The Language of Cervantes

There seems to be a degree of disquiet amongst some in Gibraltar at the prospect of an Instituto Cervantes opening up on the Rock. There are those who see this as a step towards osmosis. Others appear willing to tolerate it, but without much enthusiasm. I hope readers will permit me to share with them my belief that the opening of an Instituto Cervantes is something that should be welcomed. In doing so, I will make comments by which some may choose to feel offended. I hope that readers will not object to some candour from a friend.

I should start by confessing by own linguistic background. I am a languages graduate, in French and Spanish (in fact, I acted as an interpreter in the Supreme Court before I ever addressed it as an advocate) and married to a Spaniard. I have since university acquired a reasonable level of Italian. I am a non-Welsh-speaking Welshman whose native language is English.

Gibraltarians commonly assert that they are bilingual. It is true that many are raised with two languages (people who learn a second language later in life cannot be said to be bilingual, no matter how well they learn it). But Gibraltar should not be linguistically complacent, for it is evident to those raised in a monolingual English or Spanish speaking environment that some Gibraltarians’ command of both English and Spanish is not complete.

Although it is the medium of education, I not infrequently come across Gibraltarians of recent school-leaving age whose English is not only imperfect, but is on occasion hardly even functional. Spelling and grammar are poor (in fairness, both common faults in the UK too – and I’d better spell-check this piece very carefully). Although such people probably speak Spanish at home, can it be assumed with confidence that their Spanish will be significantly better than their English?

The answer is no. Some Spaniards may put down a Gibraltarian accent or the use of words peculiar to Gibraltar for political reasons, but Spanish speakers who are not Gib-bashers describe the Spanish spoken in Gibraltar as somewhat jarring, and I can recognise that many find anything other than low-register Spanish difficult. Spanish language spelling is nowhere near as difficult as English, but the general standard is still poor.

Does this matter? Some would say that it doesn’t. Formal Spanish is not necessary for conversing with friends and family, and if English is spoken in business or professional life, high-register Spanish isn’t needed there either.
 
There will be those who say that Gibraltar is not Spain, so there is no reason why Spanish should be well spoken here. Such opinions are, in my view, silly. Firstly, just because someone speaks Spanish well doesn’t mean they are a Spaniard – I imagine that Simon Bolivar spoke excellent Spanish, and the best modern Spanish language authors are not Spaniards (perhaps the Instituto García Márquez or Instituto Vargas Llosa would be more acceptable? I would prefer an Instituto Lucía Extebarría, but she is Spanish, hasn’t been dead for centuries and her sophisticated chic-lit is probably too readable for pretentious Spanish intellectual tastes)

Secondly, they assume that there is some virtue in monolingualism. There is no virtue in deliberate ignorance. The simple fact is that Gibraltar has a potentially valuable asset in its people’s knowledge of both English and Spanish. Not to cultivate this resource makes about as much sense as turning down an effective and side effect free cancer drug in favour of leaches, because the drug in question happened to be made in Spain.

Even the most vociferous anti-appeasement advocate would have to recognise that the ideal for Gibraltar would be to have friendly, neighbourly relations with Spain. That can only be helped by a thorough understanding of the Spanish language and all its nuances. The justice of Gibraltar’s cause can best be made to Spain if one is able to make it in the sort of register that educated Spanish speakers expect.

As someone from a country whose indigenous language has suffered persecution, the attitude of people towards the Spanish language is a little surprising. Take, for example, its usage in Court, or rather the lack thereof. Court proceedings are conducting in English. I was once permitted to examine a witness who decided, in the middle of giving his evidence, that he no longer wished to use English (the judge, who spoke Spanish, may have thought it a ploy, and who could blame him?) But Gibraltarians who speak Spanish at home and in their everyday lives are expected to use English when involved in court proceedings. Often the people in question have enough English to be able to participate in the proceedings, but in court, where there can be a lot on the line, one needs to be able to say exactly what one means. That means speaking a language that one has a complete command of, not one in which one can chapurrear.

I’m not sure that the Institito Cervantes will have large numbers seeking to improve their Spanish, and that’s something I regret. But I’m pretty confident that, even if it were flooded with students, osmosis would be some way off. A greater threat to Gibraltar’s future is, in my opinion, the scandalously high price of property that forces people to go and live in Spain. Wales has managed to preserve an identity distinct from England, despite the fact that most of us speak only English. Gibraltarians seem to me more assertive of their national identity than my own compatriots. An ability to express themselves in better Spanish would no more make a Gibraltarian into a Spaniard than the fact that I was raised speaking English makes me an Englishman.