Under the headline „Sublime response of a Frenchman when he stays in a hotel in Catalonia and he is addressed in Catalan“, el.Catalán.es reports this weekend about the stay of a Spanish-speaking Frenchman in Catalonia.

It happens again and again that separatists think that foreigners coming to Catalonia should speak Catalan. I myself can tell of such experiences. For example, my sons (fluent in Spanish) and I were asked to speak English instead at a campsite. However, this form of communication failed due to the lack of English skills of our separatism inclined interlocutors.

In fact, the level of English proficiency in Spain is rather more modest than in Germany „thanks“ to appropriate language training in schools. But that is not the point here.

It is the image of some separatists of their own importance in the world that leads them to think that they have to set up their own embassies in other countries or that they want to force foreigners to learn their regional language.

The Frenchman's answer was simple: „I am French. If I have made the effort to learn Spanish, I want the receptionist to speak to me in Spanish or French and not in Catalan when I am in Spain.“

The comment of elCatalán.es on this: „What should be a cultural asset in Catalonia has turned into a throwing weapon and a political tool for some. And more and more citizens are rebelling against these practices, fatigue is growing. Secessionism would do well to criticize itself and think deeply about what is happening.“

It remains only to add that the elections in Spain on May 28 will also reflect a little on the linguistic situation, although the issues of separatism and linguistic imposition will not be central to it.