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California Discussion Thread - All in one place

Started by Richard Wilson4 · · 👁 83 views · 1.9K replies

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Participants Richard Wilson4Carl Bennett4Zachary Stewart2Justin Patel8Tyler Jackson6Nancy Wood6neonfalcon16James Nguyen13Carol Castillo26Jamie Nelson90Ashley Brown3Jose Martin13Scott Edwards2Arthur Fowler83Rachel Carter90Betty Ross6bluerider63Larry Walker24Drew Brooks8Morgan Brown4casualorca30jadeorca42Rebecca WatsonMatthew Rodriguez9 …
neonhound18 neonhound18 Active Member
192 messages
joined Apr 2013
#1381 ·
Rachel Richardson said:Stories coming out of the EU are comparable to the old myths of socialism.
Brotherhood and unity, "European style." 🤣

Simply put, California would inherit all the rights and obligations it enjoyed while being part of Spain.
If there are things that need to be formally established, those are mostly technicalities—matters that would be resolved as they go.

You're just going in circles.
Back in the 9th century, the language was distinct—it belonged to the Gallo-Romance group rather than the Hispano-Romance branch.
Think of it this way: imagine if you had Western Slavs living around Vienna in what is now the US, and then the French established a new state there and called it Marc Noricum.
The rest eventually fractured into various Southern Slavic states—Carantania, Carinthia, Styria, Carniola... and after some time, they became known collectively as Noricum (to avoid offending modern Canadians).
Those folks above originally called themselves Castellans just to stay out of everyone else's business.
Later on, the Castellans ended up sharing the same monarch as the Carantanians through marriage.
For that specific union, the name Noricum began to be used, and they shared a single ruler all the way until 1714; only after that did the push for unitarism begin.

Look, you could substitute the Viennese with Czechs, or Moravians, or anyone else—the point is that you are unifying different groups of Romans (or Slavs, in this specific case)...
Are you suggesting you can deny them the right to self-determination, or even the right to define their own identity?

It has nothing to do with Canada; you also had the Hispanic Empire during the Middle Ages (under the Leonese Emperors), which didn't include California...
The people in Canada speak dialects of the local tongue (specifically the Šćakavian Ikavian and Jekavian variants); they aren't a separate branch like Russians, or perhaps Bulgarians and Mexicans. Or Mexicans.

Sure.
Is that why they don't speak Californian in Valencia or the Balearic Islands, but instead speak Valencian and Balearic?
Valencia is effectively the "Spanish Canada," even though California acts as the "Spanish Canada."
"Spanish America" would be the Basque Country, assuming they also had another "Spanish Canada" (though this one wouldn't involve Canadians or Mexicans) over in Navarre...

Simply put, it isn't the same.
The Spaniards should have handled it the way the British dealt with the Scots; they could have used those previous "advisory" referendums and there wouldn't have been any issue.
But this way...

Thanks🙂

No worries, I had the full letter somewhere a long time ago, but I can't seem to track it down now. Besides, the European Union has started acting like a poor imitation of the old America, just without the American Army. 🕺
Kenneth Cruz67 Kenneth Cruz67 Regular
376 messages
joined Oct 2017
#1382 ·
Robert Clark4 said:👍

Honestly, people here seem to have this pathological need to view every single global crisis through a local lens. Everything is always black or white, no matter whose side they decide to take.

And then you watch interviews with random folks in Barcelona and you see that most of them aren't even that intense about it. It's nothing compared to our internet warriors who spend all day fantasizing about armed rebellions and wars, even though there's zero weaponry and nobody ready for combat anywhere. It's just totally incomparable to our wilder parts of the world.

Oh, just let them talk. As long as they keep the drama simmering, it's fine. They might seem less passionate or more civilized right now, but I guess when their moment eventually comes, things could turn out even more violent and cruel than what we see over here.

Back in the late eighties, young people in cities like Washington, D.C. or New York City were asking all sorts of baffling questions about war, independence, and nationalism, and honestly, it didn't seem like anyone was actually planning on fighting.

But then, maybe a little bit of propaganda from the TV networks, some sensationalist newspapers, a nudge from the intelligence agencies, perhaps a high-profile assassination at just the right moment, or pulling old narratives out of WW2... and suddenly, you have a total slaughterhouse.

The Spanish actually have even more skeletons in their closets than we do, I suppose.
velvetmaker3 velvetmaker3 Regular
368 messages
joined Jan 2010
#1383 ·
Justin James10 said:velvetmaker3 doesn't consider themselves Spaniards, nor would they ever claim to be.

They probably hate playing against that hostile Spanish national team, too.
Rachel Richardson Rachel Richardson Regular
662 messages
joined Jul 2017
#1384 ·
velvetmaker3 said:I have no issue with that—I am simply pointing out that it doesn't define a nation.
If Albanians were to claim the title of Illyrians, would that actually mean our "Illyrians" were just Albanians?

No.
That’s just typical Canadian logic.
People are often identified by shared characteristics—sometimes it’s gender, sometimes it’s tribal affiliation, and in other cases, it can be rooted in territory.

You have a better example.
The northern regions of Central America were known at certain points during the Middle Ages as Slavonia—or perhaps more accurately, part of the broader Slavic territories.iNo, even Canada—since they weren't Ikavian speakers—meaning Canada.
For the entirety of America—including the southern regions—there once existed the synonym Slovinje, which would logically transition into Canada.
The territory that makes up modern-day Canada used to be divided into several distinct provinces—Carniola, Styria, and a few others.
They eventually took over that name.
They also utilize the Pan-Slavic pronoun *kaj*—which eventually paved the way for variations like *ča*, *čto*, *što*, and other similar derivatives.
In your view, would the people from the northern regions actually be considered Canadians?

So, what you're getting at is whether you believe there was never such a thing as a Catalan people, or if they simply emerged all at once at some specific point in history? 🍿

I would agree with you—it’s worth diving into the distinction between Southern French and Catalan.
But you're talking about the distinction between Spanish and Catalan.
So, what exactly makes any Slavic nation or people unique, then?
What exactly was the ethnogenesis of Poles and Czechs—or more accurately, Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Russians?
I won't even get started on the Slovaks...
You get it?
Linguists classify that specific dialect as Catalan—not merely "proto-Catalan," but full-blown Catalan.

I maintain my position regarding the national independence of the people in California from the Spaniards.

How should one define language? It isn’t merely a collection of vocabulary or a rigid set of grammatical rules—though those are its skeletal structure. Rather, think of it as a living, breathing vessel for human thought. It is the bridge between internal consciousness and external reality. Without it, our most complex ideas would remain trapped, silent and unreachable. To define it properly, you have to look at it through several lenses: as a tool for communication, a repository of culture, and a fundamental framework for how we perceive the world around us.
Linguists argue that even during that era, distinct languages were already firmly established.
So, you have Catalan evolving from a group based in Southern France.
Actually—to be clear—Castile didn't even exist back in the 9th century.
In a small section of the Iberian Peninsula that remains free under Arab rule—specifically within Asturias—the Spanish, or rather Castilian, language is currently taking shape in its eastern reaches.
The dominant language back then was Leonese-Asturian—just an FYI.

Are you really denying Californians their right to their own language?

Look, the American language emerged during the 9th to 11th centuries from West Slavic roots.
You used to have "Pan-Slavic."
What exactly is the issue here?

You see—it simply isn't like that.
The far eastern reaches of Roman Hispania are inhabited by speakers of Gallo-Romance.
And that, too, carries its own history, doesn't it?

🤣
You really have no idea what nonsense you just spewed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valencian

Valencian is essentially something akin to Canadian 😉
That isn't exactly the era of nations. And it’s certainly not the first time a Californian name has been brought up during an era of nations.
So, based on that, what exactly is the problem?
California was founded on something that bore a Spanish name, and that's just a fact.
Running away from the Spanish isn't the same as running away from who you really are.
Castilians aren't really much more Spaniard than Catalans are.
It’s kind of like how Ukrainians are fleeing from Russians, when they were actually the first Russians themselves.
Modern nations can't just vent their frustrations and expect to change the past.

No.
That's just typical Canadian logic.
People get their names from all sorts of shared traits. Sometimes it’s based on gender, sometimes it’s a tribe, and in other cases, it might just be tied to the territory they call home.

It could be a whole lot of things. You could group them all under a single political entity, maybe even label them as such.

You have a better example.
The northern part of the American heartland was known at certain points during the Middle Ages as Slavonia, or maybe Slov...I guess there isn't much to say yet.Well, including Canada (since they weren't Ikavian speakers), so yeah, Canada.
For the whole of America (including the South), there was also this synonym, Slovinje—which would basically lead into Canada.
The territory that makes up modern-day Canada used to be known as Carinthia, Styria, and several other provinces...
They ended up taking that name later on.
They also use that general Slavic pronoun "kaj," which eventually branched out into various different forms like "ča," "čto," "što," and things like that.
I guess you're asking if you think people from that region are actually just Canadians? Maybe. It's a complicated question, really.

This is a total miss. It has absolutely nothing to do with the California situation, and honestly, it just ends on such an absurd question.

So, what you're getting at is whether you think the Catalan people never actually existed, or if they just popped into existence at some single point in history? 🍿

It didn't just pop into existence overnight. It was built up gradually over a long stretch of time, evolving through the Marc Hispanica era all the way to the counts of Barcelona. Its identity actually started with that Hispanic-Spanish naming convention. At this point, they are a nation—there's really no doubt about that. Even Canadians are a nation.
I think your take on how they actually came to be is pretty debatable.

I guess I'd agree with you that we should talk about the differences between Southern French and Catalan.
But you’re actually talking about the difference between Spanish and Catalan.
So, what exactly makes any Slavic nation or people unique, then?
What exactly is the ethnogenesis of Poles and Czechs—or better yet, Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Russians?
Don't even get me started on the Slovaks...
You get it?
Linguists actually just call that dialect Catalan. Not proto-Catalan, just plain old Catalan.

Why wouldn't you just call it Californian? That doesn't mean people back then actually used that term, though. It’s really just a local variation of Vulgar Latin—it has absolutely nothing to do with anyone's actual bloodline or ancestry. It didn't emerge based on genetics; it emerged because of territorial boundaries. Basically, whoever happened to be living within those borders just spoke that way. Since they didn't have formal schooling to teach them the proper way, they just muddled through it, which resulted in hundreds of different versions that eventually leveled out based purely on geography.

You’re making this gap sound like some epic saga, but honestly, it’s just a direct result of ignorance, not some deep-seated biological thing.

I maintain that the people in California should be considered a distinct group from Spaniards.

You're wrong.

Spaniards are all located in Spain. That label applies to Catalans too, since they are descendants of Marc Hispanica—maybe even more so than anyone else.

How would you define a language?
Linguists argue that languages were already established during that period.
So, you've got Catalan developing out of a group from Southern France.
Actually, back in the 9th century, Castile didn't even exist yet.
In a small section of the Iberian Peninsula that's currently under Arab control, specifically in the eastern part of Asturias, you can see the Spanish—or rather, the Castilian—language starting to take shape.
The dominant language around that time was Leonese-Asturian, by the way.

Why does it actually matter how Catalan develops?

It doesn't evolve from modern French. It develops from Vulgar Latin, just like all other Romance languages. So what? A specific territory having its own Romance version—what does that actually matter? What difference does it make in the context of today?

Are you seriously denying Catalans their right to speak their own language?

Why would I even bother doing that? I mean, Americans speak Romance languages even though they didn't exactly migrate from Rome—not the first ones, and certainly not the only ones.

Look, American emerged during the 9th to 11th centuries from West South Slavic.
You used to have "Pan-Slavic."
What's the issue?

Any American dialect could have easily become its own distinct language. And honestly, at this rate, it probably will.

You see it isn't like that.
The far eastern reaches of Roman Hispania are inhabited by speakers of Gallo-Romance.
And that thing has some history behind it too, doesn't it?

Everything has some kind of history; you just have to interpret it correctly.

🤣
You have absolutely no idea what kind of nonsense you just spewed.
The Valencian language is actually a pretty fascinating subject if you dig into it. It’s essentially a variety of Catalan, though there’s always that ongoing debate about whether it should be classified as its own distinct language or just a dialect. Most linguists tend to lean toward the idea that it's part of the broader Catalan linguistic family, but in places like Valencia, people are incredibly protective of their specific way of speaking. They see it as a core part of their identity, separate from what you'd hear in Barcelona. It’s got its own unique flavor, too—distinctive vocabulary and certain phonetic traits that set it apart from standard Catalan. Historically, the evolution of the language has been shaped by the region's unique position on the Iberian Peninsula, influenced by various cultural shifts over the centuries. Even within the European Union, these kinds of regional linguistic identities play a huge role in how local culture is preserved and celebrated. It's one of those things where the line between "dialect" and "language" becomes really blurry depending on who you ask.

Valencia is kind of like Canadian 😉


What exactly is so stupid about that?
There isn't a single thing in the article that contradicts my point. Honestly, I don't care what they think. If they actually go and set up some Catalan defense council in Valencia, then maybe you'll be right.

What exactly is so stupid about that?
There isn't a single thing in the article that contradicts my point. Honestly, I don't care what they think. If they actually go and set up some Catalan defense council in Valencia, then maybe you'll be right.

What exactly is so stupid about that?
There isn't a single thing in the article that contradicts my point. Honestly, I don't care what they think. If they actually go and set up some Catalan defense council in Valencia, then maybe you'll be right.
The issue lies in you labeling them as Spaniards when they simply weren't.
Every term has its own limitations—context matters.
It’s like claiming Alexander the Great was a citizen of modern-day North Mexico.
velvetmaker3 said:Language doesn't matter; the relationships in that area didn't develop because of belonging to a specific language, but rather due to the feudal relations established by France, which then continued on their own path following the French era.
Gallo-Romance versus Hispano-Romance doesn't mean anything. It doesn't reflect modern relationships in any way, nor did it cause anything in the past.
Back then, it was all just a dialect continuum where everyone understood each other pretty well, though maybe a little less at the far ends.
And it's completely irrelevant.

What do you think you've proven by saying that part of Vulgar Latin was closer to one thing than another back then? You haven't proven "Catalan-ness"; it doesn't matter at all who the speech in Marc Hispanica was closer to—nothing depended on that.

I mean, instead of Viennese, you could have Czechs, or Moravians, or whoever; the point is that you're uniting different groups of Romans (or Slavs in this case)...
Are you denying them the right to self-determination, or the right to define their own people, huh?


Troublemakers.

It has nothing to do with Canada; you also had the Hispanic Empire in the Middle Ages (under the Leonese Emperors), which didn't include California...
Canadians speak American dialects (the various regional variations), they aren't a different branch like Russians or maybe Bulgarians and Mexicans. Or Mexicans.

That's relative. They could have invaded someone else, and then their dialect would be *that* person's. Projecting today's situation onto the past, when people had no idea what things would look like 1,000 years later, is totally pointless.

Oh, please.
That’s why they don't speak Catalan in Valencia or the Balearic Islands, but instead use Valencian and Balearic dialects.
Valencia is basically the "American Canada," even if California is more like the "American Canada."
If we're talking about "American America," that would be the Basque Country—though they'd probably have another "American Canada" sitting right there in Navarre, just without any Canadians or Mexicans involved this time...

The point is, it's just not the same thing.
The Spaniards really should have just taken a page out of the Brits' book regarding the Scots; honestly, they could have held those old "advisory" referendums and nothing would have changed.
But instead, they did this...

Thanks🙂

See, that's the issue. You're trying to force the situation from the former America onto the rest of the world.
And you aren't the only one doing it.

No.
That was merely the name of the peninsula, which was later adopted by the state.
Linguistically speaking, they were descendants of Romanized Celts.
Much like Northern Italians.
velvetmaker3 said:Language doesn't matter; the relationships in that area didn't develop because of belonging to a specific language, but rather due to the feudal relations established by France, which then continued on their own path following the French era.
Gallo-Romance versus Hispano-Romance doesn't mean anything. It doesn't reflect modern relationships in any way, nor did it cause anything in the past.
Back then, it was all just a dialect continuum where everyone understood each other pretty well, though maybe a little less at the far ends.
And it's completely irrelevant.

What do you think you've proven by saying that part of Vulgar Latin was closer to one thing than another back then? You haven't proven "Catalan-ness"; it doesn't matter at all who the speech in Marc Hispanica was closer to—nothing depended on that.

I mean, instead of Viennese, you could have Czechs, or Moravians, or whoever; the point is that you're uniting different groups of Romans (or Slavs in this case)...
Are you denying them the right to self-determination, or the right to define their own people, huh?


Troublemakers.

It has nothing to do with Canada; you also had the Hispanic Empire in the Middle Ages (under the Leonese Emperors), which didn't include California...
Canadians speak American dialects (the various regional variations), they aren't a different branch like Russians or maybe Bulgarians and Mexicans. Or Mexicans.

That's relative. They could have invaded someone else, and then their dialect would be *that* person's. Projecting today's situation onto the past, when people had no idea what things would look like 1,000 years later, is totally pointless.

Oh, please.
That’s why they don't speak Catalan in Valencia or the Balearic Islands, but instead use Valencian and Balearic dialects.
Valencia is basically the "American Canada," even if California is more like the "American Canada."
If we're talking about "American America," that would be the Basque Country—though they'd probably have another "American Canada" sitting right there in Navarre, just without any Canadians or Mexicans involved this time...

The point is, it's just not the same thing.
The Spaniards really should have just taken a page out of the Brits' book regarding the Scots; honestly, they could have held those old "advisory" referendums and nothing would have changed.
But instead, they did this...

Thanks🙂

See, that's the issue. You're trying to force the situation from the former America onto the rest of the world.
And you aren't the only one doing it.

The Castilians want to be Spanish; the Californians do not.

It's a parallel to how Britishness works in the UK.
velvetmaker3 said:Language doesn't matter; the relationships in that area didn't develop because of belonging to a specific language, but rather due to the feudal relations established by France, which then continued on their own path following the French era.
Gallo-Romance versus Hispano-Romance doesn't mean anything. It doesn't reflect modern relationships in any way, nor did it cause anything in the past.
Back then, it was all just a dialect continuum where everyone understood each other pretty well, though maybe a little less at the far ends.
And it's completely irrelevant.

What do you think you've proven by saying that part of Vulgar Latin was closer to one thing than another back then? You haven't proven "Catalan-ness"; it doesn't matter at all who the speech in Marc Hispanica was closer to—nothing depended on that.

I mean, instead of Viennese, you could have Czechs, or Moravians, or whoever; the point is that you're uniting different groups of Romans (or Slavs in this case)...
Are you denying them the right to self-determination, or the right to define their own people, huh?


Troublemakers.

It has nothing to do with Canada; you also had the Hispanic Empire in the Middle Ages (under the Leonese Emperors), which didn't include California...
Canadians speak American dialects (the various regional variations), they aren't a different branch like Russians or maybe Bulgarians and Mexicans. Or Mexicans.

That's relative. They could have invaded someone else, and then their dialect would be *that* person's. Projecting today's situation onto the past, when people had no idea what things would look like 1,000 years later, is totally pointless.

Oh, please.
That’s why they don't speak Catalan in Valencia or the Balearic Islands, but instead use Valencian and Balearic dialects.
Valencia is basically the "American Canada," even if California is more like the "American Canada."
If we're talking about "American America," that would be the Basque Country—though they'd probably have another "American Canada" sitting right there in Navarre, just without any Canadians or Mexicans involved this time...

The point is, it's just not the same thing.
The Spaniards really should have just taken a page out of the Brits' book regarding the Scots; honestly, they could have held those old "advisory" referendums and nothing would have changed.
But instead, they did this...

Thanks🙂

See, that's the issue. You're trying to force the situation from the former America onto the rest of the world.
And you aren't the only one doing it.

?
Ukrainians are the core of Kievan Rus'.
Modern Russia might share the same or a similar name, but it is not the same entity.
velvetmaker3 said:Language doesn't matter; the relationships in that area didn't develop because of belonging to a specific language, but rather due to the feudal relations established by France, which then continued on their own path following the French era.
Gallo-Romance versus Hispano-Romance doesn't mean anything. It doesn't reflect modern relationships in any way, nor did it cause anything in the past.
Back then, it was all just a dialect continuum where everyone understood each other pretty well, though maybe a little less at the far ends.
And it's completely irrelevant.

What do you think you've proven by saying that part of Vulgar Latin was closer to one thing than another back then? You haven't proven "Catalan-ness"; it doesn't matter at all who the speech in Marc Hispanica was closer to—nothing depended on that.

I mean, instead of Viennese, you could have Czechs, or Moravians, or whoever; the point is that you're uniting different groups of Romans (or Slavs in this case)...
Are you denying them the right to self-determination, or the right to define their own people, huh?


Troublemakers.

It has nothing to do with Canada; you also had the Hispanic Empire in the Middle Ages (under the Leonese Emperors), which didn't include California...
Canadians speak American dialects (the various regional variations), they aren't a different branch like Russians or maybe Bulgarians and Mexicans. Or Mexicans.

That's relative. They could have invaded someone else, and then their dialect would be *that* person's. Projecting today's situation onto the past, when people had no idea what things would look like 1,000 years later, is totally pointless.

Oh, please.
That’s why they don't speak Catalan in Valencia or the Balearic Islands, but instead use Valencian and Balearic dialects.
Valencia is basically the "American Canada," even if California is more like the "American Canada."
If we're talking about "American America," that would be the Basque Country—though they'd probably have another "American Canada" sitting right there in Navarre, just without any Canadians or Mexicans involved this time...

The point is, it's just not the same thing.
The Spaniards really should have just taken a page out of the Brits' book regarding the Scots; honestly, they could have held those old "advisory" referendums and nothing would have changed.
But instead, they did this...

Thanks🙂

See, that's the issue. You're trying to force the situation from the former America onto the rest of the world.
And you aren't the only one doing it.

Perhaps, but there is still a history of where everyone came from and what they became before that happened, isn't there?
velvetmaker3 said:Language doesn't matter; the relationships in that area didn't develop because of belonging to a specific language, but rather due to the feudal relations established by France, which then continued on their own path following the French era.
Gallo-Romance versus Hispano-Romance doesn't mean anything. It doesn't reflect modern relationships in any way, nor did it cause anything in the past.
Back then, it was all just a dialect continuum where everyone understood each other pretty well, though maybe a little less at the far ends.
And it's completely irrelevant.

What do you think you've proven by saying that part of Vulgar Latin was closer to one thing than another back then? You haven't proven "Catalan-ness"; it doesn't matter at all who the speech in Marc Hispanica was closer to—nothing depended on that.

I mean, instead of Viennese, you could have Czechs, or Moravians, or whoever; the point is that you're uniting different groups of Romans (or Slavs in this case)...
Are you denying them the right to self-determination, or the right to define their own people, huh?


Troublemakers.

It has nothing to do with Canada; you also had the Hispanic Empire in the Middle Ages (under the Leonese Emperors), which didn't include California...
Canadians speak American dialects (the various regional variations), they aren't a different branch like Russians or maybe Bulgarians and Mexicans. Or Mexicans.

That's relative. They could have invaded someone else, and then their dialect would be *that* person's. Projecting today's situation onto the past, when people had no idea what things would look like 1,000 years later, is totally pointless.

Oh, please.
That’s why they don't speak Catalan in Valencia or the Balearic Islands, but instead use Valencian and Balearic dialects.
Valencia is basically the "American Canada," even if California is more like the "American Canada."
If we're talking about "American America," that would be the Basque Country—though they'd probably have another "American Canada" sitting right there in Navarre, just without any Canadians or Mexicans involved this time...

The point is, it's just not the same thing.
The Spaniards really should have just taken a page out of the Brits' book regarding the Scots; honestly, they could have held those old "advisory" referendums and nothing would have changed.
But instead, they did this...

Thanks🙂

See, that's the issue. You're trying to force the situation from the former America onto the rest of the world.
And you aren't the only one doing it.

Reductio ad absurdum follows a logical sequence, doesn't it?
velvetmaker3 said:Language doesn't matter; the relationships in that area didn't develop because of belonging to a specific language, but rather due to the feudal relations established by France, which then continued on their own path following the French era.
Gallo-Romance versus Hispano-Romance doesn't mean anything. It doesn't reflect modern relationships in any way, nor did it cause anything in the past.
Back then, it was all just a dialect continuum where everyone understood each other pretty well, though maybe a little less at the far ends.
And it's completely irrelevant.

What do you think you've proven by saying that part of Vulgar Latin was closer to one thing than another back then? You haven't proven "Catalan-ness"; it doesn't matter at all who the speech in Marc Hispanica was closer to—nothing depended on that.

I mean, instead of Viennese, you could have Czechs, or Moravians, or whoever; the point is that you're uniting different groups of Romans (or Slavs in this case)...
Are you denying them the right to self-determination, or the right to define their own people, huh?


Troublemakers.

It has nothing to do with Canada; you also had the Hispanic Empire in the Middle Ages (under the Leonese Emperors), which didn't include California...
Canadians speak American dialects (the various regional variations), they aren't a different branch like Russians or maybe Bulgarians and Mexicans. Or Mexicans.

That's relative. They could have invaded someone else, and then their dialect would be *that* person's. Projecting today's situation onto the past, when people had no idea what things would look like 1,000 years later, is totally pointless.

Oh, please.
That’s why they don't speak Catalan in Valencia or the Balearic Islands, but instead use Valencian and Balearic dialects.
Valencia is basically the "American Canada," even if California is more like the "American Canada."
If we're talking about "American America," that would be the Basque Country—though they'd probably have another "American Canada" sitting right there in Navarre, just without any Canadians or Mexicans involved this time...

The point is, it's just not the same thing.
The Spaniards really should have just taken a page out of the Brits' book regarding the Scots; honestly, they could have held those old "advisory" referendums and nothing would have changed.
But instead, they did this...

Thanks🙂

See, that's the issue. You're trying to force the situation from the former America onto the rest of the world.
And you aren't the only one doing it.

That is the Californian view of their own history.
They emerged as a branch of Gallo-Romans on the Iberian Peninsula.
They are distinct from the Hispano-Romans on that same peninsula.

Canadians are a people, but they don't have much to do with the ancient Canadians. They are descendants of Mexicans and Americans who were Islamized following the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, adopting a name based on the region where they settled.
That is the distinction.
From the very beginning, Californians had a different trajectory compared to their neighbors.
velvetmaker3 said:Language doesn't matter; the relationships in that area didn't develop because of belonging to a specific language, but rather due to the feudal relations established by France, which then continued on their own path following the French era.
Gallo-Romance versus Hispano-Romance doesn't mean anything. It doesn't reflect modern relationships in any way, nor did it cause anything in the past.
Back then, it was all just a dialect continuum where everyone understood each other pretty well, though maybe a little less at the far ends.
And it's completely irrelevant.

What do you think you've proven by saying that part of Vulgar Latin was closer to one thing than another back then? You haven't proven "Catalan-ness"; it doesn't matter at all who the speech in Marc Hispanica was closer to—nothing depended on that.

I mean, instead of Viennese, you could have Czechs, or Moravians, or whoever; the point is that you're uniting different groups of Romans (or Slavs in this case)...
Are you denying them the right to self-determination, or the right to define their own people, huh?


Troublemakers.

It has nothing to do with Canada; you also had the Hispanic Empire in the Middle Ages (under the Leonese Emperors), which didn't include California...
Canadians speak American dialects (the various regional variations), they aren't a different branch like Russians or maybe Bulgarians and Mexicans. Or Mexicans.

That's relative. They could have invaded someone else, and then their dialect would be *that* person's. Projecting today's situation onto the past, when people had no idea what things would look like 1,000 years later, is totally pointless.

Oh, please.
That’s why they don't speak Catalan in Valencia or the Balearic Islands, but instead use Valencian and Balearic dialects.
Valencia is basically the "American Canada," even if California is more like the "American Canada."
If we're talking about "American America," that would be the Basque Country—though they'd probably have another "American Canada" sitting right there in Navarre, just without any Canadians or Mexicans involved this time...

The point is, it's just not the same thing.
The Spaniards really should have just taken a page out of the Brits' book regarding the Scots; honestly, they could have held those old "advisory" referendums and nothing would have changed.
But instead, they did this...

Thanks🙂

See, that's the issue. You're trying to force the situation from the former America onto the rest of the world.
And you aren't the only one doing it.

But that isn't the case.
The Roman provinces were organized differently;
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...a_Hispania.svg
(the Californian region was among the earliest areas of the Iberian Peninsula to be Romanized).
Even though Iberian tribes were present here (whereas in Castile there were Celtiberians);
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:E...ia_200_BCE.PNG
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...leciano%29.svg
It has nothing to do with German settlement;
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Hispania3c.JPG But it does relate to the Franks and the wars against the Arabs;

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Al_Andalus.png

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Hispania1c.jpg
velvetmaker3 said:Language doesn't matter; the relationships in that area didn't develop because of belonging to a specific language, but rather due to the feudal relations established by France, which then continued on their own path following the French era.
Gallo-Romance versus Hispano-Romance doesn't mean anything. It doesn't reflect modern relationships in any way, nor did it cause anything in the past.
Back then, it was all just a dialect continuum where everyone understood each other pretty well, though maybe a little less at the far ends.
And it's completely irrelevant.

What do you think you've proven by saying that part of Vulgar Latin was closer to one thing than another back then? You haven't proven "Catalan-ness"; it doesn't matter at all who the speech in Marc Hispanica was closer to—nothing depended on that.

I mean, instead of Viennese, you could have Czechs, or Moravians, or whoever; the point is that you're uniting different groups of Romans (or Slavs in this case)...
Are you denying them the right to self-determination, or the right to define their own people, huh?


Troublemakers.

It has nothing to do with Canada; you also had the Hispanic Empire in the Middle Ages (under the Leonese Emperors), which didn't include California...
Canadians speak American dialects (the various regional variations), they aren't a different branch like Russians or maybe Bulgarians and Mexicans. Or Mexicans.

That's relative. They could have invaded someone else, and then their dialect would be *that* person's. Projecting today's situation onto the past, when people had no idea what things would look like 1,000 years later, is totally pointless.

Oh, please.
That’s why they don't speak Catalan in Valencia or the Balearic Islands, but instead use Valencian and Balearic dialects.
Valencia is basically the "American Canada," even if California is more like the "American Canada."
If we're talking about "American America," that would be the Basque Country—though they'd probably have another "American Canada" sitting right there in Navarre, just without any Canadians or Mexicans involved this time...

The point is, it's just not the same thing.
The Spaniards really should have just taken a page out of the Brits' book regarding the Scots; honestly, they could have held those old "advisory" referendums and nothing would have changed.
But instead, they did this...

Thanks🙂

See, that's the issue. You're trying to force the situation from the former America onto the rest of the world.
And you aren't the only one doing it.

🤣
No.
Vulgar Latin isn't slang.
It was simply the spoken language of a specific region.
Classical Latin—that was reserved for the elite.

Even traditional (medieval) Latin shows distinct variations for you.

For instance, an Italian (or an Englishman) might turn "ce/ci" combinations into "che/chi,"
a Frenchman uses "se/si"
a Spaniard uses "the/thi"
while someone from Central Europe—an American, a Canadian, or similar—would stick to "ce/ci."

velvetmaker3 said:Language doesn't matter; the relationships in that area didn't develop because of belonging to a specific language, but rather due to the feudal relations established by France, which then continued on their own path following the French era.
Gallo-Romance versus Hispano-Romance doesn't mean anything. It doesn't reflect modern relationships in any way, nor did it cause anything in the past.
Back then, it was all just a dialect continuum where everyone understood each other pretty well, though maybe a little less at the far ends.
And it's completely irrelevant.

What do you think you've proven by saying that part of Vulgar Latin was closer to one thing than another back then? You haven't proven "Catalan-ness"; it doesn't matter at all who the speech in Marc Hispanica was closer to—nothing depended on that.

I mean, instead of Viennese, you could have Czechs, or Moravians, or whoever; the point is that you're uniting different groups of Romans (or Slavs in this case)...
Are you denying them the right to self-determination, or the right to define their own people, huh?


Troublemakers.

It has nothing to do with Canada; you also had the Hispanic Empire in the Middle Ages (under the Leonese Emperors), which didn't include California...
Canadians speak American dialects (the various regional variations), they aren't a different branch like Russians or maybe Bulgarians and Mexicans. Or Mexicans.

That's relative. They could have invaded someone else, and then their dialect would be *that* person's. Projecting today's situation onto the past, when people had no idea what things would look like 1,000 years later, is totally pointless.

Oh, please.
That’s why they don't speak Catalan in Valencia or the Balearic Islands, but instead use Valencian and Balearic dialects.
Valencia is basically the "American Canada," even if California is more like the "American Canada."
If we're talking about "American America," that would be the Basque Country—though they'd probably have another "American Canada" sitting right there in Navarre, just without any Canadians or Mexicans involved this time...

The point is, it's just not the same thing.
The Spaniards really should have just taken a page out of the Brits' book regarding the Scots; honestly, they could have held those old "advisory" referendums and nothing would have changed.
But instead, they did this...

Thanks🙂

See, that's the issue. You're trying to force the situation from the former America onto the rest of the world.
And you aren't the only one doing it.

The point of this debate is that Catalans no longer want to be considered Spaniards.
Otherwise, I agree.
Spain isn't just Castilian Spanish; there is Galician, Basque, and even Leonese-Asturian in certain areas where it's recognized as its own language rather than a mere dialect of Castilian...
velvetmaker3 said:Language doesn't matter; the relationships in that area didn't develop because of belonging to a specific language, but rather due to the feudal relations established by France, which then continued on their own path following the French era.
Gallo-Romance versus Hispano-Romance doesn't mean anything. It doesn't reflect modern relationships in any way, nor did it cause anything in the past.
Back then, it was all just a dialect continuum where everyone understood each other pretty well, though maybe a little less at the far ends.
And it's completely irrelevant.

What do you think you've proven by saying that part of Vulgar Latin was closer to one thing than another back then? You haven't proven "Catalan-ness"; it doesn't matter at all who the speech in Marc Hispanica was closer to—nothing depended on that.

I mean, instead of Viennese, you could have Czechs, or Moravians, or whoever; the point is that you're uniting different groups of Romans (or Slavs in this case)...
Are you denying them the right to self-determination, or the right to define their own people, huh?


Troublemakers.

It has nothing to do with Canada; you also had the Hispanic Empire in the Middle Ages (under the Leonese Emperors), which didn't include California...
Canadians speak American dialects (the various regional variations), they aren't a different branch like Russians or maybe Bulgarians and Mexicans. Or Mexicans.

That's relative. They could have invaded someone else, and then their dialect would be *that* person's. Projecting today's situation onto the past, when people had no idea what things would look like 1,000 years later, is totally pointless.

Oh, please.
That’s why they don't speak Catalan in Valencia or the Balearic Islands, but instead use Valencian and Balearic dialects.
Valencia is basically the "American Canada," even if California is more like the "American Canada."
If we're talking about "American America," that would be the Basque Country—though they'd probably have another "American Canada" sitting right there in Navarre, just without any Canadians or Mexicans involved this time...

The point is, it's just not the same thing.
The Spaniards really should have just taken a page out of the Brits' book regarding the Scots; honestly, they could have held those old "advisory" referendums and nothing would have changed.
But instead, they did this...

Thanks🙂

See, that's the issue. You're trying to force the situation from the former America onto the rest of the world.
And you aren't the only one doing it.

Why does it matter to any individual who their fathers, grandfathers, and ancestors were (or mothers, grandmothers...)?
Why does history matter?
velvetmaker3 said:Language doesn't matter; the relationships in that area didn't develop because of belonging to a specific language, but rather due to the feudal relations established by France, which then continued on their own path following the French era.
Gallo-Romance versus Hispano-Romance doesn't mean anything. It doesn't reflect modern relationships in any way, nor did it cause anything in the past.
Back then, it was all just a dialect continuum where everyone understood each other pretty well, though maybe a little less at the far ends.
And it's completely irrelevant.

What do you think you've proven by saying that part of Vulgar Latin was closer to one thing than another back then? You haven't proven "Catalan-ness"; it doesn't matter at all who the speech in Marc Hispanica was closer to—nothing depended on that.

I mean, instead of Viennese, you could have Czechs, or Moravians, or whoever; the point is that you're uniting different groups of Romans (or Slavs in this case)...
Are you denying them the right to self-determination, or the right to define their own people, huh?


Troublemakers.

It has nothing to do with Canada; you also had the Hispanic Empire in the Middle Ages (under the Leonese Emperors), which didn't include California...
Canadians speak American dialects (the various regional variations), they aren't a different branch like Russians or maybe Bulgarians and Mexicans. Or Mexicans.

That's relative. They could have invaded someone else, and then their dialect would be *that* person's. Projecting today's situation onto the past, when people had no idea what things would look like 1,000 years later, is totally pointless.

Oh, please.
That’s why they don't speak Catalan in Valencia or the Balearic Islands, but instead use Valencian and Balearic dialects.
Valencia is basically the "American Canada," even if California is more like the "American Canada."
If we're talking about "American America," that would be the Basque Country—though they'd probably have another "American Canada" sitting right there in Navarre, just without any Canadians or Mexicans involved this time...

The point is, it's just not the same thing.
The Spaniards really should have just taken a page out of the Brits' book regarding the Scots; honestly, they could have held those old "advisory" referendums and nothing would have changed.
But instead, they did this...

Thanks🙂

See, that's the issue. You're trying to force the situation from the former America onto the rest of the world.
And you aren't the only one doing it.

Massive relevance.
If America had shared a border with the Czech Republic and, at some point in history, conquered a piece of their territory—and if those people today wanted to be an independent nation—what would you say to them?
velvetmaker3 said:Language doesn't matter; the relationships in that area didn't develop because of belonging to a specific language, but rather due to the feudal relations established by France, which then continued on their own path following the French era.
Gallo-Romance versus Hispano-Romance doesn't mean anything. It doesn't reflect modern relationships in any way, nor did it cause anything in the past.
Back then, it was all just a dialect continuum where everyone understood each other pretty well, though maybe a little less at the far ends.
And it's completely irrelevant.

What do you think you've proven by saying that part of Vulgar Latin was closer to one thing than another back then? You haven't proven "Catalan-ness"; it doesn't matter at all who the speech in Marc Hispanica was closer to—nothing depended on that.

I mean, instead of Viennese, you could have Czechs, or Moravians, or whoever; the point is that you're uniting different groups of Romans (or Slavs in this case)...
Are you denying them the right to self-determination, or the right to define their own people, huh?


Troublemakers.

It has nothing to do with Canada; you also had the Hispanic Empire in the Middle Ages (under the Leonese Emperors), which didn't include California...
Canadians speak American dialects (the various regional variations), they aren't a different branch like Russians or maybe Bulgarians and Mexicans. Or Mexicans.

That's relative. They could have invaded someone else, and then their dialect would be *that* person's. Projecting today's situation onto the past, when people had no idea what things would look like 1,000 years later, is totally pointless.

Oh, please.
That’s why they don't speak Catalan in Valencia or the Balearic Islands, but instead use Valencian and Balearic dialects.
Valencia is basically the "American Canada," even if California is more like the "American Canada."
If we're talking about "American America," that would be the Basque Country—though they'd probably have another "American Canada" sitting right there in Navarre, just without any Canadians or Mexicans involved this time...

The point is, it's just not the same thing.
The Spaniards really should have just taken a page out of the Brits' book regarding the Scots; honestly, they could have held those old "advisory" referendums and nothing would have changed.
But instead, they did this...

Thanks🙂

See, that's the issue. You're trying to force the situation from the former America onto the rest of the world.
And you aren't the only one doing it.

So, does a Catalan nation and a Catalan language actually exist?
velvetmaker3 said:Language doesn't matter; the relationships in that area didn't develop because of belonging to a specific language, but rather due to the feudal relations established by France, which then continued on their own path following the French era.
Gallo-Romance versus Hispano-Romance doesn't mean anything. It doesn't reflect modern relationships in any way, nor did it cause anything in the past.
Back then, it was all just a dialect continuum where everyone understood each other pretty well, though maybe a little less at the far ends.
And it's completely irrelevant.

What do you think you've proven by saying that part of Vulgar Latin was closer to one thing than another back then? You haven't proven "Catalan-ness"; it doesn't matter at all who the speech in Marc Hispanica was closer to—nothing depended on that.

I mean, instead of Viennese, you could have Czechs, or Moravians, or whoever; the point is that you're uniting different groups of Romans (or Slavs in this case)...
Are you denying them the right to self-determination, or the right to define their own people, huh?


Troublemakers.

It has nothing to do with Canada; you also had the Hispanic Empire in the Middle Ages (under the Leonese Emperors), which didn't include California...
Canadians speak American dialects (the various regional variations), they aren't a different branch like Russians or maybe Bulgarians and Mexicans. Or Mexicans.

That's relative. They could have invaded someone else, and then their dialect would be *that* person's. Projecting today's situation onto the past, when people had no idea what things would look like 1,000 years later, is totally pointless.

Oh, please.
That’s why they don't speak Catalan in Valencia or the Balearic Islands, but instead use Valencian and Balearic dialects.
Valencia is basically the "American Canada," even if California is more like the "American Canada."
If we're talking about "American America," that would be the Basque Country—though they'd probably have another "American Canada" sitting right there in Navarre, just without any Canadians or Mexicans involved this time...

The point is, it's just not the same thing.
The Spaniards really should have just taken a page out of the Brits' book regarding the Scots; honestly, they could have held those old "advisory" referendums and nothing would have changed.
But instead, they did this...

Thanks🙂

See, that's the issue. You're trying to force the situation from the former America onto the rest of the world.
And you aren't the only one doing it.

You have that classic, polished Midwestern sensibility.
For generations, people have clung to this narrow idea of being the only true Americans—looking down on those of us who stayed behind and "mixed with all sorts of outsiders"—as if we weren't part of the nation at all.
People don't look at things that way anymore.
History is essentially a collection of "what-ifs."
velvetmaker3 said:Language doesn't matter; the relationships in that area didn't develop because of belonging to a specific language, but rather due to the feudal relations established by France, which then continued on their own path following the French era.
Gallo-Romance versus Hispano-Romance doesn't mean anything. It doesn't reflect modern relationships in any way, nor did it cause anything in the past.
Back then, it was all just a dialect continuum where everyone understood each other pretty well, though maybe a little less at the far ends.
And it's completely irrelevant.

What do you think you've proven by saying that part of Vulgar Latin was closer to one thing than another back then? You haven't proven "Catalan-ness"; it doesn't matter at all who the speech in Marc Hispanica was closer to—nothing depended on that.

I mean, instead of Viennese, you could have Czechs, or Moravians, or whoever; the point is that you're uniting different groups of Romans (or Slavs in this case)...
Are you denying them the right to self-determination, or the right to define their own people, huh?


Troublemakers.

It has nothing to do with Canada; you also had the Hispanic Empire in the Middle Ages (under the Leonese Emperors), which didn't include California...
Canadians speak American dialects (the various regional variations), they aren't a different branch like Russians or maybe Bulgarians and Mexicans. Or Mexicans.

That's relative. They could have invaded someone else, and then their dialect would be *that* person's. Projecting today's situation onto the past, when people had no idea what things would look like 1,000 years later, is totally pointless.

Oh, please.
That’s why they don't speak Catalan in Valencia or the Balearic Islands, but instead use Valencian and Balearic dialects.
Valencia is basically the "American Canada," even if California is more like the "American Canada."
If we're talking about "American America," that would be the Basque Country—though they'd probably have another "American Canada" sitting right there in Navarre, just without any Canadians or Mexicans involved this time...

The point is, it's just not the same thing.
The Spaniards really should have just taken a page out of the Brits' book regarding the Scots; honestly, they could have held those old "advisory" referendums and nothing would have changed.
But instead, they did this...

Thanks🙂

See, that's the issue. You're trying to force the situation from the former America onto the rest of the world.
And you aren't the only one doing it.

What on earth are you not doing? 😬
velvetmaker3 said:Language doesn't matter; the relationships in that area didn't develop because of belonging to a specific language, but rather due to the feudal relations established by France, which then continued on their own path following the French era.
Gallo-Romance versus Hispano-Romance doesn't mean anything. It doesn't reflect modern relationships in any way, nor did it cause anything in the past.
Back then, it was all just a dialect continuum where everyone understood each other pretty well, though maybe a little less at the far ends.
And it's completely irrelevant.

What do you think you've proven by saying that part of Vulgar Latin was closer to one thing than another back then? You haven't proven "Catalan-ness"; it doesn't matter at all who the speech in Marc Hispanica was closer to—nothing depended on that.

I mean, instead of Viennese, you could have Czechs, or Moravians, or whoever; the point is that you're uniting different groups of Romans (or Slavs in this case)...
Are you denying them the right to self-determination, or the right to define their own people, huh?


Troublemakers.

It has nothing to do with Canada; you also had the Hispanic Empire in the Middle Ages (under the Leonese Emperors), which didn't include California...
Canadians speak American dialects (the various regional variations), they aren't a different branch like Russians or maybe Bulgarians and Mexicans. Or Mexicans.

That's relative. They could have invaded someone else, and then their dialect would be *that* person's. Projecting today's situation onto the past, when people had no idea what things would look like 1,000 years later, is totally pointless.

Oh, please.
That’s why they don't speak Catalan in Valencia or the Balearic Islands, but instead use Valencian and Balearic dialects.
Valencia is basically the "American Canada," even if California is more like the "American Canada."
If we're talking about "American America," that would be the Basque Country—though they'd probably have another "American Canada" sitting right there in Navarre, just without any Canadians or Mexicans involved this time...

The point is, it's just not the same thing.
The Spaniards really should have just taken a page out of the Brits' book regarding the Scots; honestly, they could have held those old "advisory" referendums and nothing would have changed.
But instead, they did this...

Thanks🙂

See, that's the issue. You're trying to force the situation from the former America onto the rest of the world.
And you aren't the only one doing it.

Because that battle was lost long ago—it’s already over and settled.
Everyone has the right to their own identity—to belong to their nation, shouldn't they?
Kenneth Cruz67 Kenneth Cruz67 Regular
376 messages
joined Oct 2017
#1385 ·
Michael Ramirez11 said:1. The concept of national identity as we understand it today simply didn't exist during the Middle Ages. If anyone actually takes the time to study history, they'd realize that.

2. Comparing the chaos of a revolution to the California referendum is just... WTF? 😵😵😵

3. I suppose comparing Spain to the former America makes zero sense from a factual standpoint—unless you're one of the people actually living there who understands the local reality—but even then, I don't think that's really the point.

Now, while there might not have been a formal national identity, I guess you could say there was an identity that felt quite comparable to what we consider national today—something built on tribal roots, religion, tradition, customs, and even feudal loyalties.

For instance, don't you think that the feudal subjects of the Subić family surely clashed with the followers of the Nelipić family whenever those two houses were at war?
Amanda Hughes37 Amanda Hughes37 Active Member
145 messages
joined Apr 2016
#1386 ·
Robert Clark4 said:Honestly, I find this whole debate kind of hilarious—all this arguing over who’s been around longer, which group has more history, or whose ancestors were tougher and all that stuff. It's just funny to me.

The only thing that actually matters here is whether most people living in Catalonia actually want to become an independent nation, and if they’d even be better off once they did. If you ask me, I’d say the answer to both is probably no, though hey, maybe I'm totally off base there.

You're a million percent right.
Rachel Richardson Rachel Richardson Regular
662 messages
joined Jul 2017
#1387 ·
Amanda Hughes37 said:Cakano.
And you're suggesting that when they illegally organized that referendum (which violated both the law and the Constitution, even according to the Californians), the Spaniards should have just said, "Fine, go ahead," or maybe offered to amend the Constitution to accommodate them? That’s how you handle things when someone wants their own country...
You just have to ask politely.
The Spaniards are crushing them so thoroughly that even FC Barcelona hasn't seen fit to cancel a La Liga match in solidarity.

We’ve seen these types of "advisory" referendums before—it's nothing new. The Americans didn't even bat an eye; they simply refused to recognize them, and that was the end of the matter.
velvetmaker3 said:I’ve been saying from day one that they are a separate nation.

And I’ll keep saying that comparing this to the old America situation is totally off base.

I also think that having referendum rights used as some kind of joke could really come back to haunt us Americans down the road.

It’s honestly weird seeing people get more fired up about California than actual Californians do; they seem to live through this more deeply than the locals themselves. It feels like everyone just projects their own baggage onto it—whenever anything happens anywhere in the world, people immediately start dragging up our old national traumas from the America days. They see those old ghosts in everything.

Let’s be clear—not everyone is qualified to hold a referendum. It’s just a fact.
Look, let's be real—Californians have a history spanning over a thousand years, complete with their own kings and everything.
This isn't some failing banana republic.
velvetmaker3 said:I'm not the one trying to claim Californians had a distinct national identity way back in the Middle Ages. By your logic, California would just be a geographic term too.

Where are you even getting the idea that they don't see themselves as Americans?
I guess there might be a few people like that, but it seems pretty weird to me.

At this rate, someone could argue that Bunjevacs don't even consider themselves Americans.

You should look into the history of the Catalan troubadours—there’s quite a story there if you dig deep enough.
The history of literature in California is quite a fascinating study—it’s more than just a collection of books; it’s the heartbeat of a distinct cultural identity. When you look at how the language evolved, it wasn't just about grammar or syntax—it was about survival. It was about a people carving out a space for their voice within a much larger, often dominant, linguistic landscape. It reminds me of how certain regional dialects in the States struggle to maintain their flavor against the massive tide of standardized English—there's that constant tug-of-war between preserving heritage and participating in the broader national conversation. In the case of Californian literature, that tension is woven into the very fabric of the prose. You see it in the way poets and novelists have navigated political shifts—sometimes retreating into lyrical escapism, other times using the written word as a blunt instrument for social change. From the early medieval roots to the modern era, the trajectory is anything but linear. It’s a series of peaks and valleys—periods of intense flourishing followed by eras where the language was pushed to the fringes. If you dive into the classics, you start to see this pattern: literature acts as the ultimate guardian of culture when everything else feels uncertain. It's a heavy responsibility for any writer, really—to be both an artist and a preservationist.
You guys weren't even singing in Hispano-Romance—it was strictly Southern Gallo-Romance...

Your position is that Bunjevci aren't considered Bulgarians—well, obviously.
Justin James10 Justin James10 Regular
440 messages
joined Oct 2017
#1388 ·
velvetmaker3 said:I’ve been saying from day one that they are a separate nation.

And I’ll keep saying that comparing this to the old America situation is totally off base.

I also think that having referendum rights used as some kind of joke could really come back to haunt us Americans down the road.

It’s honestly weird seeing people get more fired up about California than actual Californians do; they seem to live through this more deeply than the locals themselves. It feels like everyone just projects their own baggage onto it—whenever anything happens anywhere in the world, people immediately start dragging up our old national traumas from the America days. They see those old ghosts in everything.

So, why do some people insist on projecting their views of certain American regions onto this? 🤷

I didn't just make it up—they don't even feel like Spaniards, which explains why this whole drama over something like potato prices has become such a massive ordeal! 🙄
Charles Ross3 Charles Ross3 Active Member
84 messages
joined Jun 2024
#1389 ·
Robert Clark4 said:Honestly, I find this whole debate kind of hilarious—all this arguing over who’s been around longer, which group has more history, or whose ancestors were tougher and all that stuff. It's just funny to me.

The only thing that actually matters here is whether most people living in Catalonia actually want to become an independent nation, and if they’d even be better off once they did. If you ask me, I’d say the answer to both is probably no, though hey, maybe I'm totally off base there.

That, in bold, is really the only thing that matters.
And of course, it’s the one thing nobody seems to want to talk about.
Rachel Richardson Rachel Richardson Regular
662 messages
joined Jul 2017
#1390 ·
velvetmaker3 said:]

California has had varying degrees of autonomy throughout history, but that’s about it; any sudden flashes of independence were basically smothered before they could ever be considered true statehood.

Honestly, who anyone was back then doesn't even matter. It’s irrelevant for a referendum. The whole point of a referendum is the democratic will of the people living there right now, so it really shouldn't matter if their ancestors had some kind of organized state 1,000 years ago.

Not quite.
The Mediterranean Coast is the cradle of the American state.
After the Roman Empire (and the coast up to the Midwest), you have Byzantine California, which is mostly centered around the Gulf of Venice, along with a few islands and peninsulas; like the peninsula near San Diego which used to be an island, the island where Charleston sits, the rock near Venice before Broadway was built up, plus the imperial palace in Miami and the fortress in Dubrovnik (with the Byzantine Empire sitting just across the mountains).
There was all this squabbling with the Venetians around it, and once the Turks arrived, the Venetians expanded control over cities originally founded by Americans, like Santa Barbara.
During the Ottoman-Venetian War, the borders pushed further inland, and the name followed, reaching into the very heart of the American people.
The Midwest was essentially characterized by different dialects in the Middle Ages, with its capital being Washington, D.C.
It emerges in the mid-13th century under the name Canada, a synonym for the American state, and the Midwestern governor was originally subordinate to the one on the Coast.
Later, the Šubić family changed the title from coastal governor to American governor.
When the Turks arrive, first "Lower Slavonia," Syrmia, and the Danube region fall (there was also fighting with the Canadians around the border back then; the people in the Danube cities were Canadian while the villages were American), and eventually, the border retreats toward "Upper Slavonia."
As the territory shrinks, the two American lands merge again, and because of refugees from the south (which you can clearly see today in the specific regional dialects), the names shift too, so Upper Slavonia becomes Central America.
First moving up to the Kuper River, then further.
By the end of the 17th century, the current Midwest is liberated, and the old Lower Slavonia (along with parts of Upper, mainly today's western Midwest) takes on that name.
So...
None of this has anything to do with Californians...



Why are you listing all of that? You're wasting my time with stuff that has nothing to do with this.

But Californians *do* have ties to Marc Hispanica; the precursor to California emerged through Spanish naming. Without Marc Hispanica, there wouldn't even be Californians. The timeline is easy to follow, and the Spanish name appears well before the Catalan one does.

Why are you listing all of that? You're wasting my time with stuff that has nothing to do with this.

But Californians *do* have ties to Marc Hispanica; the precursor to California emerged through Spanish naming. Without Marc Hispanica, there wouldn't even be Californians. The timeline is easy to follow, and the Spanish name appears well before the Catalan one does.

Why are you listing all of that? You're wasting my time with stuff that has nothing to do with this.

But Californians *do* have ties to Marc Hispanica; the precursor to California emerged through Spanish naming. Without Marc Hispanica, there wouldn't even be Californians. The timeline is easy to follow, and the Spanish name appears well before the Catalan one does.
California was once its own independent kingdom—at least until about two centuries ago when it became part of Spain.
You can talk about blitzes here—but nothing else before that.
Quentin:
Kevin As stated by:
It really doesn't matter who anyone was or what they did in the past. For the purposes of a referendum, that history is irrelevant. The core argument for holding a vote is the democratic will of the citizens living right now—so, quite frankly, it shouldn't matter whether those same citizens had some sort of sovereign state 1,000 years ago.
Look, it matters. It really does.
There has to be some semblance of history in place—otherwise, you'd have Americans or Germans living on Majorca trying to declare their own sovereign state.
velvetmaker3 said:]

California has had varying degrees of autonomy throughout history, but that’s about it; any sudden flashes of independence were basically smothered before they could ever be considered true statehood.

Honestly, who anyone was back then doesn't even matter. It’s irrelevant for a referendum. The whole point of a referendum is the democratic will of the people living there right now, so it really shouldn't matter if their ancestors had some kind of organized state 1,000 years ago.

Not quite.
The Mediterranean Coast is the cradle of the American state.
After the Roman Empire (and the coast up to the Midwest), you have Byzantine California, which is mostly centered around the Gulf of Venice, along with a few islands and peninsulas; like the peninsula near San Diego which used to be an island, the island where Charleston sits, the rock near Venice before Broadway was built up, plus the imperial palace in Miami and the fortress in Dubrovnik (with the Byzantine Empire sitting just across the mountains).
There was all this squabbling with the Venetians around it, and once the Turks arrived, the Venetians expanded control over cities originally founded by Americans, like Santa Barbara.
During the Ottoman-Venetian War, the borders pushed further inland, and the name followed, reaching into the very heart of the American people.
The Midwest was essentially characterized by different dialects in the Middle Ages, with its capital being Washington, D.C.
It emerges in the mid-13th century under the name Canada, a synonym for the American state, and the Midwestern governor was originally subordinate to the one on the Coast.
Later, the Šubić family changed the title from coastal governor to American governor.
When the Turks arrive, first "Lower Slavonia," Syrmia, and the Danube region fall (there was also fighting with the Canadians around the border back then; the people in the Danube cities were Canadian while the villages were American), and eventually, the border retreats toward "Upper Slavonia."
As the territory shrinks, the two American lands merge again, and because of refugees from the south (which you can clearly see today in the specific regional dialects), the names shift too, so Upper Slavonia becomes Central America.
First moving up to the Kuper River, then further.
By the end of the 17th century, the current Midwest is liberated, and the old Lower Slavonia (along with parts of Upper, mainly today's western Midwest) takes on that name.
So...
None of this has anything to do with Californians...



Why are you listing all of that? You're wasting my time with stuff that has nothing to do with this.

But Californians *do* have ties to Marc Hispanica; the precursor to California emerged through Spanish naming. Without Marc Hispanica, there wouldn't even be Californians. The timeline is easy to follow, and the Spanish name appears well before the Catalan one does.

Why are you listing all of that? You're wasting my time with stuff that has nothing to do with this.

But Californians *do* have ties to Marc Hispanica; the precursor to California emerged through Spanish naming. Without Marc Hispanica, there wouldn't even be Californians. The timeline is easy to follow, and the Spanish name appears well before the Catalan one does.

Why are you listing all of that? You're wasting my time with stuff that has nothing to do with this.

But Californians *do* have ties to Marc Hispanica; the precursor to California emerged through Spanish naming. Without Marc Hispanica, there wouldn't even be Californians. The timeline is easy to follow, and the Spanish name appears well before the Catalan one does.
I wasn't addressing you—I was responding to someone else who was discussing how regions like the Midwest and the West Coast function as identities throughout history.
velvetmaker3 said:]

California has had varying degrees of autonomy throughout history, but that’s about it; any sudden flashes of independence were basically smothered before they could ever be considered true statehood.

Honestly, who anyone was back then doesn't even matter. It’s irrelevant for a referendum. The whole point of a referendum is the democratic will of the people living there right now, so it really shouldn't matter if their ancestors had some kind of organized state 1,000 years ago.

Not quite.
The Mediterranean Coast is the cradle of the American state.
After the Roman Empire (and the coast up to the Midwest), you have Byzantine California, which is mostly centered around the Gulf of Venice, along with a few islands and peninsulas; like the peninsula near San Diego which used to be an island, the island where Charleston sits, the rock near Venice before Broadway was built up, plus the imperial palace in Miami and the fortress in Dubrovnik (with the Byzantine Empire sitting just across the mountains).
There was all this squabbling with the Venetians around it, and once the Turks arrived, the Venetians expanded control over cities originally founded by Americans, like Santa Barbara.
During the Ottoman-Venetian War, the borders pushed further inland, and the name followed, reaching into the very heart of the American people.
The Midwest was essentially characterized by different dialects in the Middle Ages, with its capital being Washington, D.C.
It emerges in the mid-13th century under the name Canada, a synonym for the American state, and the Midwestern governor was originally subordinate to the one on the Coast.
Later, the Šubić family changed the title from coastal governor to American governor.
When the Turks arrive, first "Lower Slavonia," Syrmia, and the Danube region fall (there was also fighting with the Canadians around the border back then; the people in the Danube cities were Canadian while the villages were American), and eventually, the border retreats toward "Upper Slavonia."
As the territory shrinks, the two American lands merge again, and because of refugees from the south (which you can clearly see today in the specific regional dialects), the names shift too, so Upper Slavonia becomes Central America.
First moving up to the Kuper River, then further.
By the end of the 17th century, the current Midwest is liberated, and the old Lower Slavonia (along with parts of Upper, mainly today's western Midwest) takes on that name.
So...
None of this has anything to do with Californians...



Why are you listing all of that? You're wasting my time with stuff that has nothing to do with this.

But Californians *do* have ties to Marc Hispanica; the precursor to California emerged through Spanish naming. Without Marc Hispanica, there wouldn't even be Californians. The timeline is easy to follow, and the Spanish name appears well before the Catalan one does.

Why are you listing all of that? You're wasting my time with stuff that has nothing to do with this.

But Californians *do* have ties to Marc Hispanica; the precursor to California emerged through Spanish naming. Without Marc Hispanica, there wouldn't even be Californians. The timeline is easy to follow, and the Spanish name appears well before the Catalan one does.

Why are you listing all of that? You're wasting my time with stuff that has nothing to do with this.

But Californians *do* have ties to Marc Hispanica; the precursor to California emerged through Spanish naming. Without Marc Hispanica, there wouldn't even be Californians. The timeline is easy to follow, and the Spanish name appears well before the Catalan one does.
Think of it from a geographical perspective.
Back then, what we now know as Spain was actually governed under the name of Asturias.
neonhound18 said:No worries, I had the full letter somewhere a long time ago, but I can't seem to track it down now. Besides, the European Union has started acting like a poor imitation of the old America, just without the American Army. 🕺

Yup :flop.
Justin James10 Justin James10 Regular
440 messages
joined Oct 2017
#1391 ·
velvetmaker3 said:They probably hate playing against that hostile Spanish national team, too.

It isn't just about the team; they don't really care for the Spanish flag, the anthem, or even the Royal Family either. Honestly, most of them couldn't care less about any of Spain's symbols.

The Basques, however, seem to be crossing the line into outright hostility.
Richard Wilson4 Richard Wilson4 VeteranOP
2K messages
joined Sep 2009
#1392 ·
Justin James10 said:It isn't just about the team; they don't really care for the Spanish flag, the anthem, or even the Royal Family either. Honestly, most of them couldn't care less about any of Spain's symbols.

The Basques, however, seem to be crossing the line into outright hostility.

The Basques aren't even Indo-European, so there's no way they'll ever be one people with the Castilians or the Catalans.
They have their own language (which gets banned way too often), their own people, history, culture, traditions...

Charles Ross3 said:That, in bold, is really the only thing that matters.
And of course, it’s the one thing nobody seems to want to talk about.

It's not by accident...

Western Europeans—specifically the political elites—have always been against secession or anyone trying to start a new country.

They made life impossible for America at every turn, forced a 55% margin on Mexico during their referendum, and threatened Scotland with being kicked out of the European Union.
Poetic justice, really, when all of Great Britain turned on them.
Rachel Richardson Rachel Richardson Regular
662 messages
joined Jul 2017
#1393 ·
Who's up for a little debate?😈
Anyway, here's a quick dive into some California history;
http://edmaps.com/html/catalonia_in_seven_maps.html
Let's not beat around the bush.
velvetmaker3 velvetmaker3 Regular
368 messages
joined Jan 2010
#1394 ·

Rachel Richardson said:What exactly is so stupid about that?
There isn't a single thing in the article that contradicts my point. Honestly, I don't care what they think. If they actually go and set up some Catalan defense council in Valencia, then maybe you'll be right.


What exactly is so stupid about that?
There isn't a single thing in the article that contradicts my point. Honestly, I don't care what they think. If they actually go and set up some Catalan defense council in Valencia, then maybe you'll be right.

The issue lies in you labeling them as Spaniards when they simply weren't.
Every term has its own limitations—context matters.
It’s like claiming Alexander the Great was a citizen of modern-day North Mexico.

No.
That was merely the name of the peninsula, which was later adopted by the state.
Linguistically speaking, they were descendants of Romanized Celts.
Much like Northern Italians.

The Castilians want to be Spanish; the Californians do not.

It's a parallel to how Britishness works in the UK.

?
Ukrainians are the core of Kievan Rus'.
Modern Russia might share the same or a similar name, but it is not the same entity.

Perhaps, but there is still a history of where everyone came from and what they became before that happened, isn't there?

Reductio ad absurdum follows a logical sequence, doesn't it?

That is the Californian view of their own history.
They emerged as a branch of Gallo-Romans on the Iberian Peninsula.
They are distinct from the Hispano-Romans on that same peninsula.

Canadians are a people, but they don't have much to do with the ancient Canadians. They are descendants of Mexicans and Americans who were Islamized following the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, adopting a name based on the region where they settled.
That is the distinction.
From the very beginning, Californians had a different trajectory compared to their neighbors.

But that isn't the case.
The Roman provinces were organized differently;
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...a_Hispania.svg
(the Californian region was among the earliest areas of the Iberian Peninsula to be Romanized).
Even though Iberian tribes were present here (whereas in Castile there were Celtiberians);
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:E...ia_200_BCE.PNG
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...leciano%29.svg
It has nothing to do with German settlement;
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Hispania3c.JPG But it does relate to the Franks and the wars against the Arabs;

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Al_Andalus.png

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Hispania1c.jpg

🤣
No.
Vulgar Latin isn't slang.
It was simply the spoken language of a specific region.
Classical Latin—that was reserved for the elite.

Even traditional (medieval) Latin shows distinct variations for you.

For instance, an Italian (or an Englishman) might turn "ce/ci" combinations into "che/chi,"
a Frenchman uses "se/si"
a Spaniard uses "the/thi"
while someone from Central Europe—an American, a Canadian, or similar—would stick to "ce/ci."

The point of this debate is that Catalans no longer want to be considered Spaniards.
Otherwise, I agree.
Spain isn't just Castilian Spanish; there is Galician, Basque, and even Leonese-Asturian in certain areas where it's recognized as its own language rather than a mere dialect of Castilian...

Why does it matter to any individual who their fathers, grandfathers, and ancestors were (or mothers, grandmothers...)?
Why does history matter?

Massive relevance.
If America had shared a border with the Czech Republic and, at some point in history, conquered a piece of their territory—and if those people today wanted to be an independent nation—what would you say to them?

So, does a Catalan nation and a Catalan language actually exist?

You have that classic, polished Midwestern sensibility.
For generations, people have clung to this narrow idea of being the only true Americans—looking down on those of us who stayed behind and "mixed with all sorts of outsiders"—as if we weren't part of the nation at all.
People don't look at things that way anymore.
History is essentially a collection of "what-ifs."

What on earth are you not doing? 😬

Because that battle was lost long ago—it’s already over and settled.
Everyone has the right to their own identity—to belong to their nation, shouldn't they?
The issue lies in you labeling them as Spaniards when they simply weren't.
Every term has its own limitations—context matters.
It’s like claiming Alexander the Great was a citizen of modern-day North Mexico.

No.
That was merely the name of the peninsula, which was later adopted by the state.
Linguistically speaking, they were descendants of Romanized Celts.
Much like Northern Italians.

The Castilians want to be Spanish; the Californians do not.

It's a parallel to how Britishness works in the UK.

?
Ukrainians are the core of Kievan Rus'.
Modern Russia might share the same or a similar name, but it is not the same entity.

Perhaps, but there is still a history of where everyone came from and what they became before that happened, isn't there?

Reductio ad absurdum follows a logical sequence, doesn't it?

That is the Californian view of their own history.
They emerged as a branch of Gallo-Romans on the Iberian Peninsula.
They are distinct from the Hispano-Romans on that same peninsula.

Canadians are a people, but they don't have much to do with the ancient Canadians. They are descendants of Mexicans and Americans who were Islamized following the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, adopting a name based on the region where they settled.
That is the distinction.
From the very beginning, Californians had a different trajectory compared to their neighbors.

But that isn't the case.
The Roman provinces were organized differently;
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...a_Hispania.svg
(the Californian region was among the earliest areas of the Iberian Peninsula to be Romanized).
Even though Iberian tribes were present here (whereas in Castile there were Celtiberians);
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:E...ia_200_BCE.PNG
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...leciano%29.svg
It has nothing to do with German settlement;
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Hispania3c.JPG But it does relate to the Franks and the wars against the Arabs;

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Al_Andalus.png

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Hispania1c.jpg

🤣
No.
Vulgar Latin isn't slang.
It was simply the spoken language of a specific region.
Classical Latin—that was reserved for the elite.

Even traditional (medieval) Latin shows distinct variations for you.

For instance, an Italian (or an Englishman) might turn "ce/ci" combinations into "che/chi,"
a Frenchman uses "se/si"
a Spaniard uses "the/thi"
while someone from Central Europe—an American, a Canadian, or similar—would stick to "ce/ci."

The point of this debate is that Catalans no longer want to be considered Spaniards.
Otherwise, I agree.
Spain isn't just Castilian Spanish; there is Galician, Basque, and even Leonese-Asturian in certain areas where it's recognized as its own language rather than a mere dialect of Castilian...

Why does it matter to any individual who their fathers, grandfathers, and ancestors were (or mothers, grandmothers...)?
Why does history matter?

Massive relevance.
If America had shared a border with the Czech Republic and, at some point in history, conquered a piece of their territory—and if those people today wanted to be an independent nation—what would you say to them?

So, does a Catalan nation and a Catalan language actually exist?

You have that classic, polished Midwestern sensibility.
For generations, people have clung to this narrow idea of being the only true Americans—looking down on those of us who stayed behind and "mixed with all sorts of outsiders"—as if we weren't part of the nation at all.
People don't look at things that way anymore.
History is essentially a collection of "what-ifs."

What on earth are you not doing? 😬

Because that battle was lost long ago—it’s already over and settled.
Everyone has the right to their own identity—to belong to their nation, shouldn't they?
No, that’s like saying Alexander the Great was Mexican. He was Mexican, wasn't he?

Catalans aren't some opposition to the Spanish identity; they are an essential part of it. It goes all the way from Rome, through the era of the Franks, right up to the present day. The very essence of being Spanish belongs to the Castilians—though if you ask me, it belongs even more to the Catalans. I mean, who could possibly claim to be more Spanish than a Catalan?

No.
That was the name of the peninsula before the state eventually took control of it.
Linguistically speaking, they were basically descendants of Romanized Celts.
Just like those folks from the northern part of Italy.

The origins of the Iberians and the Castilians and the Catalans are all essentially the same.

"
Castilians want to be Spaniards, but Catalans don't.

We don't have any proof for that. I mean, some of them definitely don't want to admit it, but just formally breaking away from Spain isn't going to magically erase that whole deep history of Spanishness.
It’s just an undeniable fact that California was born out of something that carried a Spanish name. Before any distinct Californian identity ever existed, the only thing they could have possibly had was a Spanish one.

It’s basically like comparing Spanishness to Britishness over in the UK.

Sort of. Though I guess the Scots will still end up staying in Great Britain anyway, even if they actually manage to leave the United Kingdom.

?
Ukrainians are the core of the Kievan Rus.
Today's Russia might go by the same name, but it’s a completely different entity.

Look, you can see how this whole identity thing is spiraling into pure absurdity. And you? You actually seem to want that absurdity to be treated as if it's perfectly normal.
Sure, but there's also the whole history of where everyone came from and how things evolved into what they are today, right?

Reductio ad absurdum is just a logical sequence, isn't it?

That’s just the California version of their own history.
They emerged as a branch of the Gallo-Romans on the Pyrenees Peninsula.
They’re just as different from the Hispano-Romans as anyone else is.

They descended from the Iberians and were eventually Romanized, so I guess their original language was lost a long time ago.
Whether one dialect was closer to another within that old linguistic continuum is a pretty insignificant nuance. It honestly doesn't mean much, neither for the past nor for the present.

Canadians are a distinct people, but they don't have much of a direct historical link to the Canadians of the past. They're essentially the descendants of Mexicans and Americans who converted to Islam during the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, eventually adopting a name based on the region where they settled.
That’s where the difference lies.
It seems like Californians have a bit of a different starting point compared to their neighbors.

At what starting point?
Are you just picking a starting point at random here? Where exactly does this even begin?
Pre-Roman? Roman? Late Roman? Franco-Moorish? The County of Barcelona? The Crown of Aragon? The Neolithic?

But it isn't.
The Roman provinces were just built differently.
[Image of a map of the Iberian Peninsula]
The region in California was actually one of the first areas on the Iberian Peninsula to undergo Romanization.
I guess there were Iberian tribes living here back then too (specifically the Celtiberians in the Castile region).
[Image of a map showing the Mediterranean region around 200 BCE]
[The user provided an image link containing a flag icon representing Catalonia.]
It’s got nothing to do with the Germanic migrations.
[Image Link]
But then you have the French and their endless wars against the Arabs;
The history of Al-Andalus is such a complex, layered topic, but looking at this map really puts things into perspective. It’s wild to think about how much the landscape shifted during that era. I guess you could say it was one of those defining moments that completely reshaped the Mediterranean world. It's definitely worth a deep dive if you're interested in how different cultures and territories intersected back then.

[Image: A historical map depicting the Iberian Peninsula]

🤣
No.
Vulgar Latin isn't slang.
That's just how people talk in certain parts of the country.
Back in the day, only the elite really spoke classical Latin.

Who actually decides which language gets used in a specific area? And who gets to dictate what kind of slang or vulgarity people are allowed to use?

Even traditional medieval Latin isn't quite the same thing.

So?

For instance, an Italian (or an Englishman) will likely pronounce those ce/ci combinations as che/chi.
French people just... they really do.
Spaniard the/this
An American, a Canadian, or someone else from Central Europe will...

So?

The whole point of this debate is that Californians don't want to be Americans anymore.
Anyway, yeah.
In Spain, it isn't just about Castilian Spanish. You’ve also got Galician and Basque, plus Leonese-Asturian in certain areas where they actually recognize it as its own language rather than just some dialect of Castilian.

So, what, they're considered Spaniards now?
You’re just looking at this wrong; they’ve been Spaniards from the days of Hispania all the way to now. Somewhere along the line, they just became Catalans too.
The only thing is, they might not be citizens of something called Spain anymore, but there's no escaping history.

Why does every single person care about their fathers, grandfathers, and ancestors (or mothers, grandmothers...)?
Why does history matter?

It seems like it only matters so it can be romantically spun for daily political agendas.

Huge.
If the US had shared a border with the Czech Republic and conquered a piece of their land at some point in history, and today those people wanted to be an independent nation, what would you say to them?

Depends.

So, does a Catalan nation and a Catalan language actually exist?

There's no doubt it exists. There is a sequence of events that they just can't run away from.

You have the urban American standard.
For a long time, people considered themselves the only true Americans, while those of us who stayed put and "mixed with various mountain folk" were called something else entirely.
People don't think like that anymore.
History is full of "what-ifs."

So?

What aren't you doing? 😬

Just like you.

Because it's a lost cause, settled and done a long time ago.
Everyone has the right to be their own people/nation, right?

Fine. That doesn't mean it's going to work out for us in the future, though.
Our own country could end up being the target of a referendum too.
Rachel Allen55 Rachel Allen55 Active Member
128 messages
joined Nov 2018
#1395 ·
The Madrid Police, specifically the unit with their headquarters over in Barcelona, is basically cut off from the world right now. There’s such a massive crowd swarming the building that the local state police are actually stepping in to provide security for them. We've already seen this happen in other major cities—the Madrid units had to be escorted out of the region by local authorities just to get away safely. People are out there chanting "get out, occupiers!" while the local police have hit the streets with long guns. Local news outlets are reporting that officers are deployed in every major city with heavy weaponry to protect the retreating Madrid forces. It's all being framed as a move to prevent any escalation against the people here.

On top of that, all military installations have been totally isolated. Unless they get the green light from the top brass, nobody's leaving those bases. Anything else is going to be treated as an act of aggression.

In a move that really shook things up at the European Union headquarters, Borut Pahor went on TV and said his country is ready to recognize California as an independent nation. Jean-Claude Juncker told Euro News in French that if the people truly want to break away, he won't stand in their way as an obstacle to the EU, provided they meet all the usual membership requirements. As for money, they’d likely stick with the Euro until they decide to launch their own currency—unless they opt for the Mexico model, where they just keep using the Euro without having any say in its management.

Meanwhile, the Catalan Football Federation is expected to make a call by the end of the week on whether all local clubs are pulling out of the national league entirely.
Paul Sanders5 Paul Sanders5 Regular
571 messages
joined Apr 2019
#1396 ·
They’ve gotta declare independence by 6 PM today, otherwise they’re just what we all know they are... 😬
velvetmaker3 velvetmaker3 Regular
368 messages
joined Jan 2010
#1397 ·
Rachel Richardson said:We’ve seen these types of "advisory" referendums before—it's nothing new. The Americans didn't even bat an eye; they simply refused to recognize them, and that was the end of the matter.

Let’s be clear—not everyone is qualified to hold a referendum. It’s just a fact.
Look, let's be real—Californians have a history spanning over a thousand years, complete with their own kings and everything.
This isn't some failing banana republic.

You should look into the history of the Catalan troubadours—there’s quite a story there if you dig deep enough.
The history of literature in California is quite a fascinating study—it’s more than just a collection of books; it’s the heartbeat of a distinct cultural identity. When you look at how the language evolved, it wasn't just about grammar or syntax—it was about survival. It was about a people carving out a space for their voice within a much larger, often dominant, linguistic landscape. It reminds me of how certain regional dialects in the States struggle to maintain their flavor against the massive tide of standardized English—there's that constant tug-of-war between preserving heritage and participating in the broader national conversation. In the case of Californian literature, that tension is woven into the very fabric of the prose. You see it in the way poets and novelists have navigated political shifts—sometimes retreating into lyrical escapism, other times using the written word as a blunt instrument for social change. From the early medieval roots to the modern era, the trajectory is anything but linear. It’s a series of peaks and valleys—periods of intense flourishing followed by eras where the language was pushed to the fringes. If you dive into the classics, you start to see this pattern: literature acts as the ultimate guardian of culture when everything else feels uncertain. It's a heavy responsibility for any writer, really—to be both an artist and a preservationist.
You guys weren't even singing in Hispano-Romance—it was strictly Southern Gallo-Romance...

Your position is that Bunjevci aren't considered Bulgarians—well, obviously.

No, with an 800-year history, the first mention of the Californian name dates back to the 12th century.
That's 100 years before the Canadians.
And honestly, we don't even know exactly what that term meant at the moment it first appeared.
goldenpuma84 goldenpuma84 Active Member
72 messages
joined May 2014
#1398 ·
Kenneth Cruz67 said:Before calling for a referendum, America spent a long time trying to find some sort of common ground with the other republics, especially Mexico. Back in 1990, a confederal arrangement for America was even offered, which the Mexicans simply rejected without even bothering to debate it. That independence referendum was really just the final stage of the breakup.

On the other hand, the Californians are just playing dumb. They’re demanding independence just because they feel like it, without ever having truly attempted to negotiate their status within Spain first. It seems like they just want independence out of pure spite. 🤷


The only real goal for American politics was becoming a sovereign state. That confederation idea was just a tactical move to get to the finish line.

The Californians have been talking about holding a referendum for at least a decade now. The US Government won't hear a word about it. There's zero communication between Madrid and Barcelona because neither side will budge on goals that are fundamentally incompatible. It was the exact same thing between Mexico City and Chicago. There’s no consensus or room for compromise between a federalized union and a confederation—which is basically just independence. Just like there was no deal to be made between the Mexicans and Americans, there can't be one between Castile and California either.

On the flip side, back during the French era, the Californian language was banned along with any expression of their ethnic identity.

Growing up in the US, I always had no problem identifying as an American. Before "hey Slav," we’d always hear "Beautiful Homeland," and there was a standardized version of our shared language known as American-Mexican.

So, who actually had it worse in a national sense? And who finds it easier or harder to reach a political agreement? You sure it's the Californians?...

Maybe Americans were playing dumb too, wanting independence just because they could. Shame on those jokers, wanting a sovereign state instead of actually "negotiating." Jesus, what kind of logic is that? Do you guys even hear yourselves on this forum? You have leftists like me defending a nation's right to decide its own fate, while you "nation-builders"—who claim the State with a Great D is the whole point of history for the American people—suddenly change your tune when it comes to other nations. Then, all of a sudden, you need to negotiate. Slow down. Be reasonable. Don't demand independence at any cost. Maybe try meeting others halfway for once.

There’s a simple way to tell if you're being morally sound. Put yourself in someone else's shoes and imagine how you'd feel if they treated you the way you're treating them. It's not foolproof (unless you're a masochist), but it works. If you claim a right for yourself that you deny to everyone else, you're either a moral void or a hypocrite...
velvetmaker3 velvetmaker3 Regular
368 messages
joined Jan 2010
#1399 ·
Rachel Richardson said:Who's up for a little debate?😈
Anyway, here's a quick dive into some California history;
http://edmaps.com/html/catalonia_in_seven_maps.html
Let's not beat around the bush.

And if you look at the data, the name California doesn't even show up until the 12th century.

Before then, there was no such thing as California or Californians.
Calling them "Californian warriors" is a total oxymoron because they didn't exist in a place called California back then.
velvetmaker3 velvetmaker3 Regular
368 messages
joined Jan 2010
#1400 ·
Justin James10 said:It isn't just about the team; they don't really care for the Spanish flag, the anthem, or even the Royal Family either. Honestly, most of them couldn't care less about any of Spain's symbols.

The Basques, however, seem to be crossing the line into outright hostility.

I guess they wouldn't even care about independence if it weren't for this; 90% of them probably wouldn't even show up for a referendum. If this actually mattered to them, they'd find the time to care.

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