Long time ago I wrote an article about the worst hotels in Amsterdam. I gave an advice to my readers to check a hotel at Tripadvisor before booking. When I did I didn't even think of the possibility (actually the impossibility) of having Tripadvisor in Catalan language or being allowed to write comments in Catalan.
Well, Tripadvisor does have a policy for Catalan. It is forbidden, and any comment written with care and dedication in Catalan language is deleted!
A writer of my blog (http://blogs.ccrtvi.com/catalanspelmon.php?itemid=34034&catid=1259, only in Catalan) told me that this happened to her.
So I went to check their website and checked the languages they have. Well, Tripadvisor does not make a distinction per language but per independent country, and has chosen for the language of dominance. Perhaps this is the reason why there isn't a Tripadvisor of Belgium of Switzerland, there is no such a thing as the dominant language and they don't know how to cope with this.
It is strange. If I speak English and live in the UK, why should I go to the website of the UK? Most probable is that I will travel outside of the UK, to any country BUT the UK. So what is the use of having a web site for the UK? Is it for the traveller who goes to the UK? No.
A Spanish traveller who goes to the UK shall use the Spanish Tripadvisor, not the one of the UK.
What shall a Canadian user from Quebec do? He/she speaks French. The Canadian Tripadvisor is only in English. He/she shall have to go to the Tripadvisor from France (!?)
It is strange. In a global world in which languages do not coincide with independent countries , in which people travel from any point in the world to any point in the world, a division in languages would be much more efficient and logical than the division per independent country they have made, which is much more complicated and does not offer a clear benefit for the traveller from a specific country to another specific country.
But the fact is that only independent countries and even with much less inhabitants than the Catalan speakers (9,5 million) do have the right to have an own version of Tripadvisor. Norway, for example, with only 4,5 million inhabitants and very few hotels does have an own Tripadvisor. Catalan citizens, who more than double the population of Norway, are not only excluded from Tripadvisors, our comments in Catalan language are DELETED!.
The conclusion is again: An own state would solve this injustice at once. Independent states even with much less inhabitants do get the privilege of having a version of Tripadvisor in own language.
4 comentaris:
With all do respect, it seems you are running out of reasons pretty quickly.
and frankly most of the prior ones dont hold much water.
europe is uniting and you want to separate?
your energy will be spent more productively creating.
Thanks for your time.
Hi Anònim.
Well, also with all my respect, I am not running out of reasons quickly at all. The reasons keep coming to my non stop. As a matter of fact, yesterday a new reason came along. The Catalan government has to cut 100% de expenses for promoting Catalan culture abroad, while Spain can go on spending millions of euros (Instituto Cervantes 90 million of euros). We catalans pay taxes so that they can promote their culture abroad. This will become a new article soon. Unfortunatelly I do not have much time at the moment to write articles.
It is very easy for someone whose culture, whose language and whose country is not being attacked and being protected by a souvereign state to say that my reasons do not hold much water. They do to me and to many people who read my posts, believe me.
Europe is uniting? I do not wish to separate from Europe, where did you read that? A Catalan state will be part of Europe.
And where did you read that the UK, France, Spain or Germany are willing to abandone their souvereign powers and dissolve into the a European state? Or even better, dissolve in another state? Europe is not uniting at all in this matter. Not one European state prefers to abolish its souvereign status.
And please:
Let ME decide in what I spend my energy and please, do not send again a message dedicated to me. This blog is not about me or you.
I do not wish to speak about you or me. I only want to speak about arguments and reflections on what I expose here. If you don't happen to have any arguments do not attack me personally.
Hello Miquel,
I didn't mean to attack you, I am sorry if it came out like that.
I do agree that is up to people that live in Catalonia to decide what they want proceeding forward.
I was born in Spain (left when I was a kid) and although I do not speak spanish nor really understand how even the spanish go on with their daily lives.. this matter somewhat interests me. (not enough to invest my emotions)
If say Catalonia does get their independence from spain... it will be a huge bomb in europe effecting great Britain, italy and other countries that have regions that want independence.
But speaking realistically, do you think Catalonia will get their independence?
thanks
My personal opinion is that it shall not be a 'bomb', it shall be a wake up call, a reorganisation of the way European people organize their administrations and their decisions. It will be also a reorganisation in economical terms. In the short term for Spain it will be difficult to accept, economically too. But Spain will be able to dedicate its time to develop in a different way, much closer to their true values than nowadays. In fact, that is what it is all about, developing a way of making decisions that are close to your values, your mentality. And in Spain one could not speak of a unified culture or unified mentality. The same happens in the UK with Scotland (and perhaps also with Whales) and certainly in the heart of Europe, Belgium. If Scotland, Vlaanderen, Catalonia and the Basque Country become new States members of the EU nothing is going to change much. I don't see a problem anywhere. It is the people's right to organize themselves as they wish. It is so for the French citizens as much as it should be for Catalans or Scotish people. And Europe will always accept this. It's called democracy and the rights of the people have been also described in the Charter of the United Nations.
I do think that Catalonia is slowly but surely walking towards independence. Democracy has always led to independence. Catalonia is today part of Spain (and France) due only to illegitimate military force.
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