There are verses that go in one ear and out the other. And there are those that, on any given day, make you stop. The other day, stuck in one of the usual traffic jams on the Mallorcan motorways, I noticed a line from Tobogan, by Zoo: “He had to work it out”. I noticed it because the same group, in Vull, sings: “If someone has to cry, let them cry”. It’s not that the line grated on me, nor was it (obviously!) the first time I had heard it. However, it made me think about the hesitation that still exists today in one of the most emblematic constructions of syntactic grammar.

The Pla de Mallorca is full of fragmented wooded areas scattered across the territory in a mosaic pattern, but historically "we have focused our attention on the Serra and other emblematic areas and have forgotten this natural vegetation that we need to recover," says the biologist and author of the book. Forests in the interior of Mallorca, Nature and CultureBiel Vicens. With this work – which he will present this Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Sineu Town Hall auditorium – he aims to break with the "comparative injustice" that exists in relation to these wooded areas, little known despite their high value. In this regard, he exemplifies that in areas like the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range, there are many protected lands that are even publicly owned. In contrast, he denounces that "publicly owned forests do not exist in the Pla, with the sole exception of the municipality of Lloret." Therefore, he asks the town councils and the Consell de Mallorca (Island Council of Mallorca) to acquire forests and pay attention to them, since they are true lungs of biodiversity. In addition to highlighting the wooded areas in the Pla, Vicens also wants to explain the current importance of the area's forest ecosystems. "Today we know that agroforestry mosaics, like those that have barely survived until now, are capable of providing more ecosystem services than other, more extensive and homogeneous landscapes. Science highlights the benefits of natural vegetation environments for agricultural systems: protection against soil loss, protection against the elements, natural pollination, improved water infiltration and storage, among others," he explains.

"But is this correct?" is one of the most common questions philologists hear. It's often accompanied by a cautious gesture, as if language were a treacherous terrain where one must move carefully to avoid "committing a barbarism." Behind this uncertainty lies a widespread idea: that there is someone, a kind of invisible authority, who knows exactly what "speaking correctly" means.