Catalan language?

Question

Does it sound very different to castilian spanish i'm wondering a i was there on hols and i thought i heard a lot of french speaking people there, it didn't sound like castilian spanish at all.

Answer 1

It's considered a second class form of Spanish by the pure Castillian speakers.

Answer 2

The Catalan, 'Català' in Catalan.

It is a language that comes from the latin, is not derived from the French nor the Castilian (Spanish)

but that it was developed at the same time.

By coming from the same language and to stay in touch between them have many matches (also with Italian).

The catalan is spoken in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Comunity  and also in parts of France and Italy.

There is much controversy regarding this language , the name and grammatical rules that are used in each region.

If you want to know more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_lan...

But remember that there are many different opinions on this language, so you do not believe everything you read.

Answer 3

If you have no experience of listening to spanish before you arrive in Barcelona (or any other place in Catalunya) then you may be confused as to Catalan - I would say it's just sufficiently different to be considered another language. Althoughother posters have rightly pointed out differences, there are many similarities, and it is pronunciation more than anything else - which sounds french. Hello/good day in spanish is "Buenas dias" Catalan is "Bon dia", etc. everything official (i.e. metro as others have pointed out, announcements, etc.) are always in Catalan first, then in Spanish and then often in English  - like on the beach for example.

Answer 4

It really is a completely different language and sounds different too. People in Catalonia are very proud of their language, not in the least because it was forbidden under the regime of Franco.

Catalonia is also partly autonomous.

For children it is sometimes confusing, in the first grades they follow all classes in Castellano, the last years of primary school everything happens in Catalan.

Answer 5

some of the spanish language originates from the french language also the catalan and castilian do differe but only by little letters words and accents =D hope i helped

Answer 6

Personally I think Catalan sounds a lot closer to French than to Castillian -- Catalan is very close to Provencal or Langue d'oc  which is spoken in Southern France. (Occitan, see link)

Catalan is not a substandard Castillian or "halfway between Castillian and Langue  d'oc".

It is a completely different language than Castillian and much closer to Occitan than 50%.

Answer 7

(català)

Doncs jo creia que s'assemblava al francès a l'orella de l'estranger, però xerrant amb uns amics francessos em van dir que a ells no els hi semblava gens.

* I thought that it sounded like french to the foreign understanding, but talking with french friends they taught me that they didn't think so.

Answer 8

Catalán is about halfway between Castillian and Languedoc French.  But if you were listening to announcements over loudspeakers, etc., you were listening to Catalán.  

Example: in the Metro, they make announcements in Catalán first, then Castellano, and I thought English third.

If you were hearing people speaking, you might well have heard French people conversing in French.  I didn't think Catalán SOUNDED like French.  And I had one woman tutoring me on a train ride.  

Of course, it really DOESN'T sound quite like Castellano, either.

Answer 9

It is VERY different to castillian Spanish . It is a language in its own right.

table is mesa in Spanish , but taula in Catalan

window is ventana is Spanish , but finestre in Catalan .

as you can see it is not the same ...or a dialect.

Spanish people in Catalonia have trouble understanding it and usually never learn to speak it.....in general.