History and Evolution of the Catalan Language

Posted on Dec 5, 2024 in Latin

The Catalan Language: 18th to Early 20th Century

The 18th Century: Military Occupation and Repression

The 18th century began with the War of Succession following the death of Charles II. Catalonia largely supported Charles of Austria, while Castile favored Philip of Anjou. Philip V’s victory and the subsequent 1715 Decree of Nueva Planta suppressed Catalan institutions. Catalan was no longer official and faced persecution, leading to a decline in its use. Prohibitions on Catalan affected education, commerce, and publishing. Catalan society became diglossic, with Catalan as the informal, oral language, and Spanish, largely unknown to the population, as the language of power. Some intellectuals abandoned Catalan, but figures like Ignatius Ferreres defended and studied the language. Repression was even harsher in Northern Catalonia, with the French Revolution’s focus on individual rights not extending to linguistic minorities.

The 19th Century: Continued Repression and the Renaissance

Repression of Catalan continued in the 19th century, despite its brief official resurgence during the Napoleonic era. The rising bourgeoisie mirrored the former nobility’s stance on Catalan. The diglossic situation deepened with ongoing prohibitions. However, the latter half of the century saw a shift. Romanticism fueled the Renaixença (Renaissance), a cultural movement aiming to revive Catalan literature and standardize the language. Beginning with Bonaventura Carles Aribau’s La Pàtria in 1833, the Renaixença, centered in Barcelona, impacted Catalan literature. Theater thrived, with novelists like Narcís Oller and poets like Jacint Verdaguer. The restoration of the Floral Games in 1859 provided a crucial platform for the movement. A debate arose regarding Catalan spelling, with “popular Catalan” purists opposing “academic Catalan” proponents who favored the medieval form.

The Road to Standardization

The spelling debate stalled progress for years before a compromise was reached. The Catalan political landscape, driven by rising nationalism, supported the language’s revival. The Provincial Council of Barcelona and the Commonwealth of Catalonia promoted initiatives to modernize the language. The Institute of Catalan Studies (IEC), founded in 1907, codified Catalan spelling under Pompeu Fabra. Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship abolished the IEC, but Fabra completed his Catalan Grammar and dictionaries. Modernism and Noucentisme helped Catalan overcome its decline. However, Primo de Rivera’s repression of Catalan culture and politics reversed this progress. The Second Republic restored Catalan to official use in administration and education, and Catalonia regained autonomy. This ended with Franco’s victory in 1939.

Verb Classification

  1. By Semantic and Syntactic Characteristics:
    • Transitive: Require a direct object (e.g., I always tell the truth).
    • Intransitive: Do not take a direct object but may have a prepositional complement (e.g., I run to catch the train).
    • Ergative: The subject has characteristics similar to a direct object (e.g., Cyclists arrive at the finish).
  2. By Subject-Verb Relationship:
    • Personal: Subject and verb agree in number and person.
    • Impersonal: Lack a specific subject.
  3. By Grammatical Function:
    • Auxiliary: Combine with non-finite verbs to form compound tenses (e.g., I have seen).
    • Lexical: Carry the main meaning (e.g., He slept).
  4. By Morphology:
    • Regular: Follow standard conjugation patterns.
    • Irregular: Deviate from standard patterns.
    • Defective: Lack certain tenses or persons.

Verbal Periphrases

  1. Infinitive Periphrases: Express obligation, probability, imminence, intention, reiteration, inchoative aspect, emphasis, and completion.
  2. Participle Periphrases: Express consequence and result.
  3. Gerund Periphrases: Express duration.

Irregular Verbs

  1. Desinence Irregularities:
    • Insertion of “e” in 1st and 2nd conjugation verbs ending in “s,” “c,” “x,” or “g” before the 2nd person singular present suffix “s.”
    • Euphonic “i” in the 3rd person singular present of verbs like “run,” “come,” “open,” and “fill.”
  2. Lexeme Irregularities:
    • Spelling: Unstressed “a” in verbs like “believe,” “birth,” “lie down,” “do,” “know,” and “fish.”
    • Vowel alternation “o/u” in verbs like “pick,” “cough,” and “want.”
    • Euphonic Lexeme: Verbs ending in “ldre,” “ndre,” or “ler,” plus “have” and “come,” add a euphonic “d” in the future and conditional.
    • Velarized Lexeme: Some verbs have a velarized lexeme (ending in “c,” “qu,” or “gu”) in the preterite, present subjunctive, imperfect subjunctive, and imperative.
    • Diphthong-Ending Lexeme: Changes like “u” to “v” occur in the gerund, imperfect indicative, some present indicative forms, and the imperative. The glide “u” may be dropped, and an antihiatic “i” may appear.