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95-518: Northern Catalonia , North Catalonia or French Catalonia is the formerly Catalan -speaking and cultural territory ceded to France by Spain through the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 in exchange of France's effective renunciation on the formal protection that it had given to the recently founded Catalan Republic . The area corresponds roughly to the modern French département of
190-601: A comarca or county , with its own self-ruling institutions known as the Comarcal Council of Cerdanya , inside the already self-ruling autonomous Catalonia. All municipalities of Baixa Cerdanya are part of the Catalan region of Alt Pirineu , this one itself divided between the Spanish provinces of Lleida and Girona . Like neighboring areas of the Pyrenees, Cerdanya relies on tourism to provide strong support for
285-526: A veguer appointed by the King of Aragon as Count of Barcelona. In Northern Catalonia, the vegueries followed closely the boundaries of the old counties. The district of Capcir was a sotsvegueria , based around the castle of Puigbalador (French: Puyvalador ) but subordinate to the vegueria of Conflent . The Treaty of Corbeil (1258) confirmed the frontier between the lands of the Kingdom of France and
380-747: A 2011 study the total number of Catalan speakers was over 9.8 million, with 5.9 million residing in Catalonia. More than half of them spoke Catalan as a second language, with native speakers being about 4.4 million of those (more than 2.8 in Catalonia). Very few Catalan monoglots exist; virtually all of the Catalan speakers in Spain are bilingual speakers of Catalan and Spanish, with 99.7% of Catalan speakers in Catalonia able to speak Spanish and 99.9% able to understand it. In Roussillon , only
475-525: A certain historical and geographical unity. A commonly used division is that of Joan Becat in his 1977 work Atles de Catalunya Nord , which follows closely the boundaries of the former vegueries except insofar as it promotes the former sotsvegueria of Capcir (177 km, pop. 1532 (1990) ) to a full comarca . The region is divided among those who support a union with France and those who support reuniting with Catalonia . A large majority of Northern Catalans oppose reuniting with Catalonia, but
570-424: A denomination based on cultural affinity and common heritage, that has also had a subsequent political interpretation but no official status. Various interpretations of the term may include some or all of these regions. The number of people known to be fluent in Catalan varies depending on the sources used. A 2004 study did not count the total number of speakers, but estimated a total of 9–9.5 million by matching
665-529: A large number of Catalan colonies that today continue to maintain the Catalan language. They also founded many Catalan casals (associations). One classification of Catalan is given by Pèire Bèc : However, the ascription of Catalan to the Occitano-Romance branch of Gallo-Romance languages is not shared by all linguists and philologists, particularly among Spanish ones, such as Ramón Menéndez Pidal . Catalan bears varying degrees of similarity to
760-500: A minority of French Catalans speak Catalan nowadays, with French being the majority language for the inhabitants after a continued process of language shift . According to a 2019 survey by the Catalan government, 31.5% of the inhabitants of Catalonia predominantly spoke Catalan at home whereas 52.7% spoke Spanish, 2.8% both Catalan and Spanish and 10.8% other languages. Spanish was the most spoken language in Barcelona (according to
855-476: A nationalist movement in French Catalonia. According to a 2020 study, French Catalans experienced mass education in the second half of the 19th century, leading them to adopt French patriotism. Catalans in Spain were mass educated in the early 20th century locally by Catalans and not by a strong Spanish state, which led to the formation of a salient Catalan national identity. In 2016, Northern Catalonia
950-666: A network of community-run schools engaged in Catalan language immersion programs. In Alicante province , Catalan is being replaced by Spanish and in Alghero by Italian . There is also well ingrained diglossia in the Valencian Community , Ibiza , and to a lesser extent, in the rest of the Balearic islands . During the 20th century many Catalans emigrated or went into exile to Venezuela , Mexico , Cuba , Argentina , and other South American countries. They formed
1045-537: A railway line still links the two cities via Latour-de-Carol ( Catalan : La Tor de Querol ). Northern Catalonia formed part of the southern counties of the Frankinsh Empire (historiographycally known as the Marca Hispanica ), established by Charlemagne as a buffer territory against Al-Andalus forces. As such, it was divided into feudal counties, Rosselló , Vallespir , Conflent north of
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#17327662311331140-1064: A shared history with the Western Romance innovative core, especially Occitan. Like all Romance languages, Catalan has a handful of native words which are unique to it, or rare elsewhere. These include: The Gothic superstrate produced different outcomes in Spanish and Catalan. For example, Catalan fang "mud" and rostir "to roast", of Germanic origin, contrast with Spanish lodo and asar , of Latin origin; whereas Catalan filosa "spinning wheel" and templa "temple", of Latin origin, contrast with Spanish rueca and sien , of Germanic origin. The same happens with Arabic loanwords. Thus, Catalan alfàbia "large earthenware jar" and rajola "tile", of Arabic origin, contrast with Spanish tinaja and teja , of Latin origin; whereas Catalan oli "oil" and oliva "olive", of Latin origin, contrast with Spanish aceite and aceituna . However,
1235-566: A third of Fenolheda (not part of the province of Roussillon). The arrondissement of Céret covers the whole of Vallespir but also the Côte Vermeille ( Costa Vermella ), which was historically under the control of the counts and veguers of Rosselló at Perpinyà (Perpignan). Catalan writers sometimes speak of the " comarques of Northern Catalonia" . Unlike the autonomous community of Catalonia , these comarques have no administrative significance, although they usually correspond to
1330-525: A transition from Medieval to Renaissance values, something that can also be seen in Metge 's work. The first book produced with movable type in the Iberian Peninsula was printed in Catalan. With the union of the crowns of Castille and Aragon in 1479, the Spanish kings ruled over different kingdoms, each with its own cultural, linguistic and political particularities, and they had to swear by
1425-543: Is 24 residents per km² (63 per sq. mile). The only urban area in Cerdanya is the cross-border urban area of Puigcerdà - Bourg-Madame , which contained 10,900 inhabitants in 2001. The area enjoys a high annual amount of sunshine – around 3,000 hours per year. For this reason, pioneering large-scale solar power projects have been built in several locations in French Cerdagne, including Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via ,
1520-413: Is a natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain . Historically it was one of the counties of Catalonia . Cerdanya has a land area of 1,086.07 km (419 sq mi), divided almost evenly between Spain (50.3%) and France (49.7%). In 2001 its population was approximately 26,500, of whom 53% lived on Spanish territory. Its population density
1615-415: Is mandatory in all schools, but it is possible to use Spanish for studying in the public education system of Catalonia in two situations—if the teacher assigned to a class chooses to use Spanish, or during the learning process of one or more recently arrived immigrant students. There is also some intergenerational shift towards Catalan. More recently, several Spanish political forces have tried to increase
1710-452: Is one of just two regions in France where Spanish-suited playing cards are used. The region has its own French Catalan pattern cards which are used to play local games like a variant of Spanish Truc . 42°38′N 2°40′E / 42.633°N 2.667°E / 42.633; 2.667 Catalan language Catalan ( català ) is a Western Romance language . It
1805-538: Is part of the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales , this one itself part of the Occitanie region . It has no special administrative self-government status apart from that of the department, thus solely being a physiographic region within the department. Known as Baixa Cerdanya . Unlike its French counterpart , it does constitute its own administrative division inside the autonomous community of Catalonia as
1900-600: Is pronounced [kətəˈla] in the Eastern Catalan dialects, and [kataˈla] in the Western dialects. In the Valencian Community and Carche , the term valencià [valensiˈa] is frequently used instead. Thus, the name "Valencian", although often employed for referring to the varieties specific to the Valencian Community and Carche, is also used by Valencians as a name for
1995-607: Is sometimes used. Northern Catalonia forms a triangle between the Pyrenees to the south, the Corbières Massif to the north-west and the Mediterranean Sea to the east. The Roussillon plain in the east, by far the most populated area, is formed by the flood plains of the rivers Tech , Têt , and Agly ( Catalan : Tec, Tet, Aglí ). The districts of Vallespir and Conflent cover the upper valleys of
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#17327662311332090-409: Is taken into account, and is the only major administrative and service center. Major road and rail links run north–south through Northern Catalonia between France and Spain, while a railway line also links Perpignan to Latour-de-Carol (Catalan: La Tor de Querol ) via Prades (Catalan: Prada de Conflent or Prada ). Haute-Cerdagne ( Catalan : Alta Cerdanya ) is geographically distinct from
2185-608: Is the official language of Andorra , and an official language of three autonomous communities in eastern Spain : Catalonia , the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community , where it is called Valencian ( valencià ). It has semi-official status in the Italian comune of Alghero , and it is spoken in the Pyrénées-Orientales department of France and in two further areas in eastern Spain:
2280-455: The 2017 Catalan independence referendum . Catalan is spoken in all regions of Northern Catalonia except for Fenolleda which speaks the related (and mutually intelligible) Occitan language . In Perpignan , where a quarter of the population lives, 44% know the Catalan language. The Catalan folk dance Sardana is a dance in the region. Northern Catalans support the USAP rugby union team and
2375-532: The Catalan Unity political party promotes the idea. The party has had some success since 1993, winning seats in municipal elections . It is now the most popular Catalan nationalist party in the region. Northern Catalans are proud of their Catalan heritage and have developed a "Northern Catalan" identity. However, unlike their Southern neighbors in Spanish Catalonia, the Catalan identity is not
2470-634: The Catalans Dragons rugby league team. There are four castells (Catalan human towers) teams in Northern Catalonia. French is the only official language in France as a whole, and therefore of these municipalities. Catalan , in its Northern Catalan variety, is however recognized as a regional language by the region of Languedoc-Roussillon which contains Northern Catalunya; this recognition provides cultural support in education and public media, with some more regional power since
2565-481: The Communauté d'agglomération Têt Méditerranée , created in 2001. Enclaved in the southwest of the département there is the Spanish ( Catalonia ) exclave of Llívia . As is common, the present-day arrondissements do not correspond to pre- Revolutionary boundaries. The arrondissement of Prades ( Prada ) covers the whole of Haute-Cerdagne ( Alta Cerdanya ) and Conflent (including Capcir ), as well as about
2660-749: The Crown of Aragon , and Catalan was present all over the Mediterranean world. During this period, the Royal Chancery propagated a highly standardized language. Catalan was widely used as an official language in Sicily until the 15th century, and in Sardinia until the 17th. During this period, the language was what Costa Carreras terms "one of the 'great languages' of medieval Europe". Martorell 's novel of chivalry Tirant lo Blanc (1490) shows
2755-467: The Gascon dialect ) is similar to the distance among different Occitan dialects. Catalan was considered a dialect of Occitan until the end of the 19th century and still today remains its closest relative. Catalan shares many traits with the other neighboring Romance languages (Occitan, French, Italian , Sardinian as well as Spanish and Portuguese among others). However, despite being spoken mostly on
2850-485: The Honor Award of Catalan Letters (1969). The first Catalan-language TV show was broadcast in 1964. At the same time, oppression of the Catalan language and identity was carried out in schools, through governmental bodies, and in religious centers. In addition to the loss of prestige for Catalan and its prohibition in schools, migration during the 1950s into Catalonia from other parts of Spain also contributed to
2945-486: The Iberian Peninsula , Catalan has marked differences with the Iberian Romance group ( Spanish and Portuguese ) in terms of pronunciation , grammar, and especially vocabulary; it shows instead its closest affinity with languages native to France and northern Italy, particularly Occitan and to a lesser extent Gallo-Romance ( Franco-Provençal , French , Gallo-Italian ). According to Ethnologue ,
Northern Catalonia - Misplaced Pages Continue
3040-623: The Pyrénées-Orientales which were historically part of Catalonia since the old County of Barcelona , and lasted during the times of the Crown of Aragon and the Principality of Catalonia until they were given to France by Spain. The equivalent term in French , Catalogne du Nord , is used nowadays, although less often than the more politically neutral Roussillon (Catalan: Rosselló ); Roussillon, though, historically did not comprise Vallespir , Conflent and Cerdagne ( Cerdanya ). The term Pays Catalan ( País Català ), "Catalan Country"
3135-478: The Roman Empire , the area of Cerdanya was a pagus known as pagus Liviensis (a name derived from its capital Julia Lybica), part of the province of Hispania Tarraconensis . The pagus Liviensis was itself divided in two: the eastern part around Julia Lybica was known as Cerretania Julia , while the western part was known as Cerretania Augusta . The name Cerdanya comes from Cerretania , itself coming from
3230-573: The Themis plant near Targassonne , and Mont-Louis Solar Furnace in Mont-Louis . The first inhabitants of Cerdanya probably spoke a language related to the old Basque language and to Aquitanian . Many place names testify to this. In the first millennium BC came the Iberians from the south. In Cerdanya they probably mixed with the native inhabitants, and the resulting people were known as
3325-873: The Vandals and other Germanic tribes, Cerdanya was part of the Visigothic kingdom of Toulouse and later Toledo , until eventually it was conquered by the Muslims. After Muslim expansion was halted by Odo the Great in the Battle of Toulouse (721) , the Berber commander Uthman ibn Naissa established a small realm in Cerdanya and allied with Odo, so that the Aquitanian leader could secure his south-eastern borders. However, Uthman ibn Naissa came next under Umayyad attack and
3420-459: The consul in Barcelona was also asked. He declared that Catalan "is taught in schools, it is printed and spoken, not only among the lower class, but also among people of first quality, also in social gatherings, as in visits and congresses", indicating that it was spoken everywhere "with the exception of the royal courts". He also indicated that Catalan was spoken "in the Kingdom of Valencia, in
3515-443: The county of Roussillon , and the county of Razès . The county of Cerdanya was made up of Cerdanya proper with the addition of other areas which it managed to acquire over time through inheritance, such as Capcir and Conflent . Thus, the county of Cerdanya was actually quite an important county. The counts of Cerdanya were great patrons of abbeys, most famously Saint-Michel de Cuxa (Catalan: Sant Miquel de Cuixà ), dating back to
3610-627: 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". The language evolved from Vulgar Latin in the Middle Ages around the eastern Pyrenees . Nineteenth-century Spain saw a Catalan literary revival , culminating in the early 1900s. The word Catalan is derived from
3705-576: The laws of each territory before the respective parliaments . But after the War of the Spanish Succession , Spain became an absolute monarchy under Philip V , which led to the assimilation of the Crown of Aragon by the Crown of Castile through the Nueva Planta decrees , as a first step in the creation of the Spanish nation-state ; as in other contemporary European states, this meant
3800-498: The 10th century and located in Conflent, and Saint-Martin-du-Canigou (Catalan: Sant Martí del Canigó ), dedicated by Count Guifred of Cerdanya in 1009. However, the line of the counts died out in 1117 and the county was inherited by the counts of Barcelona, later to become kings of Aragon . Cerdanya proper was split between Spain and France by the Treaty of the Pyrenees of 1659, with the north of Cerdanya becoming French, while
3895-619: The 11th and 14th centuries. During the 11th and 12th centuries the Catalan rulers expanded southward to the Ebro river , and in the 13th century they conquered the lands that would become the Kingdoms of Valencia and the Majorca . The city of Alghero in Sardinia was repopulated with Catalan speakers in the 14th century. The language also reached Murcia , which became Spanish-speaking in
Northern Catalonia - Misplaced Pages Continue
3990-672: The 15th century. In the Low Middle Ages , Catalan went through a golden age, reaching a peak of maturity and cultural richness. Examples include the work of Majorcan polymath Ramon Llull (1232–1315), the Four Great Chronicles (13th–14th centuries), and the Valencian school of poetry culminating in Ausiàs March (1397–1459). By the 15th century, the city of Valencia had become the sociocultural center of
4085-459: The 19th century saw a Catalan literary revival ( Renaixença ), which has continued up to the present day. This period starts with Aribau 's Ode to the Homeland (1833); followed in the second half of the 19th century, and the early 20th by the work of Verdaguer (poetry), Oller (realist novel), and Guimerà (drama). In the 19th century, the region of Carche , in the province of Murcia
4180-472: The 9th century, Cerdanya was one of the lordships united in the person of the counts of Barcelona , who were also counts of Girona , Narbonne , and Urgell . Wilfred the Hairy (count 870–897) had three sons and established the youngest, Miron (died 927), as Count of Cerdanya, a sovereign state. The sovereign county of Cerdanya bordered the county of Urgell , the county of Barcelona , the county of Besalú ,
4275-469: The Arabic element is generally much more prevalent in Spanish. Situated between two large linguistic blocks (Iberian Romance and Gallo-Romance), Catalan has many unique lexical choices, such as enyorar "to miss somebody", apaivagar "to calm somebody down", and rebutjar "reject". Traditionally Catalan-speaking territories are sometimes called the Països Catalans (Catalan Countries),
4370-624: The Berber lord was defeated, opening the way to Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi 's expedition into Aquitaine. During Abd al-Rahman I 's military campaign across the Ebro region (781), the Cordovan commander received the submission of Ibn Belaskut, or Galindo Belascotenes, in Cerdanya. Under Carolingian pressure, Cerdanya became a Frankish vassal about 785. The county of Cerdanya has its origin in the Spanish Marches established by Charlemagne . In
4465-685: The Crown of Aragon as the Cerbères , leaving the Occitan district of Fenolheda to France. On the death of King James I the Conqueror in 1276, Northern Catalonia was combined with the Balearic Isles to form a new Kingdom of Majorca , which passed to James II while the rest of the territory of the Crown of Aragon passed to his brother Peter III . This division satisfied neither branch of
4560-547: The Kerretes, from the native word ker or kar , meaning rock , related to old Basque karri (modern Basque harri ), stone . The Kerretes were probably essentially of Basque and Aquitanian-related stock, as the Iberian clans who mixed with the native inhabitants can have comprised only small numbers of people. The Kerretes retained a language related to old Basque and Aquitanian, although some Iberian words may have entered
4655-547: The Pyrenees and Cerdanya to the south. By the end of the ninth century, these counties had gained de facto independence from the Carolingian kings and operated as princely states (whose rulers nevertheless retained the title of count). As the seigneury of the counties became hereditary, the total number of Catalan counts fell steadily. One individual often had the charge of several counties, but these were not always transmitted based on primogeniture . Hence Count Miró II
4750-894: The Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis to the south. From the 8th century onwards the Catalan counts extended their territory southwards and westwards at the expense of the Muslims , bringing their language with them. This process was given definitive impetus with the separation of the County of Barcelona from the Carolingian Empire in 988. In the 11th century, documents written in macaronic Latin begin to show Catalan elements, with texts written almost completely in Romance appearing by 1080. Old Catalan shared many features with Gallo-Romance , diverging from Old Occitan between
4845-473: The Spanish province of Alicante settled around Oran , while those from French Catalonia and Menorca migrated to Algiers . By 1911, there were around 100,000 speakers of Patuet , as their speech was called. After the Algerian declaration of independence in 1962, almost all the Pied-Noir Catalan speakers fled to Northern Catalonia or Alicante. The French government only recognizes French as an official language. Nevertheless, on 10 December 2007,
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#17327662311334940-425: The Tech and the Têt respectively. The massif of the Canigou ( Catalan : Canigó ), 2785 m, dominates much of the territory. The climate is of the Mediterranean type , with hot, dry summers and winters which are relatively mild, at least on the Roussillon plain where snow is rare. The city of Perpignan ( Catalan : Perpinyà ) accounts for over a quarter of the population, over one-third of its urban area
5035-446: The Young , third son of Wilfred I the Hairy , inherited the counties of Cerdanya and Conflent from his father in 897, and the counties of Besalú and Vallespir from his elder brother Sunyer I when the latter became Count of Barcelona in 911. The Counts of Rosselló , in alliance with their cousins the Counts of Empuriés , tried to resist this dilution of their power. However, the Counts of Barcelona steadily gained suzerainty over
5130-419: The diminished use of the language. These migrants were often unaware of the existence of Catalan, and thus felt no need to learn or use it. Catalonia was the economic powerhouse of Spain, so these migrations continued to occur from all corners of the country. Employment opportunities were reduced for those who were not bilingual . Daily newspapers remained exclusively in Spanish until after Franco's death, when
5225-481: The district of Fenouillèdes (Occitan: Fenolheda ) to form the département of the Pyrénées-Orientales , with Perpignan ( Perpinyà ) as its administrative centre. The département of the Pyrénées-Orientales is divided into the arrondissements of Céret (Catalan: Ceret ), Perpignan ( Perpinyà ) and Prades ( Prada de Conflent ), which are further divided into cantons and communes . Perpignan and sixteen surrounding communes are also associated in
5320-545: The economy. Spas, skiing, and hiking are long-established attractions. In addition the Yellow Train is a major tourist attraction. La Cerdanya is best known amongst Barcelona locals and tourists for its skiing. "Masella" ski resort, located close to Urus and Alp, opened on January 3 and, due to the mountain's orientation to the North, offers one the longest skiing season in the Pyrenees. The ski station today boasts of 62 slopes with 15 ski lifts, and since 2013, has nocturnal skiing. Physically adjacent to Masella, though requiring
5415-431: The end of the Roman Empire, Julia Lybica entered a period of decadence, and lost much of its importance. It is around this time that the town of La Seu d'Urgell (in Catalonia , but outside of Cerdanya) started to replace Julia Lybica as the main center of population in that area of northern Catalonia, and in the 6th century when the diocese (bishopric) of Urgell was founded, Cerdanya was inside its limits. Devastated by
5510-412: The family, and the Kingdom of Majorca was retaken militarily by the Crown of Aragon in 1344, reintegrating the counties of Roussillon and Cerdanya into the Principality of Catalonia. The Treaty of the Pyrenees of 1659 ceded Northern Catalonia to France, where it became the province of Roussillon . The French provinces were abolished at the Revolution (Law of 1789-12-22), and Roussillon was joined with
5605-451: The first one in Catalan since the end of the Civil War, Avui , began to be published in 1976. Since the Spanish transition to democracy (1975–1982), Catalan has been institutionalized as an official language, language of education, and language of mass media; all of which have contributed to its increased prestige. In Catalonia , there is an unparalleled large bilingual European non-state linguistic community. The teaching of Catalan
5700-420: The imposition of the political and cultural characteristics of the dominant groups. Since the political unification of 1714, Spanish assimilation policies towards national minorities have been a constant. The process of assimilation began with secret instructions to the corregidores of the Catalan territory: they "will take the utmost care to introduce the Castilian language, for which purpose he will give
5795-474: The inclusion of the Catalan language on signs and its use in material produced by the administrative department. In 1700, the government of Louis XIV prohibited the use of the Catalan language in official documents, although the government only irregularly enforced the edict throughout the eighteenth century. In Perpignan Catalan was also prohibited from being used by priests during Mass . From 1700 all public acts had to be written in French, from 1738 this
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#17327662311335890-425: The islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Sardinia, Corsica and much of Sicily, in the Vall d "Aran and Cerdaña". The defeat of the pro-Habsburg coalition in the War of Spanish Succession (1714) initiated a series of laws which, among other centralizing measures, imposed the use of Spanish in legal documentation all over Spain. Because of this, use of the Catalan language declined into the 18th century. However,
5985-410: The language as a whole, synonymous with "Catalan". Both uses of the term have their respective entries in the dictionaries by the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL) and the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC). (See also status of Valencian below). By the 9th century, Catalan had evolved from Vulgar Latin on both sides of the eastern end of the Pyrenees , as well as the territories of
6080-606: The language in features closer to Occitan (and French ). There is evidence that, at least from the 2nd century AD, the vocabulary and phonology of Roman Tarraconensis was different from the rest of Roman Hispania. Differentiation arose generally because Spanish, Asturian , and Galician-Portuguese share certain peripheral archaisms (Spanish hervir , Asturian and Portuguese ferver vs. Catalan bullir , Occitan bolir "to boil") and innovatory regionalisms (Spanish novillo , Asturian nuviellu vs. Catalan torell , Occitan taurèl "bullock"), while Catalan has
6175-448: The language, and Iberians probably occupied positions at the top of the Kerrete society. The main oppidum of the Kerretes, commanding the whole country, was called Kere and was built on the hill above the modern-day village of Llívia (a Spanish exclave in French territory). Later the Kerretes came under Roman rule, and the Romans renamed the oppidum Julia Lybica , with a significant number of Roman citizens settling there. During
6270-414: The laws of regionalization of France during the 1980s. The language is estimated to be spoken by 34% of the population of Northern Catalonia, but understood by 65%. On 10 December 2007, the General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales proclaimed Catalan as one of the languages of the department, alongside French and Occitan (in Fenouillèdes), The 'Charter in Support of Catalan' was adopted which called for
6365-566: The lexical similarity between Catalan and other Romance languages is: 87% with Italian; 85% with Portuguese and Spanish; 76% with Ladin and Romansh ; 75% with Sardinian; and 73% with Romanian. During much of its history, and especially during the Francoist dictatorship (1939–1975), the Catalan language was ridiculed as a mere dialect of Spanish . This view, based on political and ideological considerations, has no linguistic validity. Spanish and Catalan have important differences in their sound systems, lexicon, and grammatical features, placing
6460-427: The linguistic census held by the Government of Catalonia in 2013) and it is understood almost universally. According to 2013 census, Catalan was also very commonly spoken in the city of 1,501,262: it was understood by 95% of the population, while 72.3% over the age of two could speak it (1,137,816), 79% could read it (1,246.555), and 53% could write it (835,080). The share of Barcelona residents who could speak it (72.3%)
6555-406: The linguistic varieties subsumed under the cover term Occitan language (see also differences between Occitan and Catalan and Gallo-Romance languages ). Thus, as it should be expected from closely related languages, Catalan today shares many traits with other Romance languages. Some include Catalan in Occitan, as the linguistic distance between this language and some Occitan dialects (such as
6650-421: The most temperate and disguised measures so that the effect is achieved, without the care being noticed". From there, actions in the service of assimilation, discreet or aggressive, were continued, and reached to the last detail, such as, in 1799, the Royal Certificate forbidding anyone to "represent, sing and dance pieces that were not in Spanish". The use of Spanish gradually became more prestigious and marked
6745-426: The old name of the inhabitants, the Kerretes. As for Julia Lybica, the name evolved into Julia Livia and then Llívia . The Kerretes seem to have kept their old language until very late, probably as late as the 8th or 9th century. Romanization in the area was extremely slow, even though eventually the native language gave way, and the people in Cerdanya ended up speaking Catalan , a language derived from Latin. At
6840-402: The other Catalan counts, a process that was virtually complete by the twelfth century. The last Count of Rosselló, Girard II , left his title to the Crown of Aragon on his death in 1172 to prevent the territory passing to his illegitimate half-brothers. Royal administration in the Principality of Catalonia within the Crown of Aragon was organized based on vegueries , under the charge of
6935-507: The other hand, there are several language shift processes currently taking place. In the Northern Catalonia area of France, Catalan has followed the same trend as the other minority languages of France, with most of its native speakers being 60 or older (as of 2004). Catalan is studied as a foreign language by 30% of the primary education students, and by 15% of the secondary. The cultural association La Bressola promotes
7030-528: The percentage of speakers to the population of each area where Catalan is spoken. The web site of the Generalitat de Catalunya estimated that as of 2004 there were 9,118,882 speakers of Catalan. These figures only reflect potential speakers; today it is the native language of only 35.6% of the Catalan population. According to Ethnologue , Catalan had 4.1 million native speakers and 5.1 million second-language speakers in 2021. According to
7125-568: The place where the counts of Cerdanya resided, is now a village inside the commune of Bourg-Madame on the French side of the border. Hix had itself replaced Llívia , which was the ancient capital of Cerdanya in Antiquity . At the Treaty of the Pyrenees it was decided that Llívia would remain Spanish (allegedly because the treaty stipulated that only villages were to be ceded to France, and Llívia
7220-460: The population self-identifies with both Catalan and Spanish equally, 36.4% with Catalan and 47.5% only Spanish. In 2003 the same studies concluded no language preference for self-identification within the population above 15 years old: 5% self-identified with both languages, 44.3% with Catalan and 47.5% with Spanish. To promote use of Catalan, the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalonia's official Autonomous government) spends part of its annual budget on
7315-404: The promotion of the use of Catalan in Catalonia and in other territories, with entities such as Consorci per a la Normalització Lingüística (Consortium for Linguistic Normalization). In Andorra , Catalan has always been the sole official language. Since the promulgation of the 1993 constitution , several policies favoring Catalan have been enforced, such as Catalan medium education. On
7410-517: The rest of Northern Catalonia, lying to the south of the Pyrenean watershed in the upper valley of the Segre . It is a mountainous and sparsely-populated district, and includes the town of Llívia ( pop. 1252 (2005) ) which is an exclave of Spain. The district lies on the most direct route between Toulouse ( Occitan : Tolosa de Lengadoc ) and Barcelona (via Foix and Ripoll ), and
7505-487: The rest of the territories. (% of the population 15 years old and older). (% of the population 15 years old and older). Cerdanya 42°26′48″N 1°57′10″E / 42.44667°N 1.95278°E / 42.44667; 1.95278 Cerdanya ( Catalan pronunciation: [səɾˈðaɲə] ; Spanish : Cerdaña , Spanish: [θeɾˈðaɲa] ; French : Cerdagne , pronounced [sɛʁdaɲ] ) or often La Cerdanya
7600-479: The ski resort of Font-Romeu . Despite the split between France and Spain, ties remain between families on both sides of the border, with frequent travel from one country to the other. During World War I , Cerdanya has been the place of an important smuggling trade in which horses and mules went from French to Spanish Cerdanya, before being sold to the French army and going back to France through Le Perthus . Known as French Cerdagne (Catalan: Alta Cerdanya ), it
7695-569: The social level, including in schools and the University of Barcelona . The Catalan language and culture were still vibrant during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), but were crushed at an unprecedented level throughout the subsequent decades due to Francoist dictatorship (1939–1975), which abolished the official status of Catalan and imposed the use of Spanish in schools and in public administration in all of Spain , while banning
7790-560: The sole official language of the region. Shortly after the French Revolution (1789), the French First Republic prohibited official use of, and enacted discriminating policies against, the regional languages of France, such as Catalan, Alsatian , Breton , Occitan , Flemish , and Basque . After the French colony of Algeria was established in 1830, many Catalan-speaking settlers moved there. People from
7885-405: The south of Cerdanya remained Spanish. The counties of Rosselló , Capcir , and Conflent also became French at that time. Today, the Spanish side of Cerdanya is a Catalan comarca known as Baixa Cerdanya (i.e. "Lower Cerdanya"), and whose capital is Puigcerdà . Puigcerdà was already the capital of Cerdanya before the division of 1659, having replaced Hix in 1178 as capital of Cerdanya. Hix,
7980-413: The start of the decline of Catalan. Starting in the 16th century, Catalan literature came under the influence of Spanish, and the nobles, part of the urban and literary classes became bilingual . With the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659), Spain ceded the northern part of Catalonia to France , and soon thereafter the local Catalan varieties came under the influence of French , which in 1700 became
8075-462: The term referring to a person first appears in the mid 14th century as Catelaner , followed in the 15th century as Catellain (from Middle French ). It is attested a language name since at least 1652. The word Catalan can be pronounced in English as / ˈ k æ t ə l ə n , - æ n / KAT -ə-lən, -lan or / ˌ k æ t ə ˈ l æ n / KAT -ə- LAN . The endonym
8170-522: The territorial name of Catalonia , itself of disputed etymology. The main theory suggests that Catalunya ( Latin : Gathia Launia ) derives from the name Gothia or Gauthia ('Land of the Goths '), since the origins of the Catalan counts, lords and people were found in the March of Gothia , whence Gothland > Gothlandia > Gothalania > Catalonia theoretically derived. In English,
8265-813: The then General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales officially recognized Catalan as one of the départment's languages and seeks to further promote it in public life and education. In 1807, the Statistics Office of the French Ministry of the Interior asked the prefects for an official survey on the limits of the French language . The survey found that in Roussillon , almost only Catalan was spoken, and since Napoleon wanted to incorporate Catalonia into France, as happened in 1812,
8360-403: The use of Catalan in them. Between 1939 and 1943 newspapers and book printing in Catalan almost disappeared. Francisco Franco's desire for a homogeneous Spanish population resonated with some Catalans in favor of his regime, primarily members of the upper class, who began to reject the use of Catalan. Despite all of these hardships, Catalan continued to be used privately within households, and it
8455-609: The use of Spanish in the Catalan educational system. As a result, in May 2022 the Spanish Supreme Court urged the Catalan regional government to enforce a measure by which 25% of all lessons must be taught in Spanish. According to the Statistical Institute of Catalonia , in 2013 the Catalan language is the second most commonly used in Catalonia, after Spanish , as a native or self-defining language: 7% of
8550-498: Was able to survive Franco's dictatorship. At the end of World War II , however, some of the harsh measures began to be lifted and, while Spanish language remained the sole promoted one, limited number of Catalan literature began to be tolerated. Several prominent Catalan authors resisted the suppression through literature. Private initiative contests were created to reward works in Catalan, among them Joan Martorell prize (1947), Víctor Català prize (1953) Carles Riba award (1950), or
8645-500: Was considered a city and not a village, due to its status as the ancient capital of Cerdanya), so Llívia is now an enclave of Spain inside French territory. The French side of Cerdanya is part of the département of Pyrénées-Orientales and has no particular status. People in France refer to it as Cerdagne française (that is, "French Cerdanya"), or just Cerdagne , while people on the Spanish side refer to it as Alta Cerdanya ("Upper Cerdanya"). Its main towns are Bourg-Madame and
8740-492: Was extended to include registers of births, marriages and deaths. In the 1950s, after centuries of being forbidden in education, the Catalan language was permitted to be studied for one hour per week in secondary school. In the 1970s, the Arrels Association and la Bressola network of private schools started to offer complete bilingual French/Catalan classes from nursery up to secondary education. North Catalonia
8835-640: Was lower than that of the overall Catalan population, of whom 81.2% over the age of 15 spoke the language. Knowledge of Catalan has increased significantly in recent decades thanks to a language immersion educational system. An important social characteristic of the Catalan language is that all the areas where it is spoken are bilingual in practice: together with French in Roussillon, with Italian in Alghero, with Spanish and French in Andorra, and with Spanish in
8930-519: Was merged with other areas of Occitania to form a new French region. This has led to fears that the Occitan language and culture will be given precedence over the Catalan language and culture. In December 2017, Express.co.uk reported that 2000 people took part in a protest in Perpignan, in order to get the French government to hold a referendum on Northern Catalonia reuniting with Southern Catalonia. Northern Catalans helped print ballot slips for
9025-590: Was repopulated with Valencian speakers. Catalan spelling was standardized in 1913 and the language became official during the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939). The Second Spanish Republic saw a brief period of tolerance, with most restrictions against Catalan lifted. The Generalitat (the autonomous government of Catalonia, established during the Republic in 1931) made a normal use of Catalan in its administration and put efforts to promote it at
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