Catalan language

Catalan (Catal&agrave, Valencià) is a Romance language spoken by some 11 million people over these territories of Spain, France, Andorra and Italy:

Catalonia (Catalunya, Spain), where it is coofficial with Spanish.
Valencia (País Valencià, Spain), where it is coofficial with Spanish.
Balearic Islands (Illes Balears, Spain), where it is coofficial with Spanish.
An adjacent strip of Aragon, Spain, (informally known as la Franja)
Andorra, where it is the only official language.
Roussillon (Catalunya Nord, France).
The Sardinian city of l'Alguer (Alghero), where it is coofficial with Italian.

All these areas are also informally referred as Catalan countries).

The Catalan language developed from vulgar Latin in both side of the Pyrenees mountains (Catalan Pirineus, Spanish Pirineos, French Pyrénées). It shares features with Galo-romanic and Ibero-romanic, and it could be said to be in its beginnings but an excentric dialect of Occitan (or of western romanic).

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

Palatalization of Latin word initial L-; e.g. LUNA > lluna (moon); LUPU > 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)
Losing of Latin final unstressed vowels, except -A; and then after some of the resulting consonantic groups a support vowel [@] appears. eg. FAME > fam (hunger); BUCCA > boca (mouth); NOSTRU > nostre (ours, masc. sing.)
In Oriental dialects: Latin short E > closed [e], and Latin long E > neutral vowel [@] 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 romances, betacism or loss of B/V distinction seems to be in Catalan an innovation since the modern era.
Consonantic palatalizations, similar to most romances:
- C+e,i,yod > *[ts] > [s]; e.g. CAELU > cel ['sEl] (sky, or heaven).
- G+e,i,yod > *[dZ] > [Z]; e.g GELU > gel ['ZEl] (ice).
- -Ly-,-LL-,-c'l-,-t'l- > ll [L]; e.g. MULIERE > muller (wife); CABALLU > cavall (horse), but confer other cases like VILLA > vila (town) where the geminate has been simplified; AURICULA > *oric'la > orella (ear); VETULUS > *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. CABALLU > 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. BUCCA > BOCA (mouth), PASSARE > passar (pass).

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), [B] between vowels or liquides; [p] in final position
/t/ 't'
/d/ 'd', [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', [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).
/tS/ 'tx'; sometimes 'ig' after vowels; many exceptions.
/dZ/ 'tj' before 'a,o,u'; 'tg' before 'e,i'; many exceptions.

Fricatives

Fricatives in final position become voiceless.

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

/f/ 'f'
/v/ 'v'. As a separate phoneme from /b/, only in Balearic, Valencian, and areas around Valls (Tarragona).
/s/ 's'; 'ss' between vowels; also 'c' before 'e,i' and 'ç' elsewhere.
/z/ 'z'; 's' between vowels.
/S/ 'x'; 'ix' after vowel. In Occidental variants (Lleida, Valencian), the written form -ix- is pronounced [jS]. In Barcelona, 'x' 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, 'j' in initial position or after nasals is pronounced as affricate [dZ].

Nasals

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

/m/ 'm'
/n/ 'n'
/J/ 'ny', palatal nasal, as in Hungarian

Laterals

/l/ 'l', 'l·l' (this is 'ele geminada', a Catalan characteristic grapheme). Catalan /l/ has a distictive velar resonance, unlike Spanish or French ones.
/L/ 'll', palatal lateral. Catalan /L/ has not merged with /j/, unlike Spanish or French ones did.

Rhotics

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

Vowels

In the Standard vocalic system, only [@,i,u] can appear in unstressed positions.

In Balearics, /@/ 'e', can be a distinct phoneme as well in stressed position.

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

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)
vuit (eight) ['bujt] (1 syllable)
pau (peace) ['pAw] (1 syllable)
bou (ox) ['bOw] (1 syllable)
neu (snow) ['new] (1 syllable)
diu (he says) ['diw] (1 syllable)

But:

dia (day) ['di @] (2 syllables)
cua (tail) ['ku @] (2 syllables)
deia (he said) ['dE j@] (2 syllables)
diuen (they say) ['di w@n] (2 syllables)

Some common phrases

Catalan: Català /k@t@'lA/
hello: hola /'Ol@/
good-bye: adéu /@'DEw/
please: si us plau /sis'plAw/
thank you: gràcies /'grAsi@s/; merci /'mErsi/
sorry: perdó /p@r'Do/
that one: aquest /@'kEt/ (masc.); aquesta /@'kEst@/ (fem.)
how much?: quant val? /'kwAm'bAl/; quant és? /'kwAn'tes/
yes: sí /'si/
no: no /'no/
sorry: perdó /p@r'Do/
I don't understand: No ho entenc /'no w@n'teN/
where's the bathroom?: on és el bany? /'on'ez@l'BaJ/; on és el lavabo? /'on'ez@l'l@'BABu/
generic toast: salut! /s@'lut/;
Do you speak English?: Que parla anglès? /k@ 'parl@ @n'glEs/
Do you speak Catalan?: Que parla català? /k@ 'parl@ k@t@'lA/