Asturian letters, universal heritage

George Steiner used to say that there is no language that can be considered "small," or "minor," regardless of its number of speakers or its social or material context, because each language creates a set of possible worlds and geographies of memory.

Indeed, each language constitutes a universe that manifests itself in its toponymy, in its literature, in popular speech, in the expression of affections, in the intimate and the transcendent, in the sublime and the concrete. Such is the meaning of linguistic diversity as a source of richness for our society, richness that cannot be measured by the number of people who possess it because, as the Universal History of Paniceiros by our lamented Xuan Bello demonstrates, the entire world fits into a small village.

We are going through times, however, in which those who denigrate diversity as a space for encounter and common heritage, have more loudspeakers than ever, although I am not sure if they are more than the usual ones. Faced with the permanent homogenizing and impoverishing shouting that wants to reduce diversity to a folkloric anecdote, all kinds of artistic and cultural proposals are emerging in our country, from the center and from the peripheries, in a permanent interaction that disproves anyone who tries to limit it. Thus, the Asturian language, which in 2026 celebrates May 8 as its Day of Letters, claims its place in the literary canon as part of that collective heritage, which knows no borders or hierarchies.

 This should be the case, in any event, because we cannot stop lamenting that non-co-official languages, such as Asturian or Aragonese, must face constant administrative obstacles in areas as sensitive as education or the media. We cannot forget the teachers of Asturian and Eonavian, who continue to fight for the creation of teaching specializations for their subjects, without which they are condemned to precariousness and permanent interim status.

Nor can we ignore the almost total absence of programming in the Asturian language on public radio and television, despite its own regulations entrusting it with promoting audiovisual content in indigenous languages. And, from the perspective of an Asturian deputy in the Congress, the supposed normality with which the State's languages can be used hides a series of procedural barriers that, in practice, hinder the normalization of our linguistic diversity. It is true that in this legislature there have been notable advances that should be claimed, but the permanent exceptionality in which the Asturian language finds itself not only hinders its spontaneous use, but also provides tools to those who seek to flatten any manifestation of plurality in institutions.

They are just some examples of a string of obstacles and impediments that would be easily rectifiable, especially if we advance in the most logical direction and that awakens the most consensus in Asturies: the official status of the Asturian language. Not only is it demanded by the speakers of the language, not only is it advised by the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, but it is an aspiration of all people who appreciate and defend the whole of Asturian tradition and culture. And in that integral conception of heritage, the Selmana de les Lletres shines every May, the festival of literature of Asturies, a moment to feel proud of who we were, of who we are, of who we will be and of the language we read and speak.