Language and the mediocre
Opinion piece Saturday, August 9, 2008
Zero No Tsukaima 4 Relese
Francesc de Carreras, extracted from the website of Citizens
As I teach my classes in Catalan, unfortunately I have students from Erasmus, the foreign student program that facilitates the exchange of students EU. However, on one occasion, at the end of the first class of course came to see a group of European students. They said that the authority had assured them that I took the class in Castilian and therefore had pointed to my group. Indeed, the teacher in charge of informing them of an error. I fixed it by saying things that seemed more natural and sensible: "Do not worry, from now on will use Castilian, the important thing is to communicate well, not the instrument used to communicate."
As I teach my classes in Catalan, unfortunately I have students from Erasmus, the foreign student program that facilitates the exchange of students EU. However, on one occasion, at the end of the first class of course came to see a group of European students. They said that the authority had assured them that I took the class in Castilian and therefore had pointed to my group. Indeed, the teacher in charge of informing them of an error. I fixed it by saying things that seemed more natural and sensible: "Do not worry, from now on will use Castilian, the important thing is to communicate well, not the instrument used to communicate."
After a few days, talking with Dutch and Swedish students naively asked them to something that arouses curiosity, "Erasmus students going to countries known to the Dutch and Swedish to understand the teachers in the classroom? ". Smiling, I replied that obviously did not, had almost no idea of \u200b\u200bthe Dutch Erasmus or Swedish, but more than half the classes were taught in English because the teachers came from many different countries and English had become the common lingua franca. I felt pretty silly, parochial to hear this response. Should assume that the university authorities of these countries were educated and intelligent, concerned with knowledge and not by the vehicle which transmits interested in attracting the best teachers, but had to go look beyond narrow borders of their countries.
Well, in Catalonia are at odds with this position, our political authorities university and still have the mentality of the past. As reported by this newspaper, the Catalan universities approved within the Interuniversity Council of Catalonia, the proposal of the Government of Catalonia under which all new teachers, or older who wish to advance in his academic career, the level should be required C Catalan. This agreement has been unchecked my university, the Autonomous: Congratulations, team president and government!
C Recall that the Catalan level implies a perfect knowledge of the language, spelling and syntax. Behind him, there is only level D, which very few possess, due only to specialists to perform very specific functions of language, translation work or grammatical correctness. Do our universities as much appeal for teachers from Spain or other foreign countries make the effort to achieve the level C? Obviously, this will deter many college to come to Catalonia. It's already happening now, for years, not just in college, but also in other professions: doctors, notaries, judges, prosecutors, senior executives. Never in Catalonia had been shortcomings in these professions, on the contrary they were always highly sought after places. Only now, language barriers isolate and impoverish us.
But beware: the fault is not Catalan, the fault of the language policy of the fanatical excesses committed in the name of Catalan.
Catalan society, the vast majority are bilingual and tolerant. Also, except some intransigent, the move here to live and work strive to understand, speak, at a certain age, it's another thing Catalan quickly, especially if they are people with little cultural base. Ultimately, society is no problem. The problem is in a language policy and misguided, as is the case of the university, in some unspeakable interests. He has said exactly Professor Joaquim Molins, referring to the case at hand: "What people want mediocre Catalan universities restrict competition. Put as many barriers as possible to prevent people from the rest of Spain or Foreign them off their seats. This is what underlies this decision. And if there is a place where mobility is critical is in college. "
Catalan, as the poet said years ago a conservative, is a glass of clear water, that is, must be kept alive, with the support and incentives, but naturally, coexisting in peace with Castilian, as he had always been in Catalonia. The language should be an element of communication, not an element exclusive identity that we face each other. The philosopher Fernando Savater has led to a manifesto, in a few hours we have adhered to over 40,000 citizens, full of common sense, a spirit of tolerance and good sense. Meanwhile, the Government does something foolish, you fight with Madrid for a third hour of Castilian miserable week in schools, requires C-level and university professors, and at the height of surrealism, fail to renew a Extremadura cultural radio emissions issue not in Catalan! The
Catalunya and civic tolerance must react, instead of keeping silent while the mediocre fans and we are sinking into a visible decline.
Francesc de Carreras, professor of constitutional law at the UAB.
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