Shanahan: ‘A Hard-Headed Refusal To Give In’
While translator and co-guest editor Scott Shanahan at
Words Without Borders‘ magazine this month works well in his introductory essay to stress that Galician is neither a dialect nor a transcription of Spanish or Portuguese, the Galician region in northwestern Spain is known this year for its decree that the coronavirus COVID-19 vaccine is compulsory for all 2.7 million inhabitants.
Fines for non-compliance are reported to range from €1,000 to €60,000 (US$1,193 to $71,589), The Local reported late last month, and Spain on Sunday (March 14) marked the first anniversary of its original state of emergency declared for the pandemic’s assault.
Writing Against Estrangement in Galicia
No doubt a few Galicians will think it in very bad taste to inaugurate this issue with a likeness to their higher profile southern neighbors, but because there may be a great many glad for the comparison, I can hardly imagine a better point of entry to the little-known trove that is Galician literature. Indeed, ever since the independence of Portugal in 1143 from the Spanish Kingdom of León, and the subsequent split of their common vulgar tongue, debate has raged over just where (and when) to draw the border between Galician and Portuguese, if one need be drawn at all. They are, for the most part, mutually intelligible, despite differences in vocabulary, accent, and syntax. Orthography is a particular sticking point, notably with place-names, whose spelling can carry real political import. It is hardly a surprise, then, that in either culture respect is reserved for all the irrevocably parted, or that a word has emerged, in either language, t