January - February 2003

THE MANY SPANISHES
By Lawrence Schimel

When we think of the language represented by the word “Spanish,” we generally think only of that tongue which is also known as “Castillian.” But there are other languages spoken in Spain – primarily Catalan, Gallician, and Basque – each of which is legitimately a “Spanish” language. Approximately 41% of the population in Spain lives in territories with two official languages, although these “minority” languages of Spain are often overlooked because there is not a separate national identity associated with them. But these “minority” languages may have astonishingly large populations that shouldn’t be overlooked— both as a potential foreign rights market and also for their production of children’s books that might be translated into other languages.

The year 2001 saw the celebration of the European Year of Languages, which showed that the population in the Catalan-speaking regions of Spain, France, and Andorra ranks 7th (with 10.8 million speakers) when charted against the official languages of the European Union (coming after, in order, German, French, English, Italian, Spanish, and Dutch). This is more than twice the language populations of countries such as Denmark (5.2) or Finland (5.1) and also exceeds the language populations of Greece (10.6), Portugal (9.8), and E.U. Candidate-countries Hungary (10.5) and the Czech Republic (10.3). (All figures in millions; Source: IDESCAT. INE. Panorama of the European Union, 2000.)

Catalunya (Catalonia) is not merely a large, often-unrecognized language population, it is a very literate, book-friendly region. Aside from the fact that many of Spain’s major publishers are located in Barcelona (although Madrid is often still viewed as the literary capital for writers), the patron saint of Catalunya, Sant Jordi, is celebrated by giving a book and a rose to loved ones. Each April 23rd, commemorating the deaths of both Cervantes and Shakespeare, the streets of many towns in Catalan-speaking areas are lined with bookstalls and florists. Approximately 10% of the annual sales of all books sold in Catalan are made on this one day! It’s a tradition that writers everywhere can only hope will be imported in their own area. . .

Given this sizable population in the Catalan regions of Spain, it is not surprising that there exists a large number of publishers of children’s books in Catalan, or publishers which simultaneously publish in both Catalan and Spanish. Many official organizations support the creation of new children’s literature in Catalan through dozens of annual prizes for the publication of Catalan manuscripts, ranging from picture books through young adult, in a wide variety of genres.

The other “minority” languages of Spain have smaller language populations, but the local governments in these regions are likewise supportive of the publication of children’s literature in their respective languages, through prizes, subsidies to publishers, initiatives in schools and libraries, and other projects. Much of the vitality and innovation in children’s books in Spain is happening in these “minority” languages, whereas the bulk of children’s titles published in Spanish still come from abroad—primarily translations from English, German, or French.

Galician, while a smaller population than Catalan, is nonetheless spoken by over 2.4 million. One Gallician publisher, Kalandraka, has in a short time become a major player in picture books, and is now publishing its titles in Spanish, Catalan, and Basque in addition to Galician. (I should disclose that Kalandraka has published one of my children’s books.) Another Galician publisher, Merlín, a publisher which specializes in authors from this region, recently published its 100th title in its children’s list.

Basque only has an estimated 700,000 speakers, but there is a sizable amount of Basque-language publishing despite this small language base. There are fewer translations into Basque than into the other languages of Spain, in part because all speakers of Basque also speak Spanish. But among children’s books, there are often co-editions— either between Spanish publishers or within branches of the larger national (or multinational) publishing houses, to print in Basque simultaneously with other-language editions in Spain. Basque author Bernardo Atxaga (a polymath who writes poetry, adult novels, songs, and more) is one of the major voices in Spanish children’s literature, and, along with Eliva Lindo, is among the most-often translated outside of Spain.

The native production of children’s literature in Spain is still rather small, especially when compared to its European neighbors like France or Germany. Many Spanish publishers are used to buying books from abroad for translation and are not equipped to match artists with texts as is common practice in the United States. These Spanish publishers prefer projects to arrive as a package.

In today’s global economy, it is common for publishers to buy worldwide Spanish rights and distribute their titles to the Hispanic communities scattered across the globe. Despite some regional variations in dialect, many Latin American publishers are availing themselves of this general lack of picture books in Spain by more aggressively distributing their books here. This is the case of Mexico’s Fondo de Cultura Economica, a general publisher with a strong children’s list. or Venezuela’s Ekaré, which recently opened an office in Barcelona and has also begun to try a few titles with Spanish authors.

It is important not to overlook these other “Spanishes” and their rich, creative output through cultural (or national) myopia. From a global perspective, while Catalan, Basque, and Galician are “minority” languages within Spain, Spanish (Castillian) is itself a “minority” language with over 40 million speakers in the United States.