Tensions between Spain’s Catalonia region and the central government have flared over a national education reform that targets the sensitive issue of Catalan language teaching in schools.
In a sign of how dear the right to teaching in Catalan is to inhabitants of the northeastern region, Barcelona Football Club — one of Catalonia’s most powerful institutions — spoke out to defend it.
“FC Barcelona wishes to express its active support for the Catalan language and the model of linguistic immersion which has been employed in Catalonia over the last 34 years,” it said in a statement.
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
“The Catalan language and its teaching in our schools form part of our identity and are key elements for social cohesion and coexistence within our country.”
Catalonia’s leaders and media jumped on the defensive after national Education Minister Jose Ignacio Wert proposed an education reform focusing on Spanish language teaching in all regions.
Wert proposed to stop obliging students in Catalonia to speak Catalan in order to study at universities there, and to make the region pay for private schooling in Spanish for children whose parents demanded it.
“It could only come from a total ignorance of Catalonia or simply from bad faith,” said the regional government’s spokesman Francesc Homs. “If it is necessary to appeal to the Constitutional Court, we will do so.”
(AFP)
西班牙加泰隆尼亞地區和中央政府間的對峙情勢，最近又因為全國教育改革而突然升高，這項改革的目標則為校內加泰隆尼亞語教學此一敏感議題。
西國東北部地區居民有多麼重視在學校裡使用其母語加泰隆尼亞語的權利，從加泰隆尼亞影響力最大機制之一的巴塞隆納足球隊都公開發言力挺可看出。
「巴塞隆納隊在此表達對加泰隆尼亞語，以及加泰隆尼亞地區過去三十四年來所使用的沉浸式語言教育模式的積極支持，」該隊在聲明中指出。
「加泰隆尼亞語以及在我們的學校裡教授這種語言，構成了我們身分認同的一部分，更是促進社會凝聚力以及全國族裔共存的重要成分。」
在教育部長韋特提出一項要求全國地區教授西班牙語的教改計畫後，加泰隆尼亞領袖及媒體立刻跳出來為現行加語政策辯護。
韋特提議停止強制加泰隆尼亞地區學生必須說加語，才能在當地大學就讀的規定，並要求當家長要求讓子女接受以西語教學的私立課程時，地方政府應支付學費。
「這只能是出於對加泰隆尼亞的全然無知，或者根本就是言而無信，」加泰隆尼亞地區政府發言人侯姆斯說。「假如此案必須上訴至憲法法庭，我們也一定會這麼做。」
（法新社／翻譯：俞智敏）
A: Hard rock band Guns N’ Roses is touring Taiwan tomorrow. What about pop diva Lady Gaga? B: Unfortunately, Singapore has once again exclusively secured Gaga’s concerts in Asia, just like Taylor Swift’s exclusive Asian shows last year. A: The Singaporean government reportedly paid up to US$2.2 million to secure Swift’s shows. B: And the shows did boost its economy and tourism. A: But I’m angry about this approach, so I’m not going to Gaga’s shows this time. A: 硬式搖滾天團槍與玫瑰明天即將來台，流行天后女神卡卡呢？ B: 真可惜，新加坡再度取得卡卡亞洲巡演的獨家主辦權，就像去年泰勒絲的亞洲獨家演出一樣。 A: 據報導新加坡政府付出高達220萬美元，取得泰勒絲的亞洲獨家主辦權。 B: 而她的秀也的確提振了該國的經濟和旅遊業。 A: 但我對此還是很不爽，所以不去新加坡看卡卡了！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
A: Hard rock band Guns N’ Roses and pop diva Lady Gaga are finally touring Asia again. B: Are they also coming to Taiwan? A: The band will stage a show at the Taoyuan Sunlight Arena on Saturday. B: Wow, so this will be the band’s third visit. I really love its 1992 power ballad “November Rain.” The nine-minute hit was the Billboard chart’s longest song at one point. A: Let’s go celebrate the 40th anniversary of its release. A: 硬式搖滾天團槍與玫瑰、女神卡卡終於再度展開亞洲巡演了。 B: 他們也會來台巡演嗎？ A: 槍與玫瑰本週六即將在桃園陽光劇場開唱唷。 B: 哇這將是該團第三次來台演出，我超愛他們1992年強力情歌《November Rain》，全長近9分鐘還曾是告示牌排行榜最長神曲。 A: 那我們一起去慶祝該團出道40週年吧！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 Emma had reviewed 41 resumes that morning. While the ATS screened out 288 unqualified, she screened for AI slop. She could spot it a mile away. She muttered AI buzzwords like curses under her breath. “Team player.” “Results-driven.” “Stakeholder alignment.” “Leveraging core competencies.” Each resume reeked of AI modeling: a cemetery of cliches, tombstones of personality. AI wasn’t just changing hiring. It was draining the humanity from it. Then she found it: a plain PDF cover letter. No template. No design flourishes. The first line read: “I once tried to automate my
Every May 1, Hawaii comes alive with Lei Day, a festival celebrating the rich culture and spirit of the islands. Initiated in 1927 by the poet Don Blanding, Lei Day began as a tribute to the Hawaiian custom of making and wearing leis. The idea was quickly adopted and officially recognized as a holiday in 1929, and leis have since become a symbol of local pride and cultural preservation. In Hawaiian culture, leis are more than decorative garlands made from flowers, shells or feathers. For Hawaiians, giving a lei is as natural as saying “aloha.” It shows love and
RSS