YOUR LETTERS

DEAR EDITOR, WITH all the reaction by readers of the Majorca Daily Bulletin on the issue of “Catalan” being forced onto sections of the workplace here, I thought to chip in my tupenny worth. Firstly, it can never be right (or democratic) for a minority to rule over the majority. Castillian is the language of Spain, all others are variations on the main language, often with little or no similarity to one another, i.e. the Basque language to Catalan, etcetera. Trying to enforce such a rule will hold back on the potential and advancement of an area, rather like a business only promoting family members to management positions, because they are, rather than obtaining the best available for money, efficiency contra lower standards. One has to wonder if this requirement does not infringe the EU rules on free movement of people and labour within Europe, by imposing such a local restriction? Political parties should be careful what they put in place “today,” as with the ever growing number of non Majorcan residents, it is predicted they will be able to control the voters in the not too distant future. So, the sensible answer is that Majorcan/Catalan should be taught as a second language at school, always retained for its historical value, but not at the expense of logic. Whilst “the sun never set on the British Empire” historically, it should be remembered in the past, the same applied to the Spanish Empire. In the U.S.A., the second most popular choice of language learnt is Spanish, not Catalan, or any other of the many provinces in Spain, which speaks volumes in itself.