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The Catalan-Valencian cultural domain
Language
Grammar
Phonology and orthography
Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua
Institut d'Estudis Catalans
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History of Catalonia · Counts of Barcelona
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All the above territories together: Països Catalans
Government and Politics
Generalitat de Catalunya
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Traditions
Castells · Correfoc · Falles · Sardana ·
Moros i cristians · Caganer · Tió de Nadal
Muixeranga · Nit de Sant Joan
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Catalan literature · Antoni Gaudí · Modernisme
La Renaixença · Noucentisme · Joaquim Sorolla
Salvador Dalí · Joan Miró · Antoni Tàpies
Santiago Calatrava
A a a /a/ sac 'sack'
B b be /b/ biga 'beam'
C c ce /k/ casa 'house'
Ç ç ce trencada /s/ Renaixença 'Renaissance'
D d de /d/ dalla 'scythe'
E e e /ɛ/, /e/ sec,cec 'dry', 'blind'
F f efa /f/ fosc 'dark'
G g ge /ɡ/, /(d)ʑ/ gasa 'lint'
H h hac Ø humanitat 'mankind'
I i i /i/ ric 'I laugh'
J j jota /ʑ/ ajut 'help'
K k ca /k/ karate
L l ela /l/ /ʎ/ pala, palla 'shovel’, 'straw'
M m ema /m/ mama 'mum'
N n ena /n/ mana 'he commands'
O o o /ɔ/, /o/ soc sóc 'log', 'I am'
P p pe /p/ piga 'speck'
Q q cu /k/ obliquar
R r erra /ɾ/, /r/ cera, serra 'wax', 'saw'
S s essa /s/, /z/ passar, pesar 'to pass', 'to weigh'
T t te /t/ talla 'size'
U u u /u/ suc 'juice'
V v ve baixa /b/, /v/[2] envejar 'to envy'
W w ve doble
X x ics, xeix /ɕ/, /ks/, /ɡz/ xoc, expressió 'shock', 'expression'
Y y i grega
Z z zeta /z/ zero
Language
Grammar
Phonology and orthography
Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua
Institut d'Estudis Catalans
History
History of Catalonia · Counts of Barcelona
Kingdom of Majorca · Kingdom of Valencia
Crown of Aragon · Military history of Catalonia
Catalan constitutions · Furs of Valencia
Treaty of the Pyrenees · Nueva Planta decrees
Geo-political divisions
Catalonia · Valencian Community · Balearic Islands
Northern Catalonia · Franja de Ponent
Andorra · L'Alguer · Carxe
All the above territories together: Països Catalans
Government and Politics
Generalitat de Catalunya
Generalitat Valenciana
Govern de les Illes Balears
Consell General de les Valls (Andorra)
General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales
Politics of Catalonia
Catalan nationalism
Traditions
Castells · Correfoc · Falles · Sardana ·
Moros i cristians · Caganer · Tió de Nadal
Muixeranga · Nit de Sant Joan
Botifarra · Barça · Paella · Rumba
Myths and legends
Arts
Catalan literature · Antoni Gaudí · Modernisme
La Renaixença · Noucentisme · Joaquim Sorolla
Salvador Dalí · Joan Miró · Antoni Tàpies
Santiago Calatrava
Like those of many other Romance languages, Orthography of Catalan is adapted from the Latin alphabet and is largely based on the language’s phonology.[1]
Alphabet
Letter Name Pronunciation exampleA a a /a/ sac 'sack'
B b be /b/ biga 'beam'
C c ce /k/ casa 'house'
Ç ç ce trencada /s/ Renaixença 'Renaissance'
D d de /d/ dalla 'scythe'
E e e /ɛ/, /e/ sec,cec 'dry', 'blind'
F f efa /f/ fosc 'dark'
G g ge /ɡ/, /(d)ʑ/ gasa 'lint'
H h hac Ø humanitat 'mankind'
I i i /i/ ric 'I laugh'
J j jota /ʑ/ ajut 'help'
K k ca /k/ karate
L l ela /l/ /ʎ/ pala, palla 'shovel’, 'straw'
M m ema /m/ mama 'mum'
N n ena /n/ mana 'he commands'
O o o /ɔ/, /o/ soc sóc 'log', 'I am'
P p pe /p/ piga 'speck'
Q q cu /k/ obliquar
R r erra /ɾ/, /r/ cera, serra 'wax', 'saw'
S s essa /s/, /z/ passar, pesar 'to pass', 'to weigh'
T t te /t/ talla 'size'
U u u /u/ suc 'juice'
V v ve baixa /b/, /v/[2] envejar 'to envy'
W w ve doble
X x ics, xeix /ɕ/, /ks/, /ɡz/ xoc, expressió 'shock', 'expression'
Y y i grega
Z z zeta /z/ zero
Other conventions
Catalan also possesses digraphs:
- ‹ig› represents /tɕ/ after a vowel: puig
- ‹ix› represents /ɕ/ after a vowel: mateix
- ‹tg› represents /dʑ/: prometatge
- ‹tj› represents /dʑ/: corretja
- ‹tx› represents /tɕ/ : despatx
- ‹l·l› (ela geminada) represents /ll/ (distinguishing it from ‹ll›, which represents /ʎ/): anul·lar
- ‹ny› represents /ɲ/: any
Catalan also uses the acute accent (‹é í ó ú›) to mark stressed close vowels and the grave accent (‹à è ò›) to mark stressed open vowels:[1]
- també ('also') [təmˈbe]
- pròxim ('nearby') [ˈprɔksim]
If a diaeresis appears over an ‹i› or ‹u› that follows another vowel, it denotes a hiatus:[3]
- raïm ('grape') [rəˈim]
- taüt ('coffin') [təˈut]
In addition to this, ‹ü› represents /w/ between /ɡ/ or /k/ and a front vowel (‹gu› and ‹qu› are used to represent a hard pronunciation before ‹i› or ‹e›):[4]
- ungüent ('ointment') [uŋˈɡwen].
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Wheeler (2005:6)
- ^ In most dialects (except Balearic [see Carbonell & Llisterri (1992:53)] and southern Valencian) /b/ and /v/ have merged into just one phoneme.
- ^ Wheeler (2005:8)
- ^ Wheeler (2005:7-8)
References
- Carbonell, Joan F.; Llisterri, Joaquim (1992), "Catalan", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 22 (1-2): 53–56
- Wheeler, Max W (2005). The Phonology Of Catalan. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0199258147.