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Catalan language

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Western Romance language
"Catala" redirects here. For the ship, seeSSCatala. For the surname, seeCatalá.

Catalan
Valencian
català
valencià
Pronunciation[kətəˈla] (N,C &B) /[kataˈla] (NW &A)
[valensiˈa] (V)
Native to
RegionSouthern Europe
SpeakersL1: 4.1 million (2022)[1]
L2: 5.1 million
Total: 9.2 million
Early forms
Signed Catalan
Official status
Official language in
1 state, 3 communities and 1 city
Recognised minority
language in
3 sub-regions or areas
Regulated byInstitut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC)
Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL)
Language codes
ISO 639-1ca
ISO 639-2cat
ISO 639-3cat
Glottologstan1289
Linguasphere51-AAA-e
  Territories where Catalan/Valencian is spoken and is official
  Territories where Catalan/Valencian is spoken but is not official
  Territories where Catalan/Valencian is not historically spoken but is official
This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA.

Catalan (català) is aWestern Romance language and is the official language ofAndorra,[2] and the official language of threeautonomous communities in easternSpain:Catalonia, theBalearic Islands and theValencian Community, where it is calledValencian (valencià). It has semi-official status in theItaliancomune ofAlghero,[3] and it is spoken in thePyrénées-Orientales department ofFrance and in two further areas in eastern Spain: theeastern strip ofAragon and the Carche area in theRegion of Murcia. The Catalan-speaking territories are often called thePaïsos Catalans or "Catalan Countries".[4]

The language evolved fromVulgar Latin in the Middle Ages around the easternPyrenees. Nineteenth-century Spain saw aCatalan literary revival,[5][6] culminating in the early 1900s.

Etymology and pronunciation

[edit]
Main article:Catalonia § Etymology and pronunciation

The wordCatalan is derived from the territorial name ofCatalonia, itself of disputed etymology. The main theory suggests thatCatalunya (Latin:Gathia Launia) derives from the nameGothia orGauthia ('Land of theGoths'), since the origins of the Catalan counts, lords and people were found in theMarch of Gothia, whenceGothland >Gothlandia >Gothalania >Catalonia theoretically derived.[7][8]

In English, the term referring to a person first appears in the mid 14th century asCatelaner, followed in the 15th century asCatellain (fromMiddle French). It is attested a language name since at least 1652. The wordCatalan can be pronounced in English as/ˈkætələn,-æn/KAT-ə-lən, -⁠lan or/ˌkætəˈlæn/KAT-ə-LAN.[9][10]

Theendonym is pronounced[kətəˈla] in the Eastern Catalan dialects, and[kataˈla] in the Western dialects. In theValencian Community andCarche, the termvalencià[valensiˈa] is frequently used instead. Thus, the name "Valencian", although often employed for referring to the varieties specific to the Valencian Community and Carche, is also used by Valencians as a name for the language as a whole,[11] synonymous with "Catalan".[12][11] Both uses of the term have their respective entries in the dictionaries by theAcadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL)[note 1] and theInstitut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC).[note 2] (See alsostatus of Valencian below).

History

[edit]
Main article:History of Catalan

Middle Ages

[edit]
Further information:Old Catalan andPhonological history of Catalan

By the 9th century, Catalan had evolved fromVulgar Latin on both sides of the eastern end of thePyrenees, as well as the territories of the Roman province ofHispania Tarraconensis to the south.[6] From the 8th century onwards the Catalan counts extended their territory southwards and westwards at the expense of theMuslims, bringing their language with them.[6] This process was given definitive impetus with the separation of theCounty of Barcelona from theCarolingian Empire in 988.[6]

In the 11th century, documents written inmacaronic Latin begin to show Catalan elements,[13] with texts written almost completely in Romance appearing by 1080.[13] Old Catalan shared many features withGallo-Romance, diverging fromOld Occitan between the 11th and 14th centuries.[14]

During the 11th and 12th centuries the Catalan rulers expanded southward to theEbro river,[6] and in the 13th century they conquered the lands that would become the Kingdoms ofValencia and theMajorca.[6] The city ofAlghero inSardinia was repopulated with Catalan speakers in the 14th century. The language also reachedMurcia, which became Spanish-speaking in the 15th century.[15]

In theLow Middle Ages, Catalan went through a golden age, reaching a peak of maturity and cultural richness.[6] Examples include the work of Majorcan polymathRamon Llull (1232–1315), the Four Great Chronicles (13th–14th centuries), and the Valencian school of poetry culminating inAusiàs March (1397–1459).[6] By the 15th century, the city ofValencia had become the sociocultural center of theCrown of Aragon, and Catalan was present all over theMediterranean world.[6] During this period, the Royal Chancery propagated a highly standardized language.[6] Catalan was widely used as an official language in Sicily until the 15th century, and in Sardinia until the 17th.[15] During this period, the language was what Costa Carreras terms "one of the 'great languages' of medieval Europe".[6]

Martorell's novel of chivalryTirant lo Blanc (1490) shows a transition from Medieval to Renaissance values, something that can also be seen inMetge's work.[6] The first book produced with movable type in theIberian Peninsula was printed in Catalan.[16][6]

Diachronic map of the Crown of Aragon. KingJames the Conqueror [1208–1276] dictated his autobiographical chronicles entirely in Catalan. Some of this territory nowadays makes up theCatalan Countries.

Start of the modern era

[edit]
See also:Nation state

Spain

[edit]
School map of Spain from 1850 regarding the administrative structure. On it, the State is shown divided into four parts:- "Fully constitutional Spain", which includes Castile and Andalusia, but also the Galician-speaking territories. - "Annexed or assimilated Spain": the territories of the Crown of Aragon, the larger part of which, with the exception of Aragon proper, are Catalan-speaking-, "Foral Spain", which includes Basque-speaking territories-, and "Colonial Spain", with the last overseas colonial territories.

With the union of the crowns ofCastille andAragon in 1479, the Spanish kings ruled over different kingdoms, each with its own cultural, linguistic and political particularities, and they had to swear by thelaws of each territory before the respectiveparliaments. But after theWar of the Spanish Succession, Spain became anabsolute monarchy underPhilip V, which led to the assimilation of theCrown of Aragon by theCrown of Castile through theNueva Planta decrees, as a first step in the creation of the Spanishnation-state; as in other contemporary European states, this meant the imposition of the political and cultural characteristics of the dominant groups.[18][19] Since the political unification of 1714, Spanish assimilation policies towards national minorities have been a constant.[20][21][22][23][24][neutrality isdisputed]

The process of assimilation began with secret instructions to the corregidores of the Catalan territory: they "will take the utmost care to introduce the Castilian language, for which purpose he will give the most temperate and disguised measures so that the effect is achieved, without the care being noticed".[25] From there, actions in the service of assimilation, discreet or aggressive, were continued, and reached to the last detail, such as, in 1799, the Royal Certificate forbidding anyone to "represent, sing and dance pieces that were not in Spanish".[25] The use ofSpanish gradually became more prestigious[15] and marked the start of the decline of Catalan.[6][5] Starting in the 16th century, Catalan literature came under the influence of Spanish, and the nobles, part of the urban and literary classes becamebilingual.[15]

France

[edit]
See also:Language policy in France,Vergonha, andPatuet
Left: Official decree prohibiting the Catalan language in France. Right: "Speak French, be clean", school wall inAyguatébia-Talau (Northern Catalonia), 2010

With theTreaty of the Pyrenees (1659),Spain ceded thenorthern part of Catalonia toFrance, and soon thereafter thelocal Catalan varieties came under the influence ofFrench, which in 1700 became the sole official language of the region.[2][26]

Shortly after theFrench Revolution (1789), theFrench First Republic prohibited official use of, and enacted discriminating policies against, the regional languages of France, such as Catalan,Alsatian,Breton,Occitan,Flemish, andBasque.

France: 19th to 20th century

[edit]

After the French colony ofAlgeria was established in 1830, many Catalan-speaking settlers moved there. People from the Spanishprovince of Alicante settled aroundOran, while those fromFrench Catalonia andMenorca migrated toAlgiers.

By 1911, there were around 100,000 speakers ofPatuet,[27] as their speech was called.[28] After the Algerian declaration of independence in 1962, almost all thePied-Noir Catalan speakers fled to Northern Catalonia[29] or Alicante.[30]

The French government only recognizes French as an official language. Nevertheless, on 10 December 2007, the thenGeneral Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales officially recognized Catalan as one of the départment's languages[31] and seeks to further promote it in public life and education.

Spain: 18th to 20th century

[edit]
See also:Nueva Planta decrees,Language politics in Spain under Franco, andAnti-Catalanism

In 1807, the Statistics Office of the French Ministry of the Interior asked theprefects for an official survey on the limits of theFrench language. The survey found that inRoussillon, almost only Catalan was spoken, and since Napoleon wanted to incorporate Catalonia into France, as happened in 1812, theconsul inBarcelona was also asked. He declared that Catalan "is taught in schools, it is printed and spoken, not only among the lower class, but also among people of first quality, also in social gatherings, as in visits and congresses", indicating that it was spoken everywhere "with the exception of the royal courts". He also indicated that Catalan was spoken "in the Kingdom of Valencia, in the islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Sardinia, Corsica and much of Sicily, in the Vall d "Aran and Cerdaña".[32]

The defeat of the pro-Habsburg coalition in theWar of Spanish Succession (1714) initiated a series oflaws which, among other centralizing measures, imposed the use ofSpanish in legal documentation all over Spain. Because of this, use of the Catalan language declined into the 18th century.

However, the 19th century saw a Catalan literary revival (Renaixença), which has continued up to the present day.[2] This period starts withAribau'sOde to the Homeland (1833); followed in the second half of the 19th century, and the early 20th by the work ofVerdaguer (poetry),Oller (realist novel), andGuimerà (drama).[33] In the 19th century, the region ofCarche, in theprovince of Murcia was repopulated with Valencian speakers.[34] Catalan spelling was standardized in 1913 and the language became official during theSecond Spanish Republic (1931–1939). The Second Spanish Republic saw a brief period of tolerance, with most restrictions against Catalan lifted.[2] TheGeneralitat (the autonomous government of Catalonia, established during the Republic in 1931) made a normal use of Catalan in its administration and put efforts to promote it at the social level, including in schools and theUniversity of Barcelona.

The Catalan language and culture were still vibrant during theSpanish Civil War (1936–1939), but were crushed at an unprecedented level throughout the subsequent decades due toFrancoist dictatorship (1939–1975), which abolished the official status of Catalan and imposed the use of Spanish in schools and in public administration in all ofSpain, while banning the use of Catalan in them.[35][5] Between 1939 and 1943 newspapers and book printing in Catalan almost disappeared.[36] Francisco Franco's desire for a homogeneous Spanish population resonated with some Catalans in favor of his regime, primarily members of the upper class, who began to reject the use of Catalan. Despite all of these hardships, Catalan continued to be used privately within households, and it was able to survive Franco's dictatorship. At the end ofWorld War II, however, some of the harsh measures began to be lifted and, while Spanish language remained the sole promoted one, limited number of Catalan literature began to be tolerated. Several prominent Catalan authors resisted the suppression through literature.[37] Private initiative contests were created to reward works in Catalan, among themJoan Martorell prize (1947),Víctor Català prize (1953)Carles Riba award (1950), or theHonor Award of Catalan Letters (1969).[38] The first Catalan-language TV show was broadcast in 1964.[39] At the same time, oppression of the Catalan language and identity was carried out in schools, through governmental bodies, and in religious centers.[40]

In addition to the loss of prestige for Catalan and its prohibition in schools, migration during the 1950s intoCatalonia from other parts of Spain also contributed to the diminished use of the language. These migrants were often unaware of the existence of Catalan, and thus felt no need to learn or use it.Catalonia was the economic powerhouse of Spain, so these migrations continued to occur from all corners of the country. Employment opportunities were reduced for those who were notbilingual.[41] Daily newspapers remained exclusively in Spanish until after Franco's death, when the first one in Catalan since the end of the Civil War,Avui, began to be published in 1976.[42]

Present day

[edit]

Since theSpanish transition to democracy (1975–1982), Catalan has been institutionalized as an official language, language of education, and language of mass media; all of which have contributed to its increased prestige.[43] InCatalonia, there is an unparalleled largebilingual Europeannon-state linguistic community.[43] The teaching of Catalan is mandatory in all schools,[2] but it is possible to use Spanish for studying in the public education system of Catalonia in two situations—if the teacher assigned to a class chooses to use Spanish, or during the learning process of one or more recently arrived immigrant students.[44] There is also some intergenerational shift towards Catalan.[2]

More recently, several Spanish political forces have tried to increase the use of Spanish in the Catalan educational system.[45] As a result, in May 2022 the Spanish Supreme Court urged the Catalan regional government to enforce a measure by which 25% of all lessons must be taught in Spanish.[46]

According to theStatistical Institute of Catalonia, in 2013 the Catalan language is the second most commonly used in Catalonia, afterSpanish, as a native or self-defining language: 7% of the population self-identifies with both Catalan and Spanish equally, 36.4% with Catalan and 47.5% only Spanish.[47] In 2003 the same studies concluded no language preference for self-identification within the population above 15 years old: 5% self-identified with both languages, 44.3% with Catalan and 47.5% with Spanish.[48] To promote use of Catalan, theGeneralitat de Catalunya (Catalonia's official Autonomous government) spends part of its annual budget on the promotion of the use of Catalan in Catalonia and in other territories, with entities such asConsorci per a la Normalització Lingüística [ca;es] (Consortium for Linguistic Normalization).[49][50]

InAndorra, Catalan has always been the sole official language.[2] Since the promulgation of the1993 constitution, several policies favoring Catalan have been enforced, such as Catalan medium education.[2]

On the other hand, there are severallanguage shift processes currently taking place. In theNorthern Catalonia area of France, Catalan has followed the same trend as the other minority languages of France, with most of its native speakers being 60 or older (as of 2004).[2] Catalan is studied as a foreign language by 30% of the primary education students, and by 15% of the secondary.[2] The cultural associationLa Bressola promotes a network of community-run schools engaged in Catalan language immersion programs.

InAlicante province, Catalan is being replaced bySpanish and inAlghero byItalian.[43] There is also well ingraineddiglossia in theValencian Community,Ibiza, and to a lesser extent, in the rest of theBalearic islands.[2]

During the 20th century many Catalans emigrated or went into exile toVenezuela,Mexico,Cuba,Argentina, and other South American countries. They formed a large number of Catalan colonies that today continue to maintain the Catalan language.[51] They also founded many Catalan casals (associations).[52]

Classification and relationship with other Romance languages

[edit]
Chart of Romance languages based on structural and comparative criteria, not on socio-functional ones. FP: Franco-Provençal, IR: Istro-Romanian.

One classification of Catalan is given byPèire Bèc:

However, the ascription of Catalan to theOccitano-Romance branch ofGallo-Romance languages is not shared by all linguists and philologists, particularly among Spanish ones, such asRamón Menéndez Pidal.

Catalan bears varying degrees of similarity to the linguistic varieties subsumed under the cover termOccitan language (see alsodifferences between Occitan and Catalan andGallo-Romance languages). Thus, as it should be expected from closely related languages, Catalan today shares many traits with other Romance languages.

Relationship with other Romance languages

[edit]

Some include Catalan in Occitan, as thelinguistic distance between this language and some Occitan dialects (such as theGascon dialect) is similar to the distance among different Occitan dialects. Catalan was considered a dialect of Occitan until the end of the 19th century[53] and still today remains its closest relative.[54]

Catalan shares many traits with the other neighboringRomance languages (Occitan, French,Italian,Sardinian as well as Spanish and Portuguese among others).[34] However, despite being spoken mostly on theIberian Peninsula, Catalan has marked differences with theIberian Romance group (Spanish andPortuguese) in terms ofpronunciation, grammar, and especially vocabulary; it shows instead its closest affinity with languages native to France and northern Italy, particularlyOccitan[55][56][57] and to a lesser extentGallo-Romance (Franco-Provençal,French,Gallo-Italian).[58][59][60][61][55][56][57]

According toEthnologue, the lexical similarity between Catalan and other Romance languages is: 87% with Italian; 85% with Portuguese and Spanish; 76% withLadin andRomansh; 75% with Sardinian; and 73% with Romanian.[1]

Lexical comparison of 24 words among Romance languages:
17 cognates with Gallo-Romance, 5isoglosses with Iberian Romance, 3 isoglosses with Occitan, and 1 unique word.[59][60]
GlossCatalanOccitan(Campidanese)
Sardinian
ItalianFrenchSpanishPortugueseRomanian
cousincosícosinfradilicuginocousinprimoprimo,coirmãovăr
brothergermàfrairefradifratellofrèrehermanoirmãofrate
nephewnebotnebotnebodinipoteneveusobrinosobrinhonepot
summerestiuestiuistadiestateétéverano,estío[62]verão,estio[62]vară
eveningvespreser,vèspreseruserasoirtarde,noche[63]tarde,serão[63]seară
morningmatímatinmangianumattinamatinmañanamanhã,matinadimineață
frying panpaellapadenapaellapadellapoêlesarténfrigideira,fritadeiratigaie
bedllitlièch (orlèit)letulettolitcama,lechocama,leitopat
birdocell,auaucèlpilloniuccellooiseauave,pájaroave,pássaropasăre
doggos,cagos,canhcanicanechienperro,cancão,cachorrocâine
plumprunaprunaprunaprugnapruneciruelaameixaprună
buttermantegabodreburru
(orbutiru)
burrobeurremantequilla
(ormanteca)
manteigaunt
piecetrostròç,petaçarrogupezzomorceau,piècepedazo,trozo[64]pedaço,bocadobucată
graygrisgriscanugrigiogrisgris,pardo[65]cinzento,grisgri,[66]sur,cenușiu
hotcalentcaudcallenticaldochaudcalientequentecald
too muchmassatròptroputroppotropdemasiadodemais, demasiadoprea
to wantvolervòlerbolli(ri)volerevouloirquererquerera vrea
to takeprendreprendre
(orprene)
pigaiprendereprendretomar,prenderapanhar,levara lua
to praypregar,resar,orarpregarpregaipregareprierorar,rezarorar,rezar,pregara se ruga
to askdemanar /preguntardemandardimandai,preguntaidomandaredemanderpedir,preguntarpedir,perguntara cere,a întreba
to searchcercar /buscarcercarcircaicercarechercherbuscarprocurar,buscara căuta
to arrivearribararribararribaiarrivarearriverllegar,arribarchegara ajunge
to speakparlarparlarchistionnai,fueddaiparlareparlerhablar,parlarfalar,parlara vorbi
to eatmenjarmanjarpappaimangiaremangercomer
(manyar inlunfardo;
papear in slang)
comer,manjar
(papar in slang)
a mânca

During much of its history, and especially during theFrancoist dictatorship (1939–1975), the Catalan language was ridiculed as a mere dialect ofSpanish.[56][57] This view, based on political and ideological considerations, has no linguistic validity.[56][57] Spanish and Catalan have important differences in their sound systems, lexicon, and grammatical features, placing the language in features closer toOccitan (andFrench).[56][57]

There is evidence that, at least from the 2nd century AD, the vocabulary and phonology of RomanTarraconensis was different from the rest of Roman Hispania.[55] Differentiation arose generally because Spanish,Asturian, and Galician-Portuguese share certain peripheral archaisms (Spanishhervir, Asturian and Portugueseferver vs. Catalanbullir, Occitanbolir "to boil") and innovatory regionalisms (Spanishnovillo, Asturiannuviellu vs. Catalantorell, Occitantaurèl "bullock"), while Catalan has a shared history with the Western Romance innovative core, especially Occitan.[67][55]

Catalan and Spanish cognates with different meanings[61]
LatinCatalanSpanish
accostareacostar "to bring closer"acostar "to put to bed"
levarellevar "to remove;
wake up"
llevar "to take"
traheretraure "to remove"traer "to bring"
circarecercar "to search"cercar "to fence"
collocarecolgar "to bury"colgar "to hang"
muliermuller "wife"mujer "woman or wife"

Like all Romance languages, Catalan has a handful of native words which are unique to it, or rare elsewhere. These include:

  • verbs:cōnfīgere 'to fasten; transfix' >confegir 'to compose, write up',congemināre >conjuminar 'to combine, conjugate',de-ex-somnitare >deixondar/-ir 'to wake; awaken',dēnsāre 'to thicken; crowd together' >desar 'to save, keep',īgnōrāre >enyorar 'to miss, yearn, pine for',indāgāre 'to investigate, track' > Old Catalanenagar 'to incite, induce',odiāre > Old Catalanujar 'to exhaust, fatigue',pācificāre >apaivagar 'to appease, mollify',repudiāre >rebutjar 'to reject, refuse';
  • nouns:brīsa >brisa 'pomace',buda >boga 'reedmace',catarrhu >cadarn 'catarrh',congesta >congesta 'snowdrift',dēlīrium >deler 'ardor, passion',fretu >freu 'brake',lābem >(a)llau 'avalanche',ōra >vora 'edge, border',pistrīce 'sawfish' >pestriu >pestiu 'thresher shark, smooth hound; ray',prūna 'live coal' >espurna 'spark',tardātiōnem >tardaó >tardor 'autumn'.[68][clarification needed]

TheGothic superstrate produced different outcomes in Spanish and Catalan. For example, Catalanfang "mud" androstir "to roast", of Germanic origin, contrast with Spanishlodo andasar, of Latin origin; whereas Catalanfilosa "spinning wheel" andtempla "temple", of Latin origin, contrast with Spanishrueca andsien, of Germanic origin.[55]

The same happens withArabic loanwords. Thus, Catalanalfàbia "large earthenware jar" andrajola "tile", of Arabic origin, contrast with Spanishtinaja andteja, of Latin origin; whereas Catalanoli "oil" andoliva "olive", of Latin origin, contrast with Spanishaceite andaceituna.[55] However, the Arabic element is generally much more prevalent in Spanish.[55]

Situated between two large linguistic blocks (Iberian Romance and Gallo-Romance), Catalan has many unique lexical choices, such asenyorar "to miss somebody",apaivagar "to calm somebody down", andrebutjar "reject".[55]

Geographic distribution

[edit]

Catalan-speaking territories

[edit]
Main article:Catalan Countries
Traditionally Catalan-speaking territories in dark gray; non-Catalan-speaking territories belonging to traditionally Catalan-speaking regions in light gray

Traditionally Catalan-speaking territories are sometimes called thePaïsos Catalans (Catalan Countries), a denomination based on cultural affinity and common heritage, that has also had a subsequent political interpretation but no official status. Various interpretations of the term may include some or all of these regions.

Territories where Catalan is spoken[34]
StateTerritoryCatalan nameNotes
AndorraAndorraAsovereign state where Catalan is thenational and the soleofficial language. The Andorrans speak a Western Catalan variety.[b]
FranceNorthern CataloniaCatalunya NordRoughly corresponding to thedépartement ofPyrénées-Orientales, with the exception of the traditionallyOccitan-speakingcomarca ofFenouillèdes.[34]
SpainCataloniaCatalunyaIn theAran Valley (northwest corner of Catalonia), in addition toOccitan, which is the local language, Catalan, Spanish and French are also spoken.[34]
Valencian Community
(a.k.a. Valencian Country)
Comunitat Valenciana
(País Valencià)
Excepting some regions in the west and south which have been Aragonese/Spanish-speaking since at least the 18th century.[34] The Western Catalan variety spoken there is known as "Valencian".
La FranjaLa FranjaA part of theAutonomous Community of Aragon, specifically a strip bordering Western Catalonia. It comprises thecomarques ofRibagorça,Llitera,Baix Cinca, andMatarranya.
Balearic IslandsIlles BalearsComprising the islands ofMallorca,Menorca,Ibiza andFormentera.
CarcheEl CarxeA small area of theAutonomous Community of Murcia, settled in the 19th century.[34]
ItalyAlgheroL'AlguerA city in theProvince of Sassari, on the island ofSardinia, where theAlgherese dialect is spoken.

Number of speakers

[edit]

The number of people known to be fluent in Catalan varies depending on the sources used. A 2004 study did not count the total number of speakers, but estimated a total of 9–9.5 million by matching the percentage of speakers to the population of each area where Catalan is spoken.[69] The web site of theGeneralitat de Catalunya estimated that as of 2004 there were 9,118,882 speakers of Catalan.[70] These figures only reflect potential speakers; today it is the native language of only 35.6% of the Catalan population.[71] According toEthnologue, Catalan had 4.1 millionnative speakers and 5.1 millionsecond-language speakers in 2021.[1]

Geographical distribution of Catalan language by official status

According to a 2011 study the total number of Catalan speakers was over 9.8 million, with 5.9 million residing in Catalonia. More than half of them spoke Catalan as a second language, with native speakers being about 4.4 million of those (more than 2.8 in Catalonia).[72] Very few Catalanmonoglots exist; virtually all of the Catalan speakers in Spain arebilingual speakers of Catalan and Spanish, with 99.7% of Catalan speakers in Catalonia able to speak Spanish and 99.9% able to understand it.[73]

InRoussillon, only a minority of French Catalans speak Catalan nowadays, with French being the majority language for the inhabitants after a continued process oflanguage shift. According to a 2019 survey by the Catalan government, 31.5% of the inhabitants of Catalonia predominantly spoke Catalan at home whereas 52.7% spoke Spanish, 2.8% both Catalan and Spanish and 10.8% other languages.[74]

Spanish was the most spoken language in Barcelona (according to the linguistic census held by the Government of Catalonia in 2013) and it is understood almost universally. According to 2013 census, Catalan was also very commonly spoken in the city of 1,501,262: it was understood by 95% of the population, while 72.3% over the age of two could speak it (1,137,816), 79% could read it (1,246.555), and 53% could write it (835,080).[75] The share of Barcelona residents who could speak it (72.3%)[76] was lower than that of the overall Catalan population, of whom 81.2% over the age of 15 spoke the language. Knowledge of Catalan has increased significantly in recent decades thanks to alanguage immersion educational system. An important social characteristic of the Catalan language is that all the areas where it is spoken are bilingual in practice: together with French in Roussillon, with Italian in Alghero, with Spanish and French in Andorra, and with Spanish in the rest of the territories.

TerritoryStateUnderstand1[77]Can speak2[77]
CataloniaSpain6,502,8805,698,400
Valencian CommunitySpain3,448,7802,407,951
Balearic IslandsSpain852,780706,065
RoussillonFrance203,121125,621
AndorraAndorra75,40761,975
La Franja (Aragon)Spain47,25045,000
Alghero (Sardinia)Italy20,00017,625
Carche (Murcia)Spain~600600[78]
TotalCatalan-speaking territories11,150,2189,062,637
Rest of WorldNo data350,000
Total11,150,2189,412,637
1.^ The number of people who understand Catalan includes those who can speak it.
2.^ Figures relate to all self-declared capable speakers, not just native speakers.

Level of knowledge

[edit]
AreaSpeakUnderstandReadWrite
Catalonia[79]81.294.485.565.3
Valencian Community57.578.154.932.5
Balearic Islands74.693.179.646.9
Roussillon37.165.331.410.6
Andorra78.996.089.761.1
Franja Oriental of Aragón88.898.572.930.3
Alghero67.689.950.928.4

(% of the population 15 years old and older).

Social use

[edit]
AreaAt homeOutside home
Catalonia4551
Valencian Community3732
Balearic Islands4441
Roussillon11
Andorra3851
Franja Oriental of Aragón7061
Alghero84

(% of the population 15 years old and older).

[80]

Native language

[edit]

To calculate the absolute number the figures have been proportioned to the whole population regardless of the age, rounded to the nearest 500.

AreaPeoplePercentageYearSource
Catalonia3,101,50040.6%2021[81]
Valencian Community1,271,00025.4%2021[81]
Balearic Islands401,50033.2%2021[81]
Aragon29,5002.5%2021[81]
Rest of Spain80,5000.3%2021[81]
Andorra35,00044.1%2022[82]
Roussillon60,00012.7%2015[83]
Alghero10,50024.1%2015[84]
TOTAL4,989,500

Phonology

[edit]
Main article:Catalan phonology

Catalan phonology varies by dialect. Notable features include:[85]

In contrast to other Romance languages, Catalan has manymonosyllabic words, and these may end in a wide variety of consonants, including someconsonant clusters.[85] Additionally, Catalan hasfinal obstruent devoicing, which gives rise to an abundance of such couplets asamic ("male friend") vs.amiga ("female friend").[85]

Central Catalan pronunciation is considered to be standard for the language.[86] The descriptions below are mostly representative of this variety.[87] For the differences in pronunciation between the different dialects, see the section onpronunciation of dialects in this article.

Vowels

[edit]
Vowels of Standard Eastern Catalan[88]

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, with the exception ofSpanish.[85]Balearic also has instances of stressed/ə/.[89] Dialects differ in the different degrees ofvowel reduction,[90] and the incidence of the pair/ɛ,e/.[91]

InCentral Catalan, unstressed vowels reduce to three:/a,e,ɛ/>[ə];/o,ɔ,u/>[u];/i/ remains distinct.[92] The other dialects have different vowel reduction processes (see the sectionpronunciation of dialects in this article).

Examples of vowel reduction processes in Central Catalan[93]
The root is stressed in the first word and unstressed in the second
Front vowelsBack vowels
Word
pair
gel ("ice")
gelat ("ice cream")
pedra ("stone")
pedrera ("quarry")
banya ("he bathes")
banyem/banyem ("we bathe")
cosa ("thing")
coseta ("little thing")
tot ("everything")
total ("total")
IPA
transcription
[ˈʒɛl]
[ʒəˈlat]
[ˈpeðɾə]
[pəˈðɾeɾə]
[ˈbaɲə]
[bəˈɲɛm]
[ˈkɔzə]
[kuˈzɛtə]
[ˈtot]
[tuˈtal]

Consonants

[edit]
Catalan consonants[94]
LabialAlveolar
/Dental
PalatalVelar
Nasalmnɲ(ŋ)
Plosivevoicelessptk
voicedbdɡ
Affricatevoicelessts
voiceddz
Fricativevoicelessfsʃ
voiced(v)z(ʒ)
Approximantcentraljw
laterallʎ
Tapɾ
Trillr

The consonant system of Catalan is rather conservative.

  • /l/ has avelarized allophone insyllable coda position in most dialects.[95] However,/l/ is velarized irrespective of position in Eastern dialects such as Majorcan[96] and standard Eastern Catalan.
  • /v/ occurs in Balearic,[97]Algherese,standard Valencian and some areas in southern Catalonia.[98] It hasmerged with/b/ elsewhere.[99]
  • The velar nasal /ŋ/ is an allophone of /n/ before /g/ or /k/. However, it has become phonemic in Central dialects that delete the final element of word-final consonant clusters, resulting in minimal pairs such asfan [ˈfan] (“they do”) andfang [ˈfaŋ] (“mud”, pronounced [ˈfaŋk] in other dialects).
  • In Valencian, the fricative [ʒ] (and [jʒ]) appears only as a voiced allophone of /ʃ/ (and /jʃ/) before vowels and voiced consonants; e.g. peix al forn [ˈpejʒ al ˈfoɾn] ('oven fish'). The /ʒ/ phoneme in other Catalan dialects is pronounced /dʒ/ in standard Valencian.
  • Voiced obstruents undergofinal-obstruent devoicing:/b/>[p],/d/>[t],/ɡ/>[k].[100]
  • Voiced stops becomelenited to approximants in syllable onsets, after continuants:/b/ >[β],/d/ >[ð],/ɡ/ >[ɣ].[101] Exceptions include/d/ afterlateral consonants, and/b/ after/f/. In coda position, these sounds are realized as stops,[102] except in some Valencian dialects where they are lenited.[103]
  • There is some confusion in the literature about the precise phonetic characteristics of/ʃ/,/ʒ/,/tʃ/,/dʒ/. Some sources[97] describe them as "postalveolar". Others[104][105] as "back alveolo-palatal", implying that the characters ⟨ɕʑ⟩ would be more accurate. However, in all literature only the characters forpalato-alveolar affricates and fricatives are used, even when the same sources use ⟨ɕʑ⟩ for other languages such as Polish and Chinese.[106][107][105]
  • The distribution of the two rhotics/r/ and/ɾ/ closely parallelsthat of Spanish. Between vowels, the two contrast, but they are otherwise in complementary distribution: in the onset of the first syllable in a word,[r] appears unless preceded by a consonant. Dialects vary in regards to rhotics in the coda with Western Catalan generally featuring[ɾ] and Central Catalan dialects featuring a weakly trilled[r] unless it precedes a vowel-initial word in the sameprosodic unit, in which case[ɾ] appears.[108]
  • In careful speech,/n/,/m/,/l/ may begeminated. Geminated/ʎ/ may also occur.[97] Some analyze intervocalic[r] as the result of gemination of a single rhotic phoneme.[109] This is similar to the common analysis of Spanish andPortuguese rhotics.[110]

Phonological evolution

[edit]
Main article:Phonological history of Catalan
Linguistic map of Southwestern Europe

Catalan shares features with neighboring Romance languages (Occitan,Italian,Sardinian,French,Spanish).[34]

  • Marked contrast of the vowel pairs/ɛ/~/e/ and/ɔ/~/o/, as in otherWestern Romance languages, except Spanish and Sardinian.[111]
  • Lenition of voiced stops[b][β],[d][ð],[ɡ][ɣ] as in Galician and Spanish.[111]
  • Lack ofdiphthongization ofLatin shortĕ,ŏ, as inGalician, Sardinian and Portuguese, and unlike French, Spanish and Italian.[111]
  • Abundance of diphthongs containing/w/, as in Galician and Portuguese.[111]
  • Abundance of/ʎ/ and/ɲ/ occurring at the end of words, as for instancemoll ("wet") andany ("year"), unlike Spanish,[112] Portuguese or Italian.

In contrast with other Romance languages, Catalan has manymonosyllabic words; and those ending in a wide variety of consonants and someconsonant clusters.[111] Also, Catalan hasfinal obstruent devoicing, thus featuring many couplets likeamic ('male friend') vs.amiga ('female friend').[111]

Sociolinguistics

[edit]
A speaker of Catalan (Majorcan dialect)
Artur Mas, former president of Catalonia, discussing individual identity, collective identity and language

Catalansociolinguistics studies the situation of Catalan in the world and the different varieties that this language presents. It is a subdiscipline of Catalanphilology and other affine studies and has as an objective to analyze the relation between the Catalan language, the speakers and the close reality (including the one of other languages in contact).

Preferential subjects of study

[edit]
  • Dialects of Catalan
  • Variations of Catalan by class, gender, profession, age and level of studies
  • Process oflinguistic normalization
  • Relations between Catalan andSpanish orFrench
  • Perception on the language of Catalan speakers and non-speakers
  • Presence of Catalan in several fields: tagging, public function, media, professional sectors

Dialects

[edit]
Main article:Catalan dialects

Overview

[edit]
Main dialects of Catalan[113][114][115]

The dialects of the Catalan language feature a relative uniformity, especially when compared to other Romance languages;[61] both in terms ofvocabulary,semantics,syntax,morphology, andphonology.[116] Mutual intelligibility between dialects is very high,[34][117][86] estimates ranging from 90% to 95%.[1] The only exception is the isolated idiosyncraticAlgherese dialect.[61]

Catalan is split in two major dialectal blocks: Eastern and Western.[86][116] The main difference lies in the treatment of unstresseda ande; which have merged to/ə/ in Eastern dialects, but which remain distinct as/a/ and/e/ in Western dialects.[61][86] There are a few other differences in pronunciation, verbal morphology, and vocabulary.[34]

Western Catalan comprises the two dialects ofNorth-Western Catalan andValencian; the Eastern block comprises four dialects:Central Catalan,Balearic,Roussillonese, andAlgherese.[86] Each dialect can be further subdivided in several subdialects. The terms "Catalan" and "Valencian" (respectively used inCatalonia and theValencian Community) refer to two varieties of the same language.[118] There are two institutions regulating the two standard varieties, theInstitute of Catalan Studies in Catalonia and theValencian Academy of the Language in the Valencian Community.

Central Catalan is considered the standard pronunciation of the language and has the largest number of speakers.[86] It is spoken in the densely populated regions of theBarcelona province, the eastern half of the province of Tarragona, and most of the province of Girona.[86]

Catalan has an inflectional grammar. Nouns have twogenders (masculine, feminine), and twonumbers (singular, plural). Pronouns additionally can have a neuter gender, and some are also inflected forcase andpoliteness, and can be combined in very complex ways. Verbs are split in several paradigms and are inflected forperson,number,tense,aspect,mood, andgender. In terms of pronunciation, Catalan has many words ending in a wide variety of consonants and some consonant clusters, in contrast with many other Romance languages.[85]

Main dialectal divisions of Catalan[86][119]
BlockWestern CatalanEastern Catalan
VarietyNorth-WesternValencianCentralBalearicNorthern (Roussillonese)Alguerese (Algherese)
AreaSpain,AndorraSpainFranceItaly
Andorra, Provinces ofLleida, western half ofTarragona,La Franja (Aragon)Valencian Community,Carche (Murcia)Provinces ofBarcelona, eastern half ofTarragona, most ofGironaBalearic IslandsRoussillon (Northern Catalonia)City ofAlghero inSardinia

Pronunciation

[edit]

Vowels

[edit]

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, exceptSpanish.[85]Balearic has also instances of stressed/ə/.[89] Dialects differ in the different degrees ofvowel reduction,[90] and the incidence of the paire/.[91]

InEastern Catalan (except Majorcan), unstressed vowels reduce to three:/a,e,ɛ/>[ə];/o,ɔ,u/>[u];/i/ remains distinct.[92] There are a few instances of unreduced[e],[o] in some words.[92]Algherese has lowered[ə] to[a].

In Majorcan, 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.[120]

InWestern Catalan, unstressed vowels reduce to five:/e,ɛ/>[e];/o,ɔ/>[o];/a,u,i/ remain distinct.[121][122] This reduction pattern, inherited fromProto-Romance, is also found inItalian andPortuguese.[121] Some Western dialects present further reduction or vowel harmony in some cases.[121][123]

Central, Western, and Balearic differ in the lexical incidence of stressed/e/ and/ɛ/.[91] Usually, words with/ɛ/ in Central Catalan correspond to/ə/ in Balearic and/e/ in Western Catalan.[91] Words with/e/ in Balearic almost always have/e/ in Central and Western Catalan as well.[vague][91] As a result, Central Catalan has a much higher incidence of/ɛ/.[91]

Different incidence of stressed/e/,/ə/,/ɛ/[91]
WordWesternEastern
North-WesternValencianMajorcanCentralNorthern
set
("thirst")
/ˈset//ˈsət//ˈsɛt//ˈset/
ven
("he sells")
/ˈven//ˈvən//ˈbɛn//ˈven/
General differences in the pronunciation of unstressed vowels in different dialects[86][124]
WordWesternEastern
North-WesternValencianMajorcanCentralNorthern
mare
("mother")
/ˈmaɾe//ˈmaɾə/
cançó
("song")
/kanˈso//kənˈso//kənˈsu/
posar
("to put")
/poˈza(ɾ)//puˈza(ɾ)/
ferro
("iron")
/ˈfɛro//ˈfɛru/
Detailed examples of vowel reduction processes in different dialects[93]
Word pairs:
the first with stressed root,
the second with unstressed root
WesternEastern
MajorcanCentralNorthern
Front
vowels
gel ("ice")
gelat ("ice cream")
[ˈdʒɛl]
[dʒeˈlat]
[ˈʒɛl]
[ʒəˈlat]
[ˈʒel]
[ʒəˈlat]
pera ("pear")
perera ("pear tree")
[ˈpeɾa]
[peˈɾeɾa]
[ˈpəɾə]
[pəˈɾeɾə]
[ˈpɛɾə]
[pəˈɾeɾə]
[ˈpeɾə]
[pəˈɾeɾə]
pedra ("stone")
pedrera ("quarry")
[ˈpeðɾa]
[peˈðɾeɾa]
[ˈpeðɾə]
[pəˈðɾeɾə]
banya ("he bathes")
banyem/banyam ("we bathe")
[ˈbaɲa]
[baˈɲem]
[ˈbaɲə]
[bəˈɲam]
[ˈbaɲə]
[bəˈɲɛm]
[ˈbaɲə]
[bəˈɲem]
Back
vowels
cosa ("thing")
coseta ("little thing")
[ˈkɔza]
[koˈzeta]
[ˈkɔzə]
[koˈzətə]
[ˈkɔzə]
[kuˈzɛtə]
[ˈkozə]
[kuˈzetə]
tot ("everything")
total ("total")
[ˈtot]
[toˈtal]
[ˈtot]
[tuˈtal]
[ˈtut]
[tuˈtal]

Consonants

[edit]

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

Most Catalan dialects are also renowned by the usage ofdark l (i.e.velarization 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/).
  • Thedelateralization 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]).

Morphology

[edit]

Western Catalan: In verbs, the ending for 1st-person present indicative is-e in verbs of the 1st conjugation and -∅ in verbs of the 2nd and 3rd conjugations in most of the Valencian Community, or-o in all verb conjugations in the Northern Valencian Community and Western Catalonia.
E.g.parle,tem,sent (Valencian);parlo,temo,sento (North-Western Catalan).

Eastern Catalan: In verbs, the ending for 1st-person present indicative is-o,-i, or -∅ in all conjugations.
E.g.parlo (Central),parl (Balearic), andparli (Northern), all meaning ('I speak').

1st-person singular present indicative forms
ConjugationEastern CatalanWestern CatalanGloss
CentralNorthernBalearicValencianNorth-Western
1stparloparliparlparleparlo'I speak'
2ndtemotemitemtemtemo'I fear'
3rdpuresentosentisentsentsento'I feel', 'I hear'
inchoativepoleixopoleixipoleix orpolescpolisc orpolescpol(e)ixo'I polish'

Western Catalan: In verbs, the inchoative endings are-isc/-esc,-ix,-ixen,-isca/-esca.

Eastern Catalan: In verbs, the inchoative endings are-eixo,-eix,-eixen,-eixi.

Western Catalan: In nouns and adjectives, maintenance of/n/ of medieval plurals inproparoxytone words.
E.g.hòmens 'men',jóvens 'youth'.

Eastern Catalan: In nouns and adjectives, loss of/n/ of medieval plurals in proparoxytone words.
E.g.homes 'men',joves 'youth' (Ibicencan, however, follows the model of Western Catalan in this case[125]).

Vocabulary

[edit]

Despite its relative lexical unity, the two dialectal blocks of Catalan (Eastern and Western) show some differences in word choices.[55] Any lexical divergence within any of the two groups can be explained as an archaism. Also, usuallyCentral Catalan acts as an innovative element.[55]

Selection of different words between Western and Eastern Catalan
Gloss"mirror""boy""broom""navel""to exit"
Eastern Catalanmirallnoiescombrallombrígolsortir
Western Catalanespillxiquetgranerameliceixir

Standards

[edit]
Main articles:Institut d'Estudis Catalans andAcadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua
Casa de Convalescència, Headquarters of theInstitut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC)
Written varieties
Catalan (IEC)Valencian (AVL)gloss
anglèsanglésEnglish
conèixerconéixerto know
treuretrauretake out
néixernàixerto be born
càntircànterpitcher
rodóredóround
mevameuamy, mine
ametllaametlaalmond
estrellaestrelastar
copcolphit
llagostallangostalobster
homeshòmensmen
serveiserviciservice

Standard Catalan, virtually accepted by all speakers,[43] is mostly based on Eastern Catalan,[86][126] which is the most widely used dialect. Nevertheless, the standards of the Valencian Community and the Balearics admit alternative forms, mostly traditional ones, which are not current in eastern Catalonia.[126]

The most notable difference between both standards is some tonic⟨e⟩ accentuation, for instance:francès, anglès (IEC) –francés, anglés (AVL). Nevertheless, AVL's standard keeps the grave accent⟨è⟩, while pronouncing it as/e/ rather than/ɛ/, in some words such as:què ('what'), orValència. Other divergences include the use of⟨tl⟩ (AVL) in some words instead of⟨tll⟩ like inametla/ametlla ('almond'),espatla/espatlla ('back'), the use of elided demonstratives (este 'this',eixe 'that') in the same level as reinforced ones (aquest, aqueix) or the use of many verbal forms common in Valencian, and some of these common in the rest of Western Catalan too, such as subjunctive mood or inchoative conjugation in-ix- at the same level as-eix- or the priority use of-e morpheme in 1st person singular in present indicative (-ar verbs):jo compre instead ofjo compro ('I buy').

In the Balearic Islands, IEC's standard is used but adapted for the Balearic dialect by theUniversity of the Balearic Islands's philological section. In this way, for instance, IEC says it is correct writingcantam as much ascantem ('we sing'), but the university says that the priority form in the Balearic Islands must becantam in all fields. Another feature of the Balearic standard is the non-ending in the 1st person singular present indicative:jo compr ('I buy'),jo tem ('I fear'),jo dorm ('I sleep').

In Alghero, the IEC has adapted its standard to theAlgherese dialect. In this standard one can find, among other features: the definite articlelo instead ofel, special possessive pronouns and determinantsla mia ('mine'),lo sou/la sua ('his/her'),lo tou/la tua ('yours'), and so on, the use of-v-/v/ in the imperfect tense in all conjugations:cantava,creixiva,llegiva; the use of many archaic words, usual words in Algherese:manco instead ofmenys ('less'),calqui u instead ofalgú ('someone'),qual/quala instead ofquin/quina ('which'), and so on; and the adaptation ofweak pronouns. In 1999, Catalan (Algherese dialect) was among the twelve minority languages officially recognized as Italy's "historical linguistic minorities" by the Italian State under Law No. 482/1999.[127]

In 2011,[128] theAragonese government passed a decree approving the statutes of a new language regulator of Catalan inLa Franja (the so-called Catalan-speaking areas of Aragon) as originally provided for by Law 10/2009.[129] The new entity, designated asInstitut Aragonès del Català, shall allow a facultative education in Catalan and a standardization of the Catalan language inLa Franja.

Status of Valencian

[edit]
Main articles:Valencian,Valencian language controversy,Blaverism, andAnti-Catalanism
Subdialects of Valencian

Valencian is classified as aWestern dialect, along with theNorth-Western varieties spoken in Western Catalonia (provinces ofLleida and the western half ofTarragona).[86][119] Central Catalan has 90% to 95% inherent intelligibility for speakers of Valencian.[1]

Linguists, including Valencian scholars, deal with Catalan and Valencian as the same language. The official regulating body of the language of the Valencian Community, theValencian Academy of Language (Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua, AVL) declares the linguistic unity between Valencian and Catalan varieties.[11]

[T]he historical patrimonial language of theValencian people, from a philological standpoint, is the same shared by the autonomous communities ofCatalonia andBalearic islands, andPrincipality of Andorra. Additionally, it is the patrimonial historical language of other territories of the ancientCrown of Aragon [...] The different varieties of these territories constitute a language, that is, a "linguistic system" [...] From this group of varieties, Valencian has the same hierarchy and dignity as any other dialectal modality of that linguistic system [...]

Ruling of the Valencian Language Academy of 9 February 2005, extract of point 1.[11][130]

The AVL, created by the Valencian parliament, is in charge of dictating the official rules governing the use of Valencian, and its standard is based on the Norms of Castelló (Normes de Castelló). Currently, everyone who writes in Valencian uses this standard, except the Royal Academy of Valencian Culture (Real Acadèmia de Cultura Valenciana, RACV), which uses an independent standard for Valencian.

Despite the position of the official organizations, an opinion poll carried out between 2001 and 2004[131] showed that the majority of the Valencian people consider Valencian different from Catalan. This position is promoted by people who do not use Valencian regularly.[43] Furthermore, the data indicates that younger generations educated in Valencian are much less likely to hold these views. A minority of Valencian scholars active in fields other than linguistics defends the position of the Royal Academy of Valencian Culture (Real Acadèmia de Cultura Valenciana, RACV), which uses for Valencian a standard independent from Catalan.[132]

This clash of opinions has sparked much controversy. For example, during the drafting of theEuropean Constitution in 2004, the Spanish government supplied theEU with translations of the text intoBasque,Galician, Catalan, and Valencian, but the latter two were identical.[133]

Vocabulary

[edit]

Word choices

[edit]

Despite its relative lexical unity, the two dialectal blocks of Catalan (Eastern and Western) show some differences in word choices.[55] Any lexical divergence within any of the two groups can be explained as an archaism. Also, usuallyCentral Catalan acts as an innovative element.[55]

Literary Catalan allows the use of words from different dialects, except those of very restricted use.[55] However, from the 19th century onwards, there has been a tendency towards favoring words of Northern dialects to the detriment of others.[55]

Latin and Greek loanwords

[edit]

Like other languages, Catalan has a large list of loanwords from Greek and Latin. This process started very early, and one can find such examples inRamon Llull's work.[55] In the 14th and 15th centuries Catalan had a far greater number of Greco-Latin loanwords than other Romance languages, as is attested for example inRoís de Corella's writings.[55] The incorporation of learned, or "bookish" words from its own ancestor language,Latin, into Catalan is arguably another form of lexical borrowing through the influence ofwritten language and the liturgical language of the Church. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the early modern period, most literate Catalan speakers were also literate in Latin; and thus they easily adopted Latin words into their writing—and eventually speech—in Catalan.

Word formation

[edit]

The process ofmorphological derivation in Catalan follows the same principles as the otherRomance languages,[134] whereinflection is common. Many times, several affixes are appended to a preexisting lexeme, and some sound alternations can occur, for exampleelèctric[əˈlɛktrik] ("electrical") vs.electricitat[ələktrisiˈtat].Prefixes are usually appended to verbs, as inpreveure ("foresee").[134]

There is greater regularity in the process ofword-compounding, where one can find compounded words formed much like those in English.[134]

Common types of word compounds in Catalan[134]
TypeExampleGloss
two nouns, the second assimilated to the firstpaper moneda"banknote paper"
noun delimited by an adjectiveestat major"military staff"
noun delimited by another noun and a prepositionmàquina d'escriure"typewriter"
verb radical with a nominal objectparacaigudes"parachute"
noun delimited by an adjective, with adjectival valuepit-roig"robin" (bird)

Writing system

[edit]
Main article:Catalan orthography
The wordnoveŀla ("novel") in a dictionary. The geminated L (ŀl) is a distinctive character used in Catalan.
Billboard inBarcelona (detail), showing the wordiŀlusió ("illusion")
Main formsA
a
B
b
C
c
D
d
E
e
F
f
G
g
H
h
I
i
J
j
K
k
L
l
M
m
N
n
O
o
P
p
Q
q
R
r
S
s
T
t
U
u
V
v
W
w
X
x
Y
y
Z
z
Modified formsÀ
à
Ç
ç
É
é
È
è
Í
í
Ï
ï
ĿL
ŀl
Ó
ó
Ò
ò
Ú
ú
Ü
ü

Catalan uses theLatin script, with some added symbols and digraphs.[135] TheCatalan orthography is systematic and largely phonologically based.[135] Standardization of Catalan was among the topics discussed during the First International Congress of the Catalan Language, held in Barcelona October 1906. Subsequently, the Philological Section of theInstitut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC, founded in 1911) published theNormes ortogràfiques in 1913 under the direction ofAntoni Maria Alcover andPompeu Fabra. In 1932, Valencian writers and intellectuals gathered inCastelló de la Plana to make a formal adoption of the so-calledNormes de Castelló, a set of guidelines following Pompeu Fabra's Catalan language norms.[136]

Pronunciation of Catalan special characters and digraphs[137]
PronunciationUsageExamples[137]
ç/s/beforea,o andu; or final positionfeliç ("happy")
gu/ɡ/ (phonetically~ɣ])beforei andeguerra ("war")
/ɡw/elsewhereguant ("glove")
ig/t͡ʃ/in final positionraig ("ray")
ix/ʃ/ ([jʃ] in most Western dialects)medially and finallycaixa ("box")
ll/ʎ/in any positionlloc ("place")
ŀl/lː/ (normatively, but usually/l/)between vowelsnoveŀla ("novel")
ny/ɲ/in any positionCatalunya ("Catalonia")
qu/k/beforei andequi ("who")
/kw/before other vowelsquatre ("four")
rr/r/between vowels
intervocalicr is pronounced/ɾ/
carrer ("street")
mira ("he or she looks")
sc/s/between vowels, beforei andeascens ("rise")
ssbetween vowels
intervocalics is pronounced/z/
grossa ("big,feminine")
casa ("house")
tg/d͡ʒ/beforei andefetge ("liver")
tjelsewheremitjó ("sock")
ts/t͡s/in any positionpotser ("maybe")
tx/t͡ʃ/in any positiondespatx ("office")
tz/d͡z/mainly word mediallydotze ("twelve")
 
PronunciationUsageExamples
ch/k/in final positionLlach ("Llach")
kh/x/in any positionsikh ("sikh")
th/θ/in any position
/t/ in native words
theta ("theta")
tothom ("everybody")
Letters and digraphs with contextually conditioned pronunciations[137]
NotesExamples[137]
c/s/ beforei ande
corresponds toç in other contexts
feliç ("happy,masculine singular") vs.felices ("happy,feminine plural")
caço ("I hunt") vs.caces ("you hunt")
g/ʒ/ beforee andi
corresponds toj in other positions
envejar ("to envy") vs.envegen ("they envy")
finalg beforei and finalig before other vowels are pronounced[tʃ]
corresponds toj~g ortj~tg in other positions
desig ("wish") vs.desitjar ("to wish") vs.desitgem ("we wish"), exception:càstig ("punishment"), pronounced with/k/
boig ("mad,masculine") vs.boja ("mad,feminine") vs.boges ("mad,feminine plural")
gu/ɡ/ beforee andi
corresponds tog in other positions
botiga ("shop") vs.botigues ("shops")
/ɡw/ beforee andi
corresponds togu in other positions
llengua ("language") vs.llengües ("languages")
qu/k/ beforee andi
corresponds toc in other positions
vaca ("cow") vs.vaques ("cows")
/kw/ beforee andi
corresponds toqu in other positions
obliqua ("oblique,feminine") vs.obliqües ("oblique,feminine plural")
x/ʃ/ (also[tʃ] dialectally) initially and in onsets after a consonant;[ʃ] afteri
/ks/ between vowels and syllable final (except afteri in most cases)
/ɡz/ between vowels and syllable final before voiced consonants
xinxa ("bedbug"),guix ("chalk")
taxi ("taxi"),fixar ("to fix"),extra ("extra")
exacte ("exact"),exdirector ("ex-director")

Grammar

[edit]
Main article:Catalan grammar

The grammar of Catalan is similar to otherRomance languages. Features include:[138]

Gender and number inflection

[edit]
Gender and number inflection of the wordgat ("cat")
Regular noun with definite article:el gat ("the cat")
masculinefeminine
singularel gatla gata
pluralels gatsles gates
Adjective with 4 forms:
verd ("green")
masculinefeminine
singularverdverda
pluralverdsverdes
Adjective with 3 forms:
feliç ("happy")
masculinefeminine
singularfeliç
pluralfeliçosfelices
Adjective with 2 forms:
indiferent ("indifferent")
masculinefeminine
singularindiferent
pluralindiferents

Ingender inflection, the most notable feature is (compared toPortuguese,Spanish orItalian), the loss of the typicalmasculinesuffix-o. Thus, the alternance of-o/-a, has been replaced byø/-a.[85] There are only a few exceptions, such asminso/minsa ("scarce").[85] Many not completely predictable morphological alternations may occur, such as:[85]

  • Affrication:boig/boja ("insane") vs.lleig/lletja ("ugly")
  • Loss ofn:pla/plana ("flat") vs.segon/segona ("second")
  • Final obstruent devoicing:sentit/sentida ("felt") vs.dit/dita ("said")

Catalan has fewsuppletive couplets, like Italian and Spanish, and unlike French. Thus, Catalan hasnoi/noia ("boy"/"girl") andgall/gallina ("cock"/"hen"), whereas French hasgarçon/fille andcoq/poule.[85]

There is a tendency to abandon traditionally gender-invariable adjectives in favor of marked ones, something prevalent inOccitan and French. Thus, one can findbullent/bullenta ("boiling") in contrast with traditionalbullent/bullent.[85]

As in the other Western Romance languages, the main plural expression is the suffix-s, which may create morphological alternations similar to the ones found in gender inflection, albeit more rarely.[85] The most important one is the addition of-o- before certain consonant groups, aphonetic phenomenon that does not affect feminine forms:el pols/els polsos ("the pulse"/"the pulses") vs.la pols/les pols ("the dust"/"the dusts").[139]

Determiners

[edit]
Definite article in Standard Catalan
(elided forms in brackets)[140]
masculinefeminine
singularel (l')la (l')
pluralelsles
Contractions of the definite article
preposition
adeper
articleelal (a l')del (de l')pel (per l')
elsalsdelspels
Indefinite article
masculinefeminine
singularununa
pluralunsunes

The inflection of determinatives is complex, specially because of the high number of elisions, but is similar to the neighboring languages.[134] Catalan has more contractions of preposition + article thanSpanish, such asdels ("of + the [plural]"), but not as many asItalian (which hassul,col,nel, etc.).[134]

Central Catalan has abandoned almost completely unstressed possessives (mon, etc.) in favor of constructions of article + stressed forms (el meu, etc.), a feature shared with Italian.[134]

Personal pronouns

[edit]
Catalan stressed pronouns[141]
 singularplural
1st personjo,minosaltres
2nd personinformaltuvosaltres
formalvostèvostès
respectful(vós)[142]
3rd personmasculineellells
feminineellaelles

The morphology of Catalan personal pronouns is complex, especially in unstressed forms, which are numerous (13 distinct forms, compared to 11 in Spanish or 9 in Italian).[134] Features include the gender-neutralho and the great degree of freedom when combining different unstressed pronouns (65 combinations).[134]

Catalan pronouns exhibitT–V distinction, like all other Romance languages (and most European languages, but not Modern English). This feature implies the use of a different set of second person pronouns for formality.

This flexibility allows Catalan to useextraposition extensively, much more than French or Spanish. Thus, Catalan can havem'hi recomanaren ("they recommended me to him"), whereas in French one must sayils m'ont recommandé à lui, and Spanishme recomendaron a él.[134] This allows the placement of almost any nominal term as a sentencetopic, without having to use so often thepassive voice (as in French or English), or identifying thedirect object with apreposition (as in Spanish).[134]

Verbs

[edit]
Simple forms of a regular verb of the first conjugation:portar ("to bring")[143]
Non-finiteForm
Infinitiveportar
Gerundportant
Past participleportat (portat,portada,portats,portades)
Indicativejotuell / ella
[vostè]
nosaltresvosaltres
[vós]
ells / elles
[vostès]
Presentportoportesportaportemporteuporten
Imperfectportavaportavesportavaportàvemportàveuportaven
Preterite (archaic)portíportaresportàportàremportàreuportaren
Futureportaréportaràsportaràportaremportareuportaran
Conditionalportariaportariesportariaportaríemportaríeuportarien
Subjunctivejotuell / ella
[vostè]
nosaltresvosaltres
[vós]
ells / elles
[vostès]
Presentportiportisportiportemporteuportin
Imperfectportésportéssisportésportéssimportéssiuportessin
Imperativejotuell / ella
[vostè]
nosaltresvosaltres
[vós]
ells / elles
[vostès]
portaportiportemporteuportin

Like all the Romance languages, Catalan verbal inflection is more complex than the nominal.Suffixation is omnipresent, whereas morphological alternations play a secondary role.[134] Vowel alternances are active, as well as infixation and suppletion. However, these are not as productive as in Spanish, and are mostly restricted to irregular verbs.[134]

The Catalan verbal system is basically common to all Western Romance, except that most dialects have replaced the synthetic indicative perfect with a periphrastic form ofanar ("to go") + infinitive.[134]

Catalan verbs are traditionally divided into three conjugations, with vowel themes-a-,-e-,-i-, the last two being split into two subtypes. However, this division is mostly theoretical.[134] Only the first conjugation is nowadays productive (with about 3500 common verbs), whereas the third (the subtype ofservir, with about 700 common verbs) is semiproductive. The verbs of the second conjugation are fewer than 100, and it is not possible to create new ones, except by compounding.[134]

Syntax

[edit]
Main article:Catalan syntax

The grammar of Catalan follows the general pattern of Western Romance languages. The primaryword order issubject–verb–object.[144] However, word order is very flexible. Commonly, verb-subject constructions are used to achieve a semantic effect. The sentence "The train has arrived" could be translated asHa arribat el tren orEl tren ha arribat. Both sentences mean "the train has arrived", but the former puts a focus on the train, while the latter puts a focus on the arrival. This subtle distinction is described as "what you might say while waiting in the station" versus "what you might say on the train".[145]

Catalan names

[edit]
Main article:Catalan names

In Spain, every person officially has two surnames, one of which is the father's first surname and the other is the mother's first surname.[146] The law contemplates the possibility of joining both surnames with the Catalan conjunctioni ("and").[146][147]

Sample text

[edit]

Selected text[148] fromManuel de Pedrolo's 1970 novelUn amor fora ciutat ("A love affair outside the city").

OriginalWord-for-word translation[148]Free translation
Tenia prop de divuit anys quan vaig conèixerI was having close to eighteen years, when I go[pastauxiliary] know (=I met)I was about eighteen years old when I met
en Raül, a l'estació deManresa.the Raül, at the station of (=in) Manresa.Raül, atManresa railway station.
El meu pare havia mort, inesperadament i encara jove,The my father had died, unexpectedly and still young,My father had died, unexpectedly and still young,
un parell d'anys abans, i d'aquells tempsa couple of years before, and of those timesa couple of years before; and from that time
conservo un record de punyent solitud.I keep a memory of acute lonelinessI still harbor memories of great loneliness.
Les meves relacions amb la mareThe my relations with the motherMy relationship with my mother
no havien pas millorat, tot el contrari,not had at all improved, all the contrary,had not improved; quite the contrary,
potser fins i tot empitjoravenperhaps even they were worseningand arguably it was getting even worse
a mesura que em feia gran.at step that (=in proportion as) myself I was making big (=I was growing up).as I grew up.
No existia, no existí mai entre nosaltres,Not it was existing, not it existed never between us,There did not exist, at no point had there ever existed between us
una comunitat d'interessos, d'afeccions.a community of interests, of affections.shared interests or affection.
Cal creure que cercava... una personaIt is necessary to believe that I was seeking... a personI guess I was seeking... a person
en qui centrar la meva vida afectiva.in whom to center the my life affective.in whom I could center my emotional life.

See also

[edit]
Organizations
Scholars
Other

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^TheValencian Normative Dictionary of the Valencian Academy of the Language states that Valencian is a "Romance language spoken in the Valencian Community, as well as in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, the French department of thePyrénées-Orientales, the Principality of Andorra, the eastern flank of Aragon and the Sardinian town of Alghero (unique in Italy), where it receives the name of 'Catalan'".
  2. ^TheCatalan Language Dictionary of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans states in the sixth definition of "Valencian" that, in the Valencian Community, it is equivalent to Catalan language.
  1. ^Catalan is also classified as anIberian Romance language.
  2. ^Although in business and daily life other languages are common, and due to immigration Catalan mother-tongue speakers are only 35.7% of the population. SeeLanguages of Andorra.

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  82. ^"L'estudi de coneixements i usos lingüístics indica que el català és la llengua de referència de la població en coneixement i ús".web.archive.org. 10 November 2022. Retrieved14 March 2025.
  83. ^"Enquesta d'usos lingüístics a la Catalunya del Nord"(PDF). 2015.
  84. ^"Els usos lingüístics a l'Alguer"(PDF).gencat.cat (in Catalan). 2015. Retrieved14 March 2025.
  85. ^abcdefghijklmnoEnciclopèdia Catalana, p. 630.
  86. ^abcdefghijkFeldhausen 2010, p. 5.
  87. ^Wheeler 2005 takes the same approach
  88. ^Carbonell & Llisterri 1999, p. 62.
  89. ^abWheeler 2005, pp. 37, 53–54.
  90. ^abWheeler 2005, p. 37.
  91. ^abcdefgWheeler 2005, p. 38.
  92. ^abcWheeler 2005, p. 54.
  93. ^abWheeler 2005, pp. 53–55.
  94. ^Carbonell & Llisterri 1999, pp. 61–65.
  95. ^Recasens & Espinosa 2005, p. 20.
  96. ^Recasens & Espinosa 2005, p. 3.
  97. ^abcCarbonell & Llisterri 1992, p. 53.
  98. ^Veny 2007, p. 51.
  99. ^Wheeler 2005, p. 13.
  100. ^Lloret 2004, p. 278.
  101. ^Wheeler 2005, p. 10.
  102. ^Hualde, José (1992).Catalan. Routledge. p. 368.ISBN 978-0-415-05498-0.
  103. ^Recasens & Espinosa 2005, p. 1.
  104. ^Recasens, Fontdevila & Pallarès 1995, p. 288.
  105. ^abRecasens & Espinosa 2007, p. 145.
  106. ^Recasens 1993. Here Recasens labels these Catalan sounds as "laminoalveolars palatalitzades".
  107. ^Recasens & Pallarès 2001. Here the authors label these Catalan sounds as "laminal postalveolar".
  108. ^Padgett 2009, p. 432.
  109. ^Wheeler 1979.
  110. ^SeeBonet, Eulàlia; Mascaró, Joan (1997). "On the Representation of Contrasting Rhotics". In Martínez-Gil, Fernando; Morales-Front, Alfonso (eds.).Issues in the Phonology and Morphology of the Major Iberian Languages. Georgetown University Press.ISBN 978-0-87840-647-0. for more information.
  111. ^abcdefFerrater Soler 1977, p. 630.
  112. ^Hall 2001, p. 19.
  113. ^Feldhausen 2010, p. 6.
  114. ^Wheeler 2005, p. 2.
  115. ^Costa Carreras & Yates 2009, p. 4.
  116. ^abEnciclopèdia Catalana, pp. 634–635.
  117. ^Costa Carreras & Yates 2009, p. 5.
  118. ^Dictamen de l'Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua sobre els principis i criteris per a la defensa de la denominació i l'entitat del valencià [Resolution of the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua concerning the principles and criteria for protecting the name and identity of Valencian](PDF) (in Valencian),Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua, 2005, archived fromthe original(PDF) on 23 September 2015
  119. ^abWheeler 2005, pp. 2–3.
  120. ^Wheeler 2005, pp. 53–54.
  121. ^abcWheeler 2005, p. 53.
  122. ^Carbonell & Llisterri 1999, pp. 54–55.
  123. ^Recasens 1996, pp. 75–76, 128–129.
  124. ^Melchor & Branchadell 2002, p. 71.
  125. ^Moll, Francesc de B. (1968).Gramática catalana; referida especialment a les Illes Balears. Palma de Mallorca: Editorial Moll.ISBN 84-273-0044-1.OCLC 2108762.
  126. ^abWheeler 2003, p. 170.
  127. ^Law No. 482 of 15 December 1999. "Rules on the protection of historical linguistic minorities". Article 2. Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 297. 20 December 1999
  128. ^Decreto 89/2011, de 5 de abril, del Gobierno de Aragón, por el que se aprueban losEstatutos de la Academia Aragonesa del Catalán.BOA núm. 77, de 18 de abril de 2011Archived 12 April 2018 at theWayback Machine
  129. ^Ley 10/2009, de 22 de diciembre, de uso, protección y promoción de las lenguas propias de AragónBOE núm. 30, de 4 de febrero de 2010.Archived 12 April 2018 at theWayback Machine
  130. ^Original full text of Dictamen 1:D'acord amb les aportacions més solvents de la romanística acumulades des del segle XIX fins a l'actualitat (estudis de gramàtica històrica, de dialectologia, de sintaxi, de lexicografia…), la llengua pròpia i històrica dels valencians, des del punt de vista de la filologia, és també la que compartixen les comunitats autònomes de Catalunya i de les Illes Balears i el Principat d'Andorra. Així mateix és la llengua històrica i pròpia d'altres territoris de l'antiga Corona d'Aragó (la franja oriental aragonesa, la ciutat sarda de l'Alguer i el departament francés dels Pirineus Orientals). Els diferents parlars de tots estos territoris constituïxen una llengua, és a dir, un mateix «sistema lingüístic», segons la terminologia del primer estructuralisme (annex 1) represa en el Dictamen del Consell Valencià de Cultura, que figura com a preàmbul de la Llei de Creació de l'AVL. Dins d'eixe conjunt de parlars, el valencià té la mateixa jerarquia i dignitat que qualsevol altra modalitat territorial del sistema lingüístic, i presenta unes característiques pròpies que l'AVL preservarà i potenciarà d'acord amb la tradició lexicogràfica i literària pròpia, la realitat lingüística valenciana i la normativització consolidada a partir de les Normes de Castelló.
  131. ^"Casi el 65% de los valencianos opina que su lengua es distinta al catalán, según una encuesta del CIS" [Almost 65% of Valencians believe that their language is different from Catalan, according to a CIS survey].La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Europa Press. 9 December 2004.Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved8 March 2020.
  132. ^"Llistat dels Acadèmics de número" [List of RACV academics].Real Acadèmia de Cultura Valenciana (in Valencian). Archived fromthe original on 14 December 2016.
  133. ^Isabel i Vilar, Ferran (30 October 2004)."Traducció única de la Constitució europea" [Unique translation of the European Constitution].I-Zefir (in Valencian).Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved29 April 2009.
  134. ^abcdefghijklmnopEnciclopèdia Catalana, p. 631.
  135. ^abWheeler 2005, p. 6.
  136. ^Carreras, Joan Costa, ed. (2009).The Architect of Modern Catalan: Selected writings. Translated by Yates, Alan. John Benjamins Publishing.ISBN 978-9027289247.
  137. ^abcdWheeler 2005, p. 7.
  138. ^abcdefSwan 2001, pp. 97–98.
  139. ^Enciclopèdia Catalana, pp. 630–631.
  140. ^Fabra 1926, pp. 29–30.
  141. ^Fabra 1926, p. 42.
  142. ^Archaic in most dialects.
  143. ^Fabra 1926, pp. 70–71.
  144. ^"Catalan".World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS) Online.Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved14 March 2020.
  145. ^Wheeler, Yates & Dols 1999.
  146. ^abWheeler 2005, p. 8.
  147. ^article 19.1 of Law 1/1998 stipulates that "the citizens of Catalonia have the right to use the proper regulation of their Catalan names and surnames and to introduce the conjunction between surnames"
  148. ^abSwan 2001, p. 112.

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