Barcelona, a city in Spain not far from the French border, is famous for its breathtaking architecture and vibrant culture. One of its most iconic landmarks is La Sagrada Família, the largest unfinished Catholic Church in the world, designed by the renowned Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí over a century ago.
Yet, beyond its architectural marvels, Barcelona stands at the heart of a complex cultural and linguistic landscape. It is the traditional center of the Catalan independence movements. It serves as the capital of both the province of Barcelona and the autonomous community of Catalonia. For many native speakers of Catalan, the independence movement represents a fight to preserve their language and culture.
A Language Under Siege: The Suppression Of Catalan
Throughout the centuries, there have been numerous attempts to suppress the Catalan language. During Francisco Franco’s dictatorship, Catalan was banned from public use, schools, and the media, and many were persecuted for speaking it.
But, after Franco’s death in 1975, the suppression gradually lifted, allowing Catalans to reclaim their linguistic and cultural heritage. Today, we are witnessing a new era of pride and resurgence in the use of Catalan.
During my recent visit to Barcelona, I was struck by how much the linguistic landscape has changed. I saw many signs written solely in Catalan, a sight that was rare during my first visit in 1977. At that time, hearing Catalan on the streets was uncommon. The transformation is remarkable and heartening for someone like me, who loves to see languages flourish.
Is Catalan Closer To French Or Spanish?
In Spain, a somewhat controversial debate continues over whether Catalan is closer to French or Spanish. If you speak any Romance language, you might find that you can already understand quite a bit of Catalan. Take, for instance, the sign I encountered—Catalan sentences often have direct counterparts in other Romance languages.
Catalan is spoken not only in Catalonia, but also in parts of France, specifically the region known as Catalunya Nord. Here is a map showing the wide area in which Catalan is spoken, including parts of France:
Hopefully, this blog will serve as an introduction to Catalan for those unfamiliar with the language and inspire you to give it a try. For those who already speak Catalan, Spanish, or French, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments about which language you think Catalan most closely resembles.
Language Or Dialect? Debunking The Myths
Many mistakenly believe that Catalan is merely a mix of Iberian dialects and French. In reality, Catalan is a distinct and ancient language, closely related to the Occitan languages of southern France and northern Italy. It is an autonomous language with several dialects of its own.
The primary dialects of Catalan can be divided into two major groups:
- Eastern Catalan: Includes Central Catalan, which is the most widely spoken and considered the standard form of Catalan. It is prevalent in Barcelona, Girona, and parts of Tarragona.
- Western Catalan: Includes Valencian, spoken in the Valencian Community, recognized as a distinct variant of Catalan with its own standard form, featuring unique lexical and phonetic differences from Central Catalan.
Shared Latin Heritage And Vocabulary
Catalan, Spanish, and French all evolved from Vulgar Latin, the colloquial Latin spoken during the Roman Empire. This shared origin has resulted in numerous cognates—words with similar forms and meanings across these languages.
- Lexical Similarity Between Catalan And Spanish: Catalan and Spanish share a high degree of lexical similarity (approximately 85% to 90%). Examples include casa (house), familia (family), and pescador (fisherman).
- Lexical Similarity Between Catalan And French: Catalan and French share around 75% lexical similarity. Examples include formatge (fromage in French, meaning cheese), finestra (fenêtre in French, meaning window), and voler (vouloir in French, meaning to want).
But, Catalan also features unique vocabulary influenced by the Occitan group of Romance languages, with words like carrer (street) instead of calle (Spanish) or rue (French).
Distinct Grammar Features
- Articles and Nouns: Catalan uses a definite article before names (e.g., el Jordi), a feature absent in Spanish but reminiscent of some French regional dialects.
- Verb Conjugations: Catalan employs a periphrastic past tense using anar (to go) + infinitive (e.g., vaig parlar for “I spoke”), while Spanish typically uses the simple past (hablé). French also uses compound tenses like the passé composé (j’ai parlé).
- Pronouns: Both Catalan and Spanish are pro-drop languages, meaning they can drop subject pronouns, whereas French usually requires them. But, Catalan has more nuanced object pronouns, such as li and els, which do not have direct equivalents in Spanish but do resemble French forms like lui and leur.
Pronunciation: A Unique Blend
Catalan has several distinct phonetic features that set it apart from both French and Spanish. It lacks nasalized vowels, has unstressed final vowels, and distinct vowel sounds, among other characteristics. Catalan’s pronunciation is also more closely aligned with the other Occitan languages in terms of cadence and rhythm.
Summing Up: The Beauty Of Catalan’s Complexity
When it comes to vocabulary, Catalan shares more similar words with Spanish (10 to 15% more). But, its phonetics and some grammar traits align more closely with French. You could say that if French and Spanish had a linguistic child, that child would be Catalan. Additionally, dialects play a significant role—Catalan spoken in Catalunya Nord, for example, is heavily influenced by Occitan. Therefore, this conclusion mainly relates to Central Catalan spoken in Barcelona.
For those of you who speak Catalan, Spanish, or French, I’d love to hear your perspective on which language Catalan is more similar to! Share your thoughts in the comments below.
