Plural stamps · Multilingual stamps 

On the first of January, 1850, the first modern Spanish postage stamp was issued. Since that time until 30 June 2000, Spain has issued a total of 3,731 stamps, of 31 of which there has been some wording in Catalan (0.8 per cent), 11 have included Galician (0.29 per cent) and only 4 have had some wording in Basque (0.1 per cent). Furthermore, in this period Spain has not issued a single stamp in the other languages spoken in its territory (Aragonese, Asturian, and Occitan in Vall d'Aran). Altogether, these 46 stamps issued in languages apart from Castilian represent only 1.2 per cent of all the stamps issued over 150 years and a half.

The Spanish example is in sharp contrast to that of a good number of multilingual states around the world which have reflected the linguistic diversity within them on their stamps and in so doing have promoted them inside and outside their frontiers with the desire of making it universally known. In Europe there are some well-known cases: Belgium (which regularly issues stamps in Dutch, French and German), Finland (which issues them in Finnish and Swedish), Ireland (in Irish and in English) and Switzerland (in German, French, Italian and Romansch).

The Spanish Constitution of 1978 permitted Catalan, Galician and Basque to be made official in their historic territories, and imposed the obligation on the state to respect and protect the linguistic diversity within it. It is true that 28 of the 31 stamps with wording in Catalan, and all the stamps which had Galician and Basque, were in the period following the approval of the Constitution, but the way we see it these figures do not suppose any significant promotion by the state of the different languages of its citizens.

As speakers of the languages apart from Castilian which we want to be given recognition in the symbols of the state, we wish to make public our request that our languages be included on Spanish stamps in a way which does justice to their demographic, historical  and cultural importance, at the same time showing that the constitutional obligation to respect and protect Spanish linguistic diversity is being carried out instead of mere token gestures being made. We wish to appeal to the people who represent us to take all necessary measures to bring about a change in policy so that there will be pluralism in what has been until now a history of uniformity in Spanish stamps.

(©) Organització pel Multilingüisme (Organisation for Multilingualism).

(©) Iain Ó hAnnaidh.