<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIf you are reading this while planning to visit or start a life in Andorra, know that language here is a mixed bag. Due to the high percentage of immigrants living here, it’s not uncommon to find yourself speaking with someone who can only speak French, or Spanish, or even Russian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barcelona is the same. Lots of workers come to the city from elsewhere in Europe, and for practicality’s sake, they’ll usually pick up Spanish unless they want to work with the Catalan government (Generalitat de Catalunya) or similar work in the provinces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a result, trying to learn Catalan in Barcelona can be tricky, as the locals will revert back to Spanish as soon as your show your inexperience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But when you’re in a location where Catalan is proudly spoken, the true benefit comes out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the ability to speak some limited Catalan, my experience shows me that respect is reciprocal. Where I could easily be dismissed as yet another tourist<\/em>, as soon as I start with some Catalan, I’m met with a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Language Fundamentals<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nWhat you’re about to read below is more for myself, because apparently I didn’t pay much attention in school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We need to identify some basic fundamentals of all languages before we learn about how they work in Catalan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They all get more complicated than this, but my goal is to keep this as simple as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Adjectives<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nWords that describe nouns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nJase drives a cool<\/em> car.<\/li>\n\n\n\nMy new bike is lighter<\/em> than the one I had before.<\/li>\n\n\n\nThere were twenty one<\/em> children in Emily’s class.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Adverbs<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nWords that (mostly) describe adjectives or verbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nJase drove his car quickly<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n\nChristopher’s new bike is very<\/em> light.<\/li>\n\n\n\nEmily listened to her teacher attentively<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Nouns<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nNaming words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nHis name was Jase Rodley<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n\nIf he was the boss<\/em> everything would be different.<\/li>\n\n\n\nMy sister<\/em> helped me with the homework task.<\/li>\n\n\n\nA child<\/em> laughed loudly.<\/li>\n\n\n\nLet’s meet at F\u00e0brica Moritz<\/em> in Barcelona<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Verbs<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nWords that describe what the subject is doing<\/em> and feeling<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nExamples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nJase drove<\/em> his car quickly.<\/li>\n\n\n\nChristoper pedalled<\/em> his new bike.<\/li>\n\n\n\nAllison was proud<\/em> of her daughter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Verb Conjugations<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\nThe changing of verbs to show the subject as a different person or number of people, tense, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Examples of the verb to be<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nI am<\/li>\n\n\n\n you are<\/li>\n\n\n\n he\/she\/it is<\/li>\n\n\n\n we (plural\/a group which I am part of) are<\/li>\n\n\n\n you (plural\/a group which I am not part of, but you are) are<\/li>\n\n\n\n they (plural\/a group which neither of us are part of) are<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Catalan Alphabet & Pronunciations<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIf you’re going to speak Catalan, you need to learn how to pronounce some letters. The good news here is, Catalan is very literal, there aren’t any silent letters so you can read the words out loud as they are written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Depending on where you are from, you may be used to being ‘lazy’ with your pronunciations. As an Aussie, I grew up with a lot of slang and or slurred words. Travel has taught me to speak very ‘clean’ or ‘tight’ English, which enables English as second language speakers to understand me more easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These same clear pronunciations help a lot when it comes to learning correct pronunciation in Catalan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However there are some different sounds than you may be used to. I will use some examples below to try and make them obvious. The bolded part of each word is the emphasis I’m trying to convey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Alphabet<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nCapitals Lowercase Name<\/th> Catalan English A<\/td> a<\/td> a<\/td> pa<\/strong><\/td>a<\/strong>nimal<\/td><\/tr>B<\/td> b<\/td> be (alta)<\/td> amb<\/strong><\/td>b<\/strong>eer<\/td><\/tr>C<\/td> c<\/td> ce<\/td> c<\/strong>oc<\/strong>a<\/td>C<\/strong>oc<\/strong>a C<\/strong>ola<\/td><\/tr>\u00c7<\/td> \u00e7<\/td> ce trencada<\/td> pla\u00e7<\/strong>a<\/td>Jas<\/strong>on<\/td><\/tr>D<\/td> d<\/td> de<\/td> d<\/strong>os<\/td>d<\/strong>oing<\/td><\/tr>E<\/td> e<\/td> e<\/td> pare<\/strong><\/td>e<\/strong>xcellent<\/td><\/tr>F<\/td> f<\/td> efa<\/td> caf<\/strong>\u00e9<\/td>f<\/strong>amily<\/td><\/tr>G<\/td> g<\/td> ge<\/td> G<\/strong>irona<\/td>g<\/strong>ym<\/td><\/tr>H<\/td> h<\/td> hac<\/td> h<\/strong>ora<\/td>h<\/strong>ome<\/td><\/tr>I<\/td> i<\/td> i (llatina)<\/td> ni<\/strong>t<\/td>kni<\/strong>t<\/td><\/tr>J<\/td> j<\/td> jota<\/td> J<\/strong>ordi<\/td>j<\/strong>acket<\/td><\/tr>K<\/td> k<\/td> ca<\/td> k<\/strong>il\u00f2metre<\/td>k<\/strong>angaroo<\/td><\/tr>L<\/td> l<\/td> ela<\/td> hol<\/strong>a<\/td>l<\/strong>ower<\/td><\/tr>M<\/td> m<\/td> ema<\/td> cam<\/strong>a<\/td>m<\/strong>other<\/td><\/tr>N<\/td> n<\/td> ena<\/td> n<\/strong>ou<\/td>n<\/strong>ew<\/td><\/tr>O<\/td> o<\/td> o<\/td> estaci\u00f3<\/strong><\/td>o<\/strong>ptimism<\/td><\/tr>P<\/td> p<\/td> pe<\/td> temp<\/strong>s<\/td>temp<\/strong>erature<\/td><\/tr>Q<\/td> q<\/td> cu<\/td> q<\/strong>uatre<\/td>q<\/strong>uarter<\/td><\/tr>R<\/td> r<\/td> erra<\/td> bar<\/strong><\/td>bar<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>S<\/td> s<\/td> essa<\/td> s<\/strong>ol<\/td>s<\/strong>un<\/td><\/tr>T<\/td> t<\/td> te<\/td> t<\/strong>ot<\/strong><\/td>t<\/strong>ot<\/strong>ally<\/td><\/tr>U<\/td> u<\/td> u<\/td> tu<\/strong><\/td>U<\/strong>ganda<\/td><\/tr>V<\/td> v<\/td> ve baixa<\/td> V<\/strong>alencia<\/td>