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Catalan (català or ) is a Romance language
Romance languages

The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages comprising all the languages that descend from Latin language, the language of ancient Rome....
, the national
National language

A national language is a language which has some connection - de facto or de jure - with a people and perhaps by extension the territory they occupy....
 and official language
Official language

An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration....
 of Andorra
Andorra

Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, is a small landlocked country in western Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France....
, and a co-official language
Official language

An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration....
 in the Spanish autonomous communities
Autonomous communities of Spain

The Autonomous Community is the first-level political division of the Kingdom of Spain, established in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978....
 of the Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands

The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, and Formentera....
, Catalonia
Catalonia

Catalonia , is an Autonomous Community in northeast Spain.Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km? and has an official population of 7,210,508. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the east ....
 and Valencian Community
Valencian Community

The Valencian Community is an Autonomous Community located in central to south-eastern Spain. It is divided in three provinces, from South to North: Alicante , Valencia and Castell?n ....
 (where it is known as Valencian
Valencian

Valencian is the historical, traditional, and official name used in the Valencian Community of Spain to refer to the region's native language, known elsewhere as Catalan language ....
) and in the city
City

A city is an urban area with a high population density and a particular administrative, legal, or historical status.Large industrialized cities generally have advanced systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, house, and transportation and more....
 of Alghero
Alghero

Alghero , is a town of about 42,000 inhabitants in Italy. It lies in the Provinces of Italy of Province of Sassari in north-western Sardinia....
 in the Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 island
List of islands in the Mediterranean

This is a list of islands in the Mediterranean Sea:...
 of Sardinia
Sardinia

Sardinia is the Mediterranean islands#By area island in the Mediterranean Sea . The area of Sardinia is . The island is surrounded by the France island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Tunisia and the Balearic Islands....
. It is also spoken, although with no official recognition, in the autonomous communities
Autonomous communities of Spain

The Autonomous Community is the first-level political division of the Kingdom of Spain, established in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978....
 of Aragon
Aragon

Aragon is an autonomous communities of Spain of Spain. Located in northeastern Spain, the region comprises three provinces of Spain from north to south: Huesca , Zaragoza , and Teruel ....
 (in La Franja
La Franja

The term La Franja is a term that refers to the territory comprising the Catalan-speaking territories of Aragon bordering Catalonia . Usually La Franja is considered to be comprised by the municipalities of the following comarcas: Ribagorza, La Litera, Bajo Cinca, Bajo Aragon-Caspe, Bajo Aragon and Matarra?a....
) and Murcia
Murcia

Murcia is the capital city of the Region of Murcia, located at the river Segura in south-eastern Spain. Its population is 433,850 , and the population of its metropolitan area is 743,326 ranking as the ninth-largest metropolitan area of Spain....
 (in Carche
Carche

El Carche , is a mountainous, sparsely populated, area in Regi?n de Murcia, Spain, lying between the municipalities Jumilla and Yecla. The mountains reach an altitude of 1,371 metres at the Pico de la Madama and part of the region has the status of regional park ....
) in Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
, and in the historic Roussillon
Roussillon

Roussillon is one of the historical county of the former Principality of Catalonia, corresponding roughly to the present-day southern France d?partement in France of Pyr?n?es-Orientales ....
 region of southern France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, roughly equivalent to the current département of the Pyrénées-Orientales
Pyrénées-Orientales

Pyr?n?es-Orientales is a departments of France of southern France adjacent to the northern Spain frontier and the Mediterranean Sea....
 (Northern Catalonia
Northern Catalonia

Northern Catalonia is a term which is sometimes used,particularly in Catalonia writings, to refer tothe territory ceded to France by Spain through the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees...
).

History
The Catalan language developed from Vulgar Latin
Vulgar Latin

Vulgar Latin is a blanket term covering the popular dialects and sociolects of the Latin which diverged from each other in the early Middle Ages, evolving into the Romance languages by the 9th century....
 on both sides of the eastern part of Pyrenees
Pyrenees

The Pyrenees are a mountain range in southwest Europe that form a natural border between France and Spain. They separate the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe, and extend for about from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea ....
 mountains (counties of Rosselló
Roussillon

Roussillon is one of the historical county of the former Principality of Catalonia, corresponding roughly to the present-day southern France d?partement in France of Pyr?n?es-Orientales ....
, Empúries
Empúries

Emp?ries is a town on the Mediterranean coast, of the Comarques of Catalonia of Alt Empord? . It was founded in 575 BC by Greek colonists from Phocaea with the name of ??p????? ....
, Besalú
Besalú

Besal? is a town in the Comarques of Catalonia of Garrotxa, in Catalonia.The town's importance was greater in the early middle ages, as capital of the county of Besal?, whose territory was roughly the same size as the current comarca of Garrotxa but sometime extended as far as Corbi?res, Aude, in France....
, Cerdanya
Cerdanya

Cerdanya is a small region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain and which is historically one of the Catalan counties.Cerdanya has a land area of 1,086.07 km? , 50.3% being Spanish territory, 49.7% being French territory....
, Urgell
Urgell

Urgell is one of the historical Catalan counties, bordering on the counties of Pallars and Cerdanya. Its maximal extension territory was between the Pyrenees and the taifa of Lleida, that is, the current Comarques of Catalonia of Alt Urgell, Noguera , Solson?s, Pla d'Urgell, Urgell itself, and the still independent country of Andorra....
, Pallars and Ribagorça).






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Encyclopedia


Catalan (català or ) is a Romance language
Romance languages

The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages comprising all the languages that descend from Latin language, the language of ancient Rome....
, the national
National language

A national language is a language which has some connection - de facto or de jure - with a people and perhaps by extension the territory they occupy....
 and official language
Official language

An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration....
 of Andorra
Andorra

Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, is a small landlocked country in western Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France....
, and a co-official language
Official language

An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration....
 in the Spanish autonomous communities
Autonomous communities of Spain

The Autonomous Community is the first-level political division of the Kingdom of Spain, established in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978....
 of the Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands

The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, and Formentera....
, Catalonia
Catalonia

Catalonia , is an Autonomous Community in northeast Spain.Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km? and has an official population of 7,210,508. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the east ....
 and Valencian Community
Valencian Community

The Valencian Community is an Autonomous Community located in central to south-eastern Spain. It is divided in three provinces, from South to North: Alicante , Valencia and Castell?n ....
 (where it is known as Valencian
Valencian

Valencian is the historical, traditional, and official name used in the Valencian Community of Spain to refer to the region's native language, known elsewhere as Catalan language ....
) and in the city
City

A city is an urban area with a high population density and a particular administrative, legal, or historical status.Large industrialized cities generally have advanced systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, house, and transportation and more....
 of Alghero
Alghero

Alghero , is a town of about 42,000 inhabitants in Italy. It lies in the Provinces of Italy of Province of Sassari in north-western Sardinia....
 in the Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 island
List of islands in the Mediterranean

This is a list of islands in the Mediterranean Sea:...
 of Sardinia
Sardinia

Sardinia is the Mediterranean islands#By area island in the Mediterranean Sea . The area of Sardinia is . The island is surrounded by the France island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Tunisia and the Balearic Islands....
. It is also spoken, although with no official recognition, in the autonomous communities
Autonomous communities of Spain

The Autonomous Community is the first-level political division of the Kingdom of Spain, established in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978....
 of Aragon
Aragon

Aragon is an autonomous communities of Spain of Spain. Located in northeastern Spain, the region comprises three provinces of Spain from north to south: Huesca , Zaragoza , and Teruel ....
 (in La Franja
La Franja

The term La Franja is a term that refers to the territory comprising the Catalan-speaking territories of Aragon bordering Catalonia . Usually La Franja is considered to be comprised by the municipalities of the following comarcas: Ribagorza, La Litera, Bajo Cinca, Bajo Aragon-Caspe, Bajo Aragon and Matarra?a....
) and Murcia
Murcia

Murcia is the capital city of the Region of Murcia, located at the river Segura in south-eastern Spain. Its population is 433,850 , and the population of its metropolitan area is 743,326 ranking as the ninth-largest metropolitan area of Spain....
 (in Carche
Carche

El Carche , is a mountainous, sparsely populated, area in Regi?n de Murcia, Spain, lying between the municipalities Jumilla and Yecla. The mountains reach an altitude of 1,371 metres at the Pico de la Madama and part of the region has the status of regional park ....
) in Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
, and in the historic Roussillon
Roussillon

Roussillon is one of the historical county of the former Principality of Catalonia, corresponding roughly to the present-day southern France d?partement in France of Pyr?n?es-Orientales ....
 region of southern France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, roughly equivalent to the current département of the Pyrénées-Orientales
Pyrénées-Orientales

Pyr?n?es-Orientales is a departments of France of southern France adjacent to the northern Spain frontier and the Mediterranean Sea....
 (Northern Catalonia
Northern Catalonia

Northern Catalonia is a term which is sometimes used,particularly in Catalonia writings, to refer tothe territory ceded to France by Spain through the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees...
).

History


The Catalan language developed from Vulgar Latin
Vulgar Latin

Vulgar Latin is a blanket term covering the popular dialects and sociolects of the Latin which diverged from each other in the early Middle Ages, evolving into the Romance languages by the 9th century....
 on both sides of the eastern part of Pyrenees
Pyrenees

The Pyrenees are a mountain range in southwest Europe that form a natural border between France and Spain. They separate the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe, and extend for about from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea ....
 mountains (counties of Rosselló
Roussillon

Roussillon is one of the historical county of the former Principality of Catalonia, corresponding roughly to the present-day southern France d?partement in France of Pyr?n?es-Orientales ....
, Empúries
Empúries

Emp?ries is a town on the Mediterranean coast, of the Comarques of Catalonia of Alt Empord? . It was founded in 575 BC by Greek colonists from Phocaea with the name of ??p????? ....
, Besalú
Besalú

Besal? is a town in the Comarques of Catalonia of Garrotxa, in Catalonia.The town's importance was greater in the early middle ages, as capital of the county of Besal?, whose territory was roughly the same size as the current comarca of Garrotxa but sometime extended as far as Corbi?res, Aude, in France....
, Cerdanya
Cerdanya

Cerdanya is a small region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain and which is historically one of the Catalan counties.Cerdanya has a land area of 1,086.07 km? , 50.3% being Spanish territory, 49.7% being French territory....
, Urgell
Urgell

Urgell is one of the historical Catalan counties, bordering on the counties of Pallars and Cerdanya. Its maximal extension territory was between the Pyrenees and the taifa of Lleida, that is, the current Comarques of Catalonia of Alt Urgell, Noguera , Solson?s, Pla d'Urgell, Urgell itself, and the still independent country of Andorra....
, Pallars and Ribagorça). It shares features with Gallo-Romance and Ibero-Romance, and started as a dialect of Occitan
Occitan language

Occitan , known also as Lenga d'?c or Langue d'oc is a Romance languages spoken in Occitania, that is, Southern France, the Occitan Valleys of Italy, Monaco and in the Aran Valley of Spain....
 (or of Western Romance).

As a consequence of the Aragonese and Catalan conquests from Al-Andalus
Reconquista

The Reconquista was a period of 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula succeeded in retaking the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims....
 to the south and to the west, it spread to all present-day Catalonia
Catalonia

Catalonia , is an Autonomous Community in northeast Spain.Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km? and has an official population of 7,210,508. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the east ....
, Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands

The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, and Formentera....
 and most of Valencian Community
Valencian Community

The Valencian Community is an Autonomous Community located in central to south-eastern Spain. It is divided in three provinces, from South to North: Alicante , Valencia and Castell?n ....
.

During the 15th century, during the Valencian Golden Age, the Catalan language reached its highest cultural splendor, which was not matched again until La Renaixença
Renaixença

The Renaixen?a was an early 19th century late romanticism National revival movement in Catalan language and culture, akin to the Galicia Rexurdimento or the Occitan F?librige movements....
, 4 centuries later.

See also History of Catalonia
History of Catalonia

The territory that now constitutes the Autonomous communities of Spain of Catalonia in Spain, and the adjoining Catalan region of France, was first settled during the Middle Palaeolithic....


After the Treaty of the Pyrenees
Treaty of the Pyrenees

The Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed in 1659 to end the war between France and Spain that had begun in 1635 during the Thirty Years' War. It was signed on Pheasant Island, a river island on the border between the two countries....
, a royal decree by Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France

Louis XIV ruled as List of French monarchs and of King of Navarre. He ascended the throne a few months before his fifth birthday, but did not assume actual personal control of the government until the death of his prime minister , the Italians Jules Cardinal Mazarin, in 1661....
 on April 2, 1700 prohibited the use of Catalan language in present-day Northern Catalonia
Northern Catalonia

Northern Catalonia is a term which is sometimes used,particularly in Catalonia writings, to refer tothe territory ceded to France by Spain through the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees...
 in all official documents under the threat of being invalidated. Since then, Catalan language has lacked official status in that Catalan-speaking region in France.

On December 10, 2007, the General Council of Pyrénées-Orientales officially recognized Catalan language as own one of the department in the ARTICLE 1 (a) of its Charte en faveur du Catalan (b), and seek to further promote it in public life and education.

(a) <
Le Conseil Général des Pyrénées-Orientales reconnaît officiellement, au côté de la langue française, le catalan comme langue du département.)>>

(b) Carta a favor del Català

See also Language policy in France
Language policy in France

France has one official language, the French language. The French government does not regulate the choice of language in publications by individuals but the use of French is required by law in commercial and workplace communications....


After the Nueva Planta Decrees
Nueva Planta decrees

The Nueva Planta decrees were a number of decrees signed between 1707 and 1716 by Philip V of Spain—the first House of Bourbon king of Spain—during and shortly after the end of the War of the Spanish Succession which he won....
, administrative use and education in Catalan was also banned in the territories of the Spanish Kingdom. It was not until the Renaixença
Renaixença

The Renaixen?a was an early 19th century late romanticism National revival movement in Catalan language and culture, akin to the Galicia Rexurdimento or the Occitan F?librige movements....
 that use of the Catalan language started to recover.

In Francoist Spain (1939–1975), the use of Spanish
Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
 over Catalan was promoted, and public use of Catalan was discouraged by official propaganda campaigns. The use of Catalan in government-run institutions and in public events was banned. During later stages of the Francoist regime, certain folkloric or religious celebrations in Catalan were resumed and tolerated. Use of Catalan in the mass media
Mass media

Mass media is a term used to denote a section of the media specifically envisioned and designed to reach a mainstream such as the population of a nation state....
 was forbidden, but was permitted from the early 1950s in the theatre. Publishing in Catalan continued throughout the dictatorship. There was no official prohibition of speaking Catalan in public or in commerce, but all advertising and signage had to be in Spanish alone, as did all written communication in business.

See also Language politics in Spain under Franco
Language politics in Spain under Franco

Language politics in Francoist Spain centered on attempts in Spain under Franco to increase the dominance of the Spanish language over the other languages of Spain....


Following the death of Franco in 1975 and the restoration of democracy, the use of Catalan increased partly because of new affirmative action and subsidy policies and the Catalan language is now used in politics, education and the Catalan media, including the newspapers Avui ("Today"), El Punt ("The Point") and El Periódico de Catalunya (sharing content with its Spanish release and with El Periòdic d'Andorra, printed in Andorra
Andorra

Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, is a small landlocked country in western Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France....
); and the television
Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
 channels of Televisió de Catalunya (TVC): TV3, the main channel, and Canal 33/K3 (culture and cartoons channel) as well as a 24-hour news channel 3/24 and the TV series channel 300; in València canal 9 and Punt 2; in the Balearic islands IB3; there are also many local channels available in region in Catalan, such as BTV and Td8 (in the metropolitan area of Barcelona), Canal L'Hospitalet (L'Hospitalet de Llobregat), Canal Terrassa (Terrassa), Televisió de Sant Cugat TDSC (Sant Cugat del Vallès), Televisió de Mataró TVM (Mataró).

Classification


The ascription of Catalan
Catalan language

Catalan is a Romance languages, the national language and official language of Andorra, and a official language in the Autonomous Communities of Spain of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community and in the city of Alghero in the Italy List of islands in the Mediterranean of Sardinia....
 to the Occitano-Romance
Occitano-Romance languages

The Occitano-Romance branch of Romance languages encompasses the dialects pertaining to the Occitan language and the Catalan language languages situated in France , Spain , Andorra, Monaco, parts of Italy , and historically in the County of Tripoli and the possessions of the Crown of Aragon....
 branch of Gallo-Romance languages
Gallo-Romance languages

The Gallo-Romance branch of Romance languages includes French language, Occitan language, Arpitan language, and several other languages spoken in modern France and northern Italy....
 is not shared by all linguists. According to the Ethnologue
Ethnologue

Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christianity linguistics service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, primarily to provide the speakers with Bibles, in their native language....
, its specific classification is as follows:

  • Indo-European languages
    Indo-European languages

    The Indo-European languages are a Language family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau , Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent ....
    • Italic languages
      Italic languages

      The Italic subfamily is a member of the Indo-European languages language family's Centum branch. It includes the Romance languages derived from Latin , and a number of extinct languages of the Italian Peninsula, including Umbrian language, Oscan language, and the aforementioned Latin....
      • Romance languages
        Romance languages

        The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages comprising all the languages that descend from Latin language, the language of ancient Rome....
        • Italo-Western languages
          Italo-Western languages

          Italo-Western is the largest sub-group of Romance languages. It comprises 38 languages in 2 subsets: Italo-Dalmatian, and Western Romance languages....
          • Western Italo-Western languages
            • Gallo-Iberian languages
              • Ibero-Romance languages
                • East Iberian languages


Catalan
Catalan language

Catalan is a Romance languages, the national language and official language of Andorra, and a official language in the Autonomous Communities of Spain of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community and in the city of Alghero in the Italy List of islands in the Mediterranean of Sardinia....
 is very similar to Occitan
Occitan language

Occitan , known also as Lenga d'?c or Langue d'oc is a Romance languages spoken in Occitania, that is, Southern France, the Occitan Valleys of Italy, Monaco and in the Aran Valley of Spain....
. (See also Occitan language: Differences between Occitan and Catalan and Gallo-Romance languages
Gallo-Romance languages

The Gallo-Romance branch of Romance languages includes French language, Occitan language, Arpitan language, and several other languages spoken in modern France and northern Italy....
.) Catalan shares several similarities with other Romance languages as well.

Geographic distribution


Catalan is spoken in:
  • Catalonia
    Catalonia

    Catalonia , is an Autonomous Community in northeast Spain.Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km? and has an official population of 7,210,508. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the east ....
     (Catalunya), in Spain
    Spain

    Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
    .
  • Most of the Valencian Community
    Valencian Community

    The Valencian Community is an Autonomous Community located in central to south-eastern Spain. It is divided in three provinces, from South to North: Alicante , Valencia and Castell?n ....
     (Comunitat Valenciana), in Spain, where it's called Valencian
    Valencian

    Valencian is the historical, traditional, and official name used in the Valencian Community of Spain to refer to the region's native language, known elsewhere as Catalan language ....
    .
  • An adjacent strip
    La Franja

    The term La Franja is a term that refers to the territory comprising the Catalan-speaking territories of Aragon bordering Catalonia . Usually La Franja is considered to be comprised by the municipalities of the following comarcas: Ribagorza, La Litera, Bajo Cinca, Bajo Aragon-Caspe, Bajo Aragon and Matarra?a....
     (Franja de Ponent) of Aragon
    Aragon

    Aragon is an autonomous communities of Spain of Spain. Located in northeastern Spain, the region comprises three provinces of Spain from north to south: Huesca , Zaragoza , and Teruel ....
    , Spain
    Spain

    Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
    , in particular the comarques of Ribagorça, Llitera, Baix Cinca, and Matarranya.
  • Balearic Islands
    Balearic Islands

    The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, and Formentera....
     (Illes Balears i Pitiüses), in Spain.
  • Andorra
    Andorra

    Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, is a small landlocked country in western Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France....
     (Principat d'Andorra).
  • Northern Catalonia
    Northern Catalonia

    Northern Catalonia is a term which is sometimes used,particularly in Catalonia writings, to refer tothe territory ceded to France by Spain through the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees...
     (Catalunya Nord : name used officially for the first time on December 10th, 2007 by the General Council of the Eastern Pyrenees), in France
    France

    France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
    .
  • The city of Alghero
    Alghero

    Alghero , is a town of about 42,000 inhabitants in Italy. It lies in the Provinces of Italy of Province of Sassari in north-western Sardinia....
     (l'Alguer) on Sardinia
    Sardinia

    Sardinia is the Mediterranean islands#By area island in the Mediterranean Sea . The area of Sardinia is . The island is surrounded by the France island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Tunisia and the Balearic Islands....
    , Italy.
  • A small region in Murcia
    Region of Murcia

    The Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia is one of Spain's seventeen Autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the southeast of the country, between Andalusia and Valencia , on the Mediterranean Sea coast....
    , Spain, known as Carche
    Carche

    El Carche , is a mountainous, sparsely populated, area in Regi?n de Murcia, Spain, lying between the municipalities Jumilla and Yecla. The mountains reach an altitude of 1,371 metres at the Pico de la Madama and part of the region has the status of regional park ....
     (El Carxe in Catalan).


All these areas are referred to by some as Catalan Countries (Catalan: Països Catalans), a denomination based on cultural affinity and common heritage, that have also had a subsequent political interpretation but no official status.

Number of Catalan speakers


Territories where Catalan is official (or co-official)


Figures relate to all self-declared speakers, not just native speakers.
Other territories

Figures relate to all self-declared speakers, not just native speakers.

World

Notes: The number of people who understand Catalan includes those who can speak it.

Dialects

In 1861, Manuel Milà i Fontanals
Manuel Milà i Fontanals

Manuel Mil? i Fontanals , Spain scholar, born at Vilafranca del Pened?s, near Barcelona, was educated first at Barcelona, and afterwards at the University of Cervera....
 proposed a division of Catalan into two major dialect blocks: Eastern Catalan and Western Catalan. Each dialect also encompasses several regional varieties.

There is no precise linguistic border between one dialect and another because there is nearly always a transition zone of some size between pairs of geographically separated dialects (except for dialects specific to an island). The main difference between the two blocks is their treatment of unstressed vowels, in addition to a few other features:
  • Western Catalan (Bloc o Branca del Català Occidental):
    • Unstressed vowels: . Distinctions between e and a and o and u.
    • Initial or post-consonantal x is an affricate (there are exceptions in Xàtiva, xarxa, Xavier, xenofòbia... these are pronounced with). Between vowels or when final and preceded by i, it is .
    • 1st person present indicative is -e or -o.
    • Latin long and short have become .
    • Inchoative in -ix, -ixen, -isca
    • Maintenance of medieval nasal plural in proparoxytone words: hòmens, jóvens
    • Specific vocabulary: espill, xiquet, granera, melic...
  • Eastern Catalan (Bloc o Branca del Català Oriental):
    • The vowels , and become /?/ when unstressed and , and become .
    • Initial or post-consonantal x is the fricative . Between vowels or when final and preceded by i it is also .
    • 1st person present indicative is -o, -i or there is no marker.
    • Latin long and short have become (In most of Balearic Catalan they are pronounced and in Alguerese ).
    • Inchoative in -eix, -eixen, -eixi.
    • The -n- of medieval nasal plural is dropped in proparoxytone words: homes, joves.
    • Specific Vocabulary: mirall, noi, escombra, llombrígol...
In addition, neither dialect
Dialect

A dialect is a variety of a language that is characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors, such as social class....
 is completely homogeneous: any dialect can be subdivided into several sub-dialects. Catalan can be subdivided into two major dialect blocks and those blocks into individual dialects:

Standards of Catalan language


There are two main standards for Catalan language, one regulated by Institut d'Estudis Catalans
Institut d'Estudis Catalans

The Institut d'Estudis Catalans is an academic institution which seeks to undertake research and study into "all elements of Catalan culture." The IEC is known principally for its work in standardizing the Catalan language language....
, general standard, with Pompeu Fabra
Pompeu Fabra

Pompeu Fabra i Poch, was a Catalan grammarian, the main author of the normative reform of contemporary Catalan language.Trained as a mechanical engineer, from a quite young age he dedicated himself to the study of the Catalan language....
's orthography as axis, keeping features from Central Catalan, and the other regulated by Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua
Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua

The Acad?mia Valenciana de la Llengua - Valencian Academy of the Language - is an institution created on September 16, 1998 by the Valencian Parliament, which belongs to the set of official institutions that compose the Generalitat Valenciana, according to the Act of Autonomy of the Valencian Community....
, restricted scale standard, focused on Valencian standardization on the basis of Normes de Castelló
Normes de Castelló

Normes Ortogr?fiques de Castell? , also simply known as Normes de Castell? or Normes del 32 after the city and year when they were signed, are elementary orthography guidelines which follow Pompeu Fabra's Catalan language norms for its Valencian variety....
, that is, Pompeu Fabra
Pompeu Fabra

Pompeu Fabra i Poch, was a Catalan grammarian, the main author of the normative reform of contemporary Catalan language.Trained as a mechanical engineer, from a quite young age he dedicated himself to the study of the Catalan language....
's orthography but more adapted to Western Catalan pronunciation and features of Valencian dialects.

IEC's Standard, apart from the basis of Central Catalan features, takes also other dialects features considering as standard. Despite this, the most notable difference between both standards is some tonic "e" accentuation, for instance: francès, anglès (IEC) - francés, anglés (AVL) (French, English), cafè (IEC) - café (AVL) (coffee), conèixer (IEC) - conéixer (to know), comprèn (IEC) - comprén (AVL) (he understands). This is because of the different pronunciation of some tonic "e", especially tonic E (long "e") and I (breves "i") from Latin, in both Catalan blocks ( in Eastern Catalan and [e] in Western Catalan). Despite this, AVL's standard keeps grave accent "è", without pronouncing this "e" , in some words like: què (what), València, èter (ether), sèsam (sesame), sèrie (series) and època (age).

There are also some other divergences like the tl use by AVL in some words instead of tll like in ametla/ametlla (almond), espatla/espatlla (back) or butla/butlla (bull), the use of elided demonstratives (este this, eixe that (near)) 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, like 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" (I buy) instead of "jo compro".

In Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands

The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, and Formentera....
, IEC's standard is used but adapted into Balearic dialect by University of the Balearic Islands
University of the Balearic Islands

The University of the Balearic Islands or UIB for short, is a Spain university, founded in 1978 and located in Palma de Mallorca on the island of Majorca....
's philological section, Govern de les Illes Balears's consultative organ. In this way, for instance, IEC says it is correct writing "cantam" as much as "cantem" (we sing) and University says that priority form in Balearic Islands must be "cantam" in all fields. Another feature of Balearic standard is the non-ending in 1st person singular in present indicative: "jo cant" (I sing), "jo tem" (I fear), jo "dorm" (I sleep).

In Alghero
Alghero

Alghero , is a town of about 42,000 inhabitants in Italy. It lies in the Provinces of Italy of Province of Sassari in north-western Sardinia....
, IEC has adapted his standard into Alguerese dialect
Alguerese

Algherese is the variant of the Catalan language spoken in the city of Alghero , in the northwest of Sardinia.Catalan invaders repopulated the town after expelling the indigenous Sardinian population in 1372, following several revolts....
. In this standard one can find, among other features: the lo article instead of el, special possessive pronouns and determinants la mia (my), lo sou/la sua (his/her), lo tou/la tua (your), and so on, the use of -v- in the imperfect tense in all conjugations: cantava, creixiva, llegiva; the use of many archaic words, usual words in Alguerese: manco instead of menys (less), calqui u instead of algú (someone), qual/quala instead of quin/quina (which), and so on; and the adaptation of weak pronouns
Weak pronouns in Catalan

The weak pronouns in Catalan are proforms that, as the name indicates, are never emphasized vocally. All are monosyllables, and all must always fall immediately before or after a verb: they cannot be used on their own or attached to a different element of the sentence....
.

The status of Valencian

The official language academy of the Valencian Community
Valencian Community

The Valencian Community is an Autonomous Community located in central to south-eastern Spain. It is divided in three provinces, from South to North: Alicante , Valencia and Castell?n ....
 (the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua
Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua

The Acad?mia Valenciana de la Llengua - Valencian Academy of the Language - is an institution created on September 16, 1998 by the Valencian Parliament, which belongs to the set of official institutions that compose the Generalitat Valenciana, according to the Act of Autonomy of the Valencian Community....
) considers Catalan and Valencian simply to be two names for the same language. All universities teaching Romance languages, and virtually all linguists, consider these two to be linguistic variants of the same language (similar to Canadian French
Canadian French

Canadian French is an umbrella term for the varieties of the French language used in Canada. French is the mother tongue of about seven million Canadians and is one of the country's two official languages, along with English language....
 versus Metropolitan French).

There is a roughly continuous set of dialects
Dialect continuum

A dialect continuum is a range of dialects spoken across a large geographical area, differing only slightly between areas that are geographically close, and gradually decreasing in mutual intelligibility as the distances become greater....
 covering the various regional forms of Catalan/Valencian, with no break at the border between Catalonia and the Valencian Community, and the various forms of Catalan and Valencian are mutually intelligible even between the most eastern and western varieties. This is not to say that there are no differences between the two and the speech of Valencians is recognizable both in pronunciation as well as in morphological and lexical peculiarities. However, these differences are not any wider than among North-Western Catalan and Eastern Catalan. In fact, Northern Valencian (spoken in the Castelló province and Matarranya valley, a strip of Aragon
Aragon

Aragon is an autonomous communities of Spain of Spain. Located in northeastern Spain, the region comprises three provinces of Spain from north to south: Huesca , Zaragoza , and Teruel ....
) is more similar to the Catalan of the lower Ebro
Ebro

The Ebro is Spain's most voluminous river. Its source is in Fontibre . It flows through cities such as Miranda de Ebro, Logro?o, Zaragoza, Flix, Tortosa, and Amposta before discharging in a river delta on the Mediterranean Sea in the province of Tarragona ....
 basin
Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean....
 (spoken in southern half of Tarragona province and another strip of Aragon) than to apitxat Valencian (spoken in the area of L'Horta, in the province of Valencia).

What gets called a language (as opposed to a dialect) is defined partly by mutual comprehensibility as well as political and cultural factors. In this case, the perceived status of Valencian as a dialect of Catalan has historically had important political implications including Catalan nationalism
Catalan nationalism

Catalan nationalism, or Catalanism , is a Politics movement advocating for either further political autonomy or full independence of Catalonia....
 and the idea of the Països Catalans or Catalan countries
Catalan Countries

The Catalan language term Pa?sos Catalans refers to the territories of Catalan language. A political side to this concept sprung out simultaneously to its cultural dimension, and what had remained as a cultural term for connaisseurs then rose to prominence and became highly controversial during the Spanish Transition period, most acr...
. Arguing that Valencian is a separate language may sometimes be part of an effort by Valencians to resist a perceived Catalan nationalist agenda aimed at incorporating Valencians into what they feel is a "constructed" nationality centered around Barcelona. As such, the issue of whether Catalan and Valencian constitute different languages or merely dialects has been the subject of political agitation several times since the end of the Franco era. The latest political controversy regarding Valencian occurred on the occasion of the drafting of the European Constitution in 2004. The Spanish government supplied the EU
European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
 with translations of the text into Basque
Basque language

Basque is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France....
, Galician, Catalan, and Valencian, but the Catalan and Valencian versions were identical. While professing the unity of the Catalan language, the Spanish government claimed to be constitutionally bound to produce distinct Catalan and Valencian versions because the Statute of Autonomy of the Valencian Community refers to the language as Valencian. In practice, the Catalan, Valencian, and Balearic versions of the EU constitution are identical: the government of Catalonia accepted the Valencian translation without any changes under the premise that the Valencian standard is accepted by the norms set forth by the IEC.

Catalan may be seen instead as a multi-centric language (much like English); there exist two standards, one for Oriental Catalan, regulated by the IEC, which is centered around Central Catalan (with slight variations to include Balearic verb inflection) and one for Occidental, regulated by the AVL, centered around Valencian.

The AVL accepts the conventions set forth in the Normes de Castelló
Normes de Castelló

Normes Ortogr?fiques de Castell? , also simply known as Normes de Castell? or Normes del 32 after the city and year when they were signed, are elementary orthography guidelines which follow Pompeu Fabra's Catalan language norms for its Valencian variety....
 as the normative spelling, shared with the IEC that allows for the diverse idiosyncrasies of the different language dialects and varieties. As the normative spelling, these conventions are used in education, and most contemporary Valencian writers make use of them. Nonetheless, a small minority mainly of those who advocate for the recognition of Valencian as a separate language, use in a non-normative manner an alternative spelling convention known as the Normes del Puig.

Sounds and writing system


Grammar

The first descriptive and normative grammar book of modern Catalan was written by Pompeu Fabra
Pompeu Fabra

Pompeu Fabra i Poch, was a Catalan grammarian, the main author of the normative reform of contemporary Catalan language.Trained as a mechanical engineer, from a quite young age he dedicated himself to the study of the Catalan language....
 in 1918. In 1995 a new grammar by Antoni M. Badía i Margarit was published, which also documents the Valencian and Balearic varieties.

The grammar of Catalan mostly follows the general pattern of Western Romance languages.

Substantives and adjectives are not declined by case, as in Classical Latin. There are two grammatical gender
Grammatical gender

In linguistics, grammatical genders, sometimes also called noun classes, are classes of nouns reflected in the behavior of associated words; every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be very few which belong to several classes at once....
s—masculine and feminine.

Grammatical article
Article (grammar)

An article is a word that combines with a noun to indicate the types of reference being made by the noun, and to specify the volume or numerical scope of that reference....
s originally developed from Latin demonstrative
Demonstrative

Demonstratives are deictic expression words that indicate which entities a speaker refers to, and distinguishes those entities from others. Demonstratives are employed for spatial deixis and as discourse deictics, referring to propositions mentioned in speech....
s. The actual form of the article depends on the gender and the number and the first sounds of the word and can be combined with prepositions that precede them. A unique feature of Catalan is a definite article that may precede personal names in certain contexts. Its basic form is en and it can change according to its environment (the word "en" has also other lexical meanings). One of the common usages of this article is in the word can, a combination of "casa" shortened to ca (house) and en, which means "The house of." For example "Can Sergi" means "Sergi's house".

Verbs are conjugated according to tense and mood similarly to other Western Romance languages—present and simple preterite are based on Classical Latin, future is formed from infinitive followed by the present form of the auxiliary verb haver (written together and not considered periphrastic), and periphrastic tenses are formed from the conjugated auxiliary verbs haver and ésser followed by the past participle. A unique tense in Catalan is the periphrastic simple preterite, which is formed from the conjugated present form of the verb anar (to go) which is followed by the infinitive of the verb. Thus, "Jo vaig parlar" (or more simply "Vaig parlar") means "I spoke."

Nominative pronouns are often omitted, as the person can be usually derived from the conjugated verb. The Catalan rules for combination of the object pronoun clitic
Clitic

In linguistics, a clitic is a grammatically independent and phonology dependent word. It is pronounced like an affix, but works at the phrase level....
s with verbs, articles and other pronouns are significantly more complex than in most other Romance languages; see Weak pronouns in Catalan
Weak pronouns in Catalan

The weak pronouns in Catalan are proforms that, as the name indicates, are never emphasized vocally. All are monosyllables, and all must always fall immediately before or after a verb: they cannot be used on their own or attached to a different element of the sentence....
.

Catalan names

Catalan naming customs are similar to those of Spain. Although it is not mandatory, according to tradition a person often receives two last names—his father's and his mother's. The two last names are usually separated by the particle "i", meaning "and".

For example, the full name of the architect Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí

Antoni Pl?cid Guillem Gaud? i Cornet ? in English sometimes referred to by the Spanish language translation of his name, Antonio Gaud? ? was a Spain Catalonia architecture who belonged to the Modernisme movement and was famous for his unique and highly individualistic designs....
 is Antoni Gaudí i Cornet after his parents: Francesc Gaudí i Serra and Antònia Cornet i Bertran.

Examples

Some common Catalan phrases from Catalonia (pronounced as in the Central dialect
Central Catalan

Central Catalan is the Eastern Catalan dialect with the highest number of speakers, since it is commonly spoken in densely populated areas such as the whole Barcelona , the eastern half of Tarragona and most of the Girona , except for it is northern part, where a transition to Northern Catalan begins....
 -Barcelona and outskirts-):

  • Catalan: Català
  • Hello: hola
  • Good-bye: adéu ; adéu siau
  • Please: si us plau
  • Thank you: gràcies ; mercès
  • Sorry: perdó , em sap greu
  • This one: aquest (masc.); aquesta (fem.)
  • How much?: quant val? ; quant és?
  • Yes: sí
  • No: no
  • I don't understand: no ho entenc
  • where's the bathroom?: on és el bany? ; on és el lavabo?
  • Generic toast: salut! ;
  • Do you speak Catalan?: Parles català?


Some useful Valencian phrases (pronounced as in the standard Valencian):

  • Valencian: valencià
  • Hello: hola
  • Good-bye: adéu
  • Please: sisplau
  • Thank you: gràcies
  • Sorry: perdó ; ho lamente
  • How much?: quant val? ; quant és?
  • Yes: sí
  • No: no
  • I don't understand: no ho entenc
  • Where's the bathroom?: on és el bany?
  • Generic toast: Jesús ; salut
  • Do you speak Valencian?: parles valencià?


Learning Catalan

  • Digui, digui... Curs de català per a estrangers. A Catalan Handbook. — Alan Yates and Toni Ibarz. — Generalitat de Catalunya. Departament de Cultura, 1993. -- ISBN 84-393-2579-7.
  • Teach Yourself Catalan. — Alan Yates. — McGraw-Hill, 1993. — ISBN 0-8442-3755-8.
  • Colloquial Catalan. — Toni Ibarz and Alexander Ibarz. — Routledge, 2005. — ISBN 0-415-23412-3.
  • speakcat On-line basic course http://intercat.cesca.es/speakcat/
  • Parla.Cat The Official free on-line complete course http://www.parla.cat
Catalan courses are offered at a number of universities in Europe and North America.

Voluntaris per la Llengua
Voluntaris per la Llengua

Voluntaris per la Llengua is a Catalan language learning programme.The programme is important to the integration of foreign people in Catalonia....
 is a Catalan language learning programme.

English words of Catalan origin


  • Aioli
    Aioli

    Aioli is a sauce made of garlic and olive oil. Normally Egg is also added for ease of mixing. There are many variations, such as the addition of mustard....
    , from all i oli, a typical sauce made by mixing olive oil
    Olive oil

    Olive oil is a fruit oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. The wild olive tree originated in Anatolia and spread from there as far as southern Africa, Australia, Japan and China....
     and garlic
    Garlic

    Allium sativum L., commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion family Alliaceae. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, and chive....
     with a mortar and pestle
    Mortar and pestle

    A mortar and pestle is a tool used to crush, grind, and mix substances. The pestle is a heavy stick whose end is used for pounding and grinding, and the mortar is a bowl....
    .
  • Aubergine
    Aubergine

    The eggplant, aubergine, or brinjal is a plant of the family Solanaceae and genus Solanum. It bears a fruit of the same name, commonly used as a vegetable in cooking....
    , from Catalan albergínia
  • Barracks
    Barracks

    Barracks are living quarters for personnel on a military post. They are typically very plain and all of the buildings in the housing unit are often uniform structures....
    , from old Catalan barraca (hut
    Hut

    Hut may refer to:*Hut *Hans Hut , an Anabaptist leader*Hut Records, a British audio records company*Sunglass Hut International, largest American retailer of sunglasses...
    ) through French
    French language

    French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
     baraque. Another term Barracoon, from Catalan barraca (hut
    Hut

    Hut may refer to:*Hut *Hans Hut , an Anabaptist leader*Hut Records, a British audio records company*Sunglass Hut International, largest American retailer of sunglasses...
    ) through Spanish
    Spanish language

    Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
     barracón.
  • surge, from Catalan surgir, via Middle French
    Middle French

    Middle French is an historical division of the French language which covers the period from 1340 to 1611 . It is a period of transition during which:...
  • Paella
    Paella

    Paella is a rice dish which originated in the Spanish Autonomous Communities of Valencian Community near lake Albufera, a coastal lagoon in eastern Spain....
    , Valencian Catalan, via Old French
    Old French

    Old French was the Romance languages dialect continuum spoken in territories which span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from around 1000 to 1300....
     paele


See also

  • Catalan orthography
    Catalan orthography

    This article covers the Orthography of Catalan language, a Romance language. The Catalan alphabet is adapted from the Latin alphabet....
  • Institut d'Estudis Catalans
    Institut d'Estudis Catalans

    The Institut d'Estudis Catalans is an academic institution which seeks to undertake research and study into "all elements of Catalan culture." The IEC is known principally for its work in standardizing the Catalan language language....
     (Catalan Studies Institute)
  • Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua
    Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua

    The Acad?mia Valenciana de la Llengua - Valencian Academy of the Language - is an institution created on September 16, 1998 by the Valencian Parliament, which belongs to the set of official institutions that compose the Generalitat Valenciana, according to the Act of Autonomy of the Valencian Community....
     (Valencian Academy of the Language)
  • Pompeu Fabra
    Pompeu Fabra

    Pompeu Fabra i Poch, was a Catalan grammarian, the main author of the normative reform of contemporary Catalan language.Trained as a mechanical engineer, from a quite young age he dedicated himself to the study of the Catalan language....
  • Catalan literature
    Catalan literature

    Catalan literature is the name conventionally used to refer to literature written in the Catalan language. The Catalan literary tradition is extensive, starting in the Middle Ages....
  • Languages of France
  • Languages of Italy
  • Languages of Spain
    Languages of Spain

    The languages of Spain are the languages spoken or once spoken in Spain....
  • Catalan names
  • .cat
    .cat

    .cat is a sponsored top-level domain intended to be used to highlight the Catalan language and Catalan culture. Its policy has been developed by ICANN and Fundaci? puntCAT....
     - The first top-level domain
    Top-level domain

    A top-level domain , sometimes referred to as a top-level domain name, is the last part of an domain name, that is, the group of letters that follow the final dot of any domain name....
     based on language and culture
  • Alguerese
    Alguerese

    Algherese is the variant of the Catalan language spoken in the city of Alghero , in the northwest of Sardinia.Catalan invaders repopulated the town after expelling the indigenous Sardinian population in 1372, following several revolts....
  • Balearic
    Balearic

    Balearic is the name given collectively to the group of Catalan language variants spoken in the Balearic Islands, Spain. The collective term was coined by philologists, while the historic names used by the speakers themselves refer to the language as if it was local to each island, and so "Mallorqu?" , "Eivissenc" and "Menorqu?" may be used...
  • Valencian
    Valencian

    Valencian is the historical, traditional, and official name used in the Valencian Community of Spain to refer to the region's native language, known elsewhere as Catalan language ....
  • Spanish (Spain) keyboard layout
    Keyboard layout

    A keyboard layout is any specific mechanical, visual, or functional arrangement of the keys, legends, or key?meaning associations of a Computer keyboard, typewriter, or other alphanumeric keyboard keyboard....
    , used to type Catalan
  • Òmnium Cultural
    Òmnium Cultural

    Omnium Cultural was founded in 1961 and works to maintain and promote the Catalan language and culture. It's a politically non-aligned, independent association which has as its motto "Language, culture, country"....


External links

  • . Official data about sociolinguistic situation in Catalan-speaking areas: Catalonia (2003), Andorra (2004), the Balearic Islands (2004), Aragonese Border (2004), Northern Catalonia (2004), Alghero (2004) and Valencia (2004).


Institutions



About the Catalan language

  • A Catalan grammar


Monolingual Dictionaries

  • from the Institut d'Estudis Catalans
  • from Enciclopèdia Catalana
  • Dictionary of Catalan words spelled backwards


Bilingual and Multilingual Dictionaries

  • from Enciclopèdia Catalana (Catalan < > Spanish, English, French and German)
  • . Open source, collaborative dictionary (Catalan < > English)
  • from - the Rosetta Edition (Catalan < > English)


Automated translation systems

  • Automated, on-line translations of text and web pages (Catalan < > English, French and Spanish)
  • Automated, on-line translations of text and web pages (Catalan < > Spanish)


Phrasebooks

  • Catalan phrasebook on Wikitravel
  • phrasebook
  • Catalan thematic vocabulary


Learning resources

  • . Set of electronic resources for learning the Catalan language and culture.
  • . An introduction for the Catalonia-bound traveler.


Catalan-language media

  • — Catalan-language daily newspaper
  • The main Catalan online newspaper


Catalan-language web searching



Catalan-language online encyclopedia