Castellón changes its name
Monday, June 4, 2018 @ 11:05 PM
CASTELLÓN is about to change its name officially as part of the city council's bid to 'Valencianise' the east-coast provincial capital.
It will drop the final 'n' and become Castelló, following votes in favour from the socialists (PSOE), the independent local party Castelló en Moviment, and the left-wing regional party Compromís.
Centre-right Ciudadanos and the right-wing PP voted against.
The city, like many municipalities in the Comunidad Valenciana, has two names – Castellón, which is Spanish, and Castelló, which is valenciano – so the PP and Ciudadanos do not see the sense in scrapping the Spanish version of the name, which is the most-used for Castellón outside the region and worldwide.
Spokesman for Castelló en Moviment, Xavi del Señor, argues that the name change 'does not oblige anyone to speak in a certain way', and councillor for Compromís, Enric Porcar, says the move 'is not against anyone or any language'.
They say 'historic' and 'scientific' data bear out the fact that the city should be called 'Castelló', in valenciano, and that 'four high-profile experts' – Germà Colón, Vicent Pitarch, Vicent García Edo and Antonio Gascó – have signed a manifesto to that effect.
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