"Encomana el català"

In my previous post I mentioned that the governments of Catalonia and Galicia have taken steps to encourage more people to learn the language of the community.  This especially important in Catalonia which is a hub for immigration because of its economy.  Many of these immigrants come from the Spanish speaking areas of South America and from other parts of Spain, so they speak Spanish, the official language of the nation but not Catalan the co-official language of Catalonia.  The  Generalitat of Catalonia has produced media campaigns to encourage non-native speakers to learn the language.  This commercial is one of them.




This is a fun little video that the Government of Catalonia put out to encourage the use of Catalan by immigrants.  The title "Encomana el català"basically means to "pass the Catalan on."  This video is interesting because it is aimed specifically towards visually identifiable immigrants, the people using Catalan are visually clued to be "other" in the sense that they are not Spanish (originating from Spain) or Catalan, they are immigrants who have chosen to speak Catalan.  Their use of Catalan is obviously accepted and applauded by those around them who are originally from Catalonia, i.e. the baker.  This commercial was referenced in Steve Marshall's article "The story of the tallat:  Latin American bar workers, Catalan-speaking customers, and coffee" which was published in "Spanish in Context" in 2012.  The translation of the commercial is on page 412 and I am putting here a copy so everyone can understand the commercial.


Baker: What would you like for an afternoon snack?

Lead: I'd like a sandwich please.

Bakery staff:  Here you are, they're nice and hot.

Staff in the street: I hope you enjoy it, and have a nice day.

Blond(e) dancer: Did you speak to him in Catalan?

Lead: Of course thats how I can practice.

Arab man with propane gas canister: At work!

Three Indian women dancing Bollywood-style in saris: In the street!

Lead: At my friend Joan's cafe!

Bar staff serving in a square:  The first word, in Catalan!

Flower seller:  [You can say] hello or what would you like?

Lead and chorus: Pass Catalan on.

Closing shot of campaign logo: Generalitat de Catalunya.  For the language--let's go!



Neither the video nor the translation are mine.  The video is circulated by the Generalitat of Catalonia and is their property and like I said this translation of the dialogue is from Steve Marshall's article, it is not mine.

This is just something a little more fun and there is also a parody that of this campaign that I may post later.  I hope you enjoyed it, and goodbye for now and good luck!