Mallorca consul urged to back Catalan learning

German residents on Mallorca should learn Catalan as part of joining island life, the Obra Cultural Balear has told Germany’s new consul, Angelika Saake. The group has invited Saake to a meeting in Palma on 1 September 2026 to discuss language, culture, community life and integration. It says speaking Catalan can help people take part in daily life and build links across Mallorca.

The OCB responded to Saake’s recent interview with Mallorca Zeitung, in which she called for awareness of how mobility and new residents affect the territory. The organisation welcomed her position but said that awareness must also mean knowing and respecting Mallorca’s own language and culture.

Integration beyond work and housing

For the OCB, settling in should not stop at finding work or a home. It should mean active involvement in the society people have joined.

Learning Catalan does not require newcomers to abandon their own language, culture or identity, it said. But it offers a shared space where people from different backgrounds can connect.

Warning over separate communities

Without enough integration, the group warned, separate communities can form with their own social and language spaces and too few links to Mallorcan society.

The OCB said many German residents had achieved full integration by learning Catalan. It also pointed to close historical ties between German and Catalan culture.

Topics: Court cases · Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com