Learn Catalan - word list (Learn Catalan series Book 2013)

I have taken two courses in basic Catalan, which were really eye-opening and have proven useful. In the long run, I plan to live here and need to learn Catalan to work and socialize at dinner parties. The truth is that I speak Spanish and English and can get by with these languages.

• Aus dem Elend (German Edition);
• Clair: Un roman transparent (EDITIONS JACQUE) (French Edition);
• Legends of Eros.

My desire to speak and understand Catalan is more personal than anything else. That said, I almost never have a conversation in Catalan, though many times a month I need to be able to listen to or read Catalan.

Language rights in Catalonia

My husband is Catalan, but we speak in Spanglish, with Catalan lacing and a sprinkling of English. If you feel inspired to learn Catalan, sign up for free classes given by the Catalan government at: If you hate Catalan and see learning it pointless, then living in Catalonia long-term is probably not a fabulous idea. I thin that learning Catalan is a very good idea if you intend to live here for any considerable length of time. You can get by with Spanish, as many do, but you will be very much smiled upon by the locals if you make the effort to learn what is, for most people, their mother tongue.

Catalan has grown on me a lot over the last 6 years…. I listen to a lot of music in Catalan which has turned me on to the sound of it more. While I am not fluent, I love learning expressions in different languages — gives me another way to see the world and express myself. I would, however, concentrate most on my castellano so as to be more proficient. I hear you Kaley. I lived in Menorca for two years working as an English assistant. When I started to learn the language, I instantly saw new doors opening.

I made oodles of friends, not just native speakers either. Through that I got to know the island, the people living there, and the culture much better. Plus, Menorca is such a small place with very few Americans let alone ones that speak the language and I felt like a celebrity.

So many times I was introduced like this: I can see how you would need Menorqui on such a small island.

Language overview

I wonder how similar Menorqui and Catalan are? I think that learning the language of a place is the first step to understanding the culture and the people of a new region.

Swedish is useless, too, in the grand scheme of things. True, you can live in Barcelona with just Castilian. So many prefer to speak their first and native language because they are better at it. In essence, these people are forcing natives of a land they move into to adjust to their language choice. Thanks for your comment Andrew. As a tour guide, a catalan, and mainly a peaceful soul I really want to say you made me smile. For a Catalan it is always big emotion to feel someone try to learn our language. I speak fluidly 6 languages, and so I know that nobody really gets to the inner depth of a culture or a person without the language.

Si mai et puc ajudar, compta amb mi! I am learning catalan but if you think this will make it easier to make catalan friends forget it. The catalans are famously closed to the point of rudeness and in my experience speaking to them in their own language makes no difference. The impression is that they have their friends already from childhood and no amount of catalan speaking is going to make them welcome a stupid guiri into their circle. After living here for a few years, visiting places rumoured to be closed, like London or Berlin, is like being surrounded by family.

Thank god there are enough non catalans living here to make foreigners not remain completely friendless. Before this page explodes with nationalistic fury, of course this is a generalisation and I will continue learning catalan out of respect for the few catalan friends I have, and the culture of my host nation. In my opinion catalan culture needs to confront this issue of closedness before it is ever going to become an attractive language for a foreigner to learn. A language is attractive to foreigners because of wanting to be part of the inviting, attractive, welcoming culture it represents rather than feeling despised for not doing so.

More carrot less stick in other words. You have echoed what many believe and I find that the more people you know individually, then the openness begins. Sales people, folks on the Metro, are not usually up for a chat. While I would like to learn Catalan, learning Spanish is difficult enough for me!

Learn Catalan The Easy Way! - SuiteLife

No thanks to learning another language. I arrived in Barcelona not knowing either and after 8 years ended up with conversational Spanish with some Catalan. I wanted to be able to speak to everyone in Barcelona, including other Europeans, South Americans, first and second generation Spaniards as well as Catalans. For that you need Spanish to show your not an English chauvinist.

The longer I was there, the more I picked up Catalan. I personally like the sound of the language and have a thing for scatological expressions because of sophomoric humor. I also found the Catalans warm and hospital, except those who live in the mountains. Some can be cansino with their politics. I guess the best analogy would be moving to Hawaii and after making the effort to learn English, you then realized you had to learn Hawaiian to fully understand the local culture.

In my experience 25 years living in S. I want to live here and the true language here is Catalan.

I wrote about the majority of these points here: There are plenty living here in Catalonia as well as the rest of Spain who speak neither Catalan nor Castilian. First, yes, people do have childhood circles of friends. Outside of major cities in the US, you find this to be the same as well. But, having now learned Catalan and been working in wine here, I now count a much greater number of friends here in Catalonia after one year than I ever found in San Francisco having lived there for 15 years. The scientific consensus recognises that Valencian and Catalan are actually two traditional ways of referring to the same language exactly as the other names it gets in the Balearic and Pityusic Islands, a.

We actually speak it in four European countries, 3 of which EU member states. It was spoken in other places all along the Mediterranean area, and linguists agree it has influenced significantly on the following languages or dialetti, which is how unofficial languages are called in Italy: When enjoying liberty to do so, it continues today to develop extremely interesting proposals for cultural experiences…. Yes, some even say that Christopher Columbus himself spoke Catalan!

We appreciate your input and have added some of it into the post above. Michael, are you based in Barcelona or in the countryside? Many times for me, the common language in a group setting is not Catalan, but English, or Spanish, because of the mix of nationalities.

• Counting in Catalan.
• Wenn Gott tot ist: Memoiren (German Edition).
• Should You Learn Catalan?.
• Learn Catalan – The Easiest Methods!

I still sort of fantasize about how good my Catalan would be if I lived in La Garriga. Would have loved to have travelled the world before 67 but the opportunity to have a little stake in Catalunya popped up. Thanks for your input Bryan. Most any non-Catalan Spaniards who live here can understand it fine and I just speak it with them while they answer in Castilian.

Thanks for your comment. Barcelona is still Spain, so i am ok if people criticize me for not learning spanish.

Catalan numbers list

I feel that the catalan people are taking this nationalism to the extreme alienating themselves from the expats community. Thats my two cents, I am ready to pack my bags and move on to a more friendly place. A better question is — what is Catalan not? Ducts professionally cleaned and http: Airborne spores from parent to talk with bipolar ii experience infant; milk if performed by looking at. Reproducing and do certain kinds of energy impulsiveness and trees as. It all depends entirely on your motivations and what you want!

Lots of people speak reasonable English too. Being an international city, Barcelona is full of language schools which offer a variety of courses. The Universitat de Barcelona for example offers Catalan classes all year round for students and non students, but prices start at 60 euros to euros for UB students and from euros to euros for non students, so you will need a lot of dedication if you wish to learn Catalan.

Want to find out how? The popular and traditional classroom method — Lessons from the Generalitat. Lessons are given in Catalan so you get used to hearing the language straight away. The only effort and cost involved with this method is enrolling which you can do at the Caja Madrid building in Placa Catalunya , going to the classes and purchasing a course book. Why do we like it?