Funny Street Signs

Truth be told, I don't get the chance to blog as often as I'd like to/used to. Sometimes ideas occur to me in the strangest of places/circumstances and I can draft an idea, but never get round to actually writing the post. Well, this is one of them. Apologies if it seems a bit disjointed, I had to hunt out a few links and pics, and this was started a while back...

Obviously being a foreigner in a country makes you look a whole lot more at certain things, and especially with two different languages, for example. I remember after first getting here, looking at certain signs or notices (and not even knowing if it was Spanish or Catalan, for example) and chuckling to myself or being thoroughly puzzled.

Like how potential terrorists have their own deposit box outside buildings to leave their dynamite.



Or how some buildings have signs for eggy brandy Christmas drinks, but no mulled wines, for example...



This is something I think I'm not alone in experiencing, or maybe we just share the same sense of humour?!

Then part of me adding to the post was the ongoing debate of one shop owner who refuses to change his shop sign to Catalan (as required by law) and other such cases that have sprung up. So this also used to make me smile when walking around the city centre and spotting new shops or even older ones, but with signs that made me laugh. Take for example, the image below:




Now, I've had to lift that image from Google Maps, as the real restaurant has now changed to a Catalan sign (see what I mean about me not having time?!). Good job I've been able to rely on google maps! This is no disrespect or racial implications in any way shape or form, but I think that's hilarious. "Spinesh Tapas" is surely supposed to be "Spanish Tapas" right ?! So how on earth could the sign be made?! Surely even the makers of these signs could check and say, "Er, sorry mate, shouldn't that be "Spanish" not "Spinesh" ? Maybe they were hoping for the owners to come back and order a new one. Well, it was up there for about 3 years I can tell you, so there you go.

Another one is the classic confusion of "Mobile phones" and "Movil". Apart from the fact that "B" and "V" sound the same in Spanish, so that's confusing enough, then you also have to deal with getting it wrong as well.

I've probably seen loads more as well on my walks around town, which is whay I thought it might merit a blog post, but probably didn't have my phone/camera at the time. So, I'll encourage all of you to let me know about any places you guys know. Doesn't have to be mis-spellings, but just some funny stuff or things that have tickled your fancy. Feel free to leave a comment below!

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Catalan Cinemas to Close in Protest - of Catalan?

Various news sources have reported today that the majority of Cinemas in Catalonia will be closing on the 1st February in protest for a recently approved law regarding Catalan in cinemas. The date significantly coincides with the presnetation of the Gaudi Awards - the Acadamy Awards for Catalan Cinema.



The law was passed on the 12th of this month, but today the announcement was made to the press of the protest and planned closure of the 74 cinemas offering over 528 screens, which is the majority of screens (total being 795 sreens in all Catalonia).

So what's all the fuss about, I hear you cry? It's not long ago that the Catalan Government ruffled a few feathers over its proposed plans to insist on an equal amount of Translated copies in Catalan and Spanish for films distributed throughout Catalonia. Well, a study released today by Josep Maria Gay, and using information of profits and benefits in Catalan Cinemas from 2001 to 2008 predicts that this new law will not only lessen the income of the cinema industry but even force the closure of many cinemas - hence the closure on the 1st February to symbolise the effect this new law may have.



Last year, 97,1% of movies broadcast in Catalan Cinemas were doubled or subtitled in Spanish with only 2,9% in Catalan. It appears, however, that there may be good reason for this - that even the Catalans don't like going to see films dubbed or subtitled in Catalan. The study by Gay released today made a prediction that if the law may see the beginning of the end for many cinemas, as there is no demand. The new law obliges distributers to produce an equal amount of doubled/subtitled copies as original version copies, UNLESS there are to be less than 16 copies of European-produced movies over the whole of Catalonia. So that means if you have an American movie with less that 16 copies, half must be in Catalan.

It appears to be a solution to a problem which never existed. I know personally I have Catalan friends who have told me that they never watch DVDs or attend cinema screenings in Catalan - rather Spanish - and at the same time I remember fierce publicity a couple of years ago, demanding Harry Potter be dubbed in Catalan so that people (or maybe youngsters) could enjoy it in their native language and not have to read subtitles, or listen to Spanish.

There seems to be more confusing details in the mix, when we talk about recent movies such as Map of the sounds of Tokyo, Agora and Planet 51 which were all funded and made through Spain and Catalonia, but are shot entirely in English. What if there were to be less than 15 copies? Odd, right?

What do you think? I'd love to hear your opinion on this one! As a foreigner, I can only comment on how I would feel watching a Catalan movie, dubbed in English, and I think I'd probably prefer to watch it subtitled. I've seen many films since I've been living here in various languages (German, Swedish, Polish, Russian) and have always watched in Version Original with subtitles in Spanish.

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Catalan in Cinemas

Earlier this month, there was a proposition of a new law in Catalonia which aims to "give the right to the citizens of Barcelona to choose the language when going to the cinema". At the moment, there are very few cinemas which offer dubbed movies in Catalan, and the new law will make it the law for the distributors of the films to produce the same amount of copies dubbed in Catalan as in Spanish.

This has been received with mixed reviews - mostly that "it was about time" etc. BUT there is a suggestion that public money would be used to fund the translating of the films, and this seems to have ruffled a few feathers. If you have any views then please leave a comment - I'd love to hear from you.

One small addition that I think is perfectly acceptable, too. There is a plaque on the floor in central Barcelona, on Rambla Catalunya, in the Barcelona Eixample district. I have a photo below.



The plaque is in English and Catalan. It says:

"Directors and actors as the artistic authors of films demand the moral right to have their work exhibited throughout the world in the form in which it was originally released"

So if the film has been made in Catalan, everyone should watch it subtitled and not dubbed. I remember watching "La Vita e Bella" in Italian with Spanish subtitles and thoroughly enjoyed it, so I can fully understand the request but I'm sure if the film in question was dubbed it would reach a much wider audience - which is precisely the idea of the new law mentioned above, right?

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Catalan Pride

Not everybody knows that Barcelona being the Capital of Catalonia means that it has 2 official languages - Catalan and Castellano (common spanish to you and I). Speakers of neither could well pass a few days here and not even notice the difference, as they are both similar Latin languages. Catalan is a mix of Spanish and French if you listen to it, or even if you read it - for example everything on the metro is in 3 languages, Catalan, Spanish and English, so it's easy to see the small differences.

The Catalans are a fiercely proud nation, and many shops will remind you with notices in the window "Catalonia is not Spain" - as they seek to gain their independence from the government. The language is a great way for them to try and express their desire for separation, and indeed, many people - even if they can tell you are a foreigner trying to speak Spanish - will always only speak to you in Catalan. They think that it's their country, their language, so you should speak it. Fair enough, but if you're making an effort to speak a language that they understand, at least come half way?!



Another favourite way to show off their Catalan pride is with bumper stickers on cars. I have mentioned this in a previous post. The black sillhouette of a Bull is a typical emblem of Spain, so to mock this, the Catalans have embraced another animal indigenous to Catalunya instead. Trot forward the donkey. similar to Catalan, it was close to extinction in the Franco era, but now has a blossoming population, so I'm told. Various versions of this donkey have been coined - a donkey mounting a bull, for example, and vice versa outside of Catalunya.

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