Catalan language

Catalan
Catalan
Valencian
català, valencià
Pronunciation	[kətəˈla], [valensiˈa]
Native to	Andorra, Spain, France, Italy
Region	Southern Europe
Ethnicity	Catalans; Aragonese from La Franja; Balears; Valencians
Speakers	L1: 4.1 million (2012); L2: 5.1 million; Total: 9.2 million
Language family	Indo-European Italic Latino-Faliscan Latin Romance Italo-Western Western Romance Gallo-Iberian? Gallo-Romance Occitano-Romance Catalan; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Early forms	Old Latin Vulgar Latin Proto-Romance Old Occitan Old Catalan ; ; ; ;
Standard forms	Catalan (regulated by the IEC); Valencian (regulated by the AVL);
Dialects	Valencian; Balaeric (including Menorcan); Central; Roussillonese; Algherese; Northwestern; Ribagorçan; Judaeo-Catalan †; Patuet;
Writing system	Latin (Catalan alphabet); Catalan Braille
Signed forms	Signed Catalan
Official status
Official language in	Andorra; Italy Alghero, Sardinia; Spain Balearic Islands; Catalonia; Valencian Community (as Valencian);
Recognised minority; language in	France Northern Catalonia, Occitania; Spain La Franja, Aragon; Carche, Region of Murcia (as Valencian);
Regulated by	Institut d'Estudis Catalans; Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua
Language codes
ISO 639-1	ca
ISO 639-2	cat
ISO 639-3	cat
Glottolog	stan1289
Linguasphere	51-AAA-e
	Territories where Catalan/Valencian is spoken and is official Territories where Catalan/Valencian is spoken but is not official Territories where Catalan/Valencian is not historically spoken but is official
	Standard Catalan is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Catalan (/ˈkætələn, -æn/ KAT-ə-lən, -⁠lan or /ˌkætəˈlæn/ KAT-ə-LAN; autonym: català, Eastern Catalan: [kətəˈla]), known in the Valencian Community and Carche as Valencian (autonym: valencià), is a Western Romance language. It is the official language of Andorra, and an official language of three autonomous communities in eastern Spain: Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community, where it is called Valencian. It has semi-official status in the Italian comune of Alghero, and it is spoken in the Pyrénées-Orientales department of France and in two further areas in eastern Spain: the eastern strip of Aragon and the Carche area in the Region of Murcia. The Catalan-speaking territories are often called the Països Catalans or "Catalan Countries".

The language evolved from Vulgar Latin in the Middle Ages around the eastern Pyrenees. Nineteenth-century Spain saw a Catalan literary revival, culminating in the early 1900s.

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