"This means these kids
will be used to think in various ways and will be able to easily ,
connect
to other cultures. They will be better communicators"

unfortunately in catalunya the reverse happened, while i feel that
the success of catalan is something to be looked at, in their case
having lived there last year it certainly doesnt make them more able
to connect.

the problem is that nationalism has used the language to create a
kind of solidaric we are catalans we dont want to speak anything else
scenario. a better balance would be needed in italy, id welcome
labelling and teaching of sicilian etc but the catalan model is
unbalanced, heavily nationalistic and uses language to excluse rather
than to connect.
if u stayed there longer you'd realise what they are like.



--- In Linguasiciliana@yahoogroups.com, Sabine Cretella
<sabine_cretella@...> ha scritto:
>
> Hi, some experience with local languages below - the original with
photo
> is on my blog: http://sabinecretella.blogspot.com
>
> Of course comments are highly appreciated.
>
> Cheers, Sabine
>
> *****
>
> During the last three days I was in Barcelona at the European Forum
on
> Science Journalism, but more about that during the following days.
Now I
> want to talk about a language that has made its comeback into every
day
> life and is doing really well.
>
> I have been to Barcelona quite a long time ago, just for a transfer
to
> change airplane and reach Malaga. Then I remember the signs at the
> ariport were in Spanish and English. Today when you come out of the
> airport you see them in Catalan, English, Spanish. Now you will
say: but
> what's so special, right? Well, I already know that Catalan now is
> "official", but one thing is knowing it and a different one is
> experiencing it. Imagine the Naples airport with signs in
Neapolitan,
> English and Italian or the Turin airport with Piedmontese, English
and
> Italian ... it gives a very particular feeling to see that. In
Catalonia
> people are very proud of their language and culture. When you talk
to
> them they will tell you that it is relevant to use it for anything,
at
> home and in business and of course at school or universities.
>
> I was not sure about what to do: going by bus to the city centre or
> taking a taxi, but considering that probably Sunday around noon was
the
> only moment when I could have a short walk in the centre I chose the
> bus. It turned out to be the right decision ...
>
> When I reached the centre I saw something that looked a bit like a
> market and of course: I had to go there and see what was on. It was
an
> exhibition of goods with labels in Catalan and there was an
information
> stand. So I looked a bit around to see what they had. I started to
talk
> with some young people who could not really understand English and
so
> they called a man who then spoke French. Well my French is far from
> being perfect, but we managed to talk and so I found out he was the
> husband of the president of ADEC (Associació en Defensa de
l'Etiquetatge
> en Català) and that they are actively promoting Catalan and with
that
> typical Catalan products.
>
> They had publicity material and I took some of them with me. I also
got
> the contact to the association itself - that is: I will need to
write
> them, but I should do that in Catalan - so if there is someone out
there
> who can help, it would be great.
>
> Besides all the other particular things and also similarities I
found
> between the Amalfi Coast's traditions and typical things in
Barcelona, I
> immediately had one thing come in mind: if this is Catalonia and it
is
> so distinct in how things go and are done, in architecture etc. how
> might other regions of Spain be? I mean: I had that feeling of
wanting
> to know more.
>
> Now what does that tell us: I was looking at Barcelona with the
eyes of
> a tourist and seeing all these particularities with all these
particular
> names brought me to the conclusion that besides Catalonia there are
many
> other regions of Spain to be explored. This was local languages
applied
> - unification using diversification. Underlining the differences
> Catalonia helps the other regions in Spain to become more relevant
as
> well. Tourists will come back over and over again, because they will
> feel the need that there is really a lot to discover.
>
> Now imagine how that would be when a tourist comes to Italy. Having
> different languages which distinguish the local products from the
> national onew will help them discovering Italy - if you have the
same
> name written on a product you need to read further to understand
where
> things are from and the local product, the particularities loose
much of
> their marketing force. Instead of just buying a bottle of wine when
they
> go back home that is from Italy they will buy various bottles of
wine:
> from Sicily, Tuscany, Campania, Puglia, Veneto, Piedmont (just to
name
> some). That is: it would increase the demand and therefore economy
would
> have better prospectives.
>
> In Catalonia they went so far to have Catalan also in Universities,
used
> for research, in schools. Kids grow up with Catalan and Spanish on
one
> level and immediately also start with English. This means these kids
> will be used to think in various ways and will be able to easily
connect
> to other cultures. They will be better communicators. And this will
lead
> again to economical advantages for the region.
>
> Of course we cannot apply everything at once, but step by step
> reconsidering what local culture really is about, we can follow this
> really great example Catalonia is giving us.
>
> The same is valid for the whole world - for all regions, all
people, any
> culture.
>
> And yes: sooner or later I'll be back in Barcelona and discover it
more
> deeply. During the next days I'll (time permitting) tell you more
about
> the Museum, the conference, people I met ...
>
> --
> Posted By Sabine Cretella to words &amp; more at 12/05/2007
12:14:00 PM
>