#Canigó

[useless-catalanfacts]

Arrival of the Midsummer flame to Barcelona, Catalonia's capital city. The flame is lit at the top of the Canigó mountain in Northern Catalonia, a symbolic and mythical mountain in Catalan folk culture, and from there it's taken to every part of our country. The flame arrives right before the Catalan holiday of Sant Joan's eve (Midsummer/Saint John), when the Canigó flame will be used to light the bonfires of more than 3,000 towns and cities around the Catalan Countries. You can read more about the Canigó flame in this previous post.

This video was posted by Cultura Popular Barcelona. You can see how the arrival of the Canigó flame is celebrated with various traditional elements of Catalan celebrations, including castells, giants, big-heads, the Eagle, and a traca (firecrackers that signal the beginning of the holiday). The song that's playing is La foguera by Txarango.

[tinovalduvieco]

La Flama del Canigó a Calella.Maresme

Calella.Maresme 23-06-2024

©Tino Valduvieco

[ferrancoves]

[negreabsolut]

L'eix Rènnas del Castèlh - Girona, que té en els seus extrems les dues torres Magdala existents en ambdues localitats, si bé la de Girona, la primera en esser bastida, ja fa anys que fou enderrocada.

Al seu llarg aquest eix travessa algunes contrades i punts de gran interès tant esotèric com llegendari.

[guillemelgat]

30 llibres en català!

Bon any! (Sí, ja sé que arribo molt tard, però necessitava un descans després dels examens i tant de viatjar durant les vacances 😅) Porto un temps volent fer algun pas més amb el català, com que ja tinc un C1 còmode i no gaire pressió per millorar. El fet és que arribat en aquest punt, encara em queda moltíssim per aprendre, i per fer el pas al C2 i més enllà he d’esforçar-me més per afinar el lèxic i aprecisar els registres. També és cert que no he tingut gaires oportunitats aquest any per utilitzar el català, i es nota. Però tot això té un remei: tornar a estudiar, verament estudiar, el català.

Amb el C1 i C2, com que depenen tant de l’ús precís i mesurat de la llengua, és molt important interactuar amb una diversitat de gèneres i estils lingüístics. Amb el català, no tinc cap problema amb la gran majoria de registres orals ni escrits, si és que són informals, però entrats en coses més formals ja hi tinc molt menys familiaritat. També cal dir que el llenguatge literari sol ser més ric, tant a nivell lèxic com estilístic, i per això és un bon punt de partida per treballar la llengua. A més a més, llegir en anglès ja forma una gran part del meu dia-a-dia, i tot i que no puc canviar-ho tot al català, fer que el català sigui una de les llengües que faig servir tindrà un impacte important en el meu nivell i també podrà ser una part fonamental de la meva vida professional en algun moment, com que em vull dedicar a la catalanística. Per totes aquestes raons, crec que posar-me a prova amb la lectura en català serà un bon repte.

He pres com a punt de partida aquest repte en castellà (que he arribat a conèixer gràcies a, i que també ha estat elaborat més per @cernuda), però he decidit rebaixar la quantitat de llibres per algunes raons: (1) la persona que ha fet el repte ha triat llibres més curtets, i jo en tinc algunes de 500 pàgines i més, per tant crec que és més que justificat, (2) tinc moltes coses que em demanen l’atenció i sé que si poso un número més alt no em trobaré amb els ànims d’acabar el repte, (3) vull tenir el temps d’assaborir alguns d’aquests llibres perquè són clàssics, i (4) ja faig moltes més coses en català, i llegir 30 llibres ja per mi són molts llibres per llegir en un any, ni que siguin en català. Crec que, vist així, té tot el sentit del món la xifra que he triat.

Tinc una llista més o menys elaborada, amb una gran varietat de llibres (no-ficció, juvenil, medieval, poesia, tant moderns com clàssics de la llengua), i espero que amb això ja tindré prou per ocupar-me fins a desembre. Si teniu recomanacions ja em direu, i moltes gràcies a @no-passaran i @quimerathetraveler per l’allau de llibres que ja m’heu recomanat, sou els millors ❤️ Si algú més s’anima a acompanyar-me, ja em diràs i podem intercanviar llistes. I amb això, apa, a llegir!

[quatregats]

I hate the feeling when you've been using a language for a bit and suddenly it feels like you don't know how to say anything anymore even though it's definitely because you're pushing your limits and getting better

[madel-man]

REVETLLA DE SANT JOAN 2024, rebuda de la Flama del Canigó portada pel C...

[ernestdescalsartwok]

SANT JOAN DE VILATORRADA-ART-PINTURA-MASIA-MAS LLOBET-CAFETERIES-TORRENT DEL CANIGÓ-PAISATGES-PATRIMONI-PINTOR-ERNEST DESCALS por Ernest Descals Por Flickr: SANT JOAN DE VILATORRADA-ART-PINTURA-MASIA-MAS LLOBET-CAFETERIES-TORRENT DEL CANIGÓ-PAISATGES-PATRIMONI-PINTOR-ERNEST DESCALS- Paisaje urbano en SANT JOAN DE VILATORRADA, junto a la ciudad de Manresa, pueblos dela Comarca del Bages en la provincia de Barcelona, Catalunya Central. La antigua Masía de MAS LLOBET desde la calle del Torrent del Canigó, contraste entre los edificios del patrimonio cultural y las terrazas de las cafeterías que buscan la sombra de los árboles. Luz y movimiento en una pintura con óleos sobre lienzo de 65 x 81 centímetros. Cuadros paisajistas del artista pintor Ernest Descals con las señas de identidad de cada población.

[imiging]

Daily original photographs and creations selected by the imiging team!

©yama-bato

[orrinivalis]

mt. Canigó vista

[useless-catalanfacts]

Eus village and the Canigó mountain, Northern Catalonia.

Photo by suponjistudio on Instagram.

[cucullas]

- Mes, que diràn a Barcelona ? Ara bé. Sem a Barcelona o a Russilló ? El Barcelonès diu : jo parlo ; el Valencia diu : yo parle ; el Mallorqui diu : jo parl : el Russillonès diu : jo parli. Qui te ra-hó ? Jo pensi que tots quatre ne tenen, y que cum n'es d'aixo n'es d'allo. - Y donchs, també cairà escriure Canigu al lloc de Canigó ? Perqué no ? Canigu, qui vol dir : Montanya blanca, [...] y perqué convé an als fills del Monseny de pronunciar Canigó, ai xo vol pas dir que nosaltres, qui sem nascuts y qui vivim en Ia falda o al peu d'aqueixa montanya, siguem obligats de fer com ells. Qui sab millor que'ls fills mateixos del Canigú'l nom del gegant llur pare ?

Estève Caseponse (1850-1932) in the introduction of Contes Vallespirechs (1931) about why he doesn’t write “on the manner of Perpinyá” or “following the rules of Barcelona” when writing his Tales of the Vallespir. 

“- But what will be said in Barcelona? 

Now, are we in Barcelona or in the Rousillon? A Barcelonese says: jo parlo; a Valencian says: yo parle; a Mallorcan says: jo parl, and a man of the Rousillon says: jo parli. Who is right? I think the four of them are and that here and there things are different. 

- So, do we also have to write Canigu instand of Canigó?

Why not? Canigu means: White mountain and just because pronouncing Canigó suits the children of Monseny (mountain near Barcelona), that doesn’t mean that us, who were born and who live in its slope or at its foot have to do the same. Who knows better than the children of the Canigu themselves what is the name of the giant they call Father?”

[freedom-for-catalonia]

Pujar al cim del Canigó i encendre la flama la nit més màgica de l'any -...

[negreabsolut]

L'abadia de Sant Martí del Canigó, per CircleFork. [font]

[guillemelgat]

Language Goals 2023

In the spirit of last year’s very reasonable and achievable goals, here are more reasonable and achievable goals for 2023!

Catalan - I’d like to get the C2 this coming year. I’d also like to read more; specifically Ausiàs March and Vicent Andrés Estellés, and possibly El Canigó and/or El comte Arnau. And if I can, I’d like to write one creative piece in Catalan that I can feel proud of!

Welsh - I’d like to listen to more of Pigion, watch more Hansh videos, and also to find more spaces to use the language in. I really want Welsh to start feeling like a language that I can do things in, because I’m at a level where I can.

Basque - I want to watch at least one or two things in Basque, and, the same as Welsh, for it to be a language that I can use for things, not just a language I’m learning.

Malayalam - I would like to get to a really basic home heritage speaker level of Malayalam by the end of the year—understanding conversations when I visit family, and being able to answer when spoken to. My goal is to watch one Elikutty video per week, and to try to integrate the language into my thoughts and routine more.

Spanish, Galician, Aragonese, Asturian - I’d like to brush up on Spanish for academic purposes, and also to learn a bit about the grammar of the other three. I’d like to start remembering to actually watch A escampar la boira, and to start listening to more music in Aragonese and Asturian. As for Galician, I’d like to go into breaking down lyrics for the many songs I already listen to in it, and maybe watch more videos in it as well. In general, I’m aiming to go into the sphere of Iberian studies, especially Iberian minoritized languages, and so I want to be more familiar with the larger panorama.

Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Cornish, Manx, Breton - Same as for the others above, I want to have somewhat of a functional understanding of more Celtic languages so that I can interact with speakers and media production without needing a translation. I also just listen to a lot of music in at least Irish, and it drives me crazy not to be able to at least superficially understand it. I think the Celtic cultural sphere is really interesting, and so I’d like to be able to learn more about it and talk to more people within it without needing to make them translate to English.

Russian - I really want to be able to understand what people are saying at my friend’s house, and I think that if I put in enough Russian listening practice and vocabulary study I’d be able to piece it together, at least partially; I can already figure it out sometimes with just a few words and context. So I’d like to actually put in some time on that, in the hopes that maybe afterwards, if I spend a few days at her house, I’ll come out understanding Russian sdfhksdhf

Amharic - I’d like to be able to speak some basic Amharic, so my goal is to learn a few basic sentence patterns and some vocabulary, and maybe be able to say one or two things by the end of the year. Nothing big, but just a bit.

I have no idea if I’ll even get close with any of these languages to the goals that I’ve set out here, but I think that if I do, it’ll pay off! And if I don’t, then at minimum, my goal is to learn one thing for each that I can feel good about in a year’s time, and I hope that at least I can do that.

[quatregats]

hello Please Please do tell us about your 'the famous flower of serving men' story for the aubreyad (judging by the folk song alone I am intrigued!!)

...also I am of course interested in hornblower the tank engine.

The Famous Flower of Serving Men Aubreyad Crossover is entirely the fault of me getting brainworms about that song and then making it about my blorbos even though it is patently Not About That. It's somewhat of a fantasy AU and it is considerably less Bleak and Bloody than the song, which for those who are unfamiliar is about a pretty awful situation (warning: it is 10 minutes long and will put you into a trance despite being Bleak and Bloody), but otherwise it has a lot of what it says on the tin. Also I wrote it while reading Canigó so some of that might have seeped in. Here is a snippet:

One day in the early fall, the king was preparing for a hunting trip. The kingdom was at peace: the harvest had been bountiful and the people were content. The borderlands to the south were full of thick forests and fine game, and the king longed for a ride through the fresh air of the mountains before winter set in and confined him to his halls. “I’ll be back in a fortnight,” he said. “And I’ll leave the house to you—I hope you’ll keep it in good order.” His friend’s face looked oddly drawn and tight. “I will keep it in as good an order as I have every day, and I do not need your prying eye to help me,” he bit back. “It will only be a fortnight,” the king said, unsure of the source of this sudden displeasure. “And I will tell you of all the birds and beetles and snakes when I return.” “Sure, and I will be happy to hear of them,” the man agreed, but the unhappy look did not disappear from his face even as the king rode away the next morning at dawn.

And, well, for your interest in Hornblower the Tank Engine, I will provide you with a Rev. W Audry-style beginning-of-book letter, since I have almost finished writing this lad and will try to publish it soon-ish:

Dear Reader, Some of you have been asking about a little tank engine named Hornblower, who has been very hard at work on the Indefatigable Branch Line as of late. Some of you might have heard of his adventures with Exploding Bridges or Plague-Ridden Cattle. Not many people, though, know about his time at the dockyards, and about how he went up against a very dangerous engine and nearly won. He told me that story last September, and his Controller thinks that he has been such a Useful Engine as of late that I should tell it in a Book. We both agreed that he was Very Brave, and we think that it is high time other people thought that too. We hope you enjoy his story. Sincerely, The Author