Responds to an article by Strubell, "Language, Democracy, and Devolution in Catalonia," explaining differences between various dialects grouped under the Catalan umbrella and focusing on the context of the new language-policy legislation, the impact of the new legislation, tensions arising from the implementation of the language policy,…

Responds to an article by Strubell, "Language, Democracy, and Devolution in Catalonia," noting the lack of congruence between the Catalan nation defined culturally and linguistically and Catalonia the polity. The paper examines nationalist discourse, identity, and evolution, and discusses the limits of devolution (borders and internal…

Responds to an article by Strubell, "Language, Democracy, and Devolution in Catalonia," arguing that the nationalism that already exists is viewed as the norm and suggesting that the Catalan nationalism and its attempts at affirmative action are menacing. The paper worries that demographic realities might push Catalan nationalism into…

Presents an overview of the geological and historical context of Catalan, explaining that today, Catalonia has both a political and cultural definition. Section 1 focuses on territory in political and cultural terms. Section 2 discusses Catalan and the Romance dialect continuum. Section 3 examines cultural centers and political allegiances. (SM)

Argues that in Europe over several centuries, the relationship between democracy and language policy in multilingual countries has been complex, noting that Catalan has thrived in democratic periods where devolution has advanced, and the causes of most problems facing Catalan are nonlinguistic. The paper examines language and democracy, language…