With the approval this Tuesday of the use of co-official languages in the Congress of Deputies, as was already done in the Senate, Spain has taken an important step towards linguistic normalization. The decision was approved by a majority made up of the PSOE, Sumar and the Catalan, Basque and Galician nationalist parties, and with the opposition of the Spanish right. The deputies of Vox They left the plenary session in which the use of co-official languages was debated – and for the first time consented. On the other hand, the PP spokesperson, Borja Semper, who on Monday assured that the deputies of his party would not use them so as not to make “the canelo”, uttered some phrases in Basque to express his opposition to the proposal. Contradiction or normality?
To insist, as some political representatives insist, on ensuring that the use of Catalan, Basque and Galician in the Cortes marginalizes Castilian and has a divisive effect on the population is a fallacy that only shows an idea of a uniform, closer Spain. to a not-so-distant past and very far from the reality of a State in which different nationalities coexist with their sensitivities, their cultures and their languages. This cultural and linguistic diversity should be a source of pride and not fear which seems to provoke some, who think that speaking in any of the other languages of the State threatens the “unity of the country.” Languages do not separate, on the contrary, serve to create a communion of interests and their indiscriminate use in Parliament, which represents all citizens, will contribute to bringing politics closer to voters, who will feel more identified with what is debated and approved there. It will also be positive for those who express themselves only in Spanish, because they will see in the parliamentary debates the reality of the country in which they live. However, those deputies who fall into the temptation of eliminating Spanish in their interventions will be mistaken, because this exclusive attitude will alienate them even from some of their voters.
It is also an advance Government attempt to modify the EU linguistic regime to ensure that Catalan, Basque and Galician are considered official languages in the Union. That is not an easy goal, but it is not impossible either. To overcome the reluctance of some countries, the Executive has prioritized the official status of Catalan, which will be followed later by the other two languages. If Pedro Sánchez’s efforts pay off positively, the use of Spanish co-official languages in Europe will also have constructive effects.
It is worth, however, making some reflections on the delay in adopting these measures, 45 years after the Constitution was approved, when they should have been in force for a long time. The fact that they finally derive not from the conviction about their relevance but from the demand of some parties in exchange for their votes for the election of the Congress Board or the investiture makes it difficult for many citizens to understand them and gives arguments to the right to reject them. Let us trust, however, that linguistic normality in the Cortes ends up being accepted by everyone as what it is, simply normal.