Description
(CAT).24.IN PLAIN LANGUAGE!.POLICE AND CIVIL GUARD AGAINST....
Book Summary
This work offers a direct and documented account of the linguistic discrimination suffered by citizens of the Catalan Countries when using their language in interactions with state security forces. Through 13 cases that occurred between 1996 and 2012, the author highlights a reality that, far from being historical, persists today in locations such as Barcelona, Palma, Dénia, Ondara, or Girona. The book also includes two episodes from the Franco era to contextualize the most daily and systematic repression against the Catalan language.
What is it about?
The book compiles and analyzes a series of real incidents of linguistic discrimination perpetrated by the National Police and the Civil Guard in various parts of the Catalan Countries. Each case exposes how the normal use of Catalan in everyday contexts—such as filing a report, a traffic stop, or an identification check—became a motive for humiliating treatment, fines, or even arrests. The work not only denounces these events but also contextualizes them within a state policy that, according to the author, persists under democracy. The final two cases, belonging to the Franco era, serve to illustrate the origin and continuity of this linguistic repression.
Main themes
- Linguistic discrimination by state security forces.
- Repression of the use of Catalan in the public sphere during democracy.
- Continuity of repressive practices from the Franco era to the present day.
- Conflicts between linguistic identity and law enforcement.
- Linguistic rights and freedom of expression in contexts of marginalization.
Who is it recommended for?
This book is aimed at readers interested in the defense of linguistic rights, the recent social and political history of the Catalan Countries, and the analysis of structural inequalities. It is also essential reading for activists, legal experts, historians, and anyone who wants to understand how language can become a field of conflict with state institutions.
What this book offers
- Detailed documentation of real cases of linguistic discrimination, offering a factual basis for debate.
- A perspective that connects Francoist repression with current practices, showing the persistence of certain dynamics.
- Visibility for anonymous victims of linguistic repression, giving a voice to often silenced experiences.
- A critical analysis of the relationship between the use of the Catalan language and state security forces.
Technical specifications
- Author: Bea Segui, Ignasi
- Publisher: Cossetània Edicions
- Language: cat
- Subject: Regional and national history, Social and cultural history, Social discrimination and inequality, Nationalism, Freedom of information and expression
- Collection: Memòria del Segle XX
- Binding: Paperback
- Publication date: September 2013
- Number of pages: 216
- Weight: 366 g
Editorial assessment
This is a work of rigorous and well-documented social denunciation that provides a necessary perspective on an under-exposed aspect of the linguistic reality of the Catalan Countries. Its focus on specific cases and its willingness to give a voice to those affected make it a valuable testimony for understanding the tensions between linguistic identity and institutional power. Recommended for those seeking critical and well-founded reading on linguistic rights in the Spanish State.