| Population |
11,200,000 in Spain (2006). Population total all countries: 11,530,160. |
| Region |
Northeast, around Barcelona; Catalonia, Valencia provinces, Balearic Islands; Carche region, Murcia Province. Menorquin is Menorca. Pallarese, in Pallars. Ribagorçan from Aran Valley to south of Tamarit, and from Noguera Ribagorçana to border with Aragonese. Also in Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela. |
| Language map |
Portugal and Spain
|
| Alternate names |
Bacavès, Català, Catalán, Catalonian |
| Dialects |
Catalan-Rousillonese (Northern Catalán), Valencian (Valenciano, Valencià), Balearic (Balear, Insular Catalan, Mallorqui, Menorqui, Eivissenc), Central Catalan, Algherese, Northwestern Catalan (Pallarese, Ribagorçan, Lleidatà, Aiguavivan). Standardized variety is literary composite of several dialects and written form is most similar to Barcelona speech. Pallarese and Ribogorçan dialects less similar to standard Catalan. Benasquese and Aiguavivan people live in isolated valleys and have distinct phonology from their neighbors. Tortosin may be more similar to Valencian. Central Catalan has 90% to 95% inherent intelligibility for speakers of Valencian (1989 R. Hall, Jr.). Lexical similarity: 87% with Italian, 85% with Portuguese and Spanish, 76% with Ladin [lld], 75% with Sardinian [src], 73% with Romanian [ron]. |
| Classification |
Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Ibero-Romance, East Iberian |
| Language use |
Official regional language. 5,000,000 L2 or L3 speakers in Spain (1994 La Generalitat de Catalunya). All domains. All ages. Also use Spanish, French, Italian, Sard [src] or Occitan [oci]. |
| Language development |
Literacy rate in L1: 60%. Literacy rate in L2: 96%. High literacy in Catalan (60%) is recent. Pallarese and Ribogorçan speakers have less education, less contact with standard, and live in high valleys of the Pyrenees. Some Valencian desire separate literature. Radio programs. TV. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1478–1993. |
| Writing system |
Latin script. |
| Comments |
Christian, secular. |
