The Catalan sovereignty movement came to a head on 1 October 2017 in a beleaguered referendum declared illegal by the Spanish government, which sent in thousands of police and civil guard troops, used force against would-be voters, confiscated ballot boxes, and jailed civic leaders and elected officials on charges of sedition. The political crisis for the Spanish state as well as Catalonia continues. An election to replace the suspended autonomous government was scheduled for 21 December 2017. International news reports represent the independence movement as based both in economic tensions and in Catalonia’s distinct language and culture, with the language as key to Catalan identity. These claims are not incorrect, but for many observers, such assertions about language evoke a backward nationalism emotionally tied to the mother tongue and yearning for a return to roots. This doesn’t capture the linguistic dynamics of the Catalan identity or of the independence movement;. . .