Apostilles to IGE statistics on Galician

The statistics published last week by the IGE on the knowledge and use of the Galician language in society gave rise to multiple readings. The data shows a decline among younger generations, particularly among those under 30, and very markedly in the age group between 5 and 14 years. The opposition has already rushed to point out the culprits: the decree on multilingualism and the PP Xunta, who hates Galician, of course. However, everything is not as simple as it seems.

The first is a conceptual question. The use of a language responds to the individual freedom of peoplewho, out of awareness of belonging to a territory or community, out of personal convictions, out of family or cultural tradition, out of convenience, because they decide so, choose one or the other among those they know . And here is the second variable: is it realistic to imagine that an entire generation which has the obligation to pass the Galician subject from Primary to EBAU does not know the language?

This subject is not characterized by being a “marry” or by the fact that its teachers give grades: quite the contrary. He is probably one of the teachers who have most internalized their subject, which they teach with an almost apostolic vocation and militant commitment. If the learning and knowledge of Galician were disastrous at school, would this not hamper the grades of Galician students? And is this happening in Galicia? At the time, Madrid councilor Marta Rivera (born in Lugo) expanded this idea and it was forcefully refuted by CiUG members.

Therefore, at least for the person writing this analysis, some reservations should be made regarding the percentage relating to knowledge. And add a demographic nuance: the new inhabitants that Galicia gains year after year are not the result of a boom in births among Galician families, but rather due to the incorporation of emigrants from other regions of Spain or , mainly, at the return of second and third generations. generations of those who went to South America in the post-war period – or even before. Their knowledge of the Galician language is logically weak, if not non-existent. And if they don’t know it, it’s understandable why they don’t use it.

The question of use among the youngest arouses debate between the most ideological positions – there is the nationalist universe – and the ruling Xunta party, which defends its policy of education, promotion and advancement. . The intermediate position wants to be occupied by a PSdeG who once took a photo of the dive with the BNG, and who now wants to dress in the third way, calling for a “something must be done”, as generic as it is proactive. .

There is a reality that is becoming more and more widespread, particularly in urban areas. Galician parents, from Galician families, but whose children adopt Spanish as the language of usual use, even for domestic relations. Is it also the fault of the Xunta and the decree? Of course, critics will say, because these young people do not have a Galician ecosystem in which to operate. And is that like that?

On the table, the Xabarín channel of animation and content for children and young people in Galician, which the BNG demands so much and which the PP voted favorably. Let’s introduce another apostille. The so-called “Xabarín generation” was nurtured by a hegemonic TVG in the Community, not least because there were only three or four additional channels on the remote control. Children’s programs were rare, with the exception of the much missed Porco bravú – which is still broadcast, eh – and the regional channel’s offering was wide, with series that this generation remembers.

Today, this Xabarín channel would compete not only with the half-dozen TNT channels already designed for children and young people, but also with the platforms which are seeing their penetration among the youngest. It is necessary to translate them into Galician to guarantee the right to consume them in this language! Such is the proclamation of the Table, always at the service of its three-letter master. And that the Xunta bears these expenses, of course, as do other communities with their own language. It’s a euphemism to talk about Catalonia, I translate.

In this Community that the independence movement governed without interruption between 2010 and 2024, with a linguistic policy of immersion in education and public life, the data is not significantly better among young people. And the trend is not positive either. There are the latest statistics from the INE on knowledge and use of languages, published in October 2023, with percentage results very similar to those of Galicia.

Actually, the world young people look into It’s not your family, nor your closest environment of friends or colleagues. Not your street, your neighborhood or your city. It’s on your mobile phone and it’s called TikTok, YouTube or Instagramand there is no money to translate this into Galician, because its Spanish users number in the millions. Nor the music that they consume massively, that Guadi Galego or the Tanxugueiras release three albums per year. It is neither better nor worse, nor cause for celebration or ridicule. It is the dictatorship imposed by globalization, and the solution does not involve a fatwa that expels the Castilians from Galicia promoted by the public authorities. In addition to being unconstitutional, it would be sterile.

It is therefore naive to think that by boosting the linguistic consensus in education – remember that the PP has obtained four consecutive absolute majorities since the approval of the decree –, by creating a specific sector for children in Galician, by introducing the linguistic filter for the recruitment of public professionals –Can you imagine primary care physicians being denied entry because they “only” speak Spanish?– and by stealing space from the common language, a trend similar to that of other territories will be reversed.

This is not to lead to a posture of resignation in the face of the loss of Galician speakers, because as the Spanish language – that is, of Spain – it represents the richness of the cultural diversity of our country. Languages ​​are a heritage that must not be lost, because they explain us as a society, identify us as communities and serve to describe the uses and customs of a people.

It is therefore interesting to see what the Linguistic Pact launched last week by Councilor José López Campos brings to fruition. A pact, by definition, requires that there be other people willing to come to an agreement with the one proposing it. The price that the majority part of the opposition will set is considered high, in view of the first proclamations: repeal the decree on multilingualism. Is this a step that the PP is ready to take? Do the social… and political consequences have measures? Do you know that this is large caliber ammunition for Vox which has so far managed to slow down the various electoral processes?

López Campos proposes an approach to Galician starting from the affection and appreciation of one’s own language, to feel it as part of the individual identity, anchored in the community. And this may be an acceptable proposition – unless we see how it materializes – because it affects the freedom of each person to develop in life as they best understand. It remains to be seen whether the libertarian slogan will convince those mortgaged by its dogmas.