ELL: language and economy

[William J Poser]

With regard to the economic advancement of the Basque country and Catalunya,
one account that I have heard and seems to make sense is that because of
their differences from the rest of the spanish state these regions were
largely excluded from the colonial trade. As a result, they developed economically,
and in particular, participated in the industrial revolution earlier and to
a greater extent than did the rest of the country. Once Spain lost its empire and
had to return to working for a living, the Basque Country and Catalunya were
in good shape, while the other regions were economically backward.

Another factor is presumably attitudinal. Catalans consider themselves to be
hard-working and forward-looking and associate themselves with Northern Europeans.
They consider the spansh to be lazy and associate them with Africans. I have
often heard Catalan people express such attitudes.


--
Bill Poser, Visiting Professor, University of Pennsylvania
http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~wjposer/
billposer at alum.mit.edu
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