Catalan /Valenciancultural domain
[1][2][3]
History Andorra Balearic Islands Catalonia (timeline) Roussillon Sardinia Valencia Crown of Aragon Principality of Catalonia Kingdom of Majorca Kingdom of Valencia Catalan Republic Catalan constitutions Furs of Valencia Treaty of the Pyrenees Nueva Planta
People Alguerese Andorrans Aragonese Balearics Ibizans Majorcans Minorcans Catalans Valencians
Language History Literature Dialects and varieties Grammar Pronunciation Phonetic history IPA guide Spelling-to-sound charts Orthography Alphabet Braille Morpho-syntax Nouns Personal pronouns Verbs (Conjugation) Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL) Institut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC) Institut andFundació Ramon Llull (IRL & FRL)
Geo-political divisions Andorra La Franja Balearic Islands Ibiza Majorca Minorca Catalonia El Carxe Pyrénées-Orientales (Northern Catalonia) L'Alguer Valencia SeeCatalan Countries
Government and politics Andorra Aragon Balearic Islands Catalonia Pyrénées-Orientales Valencia SeeCatalan andValencian nationalism,Catalan independence,Catalanophobia
Traditions and folklore Myths and legends Traditions Caganer Castells Correfoc Falles Fogueres de Sant Joan Gegants i capgrossos Moros i cristians Muixeranga Saint George's Day Tió de Nadal
Cuisine Balearic Islands Catalonia Valencia Coca Ensaïmada Pa amb tomàquet Paella
Art Catalan art Antoni Gaudí Antoni Tàpies Joan Miró Joaquim Sorolla Salvador Dalí
Literature Literature Segle d'or Decadència Renaixença Modernisme Noucentisme
Music and performing arts Music Nova cançó Rock català Rumba catalana Ball de bastons Jotes Sardana
Media Cinema of Catalonia Television in Catalonia
Sport Sport in Catalonia
Symbols Catalonia Flags Andorra Balearic Islands Catalonia Valencia Blasons Andorra Balearic Islands Catalonia Valencia Anthems El Gran Carlemany Els Segadors La Balanguera Himne de l'Exposició Days Catalan Countries Andorra Balearic Islands Catalonia Valencia
v t e

TheCatalan dialects (and restrictively also,Valencian dialects) feature a relative uniformity, especially when compared to other Romance languages;^[4] both in terms ofvocabulary,semantics,syntax,morphology, andphonology.^[5] Mutual intelligibility between its dialects is very high,^[6][7][8] estimates ranging from 90% to 95%.^[9][10] The only exception is the isolated idiosyncraticAlguerese dialect.^[4]

In 1861, linguistManuel Milà i Fontanals split Catalan into two main dialectal blocks:Western andEastern.^[8][5] The most obvious phonetic difference lies in the treatment of unstressed a and e, which have merged to/ə/ in Eastern dialects, but remain distinct as/a/ and/e/ in Western dialects.^[4][8] There are a few other differences in pronunciation, verbal morphology, and vocabulary.^[6]Western Catalan comprises the two varieties ofNorth-Western Catalan andValencian; the Eastern block comprises three to four varieties (depending on their classification):Central Catalan,Roussillonese (Northern Catalan), and Insular (Balearic andAlguerese).^[8] Each variety can be further subdivided into several subdialects.

There are two spoken standards for the language based on the Eastern and Western dialects respectively:

• InCatalonia, theInstitut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC) regulates the spoken standard based onCentral Catalan, which has the highest number of speakers^[8] and is spoken in the densely populated regions of theBarcelona province, the eastern half of theprovince of Tarragona, and most of theprovince of Girona.^[8]
• In theValencian Community (a.k.a. Valencian Country), theAcadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL) adapts theFabran guidelines to the Valencian variety, and regulates an alternative spoken standard based on the Southern Valencian dialect (especially Upper Southern Valencian). Despite having fewer speakers than the Central Valencian dialect,^[12] Southern Valencian (except the southernmost subdialects) has been less influenced by Spanish. It is spoken in the South and North of theValencia andAlicante provinces respectively, in cities such asAlcoi,Dénia,Gandia andXàtiva.

Valencians are only surpassed in number of Catalan-speakers by Catalans themselves, representing approximately a third of the whole Catalan-speaking population.^[12] Therefore, in the context oflinguistic conflict, recognition and respect towards the dual standard, as well as the dual Catalan–Valencian denomination,^[13] pacifies the tense central–periphery relations between Catalonia and the Valencian Community.

TheContinental varieties^[14][15][16] of Catalan and Valencian may refer to:

• Northern,Central andNorth-Western Catalan, all spoken in mainlandCatalonia (andRoussillon), andValencian, spoken in theValencian Community. Exceptions may include the Majorcan spoken by certain communities in the Valencian towns ofTàrbena andLa Vall de Gallinera in the region of la Marina.

Insular Catalan may refer to:

• theBalearic subdialects, mainly spoken on the islands ofIbiza,Majorca andMinorca (wide definition).
• Alguerese, the Catalan variety spoken in theSardinian city ofAlghero.

Classifications of the different varieties of Valencian:

Comarcal extension of the dialects of Model C (within the Valencian Community only):

Northern: elsPorts, l'Alt and elBaix Maestrat.

Subdivisions:

1. Northern Zone or Tortosan: the bordering towns with Catalonia fromHerbers (els Ports) toVinaròs (el Baix Maestrat).
2. Southern Zone: els Ports, l'Alt Maestrat and most el Baix Maestrat.

Castellonenc: l'Alcalatén, elPla de l'Arc, laPlana Alta andBaixa.

Subdivisions:

1. Northern Zone: l'Alcalatén, el Pla de l'Arc and la Plana Alta (exceptAlmassora).
2. Southern Zone: la Plana Baixa with the inclusion of Almassora (la Plana Alta).

Central: South of laPlana Baixa (Almenara andla Llosa), elCamp de Morvedre, l'Horta de València, elCamp de Túria, most of laRibera Alta and the Western zone of laRibera Baixa.

Subdivisions:

1. Northern Zone: el Camp de Morvedre, l'Horta Nord.
2. Southern Zone: l'Horta Sud,apitxat area of la Ribera Alta and Baixa.

Upper Southern:non-apitxat zones of la Ribera Alta and Baixa, laSafor,Costera, laVall d'Albaida, l'Alcoià, laMarina Alta andBaixa, Northern zone of l'Alacantí.

Subdivisions:

1. Inland Zone:non-apitxat area of la Ribera Alta, la Costera, la Vall d'Albaida and l'Alcoià.
2. Coastal Zone:non-apitxat area of la Ribera Baixa, la Safor, la Marina Alta and Baixa.

Lower Southern: the towns on the South of the line that connects the localities ofBiar andBusot.

Subdivisions:

1. Inland Zone: lesValls del Vinalopó.
2. Coastal Zone: elBaix Vinalopó and l'Alacantí.

Catalan has inherited the typical vowel system ofVulgar Latin, with seven stressed phonemes:/a,ɛ,e,i,ɔ,o,u/, a common feature inWestern Romance, except Spanish,Asturian, andAragonese.^[19]Balearic has also instances of stressed/ə/.^[20] Dialects differ in the different degrees ofvowel reduction,^[21] and the incidence of the pair/ɛ,e/.^[22]

InEastern Catalan (except most of Majorcan), unstressed vowels reduce to three:/a,e,ɛ/ →[ə];/o,ɔ,u/ →[u];/i/ remains distinct.^[23] There are a few instances of unreduced[e],[o] in some words.^[23]Alguerese has lowered[ə] to[a], similar to Eastern dialects spoken in theBarcelona metropolitan area (however, in the latter dialects the vowels are distinct as[ɐ] vs.[a]).

In Majorcan (except in some parts of in the northern of the island), unstressed vowels reduce to four:/a,e,ɛ/ follow the Eastern Catalan reduction pattern; however/o,ɔ/ reduce to[o], with/u/ remaining distinct, as in Western Catalan.^[24]

InWestern Catalan, unstressed vowels reduce to five:/e,ɛ/ →[e];/o,ɔ/ →[o];/a,u,i/ remain distinct.^[25][26] This reduction pattern, inherited fromProto-Romance, is also found in Italian andPortuguese.^[25] Some Western dialects present further reduction orvowel harmony in some cases.^[25][27]

Central, Western, and Balearic differ in the lexical incidence of stressed/e/ and/ɛ/.^[22] Usually, words with/ɛ/ in central Catalan correspond to/ə/ in Balearic and/e/ in Western Catalan.^[22] Words with/e/ in Balearic almost always have/e/ in central and western Catalan as well.^[22] As a result, Western Catalan has a much higher incidence of/e/.^[22]

Note, the quality of vowels also varies across dialects, and they may present a wide range of contextualallophones. For further information seeCatalan phonology#Vowels.

• Vowel mergers (between dialects) include:
  • au ('bird') vs.ou ('egg') - Southern Valencian (as/a/).
  • ma ('my') vs.mà ('hand') - General Valencian, North-Western, Alguerese (as/a/).
  • be ('sheep') vs.bé ('good') - Northern Catalan, Alguerese (as/e/).
  • que ('that') vs.què ('what') - General Valencian (as/e/).
  • sec ('dry, I sit') vs.sec ('fold') - General Valencian, North-Western, Northern Catalan, Alguerese (as/e/).
  • set ('thirst') vs.set ('seven') - General Catalan, Central Catalan (as/ɛ/). Northern Catalan, Alguerese (as/e/)
  • son ('sleep') vs.són ('they are') - Alguerese (as/o/).
  • son ('his') vs.són ('they are') - Northern Catalan (as/u/).
  • sol ('sun, alone') vs.sòl ('floor, ground') - Northern Catalan, Alguerese (as/o/).
  • sou ('salary') vs.sou ('you are') - Northern Catalan, Alguerese, Northern Valencian (as/o/).
  • espècia ('spice') vs.espècie ('type') - Central Catalan, Northern Catalan, Balearic; incl. General Catalan (as/ə/). Alguerese (as/a/).
  • gener ('January') vs.Giner ('Giner' [surname]) - colloquial Western Catalan, especially Valencian (as/i/).
  • però ('but') vs.pro ('pro') - some Eastern Catalan speakers (as ∅).
  • fullet ('brochure') vs.follet ('goblin') - Central Catalan, Northern Catalan, Balearic (except most of Majorcan), Alguerese; incl. General Catalan (as/u/).

Catalan and Valencian dialects are characterised byfinal-obstruent devoicing,lenition andvoicing assimilation. Additionally, many dialects contrast tworhotics (/r,ɾ/) and twolaterals (/l,ʎ/).

Most Catalan and Valencian dialects are also renowned by the usage ofdark l (i.e.velarisation of/l/ →[ɫ]), which is especially noticeable in syllablefinal position, in comparison to neighbouring languages, such as Spanish, Italian and French (that lack this pronunciation).

There is dialectal variation in regard to:

• The pronunciation and distribution ofsibilants (with different results according tovoicing andaffrication vs.deaffrication).
  • While, arguably there are seven to eight sibilants in Standard Catalan and Standard Valencian, dialects like Central Valencian and Ribagorçan only have three or four.
• The usage of the voiced labiodental fricative phoneme/v/.
• The pronunciation or not ofyod (/j/) in the digraph⟨ix⟩.
• Theelision and pronunciation of finalrhotics (either/ɾ/ or/r/).
• Thedelateralisation of the palatal lateral approximant (/ʎ/).
• The alternation oflenition vs.fortition (such as/b/ inpoble 'village, people' →[β] vs.[b] vs.[bː] vs.[p] vs.[pː]).

Consonant mergers (between dialects) include:

• General consonant mergers in both General Catalan and Valencian:
  • cub ('cube') vs.cup ('winepress') - as/p/.
  • tord ('thrush') vs.tort ('crooked') - as/t/.
  • mag ('magician') vs.mac ('pebble') - as/k/.

• General consonant mergers in General Catalan and dialectally in Valencian:
  • tom ('tome') vs.tomb ('turn') - as/m/.
  • rom ('rum') vs.romp ('he or she breaks') - as/m/.
  • glans ('acorns') vs.glands ('glands') - as/n/.
  • quan ('when') vs.quant ('how much') - as/n/.

• Other consonant mergers include:
  • bola ('ball') vs.vola ('he or she flies') - General Catalan, North-Western Catalan, Northern Catalan, Central Catalan, Central Valencian and partly in Northern Valencian (as/b/).
  • vida ('life') vs.vira ('to turn, to tack') - Alguerese (both as/ɾ/).
  • vila ('town') vs.vira ('to turn, to tack') - Alguerese (both as/ɾ/).
  • vals ('costs') vs.valls ('valleys') - Alguerese and parts of Eastern Aragon (as/l/).
  • bans ('bands') vs.banys ('baths') - Alguerese and parts of Eastern Aragon (as/n/).
  • caça ('hunting') andcassa ('ladle') vs.casa ('house') - Central Valencian (as/s/) and parts of Eastern Aragon (as/s/ and/θ/).
  • boja ('crazy') vs.botja ('shrub') - General Valencian (as/d͡ʒ/). Northern Valencian (as/(j)ʒ/).
  • boja ('crazy') vs.botja ('shrub') vs.botxa ('bocce') - Central Valencian (as/t͡ʃ/).
  • setge ('siege') vs.setze ('sixteen') - Northern Valencian (as/d͡ʒ/).
  • xoc ('shock') vs.joc ('game') - Central Valencian (as/t͡ʃ/).
  • xec ('check') vs.txec ('Czech') - General Valencian (as/t͡ʃ/).
  • all ('garlic') vs.ai ('ouch' [interj.]) - Majorcan, young speakers of Catalan and Valencian (as/j/).
  • raig ('ray') vs.rai ('raft, interj.') - some Catalan and Valencian speakers (as/j/).
  • raig ('ray') vs.raigs ('rays') - General Catalan and Valencian (as/t͡ʃ/). Some Catalan and Valencian speakers (as/j/ and/js/, respectively).
  • goig ('joy') vs.gots ('glass' [drinking glass]) - Northern Valencian (as/t͡ʃ/). Partially in Central Valencian (as/t͡s/).
  • reis ('kings') vs.reix ('resh') - partially in Northern Valencian (as/js/). Note that in some dialects,reis in the context ofReis Mags ('Magi') has merged with the plural ofreix, i.e.reixos ('Magi' and 'reshes') favouring/ʃ/ over/s/ (except Northern Valencian where it may be pronounced with/s/).
  • guis ('stew') vs.guix ('gypsum') - partially in Northern Valencian (as/s/).
  • test ('test') vs.text ('text') - some Catalan and Valencian speakers (as/s/).
  • bruns ('dark browns') vs.brunz ('he or she buzzes') - General Catalan and Valencian (as/s/).
  • isard ('chamois, wild') vs.-itzar ('-ize/-ise' [suffix]) - General Valencian and partly in Balearic and Alguerese (as/z/).
  • isard ('chamois, wild') vs.-itzar ('-ize/-ise' [suffix]) vs.hissar ('to hoist') - Central Valencian (as/s/).
  • tsarina ('tsarina') vs.Sarina ('Sarina' [given name]) - most Catalan and Valencian dialects (as/s/).
  • zinc ('zinc') vs.cinc ('five') - Central Valencian (as/s/) and Eastern Aragon (as/s/ or/θ/).
  • erts ('stiffs') vs.hertz ('hertz') - General Catalan and Valencian (as/t͡s/).

In Western Catalan, the 1st person present indicative ending for verbs is-e (∅ in verbs of the 2nd and 3rd conjugation), or-o. For example,parle,tem,sent (Valencian);parlo,temo,sento (North-Western). In Eastern Catalan, the 1st person present indicative ending for verbs is-o,-i or∅ in all conjugations. For example,parlo (Central),parl (Balearic),parli (Northern); all meaning "I speak".

In Western Catalan, the inchoative desinences for verbs are-isc/-ixo,-ix,-ixen,-isca. In Eastern Catalan, the inchoative desinences for verbs are-eixo,-eix,-eixen,-eixi.

In Western Catalan, the/n/ of medieval plurals in proparoxytone nouns and adjectives is maintained. For example,hòmens 'men',jóvens 'youth'. In Eastern Catalan, the/n/ of medieval plurals in proparoxytone nouns and adjectives is lost. For example,homes 'men',joves 'youth'.

Despite its relative lexical unity, the two dialectal blocks of Catalan (Eastern and Western) show some differences in word choices.^[30] Any lexical divergence within any of the two groups can be explained as an archaism. Also, usuallyCentral Catalan acts as an innovative element.^[30]

Books

• Carbonell, Joan F.; Llisterri, Joaquim (1999). "Catalan".Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A Guide to the Usage of the International Phonetic Alphabet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 54–55.ISBN 978-0-521-63751-0.
• Costa Carreras, Joan; Yates, Alan (2009).The Architect of Modern Catalan: Selected Writings/Pompeu Fabra (1868–1948). Instutut d'Estudis Catalans & Universitat Pompeu Fabra & Jonh Benjamins B.V.ISBN 978-90-272-3264-9.
• Feldhausen, Ingo (2010).Sentential Form and Prosodic Structure of Catalan. John Benjamins B.V.ISBN 978-90-272-5551-8.
• Ferrater; et al. (1973). "Català".Enciclopèdia Catalana (in Catalan). Vol. 4 (1977, corrected ed.). Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana. pp. 628–639.ISBN 84-85-194-04-7.
• Melchor, Vicent de; Branchadell, Albert (2002).El catalán: una lengua de Europa para compartir (in Spanish). Bellaterra: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.ISBN 84-490-2299-1.
• Moll, Francesc de B. (2006) [1958].Gramàtica Històrica Catalana (in Catalan) (Catalan ed.). Universitat de València.ISBN 978-84-370-6412-3.
• Pons i Griera, Lídia.Iodització i apitxament al Vallès (in Catalan).
• Recasens i Vives, Daniel (1996).Fonètica descriptiva del català: assaig de caracterització de la pronúncia del vocalisme i el consonantisme català al segle XX (2nd ed.). Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis Catalans.ISBN 9788472833128.
• Saborit i Vilar, Josep (2009).Millorem la pronúncia. Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Veny i Clar, Joan (1983).Els parlars catalans (in Catalan). Palma: Moll.ISBN 9788427304222.
• Wheeler, Max (2005).The Phonology of Catalan. Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-925814-7.

Web sites

• "Acord de l'Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL), adoptat en la reunió plenària del 9 de febrer del 2005, pel qual s'aprova el dictamen sobre els principis i criteris per a la defensa de la denominació i l'entitat del valencià"(PDF). Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved28 September 2014 – via avl.gva.es.
• "Catalan language. Ethnologue".
• "El català continental distingeix els fonemes vocàlics accentuats è oberta de mots com "mel", i é tancada de mots com "vent"" (in Catalan). Diccionari català-valencià-balear (DCVB).
• "Rodamots. «Català peninsular» o millor «català continental»?" (in Catalan).
• "Xarxa CRUSCAT" (in Catalan). Institut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC).

• Catalan dialects
• Catalan language

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from October 2021
• Pages with plain IPA
• Articles containing Catalan-language text
• CS1 Catalan-language sources (ca)
• CS1 Spanish-language sources (es)