciation guide up under my pages!

Go ahead and check it out, and let me know if you have any questions.

2011 Book List

1. Hadrian by Anthony Everitt
2. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
3. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
4. London by Edward Rutherfurd
5. El Hereje by Miguel Delibes
6. La Plaça del Diamant by Mercè Rodoreda
7. I'm Off Then by Hape Kerkeling
8. El Pintor de Batallas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
9. The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon
10. The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory
11. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
12. Dewey by Vicki Myron
13. Catalina de Aragón by José Luis Olaizola
14. El Capitán Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
15. La Tía Tula by Miguel de Unamuno
16. Manolito Gafotas by Elvira Lindo
17. ¡Pobre Manolito! by Elvira Lindo
18. Cómo Molo by Elvira Lindo
19. Los Trapos Sucios by Elvira Lindo
20. Manolito On the Road by Elvira Lindo
21. Yo y el Imbécil by Elvira Lindo
22. Manolito Tiene un Secreto by Elvira Lindo
23. Tinto de Verano by Elvira Lindo
24. Tinto de Verano II: De Madrid a Nueva York by Elvira Lindo
25. La Sombra del Viento by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
26. A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin
27. A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin
28. A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin
29. El Juego del Ángel by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
30. The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis
31. Hippy Chick by Louise Harwood

"Why don't they just speak English?"

A language does not become a global language beause of its intrinsic structural properties, or because of the size of its vocabulary, or because it has been the vehicle of a great literature in the past, or because it was once associated with a great culture or religion....  A language has traditionally become an international language for one chief reason: the power of its people --especially their political and military power....  The history of a global language can be traced through the successful expeditions of its soldier/sailor speakers.

David Crystal, as quoted by David I. Smith in Learning from the Stranger


I remember posting about this on Tumblr once.  I'd seen a thread about English and why it was considered a "global language" if more people spoke Chinese than English and it was a very complicated language.  No one seemed to know the answer, so I put in my two cents, which read very similar to this quote.

People are not learning English because it is easy or because a lot of people speak it.  People are learning English because of the dominance that English-speaking countries have had in the world for the past three to four hundred years.  Starting with England and its colonial prowess (having beaten Spain and arguably the Dutch at their forays) and continuing with the United States in its technological dominance.