YOUR LETTERS

OVER the last few weeks I have been reading the correspondence in the Bulletin over the issue of Catalan being taught in local schools and the new legislation which requires doctors and nurses to speak Catalan as well. My view is that the majority of the people of the Balearics support Catalan being taught in schools. They also want doctors and nurses to speak to them in their own language. I moved to Majorca thirty years ago and I have made an effort to learn both Spanish and Catalan. In some ways I felt that learning the language was my duty. I can´t understand some foreign residents who believe that everyone should speak English simply because three million British tourists come here every year. Based on this theory everyone in Majorca should speak German because far more Germans come here than Britons. I know for a fact these days English people who are planning to move to Wales learn Welsh. They would never dare to lecture the Welsh on their language being useless. So we should not do the same to the Majorcans. Catalan was banned during the Franco regime and one of the joys of democracy was the fact that Majorcans could start speaking their language again. Leave the language issue alone and don´t try and dictate your views on Majorcans.

Yours sincerely

Ian Perkins
Inca