[RNLD List] documentary

[Shawn Bedell]

Thank you! Very informative. Have always loved that region of the world,
and I particularly loved Catalunya.

As per the talking to foreigners bit, I do find it interesting. Having
learned a few languages with few speakers or that are not the majority
language, by far, in a particular place, I have often been met with people
who think learning their own language is a silly idea, or they might even
take a while to come around to the idea of not speaking the dominant
language to a foreigner. In Catalunya, I found quite the opposite. I speak
Spanish quite well, but I do not have anything near the accent of a
Spaniard, so no matter how hard I could (haven't, but... haha) try, I am
obviously not from anywhere on the Iberian Peninsula. Nevertheless, I have
been asked many times. to speak Catala, even though I wouldn't be able to
really piece it all together to make anything intelligible in terms of
speaking actual Catala, but as you noted, it was relatively easy to
understand what people were saying. So, it seems like there is a contingent
of people who feel confident enough to assume that obvious outsiders will
use their language, whereas the opposite is often the case in many places
across the world.

Anyway, the question was mostly about how (what I perceive, at least) a
strong linguistic community might play into or influence people speaking a
related dialect nearby (and in this case, across a national border).

Anyway, I look forward to watching to movie and sharing it with friends and
colleagues (many of whom also know and love the region).

On Thu, Feb 10, 2022 at 10:08 PM David Valls <davidvalls at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Shawn
>
> Catalan has very few dialectal differences, and there's also a continuum
> within the language, going up north in France to the very south in Spain.
> However, as with other dialects, Roussillonese or Northern Catalan dialect
> has some specific features not shared with other dialects across the
> border, in Spain. Some specific phonetic and syntax features, as well as
> some specific vocabulary, specially dealing with the fact that after more
> than 300 years of French rule, this Catalan has borrowed from the French
> language, while in the south, Catalan has borrowed from Spanish. However,
> there's mutual comprehension.
>
> According to statistics ( https://www.idescat.cat/pub/?id=eulp&n=3646 ),
> only 11,8% of Catalan speakers in Spain do not switch to Spanish when
> someone addresses them into this language. So, perhaps you've talked to
> this 11,8%, which in Barcelona, believe me, it's much, much lower than
> 11,8%. Sorry, but I don't get the relationship between being a foreigner
> and being addressed in Catalan. I've travelled quite a lot and in England
> people insisted me on English, in Japan insisted me on Japanese and so on.
> However, I can tell you of thousands of people who live in Catalonia for
> many years and insist on not speaking Catalan at all,  this colonial
> behavior is one of the reasons -but not the only one-, why Catalan speakers
> must be bilinguals.
>
> And yes, we are nice ;-) and the language in Southern Catalonia, Valencia
> and Balearic Islands is very alive, although not trouble free.
>
> All the best,
>
> David
>
>
>
> El 10/2/2022 a les 14:31, Shawn Bedell ha escrit:
>
> Will definitely watch, but I used to live in Toulouse, and I took lots of
> trips to Catalunya, where Catala is very alive and well. Is there a great
> difference among the dialects when you cross the border or even get into
> Barcelona (where people even sometimes insist on speaking Catala over
> Spanish even to a foreigner, although most always very nice)?
>
>
> <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free.
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>
> On Thu, Feb 10, 2022 at 8:27 PM Mariona Miret <miretmariona at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Dear David,
>>
>> Gràcies per compartir-lo.
>> It's heart-breaking. Every time I see it I feel the same.
>>
>> I am glad that colleagues from all over the world can now understand it,
>> with subtitles in English and French.
>>
>> Thank you for documenting the last speakers of Catalan in Catalunya Nord.
>>
>> Mariona
>>
>> El dj., 10 febr. 2022 10.28, David Valls <davidvalls at gmail.com> va
>> escriure:
>>
>>> Dear all,
>>>  It's not on Australian languages -or perhaps, it is somehow-, but I
>>> wish to share this documentary which I have co-directed. It's about the
>>> last native speakers of the Catalan language -and its local dialects- in
>>> Northen Catalonia (in the most southern part of France). Now, we've got the
>>> English and French subtitles:
>>>
>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6rUG0xxXNM
>>>
>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4ZHpq7Vpws
>>>
>>> Thank you for your kind attention,
>>> David Valls
>>>
>>>
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>
>
> --
> Tengo billetes, como de octava clase, pero asi viajo, contento de ir de
> viaje....
>
>
>

-- 
Tengo billetes, como de octava clase, pero asi viajo, contento de ir de
viaje....
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