#TwitterEnCatalà Provokes Tweets of Joy and Hate

#TwitterEnCatalà Provokes Tweets of Joy and Hate

Translation posted 12 July 2012 10:50 GMT · View original post [ca]

Written byVioleta Camarasa

This post also available in:

Malagasy	· #TwitterEnCatalà Miteraka Bitsi-Pifaliana Sy Fankahalàna
Español	· El #twitterencatalà provoca tuits de alegría... y de odio también
বাংলা	· # টুইটারএনকাতালা উস্কে দিয়েছে আনন্দ ও ঘৃণার টুইট
polski	· Twitter po katalońsku: tweety radości i nienawiści
русский	· #TwitterEnCatalà провоцирует радость и ненависть
Français	· La version catalane de Twitter saluée par de tweets de joie… et de haine
Català	· El #twitterencatalà provoca tuits d’alegria, i també d’odi

 

#TwitterEnCatalà is the Catalan-language hashtag for #TwitterInCatalan.

On July 6, 2012, thousands of Catalan-speaking netizens celebrated the fact that Twitter finally speaks their language. The hashtag #twitterencatalà quickly became a trending topic in Spain, and Data'n'Press launched twitterencatala.org to monitor the number of users who switch their accounts into Catalan. Within the first 24 hours, more than 10,000 did so.
Many Twitter users have rejoiced in the website's newest language edition, but many others have expressed their anger at the announcement, tweeting derogatory remarks about the Catalan language and people.
On the positive side, many directly thanked Albert Cuesta, who organized the public petition for a Catalan Twitter, as well as all those who signed it:

Promotional image for #twitterencatala. Source: www.rogercasero.cat

‏@csolaniubo: Avui és el dia que hem de felicitar l' @albertcuesta per ser tant tossut i fer que entre tots hàgim aconseguit el ‪#twitterencatala‬ Gràcies!

@csolaniubo: Today is the day we congratulate @albertcuesta for his resolve & for getting us #twitterencatala Thank you!

@jordiipa: El meu ‪#FF‬ és per als 7.383 signants de la petició i els 5.000 voluntaris que han traduït ‪#twitterencatala‬ < i el meu x @albertcuesta grcs!

@jordiipa: My #FF is for the 7,383 people who signed the petition & the 5,000 volunteers who translated #twitterencatala < thank you @albertcuesta!

There were also abundant tweets that celebrated the launch of Catalan Twitter as a victory for Catalan identity in the context of Catalonia's current sociopolitical situation:

@sonrisadecolor: M'encanta tenir el ‪#Twitter‬ de l'ordinador en ‪#català‬. Només una mica més i ja tindrem la ‪#IndepedènciaperCatalunya‬! ‪#twitterencatala

@sonrisadecolor: I love having #Twitter in #Catalan. Soon enough we'll have #IndependenceforCatalonia! #twitterencatala

@quimtorra: Això del #twitterencatala és com ens passarà l'endemà de la independència: semblarà mentida que no hagués estat sempre així.

@quimtorra: #twitterencatala feels just like independence will: we'll wonder why it wasn't always so.

That being said, Catalan Twitter's launch also provoked a storm of angry, in some cases racist tweets towards the Catalan language and people, and conversely, some vitriolic, as well as sarcastic, responses:

@xaviconde: Los que están detrás de ‪#twitterencatala quieren partir España. Además de ducharse poco, claro.

@xaviconde: The people behind #twitterencatala want to partition Spain. Aside from opting not to bathe, of course.

@juanjo_R_G: #twitterencatala Eso, eso, y yo quiero la versión en panocho, bable, andaluz y latín antiguo.

@juanjo_R_G: #twitterencatala Terrific! Now we just need Twitter in Panocho, Bable, Andalusian and ancient Latin.

@somosloslocos: Ahora Twitter parecerá un huerto, todos hablando como si tuvieran un nabo en la boca. ‪#twitterencatala

@somosloslocos: Twitter will seem like an orchard, everyone talking like they've got a turnip in their mouth. #twitterencatala

@mapumo21: La ràbia dels espanyols és directament proporcional a les meues ganes de parlar, escriure i pensar en català! ‪#twitterencatala ‪#adeuespanya

@mapumo21: Spanish insanity is directly proportional to my desire to speak, write and think in Catalan!  #twitterencatala #adeuespanya (#goodbyeSpain)

@el_bocazas: Que los catalanes tengan ‪#twitterencatala‬ m parece tan reprobable como que los rusos tengan ‪#twitterenruso‬ o los franceses ‪#twitterenfrancés

@el_bocazas: Catalans having #twitterencatala bothers me as much as Russians having #twitterinrussian or the French #twitterinfrench

@Maltlatadol: tt ‪#twitterencatala‬ y la peña rajando. Jajajajaja maldita envidia. A min só me molesta que non hai ‪#twitterengalego

@Maltlatadol: #twitterencatala everyone's up in arms, but I'm just jealous. It only bothers me that we still don't have #twitterengalego (#twitterinGalician)

 

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The website Apuntem.cat, dedicated to denouncing anti-Catalan racism on the Internet, collected some of the most violent tweets (note: in Spanish, “catalufo” is used as a slur for Catalans):

Anti-Catalan tweets with the hashtag #twitterencatalà, curated by apuntem.cat

@AdrianVic04: Catalans, I wish you the worst illness and suffering, and that death follows you through life, you are the fucking shit of SPAIN.
@manuelrodrigue1: come on, man now that want to put #twitterencatalà, when will these piece-of-shit separatist catalufos quit? they're just disgusting
@Ander89zgz: These catalufos disgust me. Can't we just exterminate them all?

Violently anti-Catalan tweets have worried Catalan netizens for a long time. European MP Ramon Tremosa has brought these concerns before the European Commission, arguing that these kind of statements shouldn't be protected as free speech because they “carry the seed of hate“ [cat].
Catalan Twitter was launched less than a week after the Centre d'Estudis d'Opinió's latest public opinion poll [cat], which highlighted that over 51% of the Catalan electorate would vote in favor of independence if a referendum were held tomorrow.

Written by Violeta Camarasa · Translated by udell.db 

Is Catalan play for power canny or sign of panic?

• Catalan first minister Arturo Mas: insists an application to the liquidity fund would not be a bailout because Madrid owes his region the money anyway. Photograph: Albert GeaPhotograph: Albert Gea
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Spain’s northeastern region has always sought to assert its independent identity. However, the clarity behind its recent move to seek a localised ‘bailout’ from Madrid while being fiscally separate do not ring true, writes

PADDY WOODWORTH
 
IN THE Catalan language, the word seny translates as a particularly sharp kind of canniness, especially in financial affairs, which many Catalans see as part of their national character.
But it is far from clear whether the high-stakes game Catalonia’s autonomous government is playing with the Spanish government in Madrid is a remarkable demonstration of this quality, or simply an exhibition of panic and confusion.
On Tuesday, the Catalan economics minister, Andreu Mas-Colell, appeared to tell the BBC clearly that Catalonia, the northeastern region whose capital is Barcelona, had decided to seek a bailout from Madrid. The Spanish government had announced it would set up an €18 billion liquidity fund to assist autonomous governments in extreme difficulties.
Following news over the weekend that Valencia and Murcia had decided to apply to this fund, Mas-Colell’s statement briefly sent Spanish bond yields to record highs on Wednesday morning. It raised the spectre of a series of bailouts within a bailout.
How could a central government, itself clearly in need of urgent financial injections from the EU, survive a run of demands from autonomous governments whose levels of indebtedness have never been clearly assessed?
The short-term debt-repayment needs of Catalonia alone are understood to stand at almost one-third of the entire liquidity fund.
Later on Wednesday, however, Catalan first minister Arturo Mas told the autonomous parliament that no bailout request had been formally filed, and that none would be, “unless things get much worse”. But he also insisted that, if Catalonia did apply to the liquidity fund, it would not constitute a bailout because, effectively, Madrid owed the region the money in any case.
He also claimed that no further austerity conditions could be demanded by Madrid in return for such assistance, were he to ask for it. The Spanish government strongly argues otherwise.
There is a curious parallel between Catalonia’s position on the liquidity fund, and Madrid’s position on EU support for the Spanish banking sector. Both insist that funds from these sources are simply “lines of credit” with no political conditions attached, and certainly not bailouts. In both cases, national pride is deeply involved, and politics becomes semantics.
Ironically, Mas was speaking yesterday to urge the Catalan parliament to vote in favour of a controversial measure to give Catalonia the right to raise and distribute all its own taxes. This “fiscal pact” would satisfy a long-standing Catalan nationalist desire to have parity with the Basques, who already enjoy this remarkable level of financial self-government.
Mas is a usually moderate Catalan nationalist, who recently threatened to organise a plebiscite on independence in response to the crisis. He told parliament that this new fiscal arrangement would wipe out Catalonia’s indebtedness at a stroke, though he did not specify how this would happen.
Parliament approved the measure late yesterday afternoon, though it still has to be negotiated with Madrid.
There is some justification in the Catalan nationalist complaint that Madrid has failed to transfer the funds due to the region under the existing autonomy arrangements.
But it seems far-fetched to suggest that the proposed new pact, in the unlikely event of its being accepted by the conservative Spanish government, would have such a dramatic impact on Catalan finances.
Catalonia has always had one of the most dynamic and prosperous economies in modern Spain. But its recent property and banking crises have been very similar to those in other regions.
Then, as the recession bit, declining tax revenues went completely out of phase with rising public sector costs, especially in the health services, driven by an ageing population.
The current Catalan government, unlike many of its counterparts in Spain’s 17 autonomous regions, has not hesitated to implement a series of cutbacks, many of them earlier and harsher than those now belatedly undertaken by Madrid. It has closed medical centres, reduced school hours, raised taxes and slashed public sector pay.
But the outcome has been to deepen the cycle of recession, not to escape from it.
The Catalan government’s position now seems bizarrely contradictory, in demanding full fiscal powers and sounding off about independence, while conceding that it is reliant on Spain for survival, since it cannot raise money on the markets.
“We have no bank but the Spanish government today,” Mas-Collel admitted to the BBC on Tuesday.
Whether these contradictions are part of a canny plan, or indicate a government overwhelmed by the speed of drastic events, remains to be seen.

As Spain Protests Austerity, Catalonia Pushes for Independence

As Spain Protests Austerity, Catalonia Pushes for Independence

Posted on 20 July 2012. Tags: European Union, independence movements, Politics of Catalonia, Politics of Spain, Spain

473tweetsretweet

WASHINGTON—Thousands of miners entered Madrid last week, singing loudly, setting off fireworks, and waving signs and banners. Some walked as far as 250 miles from the mining regions along Spain’s northern coast. The marcha negra (black march) ended with a violent clash with police in front of Spain’s Industry Ministry building. Over the ensuing days, laborers and civil servants rallied throughout the city, blocking streets and railways. Some women wore black veils as though for a funeral. The target of these protests was the austerity package passed last Wednesday by the embattled government of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy — whose future, the miners reminded him, was “darker than our coal.”
The €65 billion package consists of EU-recommended tax increases, public sector spending cuts, city and regional government overhauls, and the liberalization of the transportation sector. The hope is that these measures will help the country, having recently requested up to €100 billion in European aid for its banks, avoid an international state bailout along the lines of Greece, Ireland, and Portugal. With government revenues and housing prices falling, and debt on the rise, though, it may well prove to be a doomed effort.
And yet as workers from throughout the country converge on Madrid for protests, a second, altogether different movement is gathering strength in one of Spain’s wealthiest autonomous regions, Catalonia. There, thousands have gathered throughout the summer in towns and villages to call for much more than an end to austerity. Their goal is complete independence for their region of over 7.5 million from the Spanish state. Catalonia, like the Basque Country, has a long and complicated history with Castillian-dominated Spain. But the crippling economic crisis, resentment over transfers of roughly 8 to 9 percent of Catalonia’s GDP to poorer parts of Spain, and incidents such as recent Spanish Supreme Court opposition to Catalan language immersion programs in the region’s pre-schools have combined to form a three-layered gift for the independentistes.
According to recent polls conducted by the Centre d’Estudis d’Opinió, 51.1 percent of all Catalans would vote for independence from Spain in a hypothetical referendum. This represents a six-point increase in the past four months alone. When asked the broader question of what Catalonia should be vis-à-vis Spain, 34 percent said “independent,” a 20-point increase since the pre-crisis days of 2006. Following the release of the polling data, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría called on all Spaniards to understand that with the country’s other concerns, “now must be a time for stability.” Catalan MP Josep Antoni Duran sought to downplay the results, arguing that a majority of Catalans would still prefer increased autonomy over outright independence.
Yet between now and September, over 200 pro-independence rallies and marches are scheduled to take place across Catalonia, building up to a massive demonstration on September 11, the region’s national holiday. The plan from there, according to the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) will be to organize a referendum on Catalonia’s status for the following year, and proclaim full independence in 2014. “For us, independence is a question of dignity,” says Carme Forcadell, head of the ANC. “We don’t want to live on our knees within Spain when we could stand on our own feet in Europe.”
Spain, with unemployment rates of close to 25 percent, youth unemployment over 50 percent, increasing emigration, and expectations of long-term recession and austerity, should be watched very carefully by policymakers in Brussels and Washington. Its dual crises of social and economic unrest, paired with an unprecedented loosening of the bonds that tie it together as a nation, make it perhaps the most apt microcosm of today’s European Union. As the country drifts towards a possible state bailout, the tightening screws of la crisis are threatening to drive fissures through every aspect of its social, political, and economic life, and push it into the uncharted waters of possible, although still unlikely, disintegration.
During the recent European Championship, the uglier side of pan-European tensions was often on display. “Without Angie, you wouldn’t be here,” chanted German fans during the game with Greece, referring to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “We’ll never pay you back,” replied the Greeks. At a wedding I recently attended in Catalonia, I found only one fellow guest tracking the status of the ongoing match between Spain and France, and he was quietly rooting for France. “We Catalans are tired of seeing our tax money go to Spain,” he said, cringing as news of another Spanish goal popped up on his phone. “I guess you could say we understand how Germany feels.”
Nicholas Siegel is Senior Program Officer with the Transatlantic Academy in Washington DC.

VilaWeb.cat is the leading online newspaper in Catalan. Now and then it issues articles, like this one, in other languages.

http://www.vilaweb.cat/noticia/4032975/20120805/an-olympic-champion-for-catalans.html

 VilaWeb.cat is the leading online newspaper in Catalan. Now and then it issues articles, like this one, in other languages.

VilaWeb.cat is the leading online newspaper in Catalan. Now and then it issues articles, like this one, in other languages.

VilaWeb.cat is the leading online newspaper in Catalan. Now and then it issues articles, like this one, in other languages.

Imatges

• 

VilaWeb en llengües diverses

Seguint l'exemple de The Guardian VilaWeb obre un espai per a publicar articles especials en llengües diverses
VilaWeb in English. Massive disobedience campaign #novullpagar hits highway toll booths
VilaWeb en français. Moussa Ag Attaher: 'Touaregs et amazighes partagent une aspiration légitime à la liberté'
VilaWeb en occitan: Jornalet, 'gaseta occitana d'informacions'
VilaWeb euskaraz: Otegik mozorroa erortarazten du

An Olympic Champion for Catalans

He is not Usain Bolt and he hasn't yet won any Olympic medals in London. But the name of Àlex Fàbregas is now a trending topic in Catalonia and Spain and he will be one of the big names of London 2012.

Àlex Fàbregas is a Catalan player on the Spanish field hockey team in the Olympics, and a silver medalist four years ago. In fact most of his teammates are Catalans. But since he voiced something everyone thinks but not so many say out loud—‘I’m Catalan and I’m playing for Spain because I have no other choice’—he has been deluged with insults and even threats from Spanish fans. While Fàbregas then decided to shut down his Twitter account, a counterreaction surged from Catalan fans. #TotsSomÀlexFàbregas (We All Are Àlex Fàbregas) became in few hours trending topic in twitter.
More and more Catalans are worried about how Spaniards are declaring strong anti-Catalan feelings via social networks and Spanish newspaper forums. Some consider the messages racist due to the strong wording that Spaniards use against Catalans.

Spain's performance in the London Games is its worst in decades. The only three medals that the team has won have come from a Catalan woman, Mireia Belmonte, and a Basque one. Belmonte was asked some time ago about the chance of a Catalan delegation at the Games and she showed her support: ‘It will be good to compete with Spain in the swimming pool’ she said in the interview.
Catalan athletes take part in the Olympic Games as members of the Andorran, French, and Spanish teams. In the case of Spain, they can not refuse  to join the team without risking sanctions and possible loss of federation status (and thus the right to play their sport professionally at all).

Independentista de raíces españolas: No reniego de mis raíces, ni de mis amistades fuera de Catalunya , ni de la familia en España, pero camino hacia la libertad..

Soy Español y vivo en Catalunya

Me doy cuenta de que estoy viviendo en Catalunya y que mis hijos van a la escuela aquí , que mi futuro esta aquí , por eso quiero que se haga un referéndum sobre la independencia de Catalunya y yo votaré que si la quiero .
Porque?
Pues por que este pueblo me acepta tal y como soy, porque pago los impuestos y veo como estos se van a las arcas del estado y no vuelven. Y pensando en mis hijos y en nosotros y creo que es justo tener un futuro mejor.

Creo que un referéndum es un  derecho a poder decidir .

Y si es que si lo aceptaré y si es que no también . Soy demócrata .

Si es que si decidiré entonces si quiero continuar siendo español o ser catalán.
Como español seré un extranjero como tantos otros y como catalán tendré todos los derechos.
Decida lo que decida no implicará , ni odio , ni aversión , hacia lo Español . No reniego de mis raíces, ni de mis amistades fuera de Catalunya , ni de la familia en España  .
Solo es que soy realista.


Espero ser entendido por todo el mundo.

Juan