#this year we respect and support all indigenous languages with everything we've got<33 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

guillemelgat · 5 years

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Happy 2019, and Happy International Year of Indigenous Languages! I wanted to put up a song to mark the occasion, and even though this one is kind of A Lot (it’s rap en valencià, what were you expecting), I think that the message shines through. It doesn’t shy away from the difficult truth about bringing back marginalized languages, both how frustrating it is trying to combat the social and institutional apathy towards them, but also how strong the determination of the people, especially young people, is to bring them back. It’s a good fight song for this year, and hopefully it’ll ring true for more of you than just Valencian and Catalan speakers. Enjoy! I gràcies a aquells que lluiten per un futur millor!

A casa meua el valencià sols el sentia al Babalà At my house I only heard Valencian on Babalà¹ així que pots imaginar com el parlava als 13 anys: so you can imagine how I spoke it at 13 years old molt mal. Tot i que sempre aní a la línea, very badly, even though I always went online si açò no es mama a casa la cosa aquesta no avança. if it’s not given to us as home this thing won’t go anywhere Amics canviant el xip per a parlar amb mi, tinc. I have friends who change over to talk to me De sempre parla catalana, exceptuant si a prop estic. Always speaking in Catalan, except if I’m nearby I així a tot el país situació de confrontació And that’s how the whole country is, situation of confrontation i qui parla d'indepèndencia és qui parla de solucions. and the ones talking about independence are the ones talking about solutions I tu? De quin equip de lliga ets? Jo, de cap. And you? What team are you for? I’m not for any. A estimar aquestes coses a mi no m'han ensenyat They never taught me to love those sorts of things perquè el món dels sentiments és manipulable. because the world of feelings is easy to manipulate "Español del 2000, tu primero", n’és exemple. “Español del 2000, tu primero”² is an example No em pregunten d'on sóc, no tinc cap sentiment de patria, Don’t ask me where I’m from, I don’t have any patriotic feelings però sí de lluita d'un nascut a l’ Espanya opresora. but I do feel a part of the fight as a person born in an oppressive Spain Sentiment solidari en la lluita per València. A feeling of solidarity in the fight for Valencia Part de la resistència d'una cultura atacada. Part of the resistance of a culture under attack Les coses que em commouen són els voluntaris The things that move me are the volunteers de les brigades; Llatinoamerica, els revolucionaris in the Brigades³, Latin America, the revolutionaries comunistes combatint contra un món injust; communists fighting against an unjust world les nacions oprimides per culpa dels invasors; nations oppressed by their invaders les petites victòries; les cançons dels cantautors; the little victories, the songs of the singer-songwriters⁴ el poble unit per a fer caure als traïdors; the people united to bring the traitors down, ma mare contant-me històries dels treballadors my mother telling me stories of workers i el meu avi plorant mentre recorda temps pitjors. and my grandfather crying while he remembers worse times Les places criden gràcies. Quasi estiu fora les cases: The squares cry out their thanks, it’s almost summer outside the houses Recorren els carrers milers de gent que ballen danses. Thousands of people, dancing traditional dances, reclaim the streets Xiquets, majors i Professors. Trobades de colors. Kids, older people, and teachers, colorful meetings Mentre quede un de tots encara queden esperances. While just one of the whole remains there’s still hope Gràcies als que lluitaren abans per nosaltres Thanks to those who fought before for us Per establir les bases d'un futur que ens ha de vindre. To establish the bases of a future that has to come for us Gràcies als anònims que la fan servir. Thanks to the anonymous people who use it (the language) Gràcies al jovent que dona forces per seguir. Thanks to the youth who give it the strength to continue So de guitarres a un fons groc amb quatre barres és: The sound of guitars on a yellow background with four stripes⁵ is l'eina de lluita d'un poble que s'obre i aguanta ben fort com un roure. the tool of battle for a people that opens up and stands strong like an oak A ells el pot coure però som incorruptibles. They might let it burn but we’re incorruptible Sabem on anem, tenim un futur a escriure. We know where we’re going, we have a future to write Els últims a riure serem davant de la burla absurda The last to laugh will be us when we’re faced with the absurd joke que una cúpula ens va condemnar a suportar. which a dome condemned us to hold up Però estem farts d'aguantar i a poc a poc anem guanyant But we’re tired of dealing with it and slowly we’re winning en els detalls com que els xavals plenen els concerts d'Obrint Pas. in the little things, because the kids are filling up concerts for Obrint Pas⁶ Teixit social i cultural: treballen pel que altres no fan, Social and cultural fabric: they're working for what the others won’t sempre esquivant amb dignitat els cops que donen els de dalt, always dodging with dignity the blows struck by those from above assegurant als seus veïnats que el món encara pot canviar assuring their neighborhoods that the world can still change si primer canviem aquell que en el espill ens surt davant. if first we change what the mirror shows before us Sumar coneixements per parlar bé i perfeccionar Putting our heads together to speak well and to perfect el nexe que ens uneix, veure com creix al teu costat the nexus that joins us, to see how, growing by your side la quantitat de gent que decideix alçar les mans is the number of people who decide to raise their hands i junts i juntes comprometre'ns per el valencià. and together to unite for Valencian [ TORNADA: I al poble viu se’l veu lluitar. And the living people, you see them fight Se’l sent cridar per defensar You hear them cry out to defend la llengua que sempre ha estimat. the language they’ve always loved Han intentat fer-la oblidar, They’ve tried to make it be forgotten han volgut mantindre’l callat they’ve wanted to keep it quiet i el poble continua endavant. and the people continue forward ] Valencià apitxat, del de castellanismes, Central Valencian⁷, from the one with the Castilianisms mecanismes com la diglòssia han funcionat. mechanisms like diglossia⁸ have worked A la ciutat serà més difícil d'escoltar. In the city it’ll be more difficult to hear Ací els propis parlants ens sentim com exiliats Here, as its own speakers, we feel like exiles Sense educació: no hi ha llengües, Without education there aren’t languages sense conversar: No hi ha llengües, així sols son febles, without conversation there aren’t languages, they’re only weak that way sense la unitat no hi ha llengües. without unity there aren’t languages Defensem la nostra parla, oblidem les diferències. Let’s defend our mother tongue and forget our differences Se'ns mengen de fora si no estem junts, no és just They’ll destroy us from the outside if we’re not together, it’s not right que amb tants anys d'història els de fora ara ens poden. that after so many years of history outsiders can do that Va sobreviure a Franco i a Felip cinqué, digui'm It survived Franco and Philip V⁹, tell me per què perdre el temps en discussions que ara no importen. why waste time on discussions that don’t matter La transició ens va separar, potser estan equivocats The transition separated us¹⁰, maybe they’re wrong Però no s'ha d'oblidar que continuem sent germans. But we shouldn’t forget that we’re still brothers Hi ha un enemic comú i ben gran que cal enderrocar. There’s a common and very big enemy that needs to be brought down I gran part d'ell s'allotja a la nostra mentalitat And a big part of it lives in our mentality I és una llengua, que em fa gaudir de motivació It’s a language that makes me feel motivated i és que és la llengua, per la qual lluite en cada cançó and it’s a language for which I fight with every song perquè mai desaparega i mai deixem de gaudir so that it never disappears and we never stop enjoying it perquè mai siga oblidada no ho podem consentir. so that it’s never forgotten, we can’t allow that i dis-me tu si veus, llibertat d'expressió als nostres carrers and tell me if you see freedom of expression on our streets si veus respecte per qui defensa la llengua que emprem, if you see respect for those who defend the language we use si et taxen de: guarro,catalufo i no sé de que més. if they criticize you as a guarro, catalufo¹¹, and I don’t know what else Mitjans de comunicació ens manipulen la mar de bé. The media manipulate us even in a sea of good intentions Hi ha molta ma llarga, resistim al carrer, There’s a lot of heavy-handedness, we’ll resist in the street defensem la parla, fins que ja no pugam més, we’ll defend our mother tongue until we can’t anymore a mi m'han ensenyat que lluitem pel que volem, they taught me that we fight for what we want combatre per un ideal i per la teva gent. battling for an ideal and for your people Respira i mira al teu voltant que no estàs sol, Breathe and look around you, you’re not alone l'escena creix, la llengua resisteix a tots els colps, the scene is growing, the language is resisting all the blows gràcies a tots que varen ser pioners de la cançó, thanks to all those who were pioneers of song⁴ gràcies a aquells que lluitaren per un futur millor . thanks to those who fought for a better future [ TORNADA (x2) ]

Cultural Notes:

¹ - Babalà was a children’s show in Valencian/Catalan. [more]

² - España 2000 is a far-right, anti-immigrant, Spanish nationalist party from Valencia. [more]

³ - I’m pretty sure this refers to the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. [more]

⁴ - I think these two lines reference the Nova Cançó movement of the 60s. [more]

⁵ - This refers to both the Catalan and Valencian flags, which are four red stripes on a yellow background (sometimes with added designs, depending on the flag).

⁶ - Legendary Valencian band Obrint Pas [more]

⁷ - Valencià apitxat is the central subdialect of Valencian, which is sometimes looked down upon as being more “Spanishized” and less rich (but as good linguists we know that’s not true). [more]

⁸ - A situation where two languages are both used in society, and by the same speakers (as opposed to two languages coexisting with different populations of speakers).

⁹ - Philip V won the Spanish War of Succession and this victory is often considered to be the beginning of the imposition of Castilian language and culture on the rest of Spain. [more]

¹⁰ - The transition to democracy broke Spain into different comunidades autónomas, each with their own government, two of which are Catalunya and the Valencian Country. This line is implying that this has divided the two.

¹¹ - These are two insults commonly used against speakers of Catalan.

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