>just to clarify, i meant that there is a swiss nation even
>tho there isn't just one language in switzerland, just as
>there is a spanish nation tho they have more than one
>language, ditto belgium. even if you insist on dismissing
>the minority languages/ethnicities of france bc they do not
>constitute very many speakers, you can't do the same with
>catalan.

Which would be a good argument if Catalans really wanted to be a part of the Spanish nation. But it's not the case. They actually claim their independance, and are coming closer and closer to it, and a central part of their claim is them having their own language. And associated culture (as well as being the richest area in the country, too). As for Belgium, the dissensions between the two communities are also a constant burden.

>it's no more incongruous for a radical basque to
>be part of europe than it is to be part of france, and in
>fact it may be less incongruous for him to be part of the
>same political unit as his basque brothers in spain.
>

Maybe, but it doesn't change the fact that his goal is to have Pays Basque recognized as a nation. Europe as a political unit might be a tool to strive toward this goal, but it won't become his cultural identity.

>we began with you saying, europe can't have a culture in
>common because it doesn't have a language in common. my
>point was that most nations in europe are already
>multilingual and multiethnic.
>

Most?


>aside:
>>Ha. This is very funny. You act as if languages like Langue
>>d'Oil (!)
>
>as an aside: what exactly is langue d'oil? and langue d'oc
>= occitane = provecale, correct? i thought i read somewhere
>that provencale and catalan were mutually comprehensible,
>how close are they?

Well, linguists traditionally separate all the dialects that predated French into two broad currents, a classification based on the way "Oui" was pronounced: in the northern part of France (north of the Loire), you had la Langue d'Oil, which included germanic influences, and in the southern part, la Langue d'Oc.

Provencal, Occitan and Catalan are dialects that were part of the Langue d'Oc, and they're all fairly close. My father is from Narbonne and knows Occitan, and indeed understands Provencal or Catalan.