There are five official languages in Spain; one is official everywhere, Spanish, and the other four are co-official in their respective regions. These are Basque, Gallego, Catalan and Valenciano. This final one is used in the Comunidad Valenciana on Spain’s east coast. Exactly what is Valenciano like? Well…how should I put it? It’s a lot like another one of those languages. Let me explain. You see, there has been a long debate about whether or not Catalan and Valenciano are the same language. It’s a real doozy, I tell you. Let’s play a game and let you decide. It’s called, “Find the Difference”. Here’s the preamble of the Spanish constitution as written in Catalan. Don’t worry about not understanding what it says, just study the words:
PREÀMBUL
La Nació espanyola, amb el desig d’establir la justícia, la llibertat i la seguretat i de promoure el bé de tots els qui la integren, en ús de la seva sobirania, proclama la voluntat de:
Garantir la convivència democràtica dins la Constitució i les lleis de conformitat amb un ordre econòmic i social just. Consolidar un Estat de Dret que asseguri l’imperi de la Llei com a expressió de la voluntat popular. Protegir tots els espanyols i els pobles d’Espanya en l’exercici dels drets humans, les seves cultures i tradicions, llengües i institucions. Promoure el progrés de la cultura i de l’economia per tal d’assegurar a tothom una qualitat de vida digna. Establir una societat democràtica avançada, i Col·laborar a l’enfortiment d’unes relacions pacífiques i de cooperació eficaç entre tots els pobles de la Terra. En conseqüència, les Corts aproven i el poble espanyol ratifica la següent: CONSTITUCIÓ
Now, if you are a little rusty with your Catalan, try the version in Valenciano:
PREÀMBUL
La Nació espanyola, amb el desig d’establir la justícia, la llibertat i la seguretat i de promoure el bé de tots els qui la integren, en ús de la seua sobirania, proclama la voluntat de:
Garantir la convivència democràtica dins la Constitució i les lleis de conformitat amb un ordre econòmic i social just. Consolidar un Estat de Dret que assegure l’imperi de la llei com a expressió de la voluntat popular. Protegir tots els espanyols i els pobles d’Espanya en l’exercici dels drets humans, les seues cultures i tradicions, llengües i institucions. Promoure el progrés de la cultura i de l’economia per tal d’assegurar a tots una qualitat de vida digna. Establir una societat democràtica avançada, i Col·laborar a l’enfortiment d’unes relacions pacífiques i de cooperació eficaç entre tots els pobles de la Terra. En conseqüència, les Corts aproven i el poble espanyol ratifica la següent: CONSTITUCIÓ
Yes, they do look virtually identical and, no, I didn’t screw up and paste the same text twice. They come from different documents published on a government website. I think I found three minor spelling alternatives in these texts, which is something that could have happened if I had written the same paragraph in British and American English. All the same they are regarded by some to be completely different languages. I joke you not. One website in favor of this theory states that Valenciano could never be considered the same as Catalan. Ever. There is just no basis for it, it adds. Such assertions require that a person like me sit down and breathe deeply before moving on. Something within me just cannot fully comprehend that. But I swear by it.
How is this possible? Total denial and a lot of drugs? More like history and politics…and a little denial too. And maybe some drugs too, but I can’t confirm. The regional language spoken by many locals has been called Valenciano since way back in the 14th Century, so it’s not something which was fabricated over the past few decades. So it goes way back, which is certainly a good enough reason to maintain its name. In part, that is why it was recognized by the Spanish government when the new constitution was created. In part. It also helped to differentiate it legally from Catalan and thus adopt a divide and conquer approach. Some Catalans would like to separate from Spain, so by giving Valenciano its own distinction, the language of Catalan acquires a smaller sphere of influence. That was all right with Valencia which has a strong pro-Spain stance and was delighted to see its native tongue with its own identity.
But does that mean it’s a different language? Well, the Academia Valenciana de la Llengua, which is the region’s official authority in these matters, stated in 2004 that it considered Valenciano to be a part of the “same linguistic system” as Catalan. Well, boy, that was sure saying a lot. So is Bulgarian when looked at from an Indo-European perspective.
What the Academia actually wanted to say, but was too wimpy to go through with it, was that Valenciano and Catalan were the same; instead, it backed down when its members were threatened with legal action for such blasphemy. The authorities just weren’t going to accept that. After all, why should they listen to the experts? So much for freedom of expression.
So the panel chickened out and came up with aforementioned flimsy definition. Most other descriptions get to the point: it’s the name of Catalan in the region of Valencia.
So, there you have it. The same thing but different. A different thing, but the same.
