O Único Galego Mal Falado

“…é o que non se fala”.

Happy Galician Literature Day, Galicia and all the galegophiles.

You’ve given me another lifelong project in learning, studying, and speaking. You’ve also shown me how a language can hold the culture, history, identity, and soul of a place.

I don’t feel that same connection to my language, English, which dominates much of the world. I vicariously bask in your commitment, both personal and collective, to keeping it alive. And I try to remind myself, when I’m embarrassed that I might accidentally mix Spanish when trying to speak Galician, that “the only badly spoken Galician is the one that isn’t spoken”.

“A tódolos galegos que nos transmitiron o herdo da lingua, ós que non renuncian a ela e confían e loitan polo seu futuro. Os que foron e van arrequentando agarimosamente este ben co seu maxín, a súa intelixencia e o seu traballo.”
— Dedication of Gramática galega, Editorial Galaxia 1995