I walked into Granollers centre and bought two newspapers to read in Catalan. One is El Nou which is the local paper for the Valles Oriental and the other is El Periódico which is a daily newspaper based in Barcelona and which publishes two editions, one in Spanish and one in Catalan

This week I will write about the Catalan language.
Not especially about the words or grammar but more about the history, political and cultural.
You cannot live in Catalunya without becoming aware of some of the issues around language that are particular to this land. It is a complicated subject and I am certainly no expert but I thought it could be interesting to try and describe what I have noticed.
History and culture and politics are interwoven. Of course you can just go and learn the language and start speaking it from day 1.  Or you can decide that Castellano is so much ‘more useful’ and ignore the existance of Catalan completely.
But you will notice certain things that make you wonder…….’what is this about?’  ‘why does this happen?’
Almost every Catalan speaker is fluent in two languages – Catalan and Castellano. But it doesn’t take long to notice that some people don’t like speaking Castellano.
I have even met a few who refuse to speak it.
Why?
As a foreigner I also find that many people stop speaking Catalan and change to Castellano when I join them. They seem to expect that someone from outside will prefer it.  They are pleased and surprised when I answer in Catalan, as if I am doing something wonderful in just saying Bon Dia rather than Buenos Dias.
But Catalan is spoken by more than 7 million people. That is more than all the speakers of Danish.
Why is it not more recognised?
Sometimes I ask for ‘cafe amb llet’ in a bar and they correct me ‘cafe con leche?’
What is that about?
Catalan is the official language of this region but there are many situations where you cannot speak it – you have to switch to Castellano or not be understood. For example the mobile phone companies offer their services in Castellano and you have to request a Catalan speaker, then wait for days to be dealt with, or perhaps they never get back to you!
The language of the legal system is Castellano – official documents from the courts are not written in Catalan.
What can it be like to feel your native language is not used universally in your homeland?
If the language of the law is Castellano surely that suggests the law is not on your side?
A bit of history
Many people know about the repression of the Catalan language in the times of Franco’s dictatorship. Today in the newspaper I was reading about a new book which documents the history of this  and which proves beyond doubt that there was an official policy after 1939 to suppress use and development of the language. It was against the law to speak publicly in Catalan. That means everywhere. Suddenly children who had been taught in Catalan had to use Castellano. They might be able to speak in some schools in their own language but it was dangerous to do so. There were some schools that continued to teach in Catalan but everyone knew that when the inspectors came to call, all written material in Catalan must be removed and replaced with the Castellano version. All books published, all radio programmes, all films, all TV in the later years, all newspapers, all everything, only in Castellano.
Think what this does to your sense of identity, pushed underground to a secret and powerful but forbidden place. Imagine how it would be to have your natural means of self expression not only forbidden but insulted and humiliated.
I read this here
If a citizen was heard speaking Catalan in a public space, he was addressed with phrases like ‘Speak in the Christian tongue’ or ‘Let’s see when you stop barking’. Public signs with offensive sentences like ‘Prohibited to spit and speak in Catalan’ could be read.
And a bit more
But it goes back even further than Franco. 
Historically there have been many attempts to squash the language.
In 1714 King Philip of Spain banned its official use and replaced it with Castilian spanish. In the 19th century there was a renaissance of Catalan language and culture but again between 1923 and 1930 the dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera banned the use of all languages except Castilian.
Catalan was restored again in the 2nd Republic in 1931 only to be stamped on again by Franco 8 years later.

So it is a history full of challenge and it is a wonderful testimony to the strength and courage of all its users that the language has survived and is flourishing today.  Books, films, TV and radio channels, newspapers, education, official documents, even Google, all in Catalan.
I can understand why there is such an an emotional undercurrent to the language and why the subject generates such powerful feelings.
All these things make me glad to be able to play my small part in the history of this rich and ancient language.  And who wouldn’t fall in love with a language which uses all those wonderful xxxxx’s?