The head of Government of Andorra, Xavier Espothas assured that “surely” the law that will require a minimum level of Catalan to renew the residence permit in the country It will not apply to ‘youtubers’‘.
This was stated in an interview with Catalunya Ràdio this Tuesday, where he specified that the measure “it will not be necessary to extend it to everyone”. Specifically, the head of Government has indicated that the ‘Youtubers’ are residents without lucrative activitiespassive, so they will not be forced to learn the language because they reside in the country but do not actively work in it.
Espot has also explained that it is a legislative initiative that has not yet been approved and that the Government will present this Wednesday to update the new Official Language Law, “which has become obsolete.”
“That means that we will turn Andorra into a absolute linguistic dictatorship? Obviously not. People will be able to continue speaking in the language they want,” and he has defended that it is a country open to immigration and with many multilingual people.
Measured controversy
The announcement of the measure, before the Espot specification, sparked a debate about the new linguistic requirement. Thus, some streamers who currently reside in Andorra They refused to learn Catalan out of obligationwhile others saw it as an opportunity.
“I’m hyped,” said the famous YouTuber ElRubius excitedly. TheGref was also open to learning: “I have to admit that I have always liked the way it sounds”, “Do you want me to do live shows in Catalan?” he asked in a ‘stream’.
There was also a lot of echo on social networks, where many pointed out that the complaints of the ‘youtubers’ and ‘streamers’ who come to the country to allegedly take advantage of its more lax tax regime.
“Literally you are working in Andorraso learn their official language like all workers everywhere have to do, since you are not on vacation,” comments one user. “Let all the streamers who fled Spain […] Now they have to take a Catalan exam (super easy), which seems logical to me, or they will have to leave Andorra, It seems poetic to me, honestly.“says another.
Why does Andorra want to require the level of Catalan?
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With the goal that all residents can express oneself minimally in the official language of the country, this measure would come into force next year and, to make it possible, They will organize 30-hour courses which once passed will be able to prove basic knowledge. On the other hand, people who already have an A2 or higher level of Catalan will not require training, as well as people who “do not actively work” such as ‘youtubers’.
The Andorran executive has decided to implement this measure since it has confirmed that there are more and more cases in which the first attention is done directly in Castilianespecially in the service sector.