Episode Thirteen: LLENGUA

“He who loses his language, loses his world.”
 Scottish Gaelic proverb

What does the Catalan language, and its local dialect of Eivissenc, really mean to the people of Ibiza who speak it today? How is it much more than a language, but rather, a fierce expression of local cultural identity on an island whose identity has been distorted and disfigured (on a global scale) as Ibiza the party island, and Ibiza the billionaire's playground? And how does speaking Eivissenc foster a deeper relationship with the landscapes of Eivissa?

Shortly after the Nit de Sant Joan, the midsummer solstice celebrations which traditionally take place on this island, and as heat waves rage across Europe, I retreat to well hidden in a forested glade near Atzaró, central-northern Ibiza, to the mysterious stone chamber of the Font d'en Prats. Here, as we gaze at the faint remains of decorative paintings leading down to the full pool of water below, we explore how Ibiza's 'indigenous' language is intrinsically tied to local sites like these.

Our journey into Ibiza's native language runs in parallel with an exploration of the gaelic language of the British Isles, and how an entire cosmological worldview was repressed and erased with the later imposition of the English language. Meanwhile, on Eivissa, I speak to the eivissencan poet and linguistic activist Jèssica Ferrer Escandell to find out why she carries out all of her artistic work in Catalan, and why she sees defending the Catalan language as a vital way to explore new cultural movements on Ibiza. Then we visit Hazel Morgan, the native English president of Amics de la Terra Eivissa (Friends of the Earth Ibiza), and also a fluent Eivissenc speaker, to hear her moving reflections on why language and ecology are inherently intertwined. 
 
English voiceover for the interview with Jèssica Ferrer Escandell is provided by Olivia Gajetzki. 

 This episode features the track Caisleán Óir by Clannad, whose lyrics are in gaelic.
 
Mentioned/featured in this episode:

-      Guia Mágica de Fuentes y pozos de Santa Eulalia del Rio, by Michel Ferrer Clapes, 1995
-      Extract from the Nit de Sant Joan (St. John’s night) manifesto, 2026, recited by the Institut d’Estudis Eivissencs (translated into English from Eivissenc)
-      Soil and Soul: People versus Corporate Power, by Alistair Macintosh, Aurum Press, 2001
-      Revista 078, Eivissan publishing collective. https://revista078.xyz/
-      Linguistic imperialism, term coined by Robert Phillipson
-      Amics de la Terra Eivissa (Friends of the Earth Ibiza): https://amicsdelaterraeivissa.org/ca/que-feim/
-      Thirty Two Words for Field by Manchán Magan, published in Emergence Magazine, 2026: https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/thirty-two-words-for-field/
-      La Casa Eivissenca by Rolph Blakstad, Loft Publications SL, 2021
-      Eivissenc/Catalan voices recorded during a hike to the Font den Prats in May 2026, organised by the Institut d’Estudis Eivissencs

 Written, presented and produced by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer, performance-maker, writer and founder of Theatre of the Ancients (www.theatreoftheancients.com)
Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent' by Uc (released by Produccions Blau, Mallorca)

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