# Polemic letter. Valenciano versus Spanish



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

A mother wrote a letter to her child's school asking them to communicate with her in Spanish as she lives in Spain, or English, but not in Valenciano
https://es.noticias.yahoo.com/la-po...se-dirige-a-ella-en-valenciano-071209035.html


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## samthemainman (Aug 15, 2012)

This stuff is coming to the surface again in Valencia. Joan Ribó the new mayor shared a story just this morning of someone verbally abused by the police for speaking in Valencian and not in Spanish after being caught playing a Valencian musical instrument (the dolçaina -like a type of folk oboe) in the street. 

It's terrible. I would agree that it may be a good idea to have both languages where appropriate, but for things like school reports, either should be fine. Valencian isn't difficult to understand if you speak Spanish. It sounds like the mother has a chip on her shoulder and is scared about her child being indoctrinated to become part of the 'Catalan Countries'. Heaven forbid.

When I first got to Valencia I found the whole Valencian/Catalan linguistic controversy fascinating. Now it just makes me cross as there is so much ignorance around the topic. I live in Valencia city where the majority speak Spanish as their first language, but also have lots and lots of friends whose first language is Valencian (not sure why people refer to it as Valenciano in English, but that's irrelevant here). None of them are 'pancatalanistas' but they all agree that Valencian and Catalan are THE SAME LANGUAGE, with only small differences. They don't consider themselves remotely catalan from a cultural perspective, but they do watch the Catalan station TV3 (online at least) as unlike Canal 9 used to be, it is less politically biased. The AVL, the official language regulator states that the language spoken in Catalonia, Andorra, the Balearics, Alghero are the same language. If they say that, why would I argue. I read and hear Valencian all the time. Apart from things like seeing 'Eixida' in the airports instead of 'Sortida' for exit, always hearing per favor instead of si us plau, its all the same to me. 

Yes there are some slight differences in standard Valencian vocabulary and grammar compared with standard Catalan (a few 1st person verbs, a few numbers, the names of couple of vegetables, the way they tell the time etc) and it's true that the catalan spoken in Barcelona sounds a lot more closed vs the more open, castillian sounding Valencian. But the differences are really minimal and there is no linguistic change at the border. Go to Lerida/Lleida and they sound just like people from Castellón.

In my opinion the root of this is an inbred inferiority complex amongst some, mostly hard-right (although they come from all political persuasions) communities, the majority of which don't actually speak Valencian as a first language, or even at all. They hear a different language, or hear 'Bona tarde' instead of 'bona vesprada' or even the accent of the 'xava' spoken in Barcelona and feel it is so far removed from the rural Valencian spoken at home that they think its a different language - when in fact there are greater differences between British and American English.

Monica Oltra (from Compromís) and Ximo Puig (from the PSPV) both appear regularly on TV3. They always speak in Valencian and everyone understands each other just fine.

When I do come across this kind of ignorance, I used just laugh at them and wind them up.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

I live part time in Javea and I have a few friends who are locals. They're nice enough to speak Castillian when I am around but they usually speak Valencian. They're around a 75/25 split when it comes to the question of Catalan=Valencian, with 25% insisting it is a separate language and the rest saying it is more or less the same. The majority of them are against Catalunya leaving Spain and do not consider it an issue in Valencia, despite wanting to cling to the identity of their different language.

As for the mother who wants her child taught in Spanish, my view is shaped by my experience of working for a global company with offices in Spain. I travelled all of Europe and half the world while working, and without a doubt I can say that the place where it was hardest to communicate in English was Spain. Sticking to Europe and nearby, I could go to Germany, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Lux, France, Prague, and even Italy and find that the majority of people in the offices would understand English. I'd arrive in Madrid and find that half of senior management could use English and with handful of exceptions the rest could not.

Given how poor the Spanish are with English when compared to the rest of Europe, I think 1 second wasted on learning a redundant 2nd "home" language is too much. They should concentrate on one language and English.

But I have to say, I liked Spain and the attitude of the Spanish from the first time I came here. It's a joy to find a place seemingly holding out against the tide of globalisation that sweeps away individuality. As an outsider I like to see them embedded in their own culture and resisting others. But if I were a father in Spain, I'd be writing the same letter that mother did.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

samthemainman said:


> This stuff is coming to the surface again in Valencia. Joan Ribó the new mayor shared a story just this morning of someone verbally abused by the police for speaking in Valencian and not in Spanish after being caught playing a Valencian musical instrument (the dolçaina -like a type of folk oboe) in the street.
> 
> It's terrible. I would agree that it may be a good idea to have both languages where appropriate, but for things like school reports, either should be fine. Valencian isn't difficult to understand if you speak Spanish. It sounds like the mother has a chip on her shoulder and is scared about her child being indoctrinated to become part of the 'Catalan Countries'. Heaven forbid.
> 
> ...


I'm not sure whether you have understood what the "point" according to the mother is. She is saying that as she lives in Spain she would prefer to be addressed in Spanish because she is herself Spanish - nothing to do with Catalan and Valencian.
I do agree with you about in English use English words. I'm a stickler for Catalonia and not Catalunya in English and slipped up when saying Valenciano.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

I want(ed) my children taught in castellano when we first came here, so had them in the castellano line at school. They still studied nearly half the subjects in valencià (it's known as valenciano in castellano, valencià in, well, valencià!) though. That's just the way it is & we had to accept that or move, or pay for a no better than average education in English at a private school.

We stuck with it. When my elder daughter moved up to secondary school she asked to move to the valencià line. She reasoned that there were less 'foreigners' & smaller classes. She was right, had to do a language test to see if her valencià was of a high enough level - & moved to the valencià line. She now flips between 3 languages without thinking. Many English kids actually find valencià easier to learn than castellano. My younger daughter stayed in the castellano line, so her valencià isn't as fluent (as in street fluent) as her sister's - & she prefers to speak castellano - but she does have a very high level of valencià too.

Over the years my attitude to valencià has changed. I spend a lot of time with Spanish people whose first language is valencià. It's the language of the home - it's the language that their parents & grandparents spoke in secret in order to keep it alive. I can understand that, and why they still want to keep it alive, to the extent that even International schools have to teach a certain number of hours a week in valencià.

I still can't speak it - but I'm trying to fit some lessons in! I can read it & to some extent write it - I translate from it & rarely have to look anything up. I barely miss a beat when listening to spoken valencià.

I was recently elected to the board of directors of the local water company. The first ever non-Spaniard. At the first meeting the question was asked if everyone was fine speaking valencià. The question was asked in valencià. I answered in castellano that I don't speak valencià. Everyone laughed & said that I obviously understood!! 
So they try to remember to speak castellano - but they forget & especially when it gets heated they fall back into their mother tongue 

It's sometimes a challenge for me, because my brain has to switch gear all the time & neither are my first language - but not as bad as it could be. All the paperwork is in castellano though, so I don't miss anything important - my valencià will improve & I intend to be able to hold my own within a couple of years . The more languages the better imo.


btw - paperwork from the schools my children have attended comes in both castellano & valencià


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Notes from school used to come in either language - there didn't seem to be any reason for one over the other.

We used to complain that we needed them in Castellano but to no avail. Now we don't mind and it seems to be up to the teacher as to how they communicate with us. We like the fact that the English teachers use English, the German teachers in German etc. etc. Luckily I can just about understand them all now.


One point the lady made in her note was to refer to Valenciano as a "dialect" of Spanish - really!!!!!


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

Horlics said:


> I live part time in Javea and I have a few friends who are locals. They're nice enough to speak Castillian when I am around but they usually speak Valencian. They're around a 75/25 split when it comes to the question of Catalan=Valencian, with 25% insisting it is a separate language and the rest saying it is more or less the same. .


A simple test I've tried is to simply run a bit of text through a Catalan and Valencian translator. So using the letter in question (in Castillian):



> Buenos días, disculpa que no firme esta hoja, pero no está en mi idioma. Soy española y vivo en España, respeto que los niños aprendan este dialecto, pero no lo comparto y agradecería que ya que yo no soy alumna de la escuela se me informarse en español o inglés, que son las lenguas o idiomas básicos y necesarios para entenderse en el mundo y no solo en una comunidad 'de España´. Gracias y disculpa las molestias”


Valencian translation (using http://traductor.lasprovincias.es/):



> Bon dia, disculpa que no *ferm* este full, però no està en el meu idioma. Sóc espanyola i *viu * a Espanya, respecte que els *xiquets * aprenguen *este * dialecte, però no ho compartisc i agrairia que ja que jo no sóc alumna de l'escola se m'informar-se en espanyol o anglés, que són les llengües o idiomes bàsics i necessaris per a entendre's en el món i no *sols * en una comunitat 'de España´. Gràcies i disculpa les molestias


Catalan translation (using google translate)



> Bon dia, disculpa que no *signi* aquest full, però no està en el meu idioma. Sóc espanyola i *visc * a Espanya, respecte que els *nens* aprenguin *aquest * dialecte, però no ho comparteixo i agrairia que ja que jo no sóc alumna de l'escola em informar-se en espanyol o anglès, que són les llengües o idiomes bàsics i necessaris per a entendre en el món i no *només* en una comunitat 'de Espanya'. Gràcies i disculpa les molèsties "


I have highlighted the main differences between Valencian and Catalan, I guess a few of which might just be down to the translators picking different synonyms anyway. Firstly it seems there is so little difference that you cannot consider them to be different languages, and secondly it's quite apparent that a native Castillian speaker should be able to speak that language to a reasonable level in a matter of months with minimal effort. There's no excuse for that woman to demand the letter be written in Castillian.


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## samthemainman (Aug 15, 2012)

Chopera said:


> A simple test I've tried is to simply run a bit of text through a Catalan and Valencian translator. So using the letter in question (in Castillian): Valencian translation (using http://traductor.lasprovincias.es/): Catalan translation (using google translate) I have highlighted the main differences between Valencian and Catalan, I guess a few of which might just be down to the translators picking different synonyms anyway. Firstly it seems there is so little difference that you cannot consider them to be different languages, and secondly it's quite apparent that a native Castillian speaker should be able to speak that language to a reasonable level in a matter of months with minimal effort. There's no excuse for that woman to demand the letter be written in Castillian.


Agreed entirely. Note that Las Provincias is a definite 'anti-catalan' publication anyway and advocate the unofficial grammar rules of the Normes Del Puig and lexicon/vocab of the RACV (and not the AVL who advocate the Normes Del Castelló). One divisive word is 'nosaltres' for 'we'. The AVL advocates that form (as it is in standard Catalan) but the RACV says nosatres. Others insist on mosatros, others on nosatros, others naltres - it's crazy. 

My thoughts on the mother's situation is that she is wrong to expect that English have a priority over one of the two official languages of her community. Carolina Punset of Ciudadanos was lambasted by Valencian speakers for saying that learning Valencian had little benefit when finding employment was concerned. I personally believe that's a bad message. If we carry on down that road we have all students studying engineering full time. Like xabiachica I too am trying to learn to speak the language more fluently as a point of personal pride - hence I get slightly incensed by people like the mother in question who refuse to even try to understand. Very few Valencian speakers feel insulted if you respond in Castilianand most almost always switch when they see you don't understand - but I believe we should respect their wish to speak their own language in their own community!


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

samthemainman said:


> My thoughts on the mother's situation is that she is wrong to expect that English have a priority over one of the two official languages of her community. Carolina Punset of Ciudadanos was lambasted by Valencian speakers for saying that learning Valencian had little benefit when finding employment was concerned. I personally believe that's a bad message. If we carry on down that road we have all students studying engineering full time. Like xabiachica I too am trying to learn to speak the language more fluently as a point of personal pride - hence I get slightly incensed by people like the mother in question who refuse to even try to understand. Very few Valencian speakers feel insulted if you respond in Castilianand most almost always switch when they see you don't understand - but I believe we should respect their wish to speak their own language in their own community!


If you treat Valencian and Catalan as being different dialects of the same language then the total number of speakers must be over 10 million. However the Valencian government pushed for it to be given official status as a separate language in it's own right, so officially there are less than 3 million Valencian speakers.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

Is the woman's position that she's a Spaniard living in Spain whose child happens to attend a school that leads with Valencian, and she [the woman] would like the school to communicate with her in Spanish? I think that's OK.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

xabiachica said:


> I was recently elected to the board of directors of the local water company. The first ever non-Spaniard.


Congrats on that! Quite an achievement.


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

I am Spanish... one question for you all English speakers. Would you (when you are out and about with your friends) say, 'I find castilian difficult to learn'.... ??? Just wondered.

For me, it sounds ridiculous when I hear that word, I know it is the English 'equivalent' to Castellano. Why the need to say castilian rather than Spanish? Same happens with the 'valencian'... 

Around me, most people speaks Valenciano, I would say 95%, but I never had any problems, I don't speak it myself, but I understand when I am spoken in Valenciano, but I reply in Spanish, and then from there on, we just talk in Spanish. 

I think the Guardia Civil or la Nacional, when working in Valencia, they should at least speak the lingo or be sent somewhere else in Spain. I would never tell anyone off for talking to me in Valenciano, as they have the right to do so. 

...but going back to the beginning...... castilian?? pleaseeeeeeeeeeee.... lol!


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## samthemainman (Aug 15, 2012)

Chopera said:


> If you treat Valencian and Catalan as being different dialects of the same language then the total number of speakers must be over 10 million. However the Valencian government pushed for it to be given official status as a separate language in it's own right, so officially there are less than 3 million Valencian speakers.


The Valencian Government did not succeed in granting Valencian a separate status and it ultimately failed. The PP were the ones that had the AVL founded and were left with egg on their faces when the AVL reached the same conclusion as 99% of all linguists, the Universities of Valencia and Alicante and they have warned governments against using language as a political tool

Article here from two years ago:

'Valencian and Catalan are the same language' - The Local

I particularly like the summary below (which I take no credit for) on the blaverist (anti-Catalan) position:

Premise: The Catalans speak Catalan. (=Only Catalans speak Catalan).
Premise: I am not a Catalan (but a Valencian).
Conclusion: I do not speak Catalan.

Pointing out to these people that a Cuban is not a Spaniard, or that an Australian is not an Englishman, but that nobody claims that four separate languages are involved in these two examples, has not led them to change their position.


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## samthemainman (Aug 15, 2012)

Horlics said:


> Is the woman's position that she's a Spaniard living in Spain whose child happens to attend a school that leads with Valencian, and she [the woman] would like the school to communicate with her in Spanish? I think that's OK.


If the woman was living in Galicia and her child was having Valencian lessons, then maybe... but that won't be the case here - she'll almost certainly be living in Valencia. In which case - I don't think she has a case!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> (it's known as valenciano in castellano, valencià in, well, valencià!) though.
> _But if you're speaking /writing in English the term is *Valencian*, isn't it?_
> 
> She now flips between 3 languages without thinking. Many English kids actually find valencià easier to learn than castellano.
> ...





Chopera said:


> A simple test I've tried is to simply run a bit of text through a Catalan and Valencian translator. So using the letter in question (in Castillian):
> .....
> 
> Firstly it seems there is so little difference that you cannot consider them to be different languages, and secondly it's quite apparent that a native Castillian speaker should be able to speak that language to a reasonable level in a matter of months with minimal effort. There's no excuse for that woman to demand the letter be written in Castillian.



I think I tend to side with the mother. I'm pretty sure she could understand the note, but she does live in Spain, she is Spanish, why can't she receive the information she wants in Spanish? 
After all, I'm pretty sure people can demand what they want to be in Valencian, why not the other way round?



samthemainman said:


> My thoughts on the mother's situation is that she is wrong to expect that English have a priority over one of the two official languages of her community. Carolina Punset of Ciudadanos was lambasted by Valencian speakers for saying that learning Valencian had little benefit when finding employment was concerned. I personally believe that's a bad message. If we carry on down that road we have all students studying engineering full time. Like xabiachica I too am trying to learn to speak the language more fluently as a point of personal pride - hence I get slightly incensed by people like the mother in question who refuse to even try to understand. Very few Valencian speakers feel insulted if you respond in Castilianand most almost always switch when they see you don't understand - but I believe we should respect their wish to speak their own language in their own community!



I really think the issue is not what she can or can't understand, nor whether she can make the effort or not. The fact is she is in her native land and she can't always get what she wants in her native tongue. Is that reasonable or unreasonable?

I have experienced this from the other side when in the Guggenheim in Bilbao a mother made a (very!) vociferous complaint to a guide when we were going to take a tour aimed at children. The tour was in Spanish, not Basque and she claimed that her child didn't understand Spanish. Now if that was true she was severely limiting her son's intergration, education and worldly experiences in general, but it is highly *highly* unlikely that this was true, but this is where fighting for your language can lead you.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Horlics said:


> Is the woman's position that she's a Spaniard living in Spain whose child happens to attend a school that leads with Valencian, and she [the woman] would like the school to communicate with her in Spanish? I think that's OK.


I agree that the mother has a right to expect communication in Spanish - & also that expecting it to be in English above Valenciá is going too far.

There are two official languages - Spanish & Valencian. Her children will learn both (by law), but she has every right to not learn, nor use, the latter should she choose not to.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Lolito said:


> I am Spanish... one question for you all English speakers. Would you (when you are out and about with your friends) say, 'I find castilian difficult to learn'.... ??? Just wondered.


No I wouldn't. I'd say Spanish


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## samthemainman (Aug 15, 2012)

Lolito said:


> I am Spanish... one question for you all English speakers. Would you (when you are out and about with your friends) say, 'I find castilian difficult to learn'.... ??? Just wondered.
> 
> For me, it sounds ridiculous when I hear that word, I know it is the English 'equivalent' to Castellano. Why the need to say castilian rather than Spanish? Same happens with the 'valencian'...
> 
> ...



I agree with you entirely. All public office jobs in Valencia should require a knowledge of both languages - in fact in most cases they do - but the Police may be different. 

On the 'Castillian' piece, I would generally use the word 'Castillian' to clearly differentiate varieties of language compared for example to a south American variety.

My pet hate (I need to relax here, I know) is when people pronounce words and place names in a foreign accent. I.e. when they say in English 'I live in BALENTHEE-A' rather than 'VALENTSYA' but that's off topic.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

Horlics said:


> Is the woman's position that she's a Spaniard living in Spain whose child happens to attend a school that leads with Valencian, and she [the woman] would like the school to communicate with her in Spanish? I think that's OK.


She lives in Valencia and has asked the school to write to her in Castillian. She is well within her rights to do so, since Castillian is the language of Spain and Valencia is part of Spain, but I don't think it's too much to expect her to be able to understand Valencian, given she lives there, her kids go to school there, and the language is not that different to her native language. Especially since she also offered to receive the letter in English as an alternative, which indicates she is prepared to communicate in a different language, just not the local one.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

samthemainman said:


> If the woman was living in Galicia and her child was having Valencian lessons, then maybe... but that won't be the case here - she'll almost certainly be living in Valencia. In which case - I don't think she has a case!


I agree. It's pretty obvious that she's making a political point rather than a practical one.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

Lolito said:


> ...but going back to the beginning...... castilian?? pleaseeeeeeeeeeee.... lol!


Living in a part of Spain that speaks Valencian means explaining about the languages to friends sometimes. It often arises for the first time as we enter Javea and see all the signs with "Javea" and "Alicante" obscured by paint. I explain that Spanish is Castellano, I can't remember the last time I mentioned "castillian".

If there was a need to mention Sevilla to British friends I would always say Seville.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

samthemainman said:


> If the woman was living in Galicia and her child was having Valencian lessons, then maybe... but that won't be the case here - she'll almost certainly be living in Valencia. In which case - I don't think she has a case!


Ok... so taking it a step further, if schools in Valencia are going to use Valenciano as the single language of communication between them and their customers, is it fine for other state institutions to do the same?

(To be clear, I don't think she should be able to demand she's communicated with in English)


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

Lolito said:


> I am Spanish... one question for you all English speakers. Would you (when you are out and about with your friends) say, 'I find castilian difficult to learn'.... ??? Just wondered.
> 
> For me, it sounds ridiculous when I hear that word, I know it is the English 'equivalent' to Castellano. Why the need to say castilian rather than Spanish? Same happens with the 'valencian'...
> 
> ...


If I'm talking in general about the Spanish language to English speakers then I say "Spanish". If I'm discussing the differences between the languages spoken in Spain, as we are here, then my tendency is to write the word "castellano" and then I remember I'm writing in English so I change it to "Castillian". I probably should write "Castillian Spanish" but if I just write "Spanish" in this context it might be construed as having political "undertones", which I try to avoid,


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

I started learning Spanish in S. America (Colombia to be precise) with the consequence that I tend to use the Spanish from there, e.g. ustedes not vosotros. Interestingly, the older people around the village also use usted/es. Many of the first colonists came from Andalucía so their Spanish is more common in S. America. There is a local dialect known as Andalu' and that is quite common (the version here is Castillero) so it was only a small step for me to switch from Colombian Spanish to Castillero.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

baldilocks said:


> I started learning Spanish in S. America (Colombia to be precise) with the consequence that I tend to use the Spanish from there, e.g. ustedes not vosotros. Interestingly, the older people around the village also use usted/es. Many of the first colonists came from Andalucía so their Spanish is more common in S. America. There is a local dialect known as Andalu' and that is quite common (the version here is Castillero) so it was only a small step for me to switch from Colombian Spanish to Castillero.


People of all ages round here say ustedes instead of vosotros - I was told it was a Cádiz thing. 

_Papas_ instead of_ patatas_ is another link between Andalucía and S. America. Also I believe _chico_ instead of _pequeño_?

I love the Colombian accent. I recently did a course on Gabriel García Márquez run by the Univerdad de los Andes and could understand all the lecturers perfectly!


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## xolo (May 25, 2014)

Regarding _castellano _and _español_, even the RAE says the words are interchangeable.

There's lots of endangered languages in the world. If the _señora _was setting school policy, Valencian would be endangered too.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Horlics said:


> Ok... so taking it a step further, if schools in Valencia are going to use Valenciano as the single language of communication between them and their customers, is it fine for other state institutions to do the same?
> 
> (To be clear, I don't think she should be able to demand she's communicated with in English)


My own interpretation is that she proposed writing to her in English to highlight the absurdity of her situation ie living in Spain and not receiving information in Spanish, not as a serious alternative.
As I say, that's a personal interpretation...

Going back to the Castillian question Lolito actually asked


> I am Spanish... one question for you all English speakers. Would you (when you are out and about with your friends) say, 'I find castilian difficult to learn'.... ??? Just wondered.


not Castillian vs Castellano, and not an itellectual discussion. I think if I mentioned Castillian Spanish to most people I know in England (who are in their majority non Spanish speakers) they wouldn't know what the difference was between Castillian Spanish and any other kind of Spanish so it wouldn't add anything to the conversation, in fact it might confuse things


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> My own interpretation is that she proposed writing to her in English to highlight the absurdity of her situation ie living in Spain and not receiving information in Spanish, not as a serious alternative.
> As I say, that's a personal interpretation...
> 
> Going back to the Castillian question Lolito actually asked
> ...


Most don't realise that there's more than one kind of Spanish until they come to a class, having been practicing with some app or other & tell me that I'm wrong & 'car' is _carro, _not _coche...

_I explain it as being like the English spoken in the UK & the English spoken in the US - essentially the same language but with some different vocab. 

It can confuse things - the bar in which I do my classes is owned by a local Spanish family, but a lot of the staff are south American. One day I heard the son of the owner, who is at uni but was helping behind the bar, say to one of the girls that he can't understand when she speaks South American...


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

xabiachica said:


> Most don't realise that there's more than one kind of Spanish until they come to a class, having been practicing with some app or other & tell me that I'm wrong & 'car' is _carro, _not _coche...
> 
> _I explain it as being like the English spoken in the UK & the English spoken in the US - essentially the same language but with some different vocab.
> 
> It can confuse things - the bar in which I do my classes is owned by a local Spanish family, but a lot of the staff are south American. One day I heard the son of the owner, who is at uni but was helping behind the bar, say to one of the girls that he can't understand when she speaks South American...


As PW will probably confirm, if one is used to using the South American vocabulary, one has to do a certain amount of un-learning when coming to Spain such as the Pope is Mr Potato Head, etc.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

baldilocks said:


> As PW will probably confirm, if one is used to using the South American vocabulary, one has to do a certain amount of un-learning when coming to Spain such as the Pope is Mr Potato Head, etc.


around here, crisps are papas...


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## Brangus (May 1, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> A mother wrote a letter to her child's school asking them to communicate with her in Spanish as she lives in Spain, or English, but not in Valenciano
> https://es.noticias.yahoo.com/la-po...se-dirige-a-ella-en-valenciano-071209035.html


The mother's tone is snotty, but it could be that she has repeatedly asked for communication in Spanish and the school ignores her. Also, the teacher was unprofessional to post the note on the internet, so they both come off looking bad in my view.

Although the parent lacks manners, she has a point. If I lived in País Vasco, I would ask the school to communicate in Spanish with me and would not care to put my signature on an official document written in Basque.


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