Are Catalans Spaniards?
Catalonia is one of a few regions in Spain, such as the Basque Country and Galicia, which has its own language apart from Castilian Spanish. Catalan is a Romance language like Spanish but is not a subset of Spanish itself. In fact, Catalan as a language is closer to French and Italian than Spanish or Portuguese.
What is the difference between Catalans and Spanish?
Are Catalan and Spanish the same? Catalan is recognised as a separate language from Spanish – i.e. NOT a dialect of Spanish. They are both Western Romance Languages but come from different branches. Spanish is from Iberian-Romance (which includes Portuguese) and Catalan is from Gallo-Romance (which includes French).
How common is Catalan in Spain?
Catalan in the multilingual Spain Approximately 40% of the Spanish population live in areas with two official languages. About 28% live in regions with Catalan as the official language.
Is Catalan Hispanic?
The Catalan or Catalonian ancestry is identified with the code 204 in the 2000 U.S. Census, with the name Catalonian, which is in the group 200-299 Hispanic categories (including Spain). However, 22,047 people born in Catalonia live in the United States of America.
What language is spoken in Catalan?
| Languages of Catalonia | |
|---|---|
| Official | Catalan, Spanish, Aranese |
| Indigenous | Catalan, Aranese |
| Immigrant | Amazigh, American Spanish, Maghrebi Arabic, Romanian, British English, Urdu |
| Foreign | English, French |
Where did the Catalans come from?
The Catalan language originated from Vulgar Latin in the Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain. It diverged from the other Romance languages in the 9th century. At that time, Catalan spread quickly throughout the Iberian peninsula when the Catalan counts conquered Muslim territory.
Where is Catalan spoken in Spain?
It is spoken by 9 million people in Catalonia, Valencia, the Balearic Isles, Andorra and the town of Alghero in Sardinia. Variants of Catalan are spoken in Valencia and the Balearics, which were taken back from the Moors in the 13th century.