Catalan Language: Eastern Dialects and Their Features

Posted on Jan 10, 2025 in English Studies

Catalan Eastern Dialects: Phonetic, Morphosyntactic, and Lexical Traits

**Neutralization of unstressed /a/, /e/, /o/, /u/:** “Bridge” (pont) and “roof” (teulat) are pronounced as “puntet.”
**Closed /e/ and /o/ from Vulgar Latin (including an intermediate neutral vowel, still present in Balearic):** “Clean” (net), “cold” (fred), “onion” (ceba), “pear” (pera), “hair” (cabells).
**Intervocalic or final /d/ is not pronounced when not preceded by [j]:** “Lame” [koiʃ].

**Loss of etymological -n- in some plural nouns ending in -es:** “Men” (homes), “margins” (marges), “virgins” (verges), “terms” (termes), etc.
**Widespread use of reinforced forms of weak pronouns:** “Me” (em), “you” (et), “him/her” (el/la), etc.: “My girl asks me how many we want” (La meva noia em demana quants en volem).
**Present subjunctive desinence with [i]:** “Sing” (canti), “sing” (cantis), “sing” (canti), etc.
**Verbs with /e/ inchoatives:** “Serve” (serveixo/servesc), “serve” (serveixes/serveixes), “serve” (serveix/servesqui), etc.

**Characteristic words:** “Navel” (melic), “mirror” (mirall), “sand” (sorra), etc.

Tonic vowel system with seven members, with a three unstressed vowel system [ə], [i], [u].
In certain areas (Barcelona, Berguedà, etc.), iodization still occurs (yeísmo only in certain groups in the evolution of Latin -ll-, which usually correspond to Spanish -j-): “She has a shred of straw between her eye and eyebrow” (Ella té una brenilla de palla entre l’ull i la cella); “You work cutting branches that he saw a lot of poles” (Treballes tallant pales que ell serra molts pals).
Beyond these groups, it distinguishes [j] from [ʎ]: cella/sella, poll/poi, serra/bella.
In part of the Tarragona subdialect (especially in Tarragona city), it distinguishes labiodental [v] from bilabial [b], as in the Balearic Islands and Valencia: “Valleys” (valls), “wind” (vent), “street” (carrer), “sell” (vendre), “wine” (vi), “good” (bo), “sound” (so), “cheap” (barat).
Silencing of occlusive groups at the end of words: -mp, -mb, -nt, -lt, etc., as in Northwestern Catalan.

Desinence [u] in the 1st person singular of the present indicative: “I sing” (cantu). In the Girona dialects, it can receive an occlusive booster: “I sing” (jo càntuc, càntut).
Use of “dues” (two) for the feminine form of the numeral.
Article from “el”, “la” > “l”, “la”. However, in the “salat” subdialect (spoken in towns on the Costa Brava from Blanes to Cadaqués), the article from Latin “ipsu”, “ipsa” > “es”, “sa” is retained. This article was widely distributed during the Middle Ages, as evidenced by place names like Sant Joan Despí, Sant Climent Sescebes, Sant Llorenç Savall, etc. In the 13th century, it was transferred to the Balearic Islands.

**Characteristic words:** “Boy” (noi), “corn” (blat de moro), “sand” (sorra), “lamb” (xai), “broom” (escombra), “cotton wool” (cotó fluix), “spirit of wine” or “spirits” (alcohol etílic), “loquat” (nespra), “snail” (cargol), “pumpkin” (carbassa), “fennel” (fonoll).

Tonic system of eight vowel sounds, including the neutral vowel: “Clean” (net), “cold” (fred), “onion” (ceba), “pear” (pera).
The unstressed /a/ becomes [i] in Menorca and [i], [u] in the other islands (as in Central or Roussillon), but [ə], [i], [u] in most of Mallorca (predominantly non-neutralization of unstressed /o/ to [u]).
Fall of the neutral vowel in words ending in -ia in proparoxytone words: “Cages” (gàbies), “family” (família), as in Roussillon.
Iodization (yeísmo): “Straw” (palla), “leaf” (fulla), “branch” (branca). In some places, the intervocalic -ll- falls: “Straw” (paa), “leaf” (fulla).
Labiodental articulation of [v], as in Valencian, Tarragona, and Alghero: There is no silencing of final occlusive groups, as in the Valencia area: “Deceased” (difunt), “jump” (salt).
Frequent assimilations.

Desinence -Ø in the 1st person present indicative: “I sing” (cant), “I open” (obr).
Desinence -am, -au in the 1st person plural of the present indicative (1st conjugation): “We sing” (cantam), “you sing” (cantau). Compare: “We sing to pay” (cantam per pagar) (subordinate clause in the indicative) / “You pay to sing” (vos pagam per cantar) (subordinate clause in the subjunctive).
Widespread use of the “salat” article: “The” (masculine singular before consonant) (es/so), “the” (feminine singular before consonant) (sa), “the” (masculine singular before vowel) (s’), “the” (feminine singular before vowel) (s’). After the preposition “with” (amb), the masculine article adopts the following variants: singular “so” (with the feet on the ground), plural “sos”. It should be noted that the standard article “el/la/els/les” is used with some nouns (“the world”, “the sky”, “the sea”) in set phrases (“to take the cool air”) and so on.
Regular use of the personal article: “Miquel” (en Biel), “Margarida” (na Margalida).

**Characteristic words and semantic features:** “Boy” (al·lot), “dog” (ca), “to look for” (cercar), “cheek” (galta), “stocking” (mitja), “trousers” (calçons), “hat” (capell), “to be buried” (estar allitat), “it is true” (és ver), “fork” (forquilla), “skirt” (faldeta).
**Semantic peculiarities:** “Snack” (berenar) (breakfast), “seasoning” (temprar) (to dress a salad).