General History

Catalan is part of the Indo-European language family, the Romance branch, and the Occitan group. This means it is closely related to languages like Occitan and French. Catalan is also related to other Romance languages like Spanish and Portuguese. Catalan is distantly related to languages like English and Irish as well.

Currently, Catalan is the official language in Andorra; Alghero, Italy; the Balearic Islands; and Catalonia. It is recognized as a minority language in other regions of Spain like La Franja. It is also a minority language in France. Catalan is also spoken by diaspora in countries like the United States. Interestingly, many people believe Catalan is a mixture of French and Spanish because of how it sounds. However, this is not true as Catalan developed independently of the two languages. The Catalan language is regulated by Institut d’Estudis Catalans Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua. As one can see from the title Catalan has been influenced by the French slightly in grammar.    

The Phonology (Sounds) of Catalan

Terms

Catalan has 27 consonant sounds, 24 of which are shared with English. Every sound has three criteria: voiceless or voiced, placement, and manner. Voiceless refers to when one makes a sound without the use of the vocal cords. For example, “s,” as in snake. Voiced refers to when one makes a sound with the use of the vocal cords. For example, “z,” as in zoo. Placement is where in the mouth and throat the sound is being made. This can range from the lips to the larynx. In Georgian, there are six placements. Finally, manner is how a sound is made. For example, the sound /p/ is called a voiceless bilabial plosive. In layman’s terms, it is a sound made without vocal cords, using only the lips, and a burst of air.  

Plosives

Plosives are sounds made when one stops airflow and then releases it in a burst of air. In Catalan, there are six plosives. First are the voiceless and voiced bilabial plosives /p/ and /b/ which are just like they look. /p/ as in pack or por, and /b/ as in aback or bell. Next are the voiceless and voiced alveolar plosives /t/ and /d/ which again sound just like they look. /t/ as in tin or terra, and /d/ as in dash or drac. Lastly, there are the voiceless and voiced velar plosives /k/ and /g/ which sound how they look. /k/ as in kiss or cors, and /g/ as in good or guant.

Fricatives

Fricatives are defined by closing the mouth to the point where only a small airstream can be pushed out, creating friction and therefore a sound. The first sounds are the voiceless and voiced labiodental fricatives /f/ and /v/. They can be seen in words like fun or fort, and vote or vell. The next sounds are the voiceless and voiced alveolar fricatives /s/ and /z/. /s/ and /z/ can be seen in words like sit or set, and zoo or zel Lastly, are the voiceless and voiced postalveolar fricatives /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ which make the “sh” and “zh” sounds. They can be seen in words like sheep or caixa, and vision or caixmir.

Affricates 

The next sounds are affricates, meaning one must make a plosive sound immediately followed by a fricative. Catalan has four affricates. The first two are the voiceless and voiced alveolar affricates, /ts/ and /dz/. /ts/ and /dz/ can be found in words like sits or potser, and day (in some dialects) or dotze. Last are the voiceless and voiced postalveolar affricates /tʃ/ and /dʒ/. These make the “ch” and “j” sounds like in beach or fletxa, and or jump or mitjà.    

Nasals

Next are the nasal sounds, which are defined as an air stream passing through the nose in order to make the sound. The first two nasal sounds are the voiced bilabial nasal sound /m/ and the voiced alveolar nasal sound /n/. Both sound like how they look in English. /m/ can be seen in words like him or meu. /n/ can be found in words like nice or cantar. There is also the voiced palatal nasal /ɲ/. This is in words like canyon or any. Lastly, is the voiced velar nasal /ŋ/ which makes the “ng” sound. This can be found in words like sing or sang. 

Approximants 

The next group is the approximants. This is more of a catch-all term for anything that does not nicely fit into the other categories. The first sound is the voiced palatal approximant /j/. This makes the English “y” sound. /j/ can be found in words like you or feia. Then is the voiced alveolar lateral approximant /l/. /l/ can be found in words like let or laca. Next is the voiced labial-velar approximant, /w/. /w/ can be found in words like weep or quart. Last is the voiced palatal lateral approximant /ʎ/. This makes “ll” sound in million or llac.   

Catalan Sounds

There are two last sounds that do not exist in English and could be hard for English speakers to pronounce. First is the voiced alveolar tap /ɾ/ has in the Spanish word caro, the Portuguese word prato, the Galician word hora, or the Catalan word truc. There is also the voiced alveolar trill /r/ which makes the “r” sound in the Spanish word perro, the Portuguese word rato, the Galician word serra, or the Catalan word ruc.       

Vowels 

Vowels in Catalan are slightly complicated. The language works on an eight-vowel system using α, e, ε, i, o, ɔ, u, and ə. All of which are in English. The first sound is the open-back unrounded vowel /α/. It sounds like the English “a” in hot or pal. Then is the close-mid front unrounded vowel /e/. It is seen in words like may or séc The next sound is the open-mid front unrounded vowel /ε/. It is found in words like bed and set. Then there is the close front unrounded vowel /i/. It sounds like the English “e” in free or sic. Next is the close-mid back rounded vowel /o/. This makes the “o” sound in R.P. pronunciation of yawn or sóc. Furthermore, there is the open-mid back rounded vowel /ɔ/. This makes the English “ough” sound like in thought or soc. The close back rounded vowel /u/ makes the English “oo” sound like in boot or suc. Lastly, the mid-central vowel /ə/ makes the “uh” sound like the or amb.

Diphthongs

Catalan has a total of 33 diphthongs. Because of the number of diphthongs, this article will not talk about them as they deserve an article of their own to differentiate them and the difference between falling and rising diphthongs.      

The Orthography (Writing) of Catalan

Alphabet – Alfabet

Catalan, just like English, is written from left to right. The Catalan script consists of 26 (27 in this article) letters. Galician, unlike Hebrew, uses an alphabet. This means that there are letters for the vowels and consonants. Now let’s get into the alfabet

The first letter of the alphabet is a. A it looks like this Aa. It makes the “a” sound. The next letter is Be. It looks like this Bb and it makes the “b” sound. The next letter is Ce and it looks like this Cc, it makes the “k” or “s” sound depending on the following letter. The next letter is Çç which makes an “s” sound. Then is De which looks like this Dd and makes the “d” sound. Furthermore, E which looks like this Ee and makes the “e” sound. Next is Efa which looks like this Ff and makes the “f” sound. Ge looks like this Gg and makes the “zh” sound. Then is Hac which looks like this Hh and is silent. Then is I which looks like this Ii and makes the “i” sound. Jota looks like this Jj and makes the “zh” sound like Ge. Next is Ca which looks like this Kk and makes the “k” sound. Then there is Ela which looks like this Ll and makes the “l” sound. Next is Ema which looks like this Mm and makes the “m” sound. Then is Ena which looks like this Nn and makes the “n” sound. Next is O which looks like this Oo and makes the “o” sound. Then is Pe which looks like this Pp and makes the “p” sound. Next is Cu which looks like this Qq and makes the “k” sound. The next letter is Erra. It looks like this Rr and makes the “r” sound. Then is the letter Essa which looks like this Ss and makes the “s” sound. Next is Te and it looks like this Tt and it makes the “t” sound. Then is U which makes the “u” sound and looks like this Uu. Next is Ve which looks like this Vv and makes the “v” sound. Then is Ve doble which looks like this Ww and makes the “w” sound. Additionally, the letter Ics looks like this Xx and makes the “ks” sound. Then is I Grega which looks like Yy and makes the “i” sound. Zeta looks like this Zz and makes the “z” sound. 

Useful Phrases

1. What’s up? –  Què passa? 

2. Hello/Good-bye –  Hola/Adéu
3. I’m Sorry –  Ho sento
4. My name is _____ –   El meu nom és  ______
5. How much is this? –  Quant val, això?
6. I don’t speak Catalan–   No parlo català
7. Do you speak English? –  Parles anglès?
8. What time is it? –  Quina hora és?
9. Yes –   Sí
10. No –  No
11. Good morning–   Bon dia
12. Good evening –   Bona nit
13. One –  Un/Una
14. Two –  Dos/Dues
15. Three –  Tres
16. Four –  Quatre
17. Five –  Cinc
18. Six –  Sis
19. Seven –  Set
20. Eight –  Vuit
21. Nine –  Nou
22. Ten –  Deu

 Positives

Catalan is not the hardest language to learn but by no means is it the easiest. From its sometimes confusing letter sounds to its hard-to-find learning resources. However, Catalan has a thriving culture and has centuries of history behind the language. Catalan has two cases like English and uses a modified Latin script. Catalan is also spelled phonetically meaning it is spoken how it is written. Another amazing thing about Catalan is if you know Spanish, French, or both you already know a large portion of the language.     

Conclusion

In all, Catalan has many close relations with languages like French or Occitan. The language also has distant relations with languages like English. Catalan is a thriving language with it being used in many pop songs and showing up on the international stage. Catalan is a very interesting language as it brings up many unique challenges; however, the language has so much history and culture behind it. You cannot lose if you choose to learn it.