This post is dedicated to aspects of what is always labelled ‘nationalism’ here in Spain but might sometimes better be called ‘regionalism’. It all rather depends on whether independence is part of the package demanded by any particular ‘nationalist’, which is not always the case. I will return to this shortly. But meanwhile . . .

My fellow blogger, John, who writes from Barcelona, recently replied as follows to an enquiry from a reader worried about moving there. I quote it as it reflects my own views about things here in Galicia:-

There is virtually no conflict among individuals over the language issue in Catalonia. . . . Half of the people prefer to use Spanish in the first place. The great majority of those whose first language is Catalan will be happy to use Spanish with you and the few jerks who won't are not people you'd want to spend time with, whatever language they speak. Also, if you know Spanish, then Catalan is pretty easy to understand and you'll pick it up quick, just by osmosis.

As others have said, look at it as an opportunity to enrich your family culturally. Agreed, Catalan is not a skill that would do anyone much practical good outside Catalonia. But being able to understand Catalan exposes you to a different culture, different books, different theater, different traditions, and so on, and that's an interesting and valuable experience.

My criticism of the Catalan language laws has nothing to do with disrespect for Catalan language and culture. I have no problem with the regional government encouraging Catalan, either, though I'm opposed to encouraging it with tax money. It's because I believe those laws are unconstitutional and will sooner or later be thrown out by the Constitutional Court, and I believe they're wrong because they discriminate against people who do not know Catalan or prefer to use Spanish.

So, back to things Galician. I’ve said several times that I’m all in favour of the Galician culture and language being promoted by the Xunta and the local councils but that there is a line beyond which this becomes wrong and, in my view, prejudicial to young Galicians. And, to be honest, I’ve characterised young men living with their parents but demanding independence for the ‘long-established but oppressed Galician nation’ as nutters. I still would. But, of course, there’s a wide spectrum of ‘Galician nationalism’ and these dreamers are at one end of it. I’ve previously suggested we refer to them as ‘Nationalists’, whereas the fine people at the other end with whose views I sympathise should be called ‘nationalists’. But this is still confusing. So this week I came up with what I think is a better term for those at the sensible extreme – ‘Galicianists’. I had hoped this was a neogilism of mine. So I was encouraged Word’s Spellcheck didn’t recognise it. However, a Google search confirmed it’s an established translation of the Gallego word ‘Galeguista’. Or ‘Galleguista’ in Spanish. And a Galician friend reminded me there is a political party in existence called El Partido Galeguista. Actually, it turns out this came into being in 1931 and was re-formed in 1978, 1985, 1991 and 2004. I’m not sure but it may well now be the ‘Partido Nacionalista Galego-Partido Galeguista’ (PNG) which is one of the members of the very broad church of the Galician Nationalist Block (BNG). According to the contributor to Wikipedia, this is a liberal democratic party. Which is fine with me. I think.

So, there you have it. I am now officially a Galicianist/Galeguista. As, I suspect, are most of the non-nutters who write to me. So, next month, I will cast my vote for my friend, the BNG mayor of Pontevedra, if only because – while he speaks to everyone else in Gallego – he does me the honour of talking in Spanish. Politics are as personal here as anywhere else. Beyond this, I may even become a candidate for the English-language branch of the Partido Galeguista, possibly after yet another re-formation. All those Brits now flooding here will need someone to look after their interests. Tomorrow, Galicia. The day after, Spain.

Meanwhile, if you’re a fully-fledged nutter, please don’t bother to write to abuse me and to tell me, for example, that Gallego is much more useful than Catalan as you can chat away quite happily in the Portuguese-sphere. I've heard enough Galician friends say this is not true to wonder at its accuracy. Anyway, it’s beside the point.

Finally, for those tempted to draw easy conclusions about the tragedy at Virginia Tech, here’s an interesting article.

And here's the web page of the PNG.