Teacher Wins Andorra Literary Prize for Essay on Language Power Dynamics

Laura Navarro, a 29-year-old teacher from Escaldenca and doctoral candidate at UPEC-Paris Créteil, has won the Andorra Literary Essay Prize for her book *Funàmbuls lingüístics*. The work explores the intersections of language, power, and identity, cautioning that it raises more questions than definitive answers.

Drawing on philosopher Jacques Derrida's remark—"I have only one language, and it is not mine"—Navarro reflects on her own plurilingualism, shaped not by choice but by impositions from family, school, and state. Despite lacking a colonial context, her doctoral research highlights how multilingualism often serves policy goals rather than genuine expression.

She critiques Council of Europe language policies, which promote progressive ideals like competence certification but veer toward standardization. These frameworks, she argues, link language proficiency to practical outcomes such as migrant permit renewals, shifting from humanistic aims to migration controls. Users may feel they select their languages, much like Instagram's algorithm curates content based on profiles, creating an illusion of choice.

Navarro turns to Andorra's Catalan Language Law, noting the government's website slogan: "Our mountains are protected by law. Catalan too," paired with a paternalistic image. While acknowledging the need to legally safeguard Catalan against the dominance of Spanish and French, she warns against overregulation. "It's good for the language to become law," she says, "but let's make sure it doesn't dry up on us," likening rigid norms to shiny plastic plants that feel cold to the touch.

The essay calls for balance between formal standards and the living, error-prone street language. What matters, Navarro emphasizes, is active use—speaking and writing it with enthusiasm. She poses a challenge to readers: "If language is a responsibility, what is the minimum you can do?" Her own minimum? "Cheating" on purism. A former strict grammarian who corrects students to say "fins i tot" instead of "inclús," she admits to code-switching freely with friends, blending three languages in a single sentence.

The title evokes tightrope walkers on a slack cord, ever at risk of imbalance. Navarro sees value in such reflection: being aware of why one chooses a language in each context, recognizing all tongues as indebted to others, and accepting imperfection. Regulating something alive, she concludes, is inherently slippery—like water escaping the grasp.