Acceso usuarios
Thomas Gergen
Simplement: cal conservar la Llei lingüística del 1983 o bé renovar-la de soca-rel? Aquesta pregunta, fins i tot, encara es plantejava al final de l'àrdua tasca de la ponència del català duta a terme pel grup de treball del Parlament català que, des del gener fins al desembre de 1997, va estar treballant en un nou projecte de llei lingüística per a la comunitat autònoma de Catalunya, que fos útil i capaç d'obtenir la majoria. Els parlamentaris van intentar, amb dificultat, recollir en un text legislatiu els diferents suggeriments dels grups socials i les propostes dels partits polítics. La dificultat de trobar un equilibri en l'ús del castellà i del català no era ni és nova, sinó que és quasi tan antiga com aquestes llengües. El rerefons del debat lingüístic en l'elaboració de la Llei de política lingüística (LPL), que encara es va poder aprovar en la darrera sessió plenària del Parlament de Catalunya, el 30 de desembre de 1997, es pot percebre en la història del bilingüisme a Catalunya i en la situació anterior als intents de normalització fins que es va aprovar la primera llei lingüística, la Llei de normalització lingüística de Catalunya (LNL), el 6 d'abril de 1983. Aquesta norma va configurar les arrels del debat lingüístic, que va ser primordial per discutir i formular el text legislatiu de la LPL. Els debats giraven a l'entorn de la dimensió del català en aquells àmbits en els quals, fins feia poc, el català no tenia res a fer en contra del castellà, com ara l'economia privada, la publicitat i la justícia. La batalla per l'etiquetatge de productes en català va degenerar, fins i tot, en un conflicte d'interessos i la Comissió Europea a Brussel·les hi va haver d'intervenir perquè dubtava de si la legislació espanyola era conforme al dret europeu respecte d'aquest punt. Manifestar-se inequívocament per l'etiquetatge en català també va situar la resta de l'economia general catalana davant d'una prova conflictiva, pel que fa a l'increment dels costos de producció derivats de l'etiquetatge en català. El problema es va reduir, a la fi, a la qüestió de si el català té les característiques d'una llengua oficial de la Comunitat Europea fàcil d'entendre per al consumidor. Pel que fa a aquest punt, l'article s'hi refereix de manera detallada i s'hi treballen les possibles línies d'argumentació. El debat lingüístic, amb motiu de la LPL, va estar influït, a més, pel desig d'enfortir la unitat lingüística del català dins dels Països Catalans per poder actuar a escala internacional. Per això es va sol·licitar a Andorra que millorés la situació del català mitjançant una llei lingüística més àmplia, que, fins i tot, preveiés quotes i sancions per a qui l'infringís.
Should we simply maintain the linguistic law of 1983 or renew the roots of the law on Catalan? This question was still being addressed at the end of the arduous task of the report on Catalan carried out by the task force of the Catalan Parliament which, between January and December 1997, was engaged in a new draft linguistic law for the Autonomous Community of Catalonia that would be useful and would be able to secure a majority. The Parliamentarians struggled to include the different suggestions of social groups and the proposals of the political parties in the draft law. The difficulty of striking a balance between the use of Spanish and Catalan neither is nor was new, but rather is almost as old as the languages themselves. The background to the linguistic debate in the preparation of the Llei de política lingüística [Linguistic Policy Law] (LPL), which was eventually approved at the last plenary session of the Parliament of Catalonia, on December 30, 1997, is to be found in the history of bilingualism in Catalonia and in the situation before the attempts at harmonisation until the enactment of the first linguistic law Llei de normalització lingüística a Catalunya [Law of linguistic harmonisation in Catalonia] (LNL) on April 6, 1983. This law configured the roots of the language debate, which was pivotal in discussing and formulating the text of the LPL. The debates hinged on the dimension of Catalan in areas in which, until relatively recently, the language could not compete against Spanish, such as private economy, advertising and justice. The battle for the labelling of products in Catalan even degenerated into a conflict of interests, and the European Commission in Brussels was obliged to intervene because it had doubts as to whether the Spanish legislation was complying with European law on this point. Coming out unequivocally in favour of labelling in Catalan also placed the rest of the general Catalan economy in a certain plight due to the increase in production costs arising from labelling in Catalan. The problem boiled down, at the end of the day, to the issue of whether Catalan has the characteristic of an official language of the European Community easily understood by the consumer. The following article will address this issue in greater detail and will develop the possible lines of argument. The linguistic debate, at the time of the LPL, was influenced, moreover, by the desire to strengthen the linguistic unity of Catalan in the Catalan-speaking countries in order to be able to act at international level. This is why Andorra was petitioned to improve the status of Catalan by means of a broader law which would even provide for quotas and penalties for infringement.
Should we simply maintain the lin-guistic law of 1983 or renew the rootsof the law on Catalan?This question was still being addres-sed at the end of the arduous task ofthe report on Catalan carried out bythe task force of the Catalan Parlia-ment which, between January and De-cember 1997, was engaged in a newdraft linguistic law for the Autono-mous Community of Catalonia thatwould be useful and would be able tosecure a majority. The Parliamenta-rians struggled to include the differentsuggestions of social groups and theproposals of the political parties in thedraft law. The difficulty of striking abalance between the use of Spanishand Catalan neither is nor was new, butrather is almost as old as the languagesthemselves.The background to the linguistic de-bate in the preparation of the Llei depolítica lingüística [Linguistic PolicyLaw] (lpl), which was eventually ap-proved at the last plenary session of theParliament of Catalonia, on December30, 1997, is to be found in the history ofbilingualism in Catalonia and in the si-tuation before the attempts at harmoni-sation until the enactment of the firstlinguistic law Llei de normalització lin-güística a Catalunya [Law of linguisticharmonisation in Catalonia] (lnl) onApril 6, 1983. This law configured theroots of the language debate, which was pivotal in discussing and formulatingthe text of the lpl.The debates hinged on the dimen-sion of Catalan in areas in which, untilrelatively recently, the language couldnot compete against Spanish, such asprivate economy, advertising and justi-ce. The battle for the labelling of pro-ducts in Catalan even degenerated intoa conflict of interests, and the Europe-an Commission in Brussels was obligedto intervene because it had doubts as towhether the Spanish legislation wascomplying with European law on thispoint. Coming out unequivocally in fa-vour of labelling in Catalan also placedthe rest of the general Catalan economyin a certain plight due to the increase inproduction costs arising from labellingin Catalan. The problem boiled down,at the end of the day, to the issue ofwhether Catalan has the characteristicof an official language of the EuropeanCommunity easily understood by theconsumer. The following article will ad-dress this issue in greater detail and willdevelop the possible lines of argument.The linguistic debate, at the time ofthe lpl, was influenced, moreover, bythe desire to strengthen the linguisticunity of Catalan in the Catalan-spea-king countries in order to be able to actat international level. This is why Ando-rra was petitioned to improve the statusof Catalan by means of a broader lawwhich would even provide for quotas and penalties for infringement.
