Language : Catalonian Culture vs Spanish Culture
|
By: Daniel Major
 
Date Submitted: 2009-11-11 17:36:21 - Article Views: 20120
|
|
It happened many years ago, that I met a man from Barcelona at a bar in England whom I asked if he considered himself to be Spanish or Catalonian. At first this man seemed surprised by my question till I explained to him that I had always heard that certain groups in Spain considered themselves to be more from a certain region then the country.
For instance that some in the Basque country felt themselves not to be Spanish but Basques only. I even mentioned how this seemed a bit odd to me, as I would never say when asked that I was not British but Scottish.
Once I explained my question to this gentleman whose name was Jorge, he told me that the matter was not such an easy one. Yes, he did say he was Spanish and was proud of it but on the other hand he wanted it to be clear that his part of the country was of a different culture then the rest of Spain.
For instance he mentioned how in Catalonia, the sport of bullfighting was not one that was practiced, given that it was not a part of their culture. This to the extent that there was not even a single bullfighting rink to be found in all of Catalonia.
Jorge also went to include in his arguments that though Spanish was his native tongue, which he spoke as his own; he also spoke Catalan and would not want to forget this language which he felt was a part of his ancestry. I even detected a certain tone of dignity in his voice as he made clear that Catalan was not a dialect as many might think but a language which should be respected as such.
Many were the topics this gentleman from Catalonia and I discussed on that evening however one I did find particularly comic and that was when Jorge told me that many a tourist went to Spain looking to buy a Mexican hat known as a charro. These hats are often referred to as sombreros though this word in fact in Spanish simply means hat, which could apply to anything one puts on ones head.
Jorge found it odd how mostly American tourists came to Spain looking for something which was basically Mexican though he could understand that it was the money offered by these tourists that made them available. This despite the fact that these rather large hats had nothing to do with the culture of Spain.
In all I would say that this man showed me how one can both be proud of ones region while at the same time not forgetting the country where one was born in. |
|
|
 Author Resource Required for Reprint:
If you are thinking of visiting Spain or a Spanish speaking country why not learn Spanish using the FREE Spanish language course at http://www.irregularspanishverbs.com
|
|
Article Source:
Echievements
Back to Top
|
Tags:
learn spanish  learning spanish learn to speak spanish learn spanish online spanish lessons spanish language spanish |
|
|
Bookmark and Share
|
|
 Language Category Rss Feed |
-
To someone who wants to learn to speak English as a second language, a good teacher is invaluable.
Viewed: 100 Times.
Read More ...
-
Sometimes, people tend to question your decision to hire a professional translation service. But today, it is definitely reasonable to hire a professional translation company to translate your business documents
Viewed: 100 Times.
Read More ...
-
If you want to learn how to speak Japanese, than this article should help you. This will not only detail some of the more common ways that people go about learning new languages like Japanese, but it will also give you some practical tips that you can apply to your learning process.
Viewed: 100 Times.
Read More ...
-
The best way to learn French would be to learn French in France but most people don't have that luxury available to them.
Viewed: 101 Times.
Read More ...
-
All nouns have a gender associated with them, but unlike English, in the French language there is no neuter gender for inanimate objects. All French nouns are either masculine or feminine. It is not difficult to learn to spell and pronounce the words for the nouns, but since all the nouns must be preceded by the article or you do have to know the gender of the noun.
Viewed: 101 Times.
Read More ...
|
|
| Daniel Major's Author Feed |
-
If you are looking for the best way to learn Spanish this article compares the three most effective and commonly used methods to help you decide on the best option for you.
Viewed: 92 Times.
Read More ...
-
Learning Spanish is no longer something you do at evening classes to fill your spare time. In the US, it is becoming a necessity for many in business and for those who live and work in high volume Spanish speaking areas.
Viewed: 97 Times.
Read More ...
-
Spanish verbs are probably the most difficult area of learning Spanish to master and Spanish reflexive verbs that originate from irregular verbs most of all. This article explains what reflexive verbs are and how they are used.
Viewed: 101 Times.
Read More ...
-
Being able to speak Spanish has become extremely important for many reasons. This article explains why this is so and what methods of learning Spanish are popular?
Viewed: 103 Times.
Read More ...
-
If you thought that riding a rollercoaster was an adrenalin rush you should take the challenge of pitting yourself against the average Spanish motorist! A light hearted look at driving in Spain.
Viewed: 103 Times.
Read More ...
|
|
Article use is considered your agreement of our Terms of Service.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Thanks for visiting Echievements
Copyright © 2008 - 2011 Echievements
Back to Top
|
Print
