Hi John, Thanks for your questions. I would agree...

2010-11-06T21:20:10.417Z

Hi John,

Thanks for your questions. I would agree that the semantic field of community in the US, etc, is different to that in Spain/Catalonia/Figueres. What I glossed as a sense of "community" on the OAC forum was communicated to me in two main ways. The first was in terms of "convivència" or peaceful coexistence (or I suppose more broadly construed as social integration or community life). The consensus in Figueres was/is that at present there is "mala convivència". An example: "m'agradaria saber quin és el principal causant d'aquesta mala convivència que es respira a Figueres …" When breaking these ideas down further, other terms used by informants were "sentido de comunidad" / "sentit de comunitat", in the sense of "vivir juntos" as opposed to "separadas". The term "comunitat"/"comunidad" is also used in other ways to describe groups of people, but it was this feeling of community (or a loss thereof) that stood out.

The second way it was put was in terms of being open or closed. Both the people and the city itself were described as "closed" for various reasons (that I explore in my thesis). Some examples: "cada vez es mas extraña en cuanto a las gentes y eso si, mas cerrada en la interrelacion social, es una ciudad poco alegre y siempre lo ha sido"; "creo que hay una mentalidad muy cerrada aqui". Another memorable exchange: “¿Qué piensas de Figueres? cerrada ¿Te gusta vivir en Figueres? no mucho....gente muy cerrada”. This closed mentality is seen as both a cause and product of a generally fragmented existence, with different types of people living separate lives and no real communal investment. Again, a "mala convivència". Meanwhile, in British/American terms, the small town proximity and everyone generally following what everyone else is doing would map onto a strong semblance of community life, at least as Daniel portrays it in his example.

Since I don't play with the word "community" in English that much, I'm not sure if this would satisfy community theorists, but I felt that this was the most direct translation in Daniel’s context.

Hi Fran. Thanks for posting these thoughts. I'...

2010-11-06T14:07:31.535Z

Hi Fran. Thanks for posting these thoughts.

I'm surprised to hear that the notion of community is so prominent in everyday discourse in Figueres (Catalonia). What were the actual Catalan terms used? When peopled decried the loss of community, what was the actual language they employed? Surely the semantic field of community in the US, Britain, Eire, etc, differs substantially from that of 'comunitat' in Catalonia?

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Hi John, Thanks for your questions. I would agree...

Hi Fran. Thanks for posting these thoughts. I'...