Platform per la Llengua. In the book 20 anys defender the Català has analyzed the attitude of the years of institutions, political parties and networks of encounter. What has been the role of each of these parties?

After 40 years of Franco, the complementary projects of normalization of Catalan have been very positive. Institutionally, the incorporation of Catalan as the usual language in the administration, the creation of quality public media – TV3, Catalunya Ràdio – and linguistic immersion in schools have been fundamental. In addition, the demand to increase and intensify the standardisation of different areas has spread uncomplicated since associationism in recent years. More ambition has been called for and the political parties have tightened up in a cross-cutting way to continue working for Catalan. This commitment has been made, one at a higher level and the other at a lower level.

It is noteworthy that the first public action of the institution was carried out to demand the Catalan label and that 20 years later the same request and the same request had to be made.

The first public action that was taken to demand greater use of Catalan by the large multinationals has led us to many successes, albeit not absolute. In the business environment, the organization has always linked the use of Catalan with modernity as an added value of products and services; with consumer rights and corporate social responsibility.

In the process of linguistic normalization, as in all processes, it has been essential to achieve tangible results and with pragmatism to take firm steps towards the goals set, towards the desired horizon.

The platform has a positive speech on language, what has been worked on and what has been achieved so far?

In the last two decades we have seen that Catalan has gradually entered the socio-economic sphere and that major brands have begun to assimilate it. That is very important. In addition, with the turn of the century a new challenge emerged: the reception of migrations. School and adult courses have been decisive. We can all contribute to the integration of the new Catalans into society in an effective and affective way to ensure social cohesion.

In this sense, the discourse of Catalanism has been modernized: it is not a question of “holding it” but of building a suitable model in which Catalan is very useful as a common language between the plazas of the country and the more than 200 languages spoken in the streets. Hence the usefulness of language pairs, tándems and dialogue groups. Both in discourse and praxis, the results have been very significant.

Catalan is also spoken outside Catalonia, what is the situation of the language in these places?

The language is present in the spaces that bind the Catalans. Attacks on linguistic immersion in school have intensified in the Balearic Islands, as well as the mobilizations of teachers who have emptied the classrooms and filled the streets with their green T-shirts.

There are no words in the Valencian Community about the ban on TV3 and the closure of Channel9, the attacks on the situation of thousands of families who cannot register children in the Catalan educational model or on the linguistic unit. And what about the surreal invention Aragonese language from the eastern area to which the Cortes of Aragon speak in the community? It seems that the map of the Catalan countries drawn by the Valencian intellectual Joan Fuster in the 1960s is still in force today.

The results of the last socio-linguistic survey have recently been published, and what assessment have you made? It should be noted that the use of Catalan has decreased in the last ten years.

Once again we have seen that Catalan is the language of freedom. The more freedom there is, the more likely it is for Catalan to develop normally. And that is very graphic: in areas where the state does not intervene, Catalan advances, while in areas where the state has the capacity to intervene, Catalan has serious difficulties. But the political process that Catalonia is experiencing can turn that around in a few years. We are optimistic.

Catalan has about 10 million speakers. Do you ask that they be recognised in the European Union, no?

Catalan is a median language at European level. It has a number of speakers, cultural consumption and dynamism and a much greater attractiveness than that of other official languages of the European Union. Why do Catalans have to have less rights?

Can the Catalan political process open the door to Europe?

Undoubtedly, if the current state has not recognized its internal plurality for 35 years, it must move to a pro-Catalan state with all the international recognition that this implies.

Will independence save Catalan?

I believe that our own state, independence, will serve to manage linguistic diversity intelligently and to make Catalan a common language and a tool for social cohesion. In addition, the future language policy of the State should be a reference for all territories that combine shelters and languages for Catalan.

What remains to be done after 20 years? What are the future challenges of the Platform for La Llengua?

The priority objective of the organization is to disappear [laughs] because this is going to be a sign of what can be lived in Catalan. However, we know that much work remains to be done, particularly in the socio-economic area and in the incorporation of new Catalans, but the possibilities are good and the national transition can help.