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Catalan phonology and orthography

Phonological Features

Several characteristic features of Catalan as a Romance language (SAMPA phonetic scheme used):

• Like Occitan, losing of Latin final unstressed vowels, except -A; and then after some of the resulting consonantic groups a support vowel [ə] appears. eg. FAME > fam (hunger); BVCCA > boca (mouth); NOSTRV > nostre (ours, masc. sing.)
• Loss of final -n after the demise of final unstressed vowels. eg. MANV > *man > mà (hand)
• In Oriental dialects: Latin short E > closed [e], and Latin long E > neutral vowel [ə] and then later > open [E]; so the result of Latin short and long E is reversed in relation to other romances.
• Unlike Occitan and other galic romances, Catalan preserves the three degrees for rounded back vowels /O, o, u/, and /u/ is not centralised to /y/.
• Unlike Spanish and other Iberian Romance languages, betacism or loss of B/V distinction seems to be in Catalan an innovation since the modern era, although non-betacist dialects are still preserved in some areas.
• Like Asturian, palatalization of Latin word initial L-; e.g. LVNA > lluna (moon); LVPV > llop (wolf)
• Vocalization to [w] of final -d of diverse origins and the Latin verbal ending -TIS: PEDE > peu ['pEw] (foot); CREDIT > creu ['krEw] (he believes, present 3rd singular); MIRATIS > miratz > mirau > mireu [mi'rEw] (you watch, present 2nd plural)
• Consonantic palatalizations, similar to most romances:
  • C+e,i,yod > *[ts] > [s]; e.g. CAELV > cel ['sEl] (sky, or heaven).
  • G+e,i,yod > *[dZ] > [Z]; e.g GELV > gel ['ZEl] (ice).
  • -Ly-,-LL-,-c'l-,-t'l- > ll [L]; e.g. MVLIERE > muller (wife); CABALLV > cavall (horse), but confer other cases like VILLA > vila (town) where the geminate has been simplified; AURICULA > *oric'la > orella (ear); VETVLVS > *vet'lu > vell (old man)
  • -Ny-,-GN-,-NN- > ny [J]; e.g. LIGNA > llenya (wood)
• Consonantic lenition, similar to most of western romances:
  • intervocalic voiced oclusives become fricatives ones or are lost. E.g. CABALLV > cavall (horse), VOLEBAT > volia (wanted, imperfect 3rd sing.), PAVORE > pahor > por (awe).
  • intervocalic voiceless oclusives become voiced ones. E.g. VITA > vida (life).
  • intervocalic geminated voiceless oclusives are simplified, but intervocalic geminated voiceless fricatives are preserved. E.g. BVCCA > BOCA (mouth), PASSARE > passar (pass).

See also specific articles on: Alguerese, Balearic, Ribagorçan, Valencian

Phoneme Inventory and Orthography

A summary of the phonemes of contemporary Catalan, their graphemes and sounds (SAMPA phonetic scheme used):

Plosives

Plosives in final position become voiceless.

• /p/ 'p'
• /b/ 'b','v' (see /v/ below), articulated as fricative [B] between vowels or liquides; [p] in final position
• /t/ 't'
• /d/ 'd', articulated as fricative [D] between vowels or liquides; [t] in final position
• /k/ 'c' before 'a,o,u'; 'qu' before 'e,i', 'qu' for /kw/ before 'a,o,u'; 'qü' for /kw/ before 'e,i'
• /g/ 'g' before 'a,o,u'; 'gu' before 'e,i', 'gu' for /gw/ before 'a,o,u'; 'gü' for /gw/ before 'e,i', articulated as fricative [G] between vowels or liquides, [k] in final position

Affricates

Affricates in final position become voiceless. Word final /ts,tS/ followed by a vowel become voiced (liaison).

• /ts/ 'ts' (not considered a separate phoneme but t+s, by most authors).
• /dz/ 'tz' (not considered a separate phoneme but t+z, by most authors). In Ribagorçan and Apitxat Valencian (comarques around Valencia city), /dz/ has merged with voiceless /ts/.
• /tS/ 'tx'; sometimes 'ig' in word final position; many exceptions.
• /dZ/ 'tj' before 'a,o,u'; 'tg' before 'e,i'; many exceptions. In Ribagorçan and Apitxat Valencian (comarques around Valencia city), /dZ/ has merged with voiceless /tS/.

Fricatives

Fricatives in final position become voiceless. Word final /s,S/ followed by a vowel become voiced (liaison).

• /f/ 'f'
• /v/ 'v'. In most modern Catalan dialects /v/ has merged with bilabial plosive /b/ (a phenomenon called betacism). /v/ is still a separate phoneme in Balearic, Alguerese, Valencian (except the comarques around Valencia city), and the comarques around Tarragona city.
• /s/ 's'; 'ss' between vowels; also 'c' before 'e,i' and 'ç' elsewhere.
• /z/ 'z'; 's' between vowels. In Ribagorçan and Apitxat Valencian (comarques around Valencia city), /z/ has merged with voiceless /s/.
• /S/ 'x'; 'ix' after vowel or in word final position. In Occidental variants (Lleida, Valencian), the written form -ix- is pronounced [jS] or [js]. In Barcelona city, /S/ in initial position or after nasals is pronounced as affricate [tS].
• /Z/ 'j' before 'a,o,u'; 'g' before 'e,i'; many exceptions. In Barcelona city, /Z/ in initial position or after nasals is pronounced as affricate [dZ]. Some 'j' from standard correspond to [j] in Pallarese or Ribagorçan, and then the rest of 'j' from standard correspond to [tS] in Ribagorçan. Most 'j' of standard correspond to [dZ] in Valencian, and then in Apitxat Valencian (comarques around Valencia city) /dZ/ has merged with voiceless /tS/.

Nasals

Nasals in final position retain distinct point or articulation, unlike in Spanish or French.

• /m/ 'm'
  • The digraph 'tm' in intervocalic position is assimilated to a geminate m [m:], as in setmana (week), except usually in some learned words such as ritme (rhythm).
  • The syllable final digraph 'mp' is reduced to [m], as in compte (account), temptar (to tempt).
• /n/ 'n'
  • The digraph 'tn' in intervocalic position is assimilated to a geminate n [n:], as in cotna (bark), except usually in some learned words such as ètnia (ethnic group).
• /J/ 'ny', palatal nasal, as in Hungarian
• velar nasal [N], which is written as 'nc' or 'ng' in final position, is not considered a separate phoneme, but n+k or n+g, by most authors

Laterals

• /l/ 'l'. Catalan /l/ has a distinctive velar resonance: [5], like English "dark l" (as in full) and unlike Spanish or French ones.
  • 'l·l' is 'ela geminada', a Catalan characteristic grapheme, appearing only in intervocalic position and which stands for a geminate l [5:]. This geminate pronunciation is always maintained in several popular words, such as til·la (linden) and xarel·lo (muscatel grape). However, by influence from Spanish, many speakers no longer pronounce them geminate in many other words (mostly learned words from Latin).
  • The digraph 'tl' in intervocalic position is assimilated to a geminate l, as in espatla (shoulder), except usually in some learned words such as atleta (athlete).
• /L/ 'll', palatal lateral. Standard Catalan /L/ has not merged with /j/, unlike Spanish or French ones, and yeism is socially stigmatized in the prestigious speech of Barcelona. There is a kind of yeism called "etymological yeism", affecting only the Eastern dialects and originating from the 13th century, which weakened the /L/ from the etymological intervocalic -c'l-, -g'l-, -l'y-, -t'l- (in Spanish those groups have resulted in /x/). This way, some 'll' from standard correspond to [j] or to nothing at all in Balearic; e.g. VETVLA > 'vella' (old woman), Balearic 'vea'.
  • 'tll', this trigraph is assimilated into a geminate ll [L:], as in rotllo (roll).

Rhotics

Two rhotic sounds exist in Catalan, like in Spanish.

• /r/ Simple alveolar flap. 'r' in all positions but word initial.
• /rr/ Multiple alveolar trill. Word initial 'r'; 'rr' between vowels.

Vowels

The Standard vowel system has seven different vowels in stressed position /A,E,e,i,O,o,u/, but only [ə,i,u] can appear in unstressed positions. In most of Balearics, /ə/ (written 'e','è') can be a distinct phoneme as well in stressed position. In Valencian and NW Catalan [e,o] can appear as well in unstressed positions.

Dialectal Variation of Vowels in Catalan

In fact these differences in the vocalic systems are the main criteria used to diferentiate between the major dialects:

• Central (Girona province, Barcelona province, Tarragona province but the Ebro bassin)
• Northern (Roussillon)
• Balearic (Balearic Islands)
• Alguerese (L'Alguer)
• North-Western (Andorra, Lleida province, Ribagorça, Ebre bassin of Tarragona province)
• Valencian (Eastern half of País Valencià, and Carxe in the Murcia province)

• /A/ 'a'; 'à'. Catalan /A/ is tenser and more open than the Spanish or French ones. Only in stressed position. When unstresssed coalesces to [ə], but not in Western variants (Lleida, Valencian).
• /E/ 'e'; 'è'. Only in stressed position. When unstresssed coalesces to [ə], but in Western variants (Lleida, Valencian) to [e].
• /e/ 'e'; 'é'. Only in stressed position. When unstresssed coalesces to [ə], but not in Western variants (Lleida, Valencian).
• /i/ 'i'; 'í'; 'ï'.
• /O/ 'o'; 'ò'. Only in stressed position. When unstresssed coalesces to [u], but in Western variants (Lleida, Valencian) and Majorca to [o].
• /o/ 'o'; 'ó'. Only in stressed position. When unstresssed coalesces to [u], but not in Western variants (Lleida, Valencian) and Majorca.
• /u/ 'u'; 'ú'; 'ü'.

Diphthongs and triphthongs

Unlike Spanish or French, contiguous vowels normally form 'decreasing' diphthongs and not 'increasing' ones. Examples:

• mai (never) ['mAj] (1 syllable)
• noi (boy) ['nOj] (1 syllable)
• rei (king) ['rej] (1 syllable)
• pau (peace) ['pAw] (1 syllable)
• bou (ox) ['bOw] (1 syllable)
• neu (snow) ['new] (1 syllable)
• diu (he says) ['diw] (1 syllable)
• vuit (eight) ['bujt] (1 syllable)

But:

• dia (day) ['di ə] (2 syllables)
• cua (tail) ['ku ə] (2 syllables)
• deia (he said) ['dE jə] (2 syllables)
• diuen (they say) ['di wən] (2 syllables)

The only 'increasing' diphthongs are those of the kind 'gu(a/o)/gü(e/i)' and 'qu(a/o)/qü(e/i)':

• aigua (water) ['Aj gwə] (2 syllables)
• ungüent (ointment) [uN 'gwEnt] (2 syllables)
• pingüí (penguin) [piN 'gwi] (2 syllables)
• llenguota (big tongue) [LəN gwO tə] (3 syllables)
• quatre (four) ['kwa trə] (2 syllables)
• qüestió (question) [kwəs 'tjo] (2 syllables)
• aqüífer (aquifer) [ə 'kwi fər] (3 syllables)
• quota (quota) ['kwO tə] (2 syllables)

A few triphthongs are formed upon those:

• aguaitar (to look at) [ə gwəj 'tA] (3 syllables)
• liqüeu (you liquify) [li 'kwEw] (2 syllables)

If a diaeresis appears over the i or u of what would otherwise be a decreasing diphthong, the diphthong is broken into a hiatus:

• raïm (grape) [rrə 'im] (2 syllables)
• taüt (coffin) [tə 'ut] (2 syllables)
• ruïna (ruin) [rru 'i nə] (3 syllables)