Under the Fascist dictatorship in Spain use of Catalan was repressed and discouraged by the government, because Catalonia was the center of Republican resistance during the Spanish Civil War of the mid-1930's. It was the language of the anti-Fascists, and Orwell was one of the volunteers from abroad who went to Catalonia to fight for the Spanish Republic. He was one of the men and women who saw the rising tide of Fascism in Europe and felt it was their duty to put their lives on the line to stop it early. That fight against the fascists, though ultimately unsuccessful, was pivitol in Orwell's political development, and his writing of 1984. He is still honored in Catalonia as a hero of the Republic.
In the last few decades, since the Fall of the Dictatorship, Catalan has experienced a rebirth as the language of the people who refused to submit.
And that's what I'm raising money for - travel to and from Barcelona. Our hope is to finish the translation by the Fall, submit it to Catalan publishers by Winter, and get it to the Catalan people by Spring.
But I can't do it without your help.
So please click on the "Donate here" link, get me to Barcelona, and help bring the play "1984" to Catalonia!
