It is spoken by about 11 million people in the so-called. Catalan lands in Spain (autonomous communities of Catalonia, Valencia, Balearic Islands), France (Eastern Pyrenees department), Andorra and Italy (Alghero on the island of Sardinia).

Catalan is the official language in the above mentioned provinces of Spain (along with Spanish) and in Andorra.

Name

Some Valencian organizations advocate for the recognition of Valencian as an independent language, but most scholars consider Valencian and Catalan to be one language.

In the latter case, there are several options for the name of the entire language and its individual parts:

• Catalan language with several dialects, one of which is Valencian;
• Catalan-Valencian language (less commonly Catalan-Valencian-Balearic) with Catalan and Valencian variants;
• a single language with different names: in Catalonia - Catalan, in Valencia - Valencian.

Story

It is believed that the formation of an independent Catalan language began in the 9th century, during the Reconquista. The first monuments of the Catalan language date back to this century.

The language originated from Vulgar Latin in the north of the Iberian Peninsula.

In the late Middle Ages, Catalan was a literary language and had prestige. Although the language of poetry in Catalonia until the 15th century. Occitan remained, Catalan - the first of the Romance languages ​​- opened such areas as philosophy and science.

After the marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon to Isabella I of Castile in 1469, the Catalan nobility began to switch to the Castilian (Spanish) language, which led to a constant narrowing of the scope of the Catalan language and the formation of a situation of diglossia, which is still observed today.

The repressive language policy of the Bourbons in the 18th century had a very negative impact; its reason was that the Catalans fought on the side of the Habsburgs in the War of the Spanish Succession.

By the beginning of the 19th century. The Catalan language was finally forced out of most areas of use.

However, its position was more favorable than, for example, the Galician language.

Although the political and social elite (nobility, writers) stopped using the language during the decline of the language (XVI-XIX centuries), it was spoken by the common people and the clergy, which allowed the language to maintain a certain social prestige.

In the first half of the 19th century. A resistance movement, the so-called Renaissance (Renaixença), begins to form. At first it did not go beyond the bounds of a literary movement, but over the course of the century it acquired political and national features.

By the beginning of the 20th century. include the first victories in language policy.

In the 1930s, Catalan even received the status of a second official language in Catalonia. But the success did not last long.

After Franco's victory in the Civil War (1936-39), the use of the Catalan language was prohibited. The legislation of Francoist Spain provided for criminal liability for its use.

This situation remained until the end of Franco's dictatorship in 1975. The democratization of Spain led to greater autonomy in certain areas, and in 1979 the Catalan language again received official status.

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Useful information

Catalan
Valencian language
self-described català
Spanish Idiom catalan

Linguistic characteristics

Writing

The Latin alphabet is used as the graphic basis of Catalan-Valencian-Balearic with the addition of a number of special idigraph letters.

Further periodization is developed only for literary written language. It distinguishes the early period - from the 9th to the 15th centuries; middle - from the 16th to the 19th centuries; and the newest one - from the 19th century. to this day.

Phonological information

Seven vowel phonemes can be in the stressed position: front-lingual and, e open, e closed, a, u, o open and o closed. In unstressed position, the vocalization system varies depending on the dialect. In the central dialect it includes i, u, ə. In Western dialects - a, e, o, u, i.

Syllable

Basic syllable types: V, VC, VCC, CV, CVC, CVCC, CCVC.

Morphology

Catalan is an inflected language.

Composition and nature of morphological categories

Information about dialects

An independent dialect is "Mallorquin" - a dialect of the Balearic Islands.

In the Valencian Community, the local dialect of Catalan is called Valencian.

Catalan is understood by approximately 10 million people in Spain (Catalonia, Valencia), the Balearic Islands, the south of France, Italy (Alghero in Sardinia) and Andorra.

The area where the Catalan language is spoken is called Paisos Catalans (Catalan countries). Approximately 7.7 million speakers actively use this language, and 4.4 million call Catalan their main language of communication. There are Eastern Catalan and Western Catalan dialects.

The east of Catalonia, the south of Catalan-speaking France, the Balearic Islands and Sardinia are classified as Eastern Catalan dialects.

Other areas of distribution of the Catalan language are classified as Western Catalan dialects. The main criterion for this division into dialects is the pronunciation of unstressed o, e and a.

In Western Catalan these sounds are pronounced in the same way as they are expressed in writing, while in Eastern Catalan dialects o in unstressed position is pronounced as [u], and e and a as weak English [ə].

Catalan(cat. català) belongs to the Romance languages ​​and has about 12 million speakers. It is the official language of Andorra and the state language, along with Spanish, Catalonia (Catalunya), Valencia (Comunitat Valenciana) and the Balearic Islands. The language is also spoken in some areas of Aragon and Murcia, Rosselló in southern France and l'Alguer on the island of Sardinia.

The language of Valencia is known as "Valencian" and, according to some linguists, is an independent language, although many still consider it a dialect of the Catalan language. According to the Valencian Language Academy (Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL)), Catalan and Valencian are two names for the same language.

Story

The Catalan language became an independent language during the 10th-11th centuries. In the 12th century. the Catalan language began to appear in scientific, philosophical, financial, religious, legal and historical documentation. During this period of time, Latin and the Provençal dialect predominated in artistic and philosophical literature.

After the War of the Spanish Succession (1705-1715), Philip V abolished all state institutions that existed at that time in Catalonia and introduced Spanish laws. The Catalan language has gone through various periods of bans and repression.

In the 19th century a period of economic, cultural and national revival began, known as the Renaissance (Renaixença). The Catalan language has been revived as a language of literary culture thanks to the Jocs Florals (poetry competition) and such outstanding representatives as Jacinth Verdaguer, Narcisse Ollier and Angel Guimera.

The Renaissance drew public attention to the lack of unity in the use of language (there was no single model of a generally accepted written language) and the need to develop spelling rules. The founding of the Institute for the Study of Catalonia (Institut d'Estudis Catalans) in 1907 led to the systematization of the Catalan language through the publication of Pumpeu Fabra's Norms of Spelling (Normes ortogràfiques) in 1913, the Spelling Dictionary (Diccionari ortogràfic) in 1917 and "Grammar of the Catalan language" in 1918

During the first thirty years of the 20th century. Catalonia experienced a period of political passion, culminating in the partial revival of the political power of the Government of Catalonia (Generalitat) in the 1930s. During the Second Republic (1931-1939), the Catalan language regained its status as an official language, which it had lost in the 18th century. However, a promising future was hampered by the civil war and its aftermath. The use of the Catalan language was popularly prohibited, and he had to confine himself to his native territory.

After the restoration of democratic institutions, the process of reviving the use of the Catalan language began. It is now an official language alongside Spanish in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, and is widely used as an everyday language throughout Catalonia, Valencia, Andorra and the Balearic Islands. Catalan is used as a medium of instruction in many schools, as well as in the media and government agencies.

Catalan alphabet

A a	B b	C c	Ç ç	D d	E e	F f	G g	H h
a	be	ce	ce trencada	de	e	efa	ge	hac
I i	Jj	K k	Ll	Mm	Nn	O o	P p	Q q
i	jota	ke	ela	ema	ena	o	pe	cu
R r	Ss	T t	U u	V v	W w	X x	Y y	Z z
err	essay	te	u	ve baixa	ve double	ics, xeix	i Grega	zeta

Phonetic transcription of the Catalan language

Vowels, diphthongs and triphthongs

Consonants

Notes:

c = [s] before i or e, but [k] in other positions
g = before i or e, but in other positions
gu = [g] before i or e, but in other positions
i = before vowels, but [i] in other positions
I-I officially = , but often pronounced [I]
u = before vowels, but [u] in other positions
k, w and y are used exclusively in borrowed words

Coming to Spain, many tourists do not even suspect that it is quite large. In fact, there are a number of cultural, linguistic, work ethic and social differences between the two that are best known in advance. Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, while Madrid is the capital of Spain. At first glance, the difference is not so noticeable, but after a while you begin to understand how different Catalonia is from Spain. will help you get comfortable and learn more about cultural traditions, as well as find an inexpensive apartment in Barcelona!

Languages

Language differences between Spanish and Catalan most clearly visible if you talk to Catalans outside of Barcelona. Most Barcelona residents speak both Spanish and Catalan. Catalan is a Romance language, like Spanish, but is not a dialect of Spanish. In fact, Catalan is more similar to French and Italian than to Spanish and Portuguese. In Catalonia, outside of Barcelona, ​​these differences are especially noticeable, since for the majority of residents Catalan is the language of everyday communication. While in Barcelona, ​​visitors to the city can hear both languages ​​in different environments. Governments in Catalonia and Barcelona conduct business in Catalan, while business structures use both languages ​​depending on the market segment - all of Spain or just Catalonia.

Kitchen

Dishes of Spanish and Catalan cuisine also have a number of minor differences. Spain is famous for its chorizo ​​(raw smoked pork sausage) and paella, while Catalonia is best known for butifarra (cinnamon pork sausage) and a dish called fideua (noodles with scallions and calçots). Catalan cuisine differs from Spanish cuisine due to the influence of French cuisine and proximity to the ocean. In many restaurants you will find dishes with shades of French cuisine, combining meat and seafood. The difference can be seen when comparing rural mountain towns, where pork is often used in dishes as the region is known for its pig farms, with coastal towns, where seafood is more often used.

Catalan traditions

Castle "Castel"

The main difference between Spain and Catalonia iscultural perceptionthese two groups. For many years, Catalans have been considered hard-working, success-oriented people with a business mindset. While the Spaniards are considered cheerful, helpful people who love fun. This can be seen when comparing two national events that shed light on the cultural differences of both groups. Bullfighting is still highly regarded in Spain as an example of concentration, wild strength and colorful combat. Catalans prefer the tradition of building castles - castells, where teamwork is necessary.

Art

Barcelona and the whole of Catalonia have always been considered a kind of cultural Mecca with amazing architectural solutions by Gaudi and Richard Meier, thanks to which Barcelona can be called heaven on earth. At the same time, Madrid is experiencing a cultural renaissance.Moreover, the revival here begins practically from scratch. The main difference between the two cities is the styles– traditional style of Madrid and modernist Barcelona.

CATALAN, one of the Romance languages. In its structure it occupies an intermediate position between the Ibero-Roman and Gallo-Roman subgroups. The Catalan language is spoken in the autonomous region of Catalonia (Spain), in the region of Roussillon (France, Eastern Pyrenees department), in the state of Andorra, in the city of Alghero (Sardinia) and on the Balearic Islands - in total approx. 8 million people. The literary Catalan language was formed on the basis of the eastern dialect (Barcelona); the western dialect (Valencia) was strongly influenced by the Spanish (Castilian) language. The first monuments of the Catalan language date back to the 11th century, but in Catalonia until the mid-13th century. the literary language (especially in poetry) was Provençal. Structural proximity with Provençal for a long time prevented the separation of Catalan into an independent language: until the beginning of the 20th century. many considered it a dialect of Provençal. Thanks to the work of the famous Catalan preacher, philosopher, poet and prose writer, author of 265 works, Raymond Lull (1233–1315) in the 14th century. The flowering of Catalan literature began. Currently, Catalan, although it does not have the status of an official language, is used in Catalonia in all areas, including administrative ones. Teaching at school and partly at universities is conducted in Catalan. Despite the prestige of Spanish literature, Catalans retain their cultural and linguistic autonomy.

Being at the junction of two linguistic areas, Catalan has a number of features common to Castilian (Spanish), a number of features common to Provençal, as well as specific Catalan features.

The most important features common to Catalan and Spanish, in contrast to Provençal: 1) contraction of the Latin diphthong au > o: lat. causa > Spanish, cat. cosa, prov. causa; 2) the formation of soft l" and n" from the Latin double consonants ll and nn; 3) assimilation mb > mm > m, nd > n: lat. lumbus > lomo, adv. lat. andare > anar. The most important features common to Catalan and Provençal, in contrast to Spanish: 1) the absence of spontaneous diphthongization of e and o: adv. lat.*potet > cat., prov. pot, Spanish puede; lat. festa, cat., prov. festa, Spanish fiesta; 2) loss of final vowels, except a: cat., prov. gran, tot, segurament, Spanish grande, todo, seguramente; 3) preservation of infinitives of the 3rd Latin conjugation: lat. cadere > cat. caure, but Spanish caer, lat. intendere > cat. entendre, but Spanish entender. Specific Catalan features: 1) early (pre-literate) contraction of positionally determined diphthongs ie > i, ue > i: Lat. lectum > *lieit > llit, noctem > *nueit > nit; 2) palatalization of the initial l: luna > lluna; 3) the formation of the periphrastic past tense with the verb anar “to go” in the present tense: ell va fer “he did” (in contrast to the French il va faire “he will do” - future tense).

The only state in the world where Catalan is the official language is Andorra. In addition to this picturesque country in the heart of the Pyrenees, whose population is extremely small, Catalan coexists with Spanish in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencia (total number of speakers is about 8.5 million). However, there are many places where the Catalan language is not officially recognized, despite its active use: this is the situation in Aragon (105 localities), in “Northern Catalonia” with the capital Perpignan (or in the department of Eastern Pyrenees, according to the French territorial division), in Murcia and in Sardinia. In total, Catalan is spoken by about 14 million people in 4 countries (Spain, Andorra, France, Italy).
The sociolinguistic status of the Catalan language varies from province to province. On the northern slopes of the Pyrenees and in large cities (especially Valencia and Alicante), Catalan is a minority language and is not very popular. At the same time, in Catalonia, on the islands and in the rural part of Valencia, it is the main language of communication, which also serves as a sign of national unity. Interestingly, Catalan is one of the most used languages ​​on the Internet (ranked 26th among the languages ​​of the world), in particular, the bulk of Wikipedia articles intended for Spaniards are written in it (according to the University of Oxford).
It is worth noting that not all Catalan-speaking people use the name “Catalan language” - el català. The Catalan-speaking population of Valencia prefers the self-name “Valencian language” (el valencià) and most of them share the false belief that Valencian and Catalan are two different languages. Unfortunately, this division, which is in no way justified by linguistics, is actively used by political parties and movements that benefit from the “divide and conquer” principle.

Dialects

Catalan has far fewer dialects than, say, Spanish or Basque - although dialectal differences can be quite significant, especially in Menorca, whose dialect is not always understood by "continental" Catalans. Traditionally, Catalan is considered to be divided into two main dialects: eastern (Tarragona, Barcelona, ​​Girona, Perpigna and the Balearic Islands) and western (Andorra, Leida, Tortosa, Aragon and Valencia). Their differences manifest themselves in different ways:

• Phonetics: in eastern dialects there is a reduction of vowels [a], [e] and [ԑ] (open e) into a neutral sound [ә] of the middle rise, as well as a reduction of closed [o] and open [ᴐ] into [u]. This reduction is not observed in Western dialects.
• Verb morphology: first person opposition parle (West)/ parlo (East), patisc/ pateixo and the opposition of the suffix –ix (west) / –eix (east). Subjunctive mood: que parle (west) / que parli (east).
• Demonstrative pronouns and adverbs of place: the Valencian dialect retains a three-member division of space according to degree of proximity - adverbs açò, això, allò and pronouns este, eixe, aquell(closeness to the speaker, to the interlocutor, to a third person), while in other regions it disappears - adverbs això, allò and pronouns aquest, aquell corresponds to the Russian division into close and distant.
• Vocabulary: numerous differences, e.g. espill, roig, melic(zap.) / mirall, vermell, llombrígol(Eastern).

Often dialectal differences manifest themselves locally and in rather bizarre ways. So, in the Balearic Islands - and for some reason in Tarben and Cadaques - the definite article is used es/sa, going back to Latin IPSU/IPSA: es llibre, s’oli, sa dona, ses taules. This is the only case in the entire group of Romance languages, except Sardinian.
It is interesting to note that the first person singular. present vr. a verb in different dialects can take 6 different endings (5 vowels + zero ending). Among the grammatical features, it is worth highlighting the “periphrastic past tense,” which is formed using the verb anar (to go): yes, form va parlar does not mean “will speak” at all (cf. French. va parler or Spanish va a hablar), and “he spoke”. Along with this unique past tense for the Romanesque group, synthetic forms also coexist, which, however, are used only in book speech and in certain regions of Valencia.

Story

Since Paleolithic times, the Iberian Peninsula has been inhabited by tribes of non-Indo-European origin: in particular, the Iberians and Proto-Basques (in the Pyrenees). Subsequently, the east coast was colonized by the Greeks and Carthaginians. In 218 BC. Roman troops invade the peninsula and subjugate it to the Roman Empire. Their dominance lasted for about 7 centuries. A direct consequence of this dominance was the Romanization of the peninsula, divided into three provinces: Betica, Lusitania and Tarracona (including modern Catalonia and Valencia).
The Catalan language can be considered Gallo-Romance, since all linguistic innovations coming from Rome to Gaul were assimilated by Catalan: in this sense, it is a direct relative of Occitan and French, and is in many ways similar to Italian. Examples of these innovations in folk Latin are: arribar, bullir, cama, formatge, llit, malalt, menjar, parlar, por, taula, trobar, voler– can be easily contrasted with the vocabulary of the Ibero-Roman group llegar, hervir, pierna, queso, cama, enfermo, comer, hablar, miedo, mesa, encontrar / hallar, querer, dating back to classical Latin. However, the influence of Spanish did not pass without a trace, and the indigenous Catalan vocabulary in many cases gave way to Spanish borrowings: cf. outdated frare, sor, jaquir, ociure, orb, pus with modern germà, germana, deixar, matar, cec, més. This tendency is especially pronounced in Western dialects.
The invasion of the Visigothic tribes in the 5th century did not significantly change the linguistic picture, since the conquerors assimilated and adopted folk Latin. Therefore, the Germanic superstrate is reduced to individual words (often military vocabulary and onomastics): blanc, blau, bru, esquena, anca, fresc, estona, gaire, guerra, guanyar, Bernat, Guillem, Arnau, Llofriu, Guimerà, ...
In the 8th century, Arab tribes landed on the peninsula and in a matter of months conquered most of modern Spain. In 732 they lose the battle to Charlemagne, and the French capture the north of the peninsula. In the 9th century, the Catalan principalities gained independence and rallied around Barcelona. We can say that it was there that the Catalan language was born in close connection with Occitan (at that time, practically no different from Catalan). Commercial ties with the south of modern France support its European aspirations, while modern Valencia is under Arab rule and adopts a fairly significant lexical layer from Arabic. Subsequently, this vocabulary, associated primarily with agriculture, will enter Catalan and from there spread to other European languages: albergínia, albercoc, carxofa, garrofa, taronja, safrà, sucre, sofre, cotó, magatzem, duana.
In the 12th century, the Catalan-Aragonese kingdom (in modern terms, the confederation of Catalonia and Aragon) begins to expand, seeks access to the sea, and captures adjacent areas: Tarragona (1128), Leida (1238) and, a century later, Mallorca (1229) and Valencia ( 1238). The aggressive policy leads the Catalans in the 14th century to Sardinia and Sicily, to Naples and Athens.
The first literary monuments of Catalonia were four chronicles - some of the best examples in all of Europe - la Cronica de Jaume I or Libre dels feits, la Cronica de Bernat Desclot, la Cronica de Ramon Muntaner and la Cronica de Pere el Cerimoniós. From the XII-XIII centuries. the poetry of the Catalan troubadours was preserved, and at the end of the 13th - beginning of the 14th centuries. It is worth noting the figure of the brilliant thinker, inventor and poet Ramon Llull.
The political flourishing of Catalonia was accompanied by the flourishing of Catalan literature: the 15th century, called the “golden age,” gave birth to a whole galaxy of brilliant writers and poets - Bernat Metge, Ausiàs March, Jordi de Sant Jordi, Joan Roís de Corella, Jaume Roig, Joanot Martorell. Marturel became famous for writing a wonderful chivalric novel Tirant lo blanc (Tyrant White, translated into Russian) is the only book that Don Quixote does not burn.
After centuries of prosperity, the unequal union of Aragon with Castile in 1479 gradually changed the geopolitical situation and led to the repression of the Catalan language until its official prohibition at the state level subsequently. The expulsion of the Arabs in 1609 led to massive population migrations and was the first step to consolidate the boundaries of the Catalan language (in particular, Murcia was settled by people from Spanish-speaking areas and lost the Catalan language). The expulsion of Catalan from the official sphere accelerated after the war of succession to the throne: having captured Aragon, the Bourbons passed a decree banning the Catalan language (Decret de la Nova Planta) in 1707 in Valencia and in 1716 in Barcelona. Napoleon captured Catalonia in 1808 and annexed it to France for some time. By the end of the 19th century, it became fashionable among the aristocracy to speak Spanish. In this regard, the Catalan language is being pushed into the sphere of informal and everyday communication of the middle and lower classes, and the prestige of the language is falling sharply. At the same time, a counter-nationalist movement, the Renaixença, emerged among the growing bourgeoisie. In 1859, in Barcelona (and decades later in Valencia), literary competitions typical of the 14th century were resurrected - els Jocs Florals (flower games), designed, in particular, to raise the prestige of the Catalan language. But only towards the end of the 19th century, a new wave of remarkable writers and poets began to create in the Catalan language: we are talking about Catalan modernism (Santiago Rusiñol, Joan Maragall, Eugeni d´Ors), a movement that was especially clearly manifested in architecture (Antoni Gaudí). In 1913, Pompeu Fabra published a huge work on the study and normalization of the Catalan language, which later served as the basis for the creation of modern grammar. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a new galaxy of remarkable authors appeared: Mercé Rodoreda, Josep Pla, Salvador Espriu and many others, who were subsequently forced to emigrate during the years of Francoism.
In the 20th century, the growing industrialization of Catalonia led to a huge increase in immigration, mainly from poor Spanish-speaking areas. Immigrant families in many cases tried to maintain their native language, which led to a decrease in the role of Catalan in large cities - Barcelona, ​​Valencia and, especially, Alicante. But the main blow to the language was dealt by the dictatorship of General Franco, who for 35 years tried to mercilessly suppress all manifestations of a thousand-year-old culture. Not allowed in the media, the Catalan language gradually lost its position, despite the fact that families continued to speak their native, albeit prohibited, language. Entire generations of Catalans were forced to study in a non-native Spanish language, which led to the virtual complete disappearance of monolinguals. This situation, however, changed with the adoption of the Constitution in 1978, recognizing the Catalan language as a legitimate means of communication. At the moment, three systems of education coexist in Catalan schools: predominantly in Catalan (Spanish as a foreign language), predominantly in Spanish (Catalan as a foreign language) and half and half.
Unfortunately, the struggle to support the Catalan language often takes a purely political turn, and autonomous governments abuse this. It should be noted that the linguistic situation in Valencia differs in this sense from Catalonia, which is seeking to gain greater self-government rights and even possibly secede from Spain. However, for many Catalan-speaking people in Spain, their status as “Spaniards” is imposed and unwelcome, as is the obligation to know and speak Spanish.

• Amell Guiomar (1994): Breu història dels catalans, Barcelona, ​​Generalitat de Catalunya.
• Borja de Riquer (dir.) (1999): Cronologia dels Països Catalans. història i societat, economia, cultura, ciència, Barcelona, ​​Portic.
• Casanova, Emili i Abelard Saragossà (2010): El valenciano: nombre, historia, situación sociolingüística y características básicas, Valencia, Ed. Denes.
• Ferrando, Antoni i Miquel Nicolàs (2005): Historia de la llengua catalana, Barcelona, ​​Pòrtic, Editorial UOC.
• Veny, Joan (1978): Els parlars catalans, Palma, Ed. Raixa.