The Catalan Language
Discover the incredible history of this Romance language and all its literary curiosities.
Fishers' cottages in Villajoyosa (2020)Real Academia de Gastronomía
The Catalan language has an extensive history and an important literary tradition which can be enjoyed thanks to its conservation and dissemination across the centuries.
Catedral de Barcelona (2016) by Michelle RaponiFundación Antonio de Nebrija
Catalan is an Indo-European language that descends from Latin and is part of the family of Western Romance languages such as French, Spanish, or Galician-Portuguese. It was born between the eighth and tenth centuries in the counties of the Marca Hispanica of the Carolingian Empire.
Subida al Montjuic (2020) by Briam CuteFundación Antonio de Nebrija
In the 12th and 13th centuries, it spread to the rest of Catalonia, most of the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, La Franja (Aragon), L’Alguer (Sardinia), and El Carche (Murcia), and the linguistic border was established at the end of the reign of James I.
Plaza de España (2019) by Maria Teresa MartíneFundación Antonio de Nebrija
These territories still conserve Catalan as a lingua franca, making up a total of nine million speakers.
Monte Tibidabo (2019) by Alvaro Dos SantosFundación Antonio de Nebrija
Its dialects
The Eastern dialects are Central (eastern part of Catalonia), Balearic (Balearic Islands), Northern or Rosellonian (southern France), and Alghero (city of Algher). The western dialects are Northwestern (western part of Catalonia) and Valencian.
A language with a long history
The oldest known texts written in Catalan date from the 12th century and are fragments of the Catalan version of Forum Iudicum and the book of sermons Homilies d'Organyà.
Homilies d'Organyà (1203)Original Source: Biblioteca de Catalunya
Catalan expanded with the conquests of the Crown of Aragon during the 13th and 16th centuries in the Mediterranean, to Sicily, Sardinia, Naples, and even Athens, which had an important impact on the creation of literary works of the time.
Tirant lo Blanch (1490) by Joanot MartorellOriginal Source: https://bivaldi.gva.es/es/consulta/registro.cmd?id=2555
Among the literary works of universal importance is Tirant lo Blanch by Joanot Martorell, published in 1490, which is considered the first modern novel in Western literature.
Trobes en lahors de la Verge Maria (1474) by Lambert PalmartOriginal Source: https://trobes.uv.es/discovery/fulldisplay?context=L&vid=34CVA_UV:VU1&search_scope=cataleg_UV&tab=Cataleg&docid=alma991006954459706258
This language had early access to the printing press
Trobes en lahors de la Verge Maria was printed in 1474 and was the first book printed in Spain. However, during the Renaissance and the Baroque period it suffered a stage of decline in cultured literature, while remaining a popular language and the language of legislation and administration.
Puente Bisbe (2022) by Laura OtýpkováFundación Antonio de Nebrija
After the Reapers' War (1640-1659), part of northern Catalonia was ceded to the French crown and Catalan was banned in education and official uses.
Cadaques (2015) by Joaquin AranoaFundación Antonio de Nebrija
The former Crown of Aragon chose the side of Archduke Charles during the War of Succession to the Crown of Spain (1704-1714) and, after his defeat, all Catalan-speaking territories suffered severe consequences.
Castillo de CastellónFundación Antonio de Nebrija
They lost their institutions and the use of Catalan was prohibited in legislation, administration, teaching, and in notarial and commercial documentation.
A language that resurfaced
The Renaixença movement or literary revival of the 19th century that inspired all territories with an unofficial language of their own also reached Catalan-speaking areas.
Peñón de CalpeFundación Antonio de Nebrija
During this period, the literary tradition of the language was restored, giving a new lease of life to the poetic, theatrical, and narrative production of authors in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and the Valencian Country.
Arco de Triunfo (2019) by Leonhard NiederwimmerFundación Antonio de Nebrija
The language was studied and dictionaries and treatises on barbarism and spelling were drawn up: a precedent for modern normativization which began at the beginning of the 20th century.
Callejuelas Barcelona (2020) by Antonio CansinoFundación Antonio de Nebrija
Catalan was still excluded from administration and teaching, so the organization of the First International Congress of the Catalan Language in 1906 and the creation of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans in 1907 were key to maintaining cohesion and regulation of the language.
Chimeneas casa Gaudí (2017) by LizbethFundación Antonio de Nebrija
This led to the writing of the Diccionari català-valencià-balear (1926-1962), a key work for Catalan lexicography. With this, the Catalan language was endowed with unified, modern regulations.
La Sagrada Familia (2021) by Kirill SobolevFundación Antonio de Nebrija
The Republican Constitution of 1931 and the Statute of Autonomy of 1932 allowed Catalonia to recover the Generalitat, declaring Catalan an official language and reinstating its teaching in this territory. This did not happen in the Balearic Islands or the Valencian Country.
Fachada Casa Gaudí (2019) by MugnioFundación Antonio de Nebrija
During the Franco dictatorship, and like the rest of the languages that coexisted with Spanish, Catalan was banned in all areas of use. The language was still passed down within families.
Parc Güell (2016) by Michelle RaponiFundación Antonio de Nebrija
The 1978 Constitution recognized linguistic plurality, establishing that languages spoken in Spain other than Spanish could be official in accordance with the statutes of autonomy.
Subida al Montjuic (2020) by Briam CuteFundación Antonio de Nebrija
The statutes of Catalonia (1979) and the Balearic Islands (1983) recognized Catalan as the language of these territories and declared it an official language together with Spanish, as did the Valencian Community (1982), with the legal denomination of Valencian.
Iglesia de San Esteban - Andorra la Vella (2014)Fundación Antonio de Nebrija
In parallel, the Constitution of Andorra (1993) established Catalan as the official language of the State.
Fachada Casa Gaudí (2019) by MugnioFundación Antonio de Nebrija
Under the statutes, the autonomous parliaments of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and the Valencian Community passed laws to support the Catalan language, by introducing it into schools, institutions, and the media.
A modern language
In the 21st century, Catalan is among the top 100 most spoken languages in the world. Today there are more than 20 television channels in Catalan, and more than 100 radio stations.
Puerto de MenorcaFundación Antonio de Nebrija
Catalan has also regained its presence in the press, to the point where there are currently more than 30 printed and digital newspapers in Catalan, and more than 150 magazines.
Atardecer en la Barceloneta (2020) by Marius BaziukFundación Antonio de Nebrija
Taking into account the Catalan-speaking population figures, Viquipèdia (Catalan version of Wikipedia), which has already gathered more than 1,000,000 articles, and Twitter, where it is the 19th most used language, are notable examples.
This article was written with the informatin given by Institut d'Estudis Catalans.
Content curation: Aina Arbona
Graphic editor: Carmen García
Consulting and review: Lola Pons (Universidad de Sevilla)
