Piotr angrily writes:
For goodness sake, do consult an encyclopedia or an atlas before
you ask what is "possibly" true of Spain. According to recent estimates
(1994), Catalan has some 4 million mother tongue speakers plus 5 million
second or third language speakers. It's used by about 6000000 people in
Spain and by many more in France, Andorra and elsewhere. The population
of Barcelona (the capital of the autonomous region of Catalonia) is
about 1.7 million -- it's the second largest city of Spain and the main
commercial and industrial centre of the whole country.
Gerry: Perhaps one of the problems is that Barcellona is NOT the first
largest city in Spain. And I'm sure it's very lovely as is true of most
of the cities in Spain including Toledo. But when I last visited
Toledo, (more than a decade ago) it wasn't really a thriving metropolis.
It was quaint and very charming -- indeed a very lovely place but still
no metropolis.
Piotr: It's also one of the most beautiful cities of Europe, and its
history goes back to Greek and Carthaginian colonisation in the 3rd
century BC. Barcelona Province is the most industrialised and BY FAR the
most populous province of Spain. The very last thing you could say of
Catalonia is that it is backward or rural.
Gerry: Just because a place is rural doesn't mean it's backward. And
please refer to my post just to verify the fact that I did NOT call any
city in Spain "backward". Actually, I wouldn't know what a "backward"
place is. And could you please tell me why you are so politically
concerned about Catalan? Do you always root for the "second" in line?
My father always rooted for the underdog sports team and would select
Avis over Hertz because it was second best. Me, I prefer Hertz.
Piotr: Gerry, no offence, but if you don't feel quite at home in
California, please do not ask typically Californian questions. A
well-educated Californian friend of mine was once showing me a log cabin
in the San Gabriels. "Do you have log cabins in Europe?" she asked. I
said I believed they were pretty common there. Her next question was,
"Do you still have any Native Europeans in Europe?" A DANISH woman who
had not spent more than ten years in LA asked me during a Cinco de Mayo
celebration: "Do you have pinyatas in Poland?" This proves that
Californian naivety is contagious.
Gerry: Yes, Piotr, you are correct that the above questions are "dumb"
California questions. But to the California crew, they're very "on
target". BTW, do you have pinyatas in Poland? And if you don't have
them today, you'll have them tomorrow! I-net commerce is spreading like
wildfire! And furthermore, who told YOU I didn't feel comfortable in
CA?
Gerry
--
Gerald Reinhart
Independent Scholar
(650) 321-7378
waluk@...
http://www.alekseevmanuscript.com