In Spain, very strange things happen that would be unthinkable in other countries, starting with the treatment our language receives.<\/p>\n
Spanish is an official language in 21 countries. It already has more than 600 million speakers<\/a>, of which 500 million are native speakers.<\/strong> It is one of the most widely spoken languages \u200b\u200bin the world, after Mandarin Chinese, English, and Hindi. We Spaniards have the honor that this language originated in our country<\/strong>, but sometimes it seems we forget its cultural value, while giving great importance to regional languages \u200b\u200bthat are very valuable but have a much smaller reach.<\/p>\n Let's look at an example. In 2010, the United Nations established April 23 as Spanish Language Day<\/strong>, in remembrance of Miguel de Cervantes, the most famous Spanish author of all time, who died on that date in 1616. Yesterday, on the occasion of this celebration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine published a message commemorating that day<\/a>:<\/p>\n \"On Spanish Language Day, Ukraine warmly greets the Spanish-speaking world.<\/strong> Spanish connects millions of people around the world and reminds us that even across different languages and distances, we are united by shared values and what we stand for. We deeply value every gesture of solidarity from Spanish-speaking nations during these challenging times.<\/strong> \u00a1Gracias a todas las voces hispanohablantes que apoyan a Ucrania!\"<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Embassy of Ukraine in Spain also commemorated this date<\/a>, reproducing in Spanish the message published by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A courteous gesture that is much appreciated.<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Spain didn't even mention Spanish Language Day.<\/strong> He published a message<\/a> about Book Day, ending with a message in Catalan, and separate messages congratulating the regional days of Castile and Le\u00f3n<\/a> and Aragon<\/a>. Not a single mention of the Spanish language on its international day.<\/strong><\/p>\n Even more surprising is that not even the Ministry of Culture commemorated that day<\/strong>, merely publishing a message<\/a> about Book Day, without mentioning our shared language. The only government message commemorating that day came from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs<\/a>, a message shared by Minister Jos\u00e9 Manuel Albares<\/a>.<\/p>\n One has to wonder if S\u00e1nchez's disdain for our shared language<\/strong>, something incomprehensible coming from the Prime Minister of Spain (I repeat: the country of origin of that language), is part of his agreements with separatist parties that express a clear hatred for this symbol of Spanish identity<\/strong>, simply because it hinders their secessionist plans. It is certainly regrettable that the Prime Minister of Spain didn't even remember to mention that day<\/strong>, as if instead of a day dedicated to the national language of Spain it were a day to celebrate Swahili or Cornish.<\/p>\n
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