Linguistic TV Tower of Babel

     SCOLA performs a splendid service by bringing us TV newscasts from around the world. This morning, instead of the excellent Spanish service, technical reasons forced SCOLA to broadcast instead news from Galicia. While the Presbyterians of San Francisco were dancing in the streets in honor of Columbus--sorry, Italian Heritage Day-- the Gallegos were dancing in honor of St. Froilan. Any excuse to dance, prance, or protest in the streets is good, but I wasted time trying to identify St. Froilan. Anyone got info on him?
     The point is that the speakers spoke an odd mixture of Spanish and Portuguese which passes as gallego, just as Galicia's head of government, former Franco Minister of Propaganda Manuel Fraga Iribarne, was orating about Spanish national unity. Spain is perhaps the worst case in Europe of a country fragmented by languages. "Nation?" The Catalans and other deny that Spain is one. "Galician" is spoken by 4 million, "Asturian" next door by 100,100 (I have never heard it), Basque by 75,000 (seems high to me), and Catalan by 5 million. Then there are Valencian and Balearic, which are really Catalan, although that is angrily denied.
     Spain is the extreme case of a divisive phenomenon which affects most European countries, except Germany, which in fact gains as Alsatians promote their variety of German. This reinforces German hegemony of Europe.
     All this brings us to the legend of the Tower of Babel. According to Genesis (11,1-9). Jehovah was angered by men's pride, so he cursed them with a multiplicity of languages, destroying the previous linguistic unity. Take it from one who has studied a lot of them, languages can be the curse of mankind. Jehovah was right.

Ronald Hilton - 10/12/98