Catalan language information

Catalan
Catalan
Valencian
català, valencià
Pronunciation	[kətəˈla], [valensiˈa]
Native to	Andorra, Spain, France, Italy
Region	Southern Europe
Ethnicity	Catalans; Aragonese from La Franja; Balears; Valencians
Speakers	L1: 4.1 million (2012); L2: 5.1 million; Total: 9.2 million
Language family	Indo-European Italic Latino-Faliscan Latin Romance Italo-Western Western Romance Gallo-Iberian? Gallo-Romance Occitano-Romance Catalan; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Early forms	Old Latin Vulgar Latin Proto-Romance Old Occitan Old Catalan ; ; ; ;
Standard forms	Catalan (regulated by the IEC); Valencian (regulated by the AVL);
Dialects	Valencian; Balaeric (including Menorcan); Central; Roussillonese; Algherese; Northwestern; Ribagorçan; Judaeo-Catalan †; Patuet;
Writing system	Latin (Catalan alphabet); Catalan Braille
Signed forms	Signed Catalan
Official status
Official language in	Andorra; Italy Alghero, Sardinia; Spain Balearic Islands; Catalonia; Valencian Community (as Valencian);
Recognised minority; language in	France Northern Catalonia, Occitania; Spain La Franja, Aragon; Carche, Region of Murcia (as Valencian);
Regulated by	Institut d'Estudis Catalans; Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua
Language codes
ISO 639-1	ca
ISO 639-2	cat
ISO 639-3	cat
Glottolog	stan1289
Linguasphere	51-AAA-e
	Territories where Catalan/Valencian is spoken and is official Territories where Catalan/Valencian is spoken but is not official Territories where Catalan/Valencian is not historically spoken but is official
	Standard Catalan is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
	This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

A speaker of Catalan (Majorcan dialect).

Artur Mas, former president of Catalonia, discussing individual identity, collective identity and language.

Catalan (/ˈkætələn, -æn/ KAT-ə-lən, -⁠lan or /ˌkætəˈlæn/ KAT-ə-LAN;^[4]^[5] autonym: català, Eastern Catalan: [kətəˈla]), known in the Valencian Community and Carche as Valencian (autonym: valencià), is a Western Romance language. It is the official language of Andorra,^[6] and an official language of three autonomous communities in eastern Spain: Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community, where it is called Valencian. It has semi-official status in the Italian comune of Alghero,^[7] and it is spoken in the Pyrénées-Orientales department of France and in two further areas in eastern Spain: the eastern strip of Aragon and the Carche area in the Region of Murcia. The Catalan-speaking territories are often called the Països Catalans or "Catalan Countries".^[8]

The language evolved from Vulgar Latin in the Middle Ages around the eastern Pyrenees. Nineteenth-century Spain saw a Catalan literary revival,^[9]^[10] culminating in the early 1900s.

^ Catalan at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
^ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian (24 May 2022). "Glottolog 4.8 - Shifted Western Romance". Glottolog. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Archived from the original on 27 November 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
^ "World Atlas of Languages: Standard Catalan". en.wal.unesco.org. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
^ "Definition of CATALAN". 16 August 2023. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
^ "Definition of Catalan | Dictionary.com". www.dictionary.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
^ Wheeler 2010, p. 191.
^ Minder, Raphael (21 November 2016). "Italy's Last Bastion of Catalan Language Struggles to Keep It Alive". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
^ "els Països Catalans". enciclopèdia.cat (in Catalan). Archived from the original on 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
^ Wheeler 2010, pp. 190–191.
^ Costa Carreras & Yates 2009, pp. 6–7.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[e25-1] Catalan at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)

[glottoGI-2] Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian (24 May 2022). "Glottolog 4.8 - Shifted Western Romance". Glottolog. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Archived from the original on 27 November 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.

[4] "World Atlas of Languages: Standard Catalan". en.wal.unesco.org. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.

[5] "Definition of CATALAN". 16 August 2023. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2020.

[dictionary.reference.com-6] "Definition of Catalan | Dictionary.com". www.dictionary.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.

[FOOTNOTEWheeler2010191-7] Wheeler 2010, p. 191.

[8] Minder, Raphael (21 November 2016). "Italy's Last Bastion of Catalan Language Struggles to Keep It Alive". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2017.

[9] "els Països Catalans". enciclopèdia.cat (in Catalan). Archived from the original on 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.

[FOOTNOTEWheeler2010190–191-10] Wheeler 2010, pp. 190–191.

[FOOTNOTECosta_CarrerasYates20096–7-11] Costa Carreras & Yates 2009, pp. 6–7.

Catalan language information

and 26 Related for: Catalan language information

Catalan language

Valencian language

Catalan Countries

Catalan Sign Language

Catalans

Catalan independence movement

Catalan

Spanish naming customs

Iberian Romance languages

Occitan language

Languages of Spain

Balearic Catalan

Algherese dialect

Old Catalan

Aragonese language

Official languages of Spain

Catalan Alliance

Catalan nationalism

History of Catalan

Western Romance languages

Languages of Catalonia

Languages of Andorra

List of countries and territories where Spanish is an official language

Language policies of Francoist Spain

Catalan Atlas

Northern Catalan

Catalan
Valencian
català, valencià
Pronunciation	[kətəˈla], [valensiˈa]
Native to	Andorra, Spain, France, Italy
Region	Southern Europe
Ethnicity	Catalans Aragonese from La Franja Balears Valencians
Speakers	L1: 4.1 million (2012)^[1] L2: 5.1 million Total: 9.2 million
Language family	Indo-European Italic Latino-Faliscan Latin Romance Italo-Western Western Romance Gallo-Iberian?^[2] Gallo-Romance^[a] Occitano-Romance^[a] Catalan
Early forms	Old Latin Vulgar Latin Proto-Romance Old Occitan Old Catalan
Standard forms	Catalan (regulated by the IEC) Valencian (regulated by the AVL)
Dialects	Valencian Balaeric (including Menorcan) Central Roussillonese Algherese Northwestern Ribagorçan Judaeo-Catalan † Patuet
Writing system	Latin (Catalan alphabet) Catalan Braille
Signed forms	Signed Catalan
Official status
Official language in	Andorra Italy Alghero, Sardinia Spain Balearic Islands Catalonia Valencian Community (as Valencian)
Recognised minority language in	France Northern Catalonia, Occitania Spain La Franja, Aragon Carche, Region of Murcia (as Valencian)
Regulated by	Institut d'Estudis Catalans Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua
Language codes
ISO 639-1	`ca`
ISO 639-2	`cat`
ISO 639-3	`cat`
Glottolog	`stan1289`
Linguasphere	`51-AAA-e`
Territories where Catalan/Valencian is spoken and is official Territories where Catalan/Valencian is spoken but is not official Territories where Catalan/Valencian is not historically spoken but is official
Standard Catalan is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger ^[3]
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.