r/catalan • u/SnooSquirrels9915 • 4d ago
Pregunta ❓ Catalan / Spanish in Catalunya
Hi everyone! i'm from switzerland and when i was a kid my family would go on vacation in a a town near tarragona. i used to be friends with a local group of kids back then (we were around 13) and i asked them when they spoke spanish and when catalan. they said that they had to speak catalan in school but with friends and family they'd always speak spanish.
i'm guessing it's not like that for everyone (i once asked for directions in spanish in barcelona and the woman cussed me out and told me to speak catalan here).
so i was wondering how it is in "general", when and where do people in catalunya speak spanish and when do they speak catalan. Does it depend on the social circle or where you live, maybe it really differs from town to town? or how do you (if you're from there) do it, what is your "relationship" with each language? what do you consider your "main" language
thank you for sharing! :)
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u/GasolinePrius 4d ago
Real catalan people will always prioritize catalan over spanish.
Then, catalan renegades that come from catalan families, will be able to speak catalan perfectly but prefer spanish (presumably for politic reasons).
Spanish respectful people coming over Catalunya will try to learn the language.
Spanish non-respectful people will neglect catalan.
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u/Ok_Flamingo_9066 4d ago
Non Catalan here who speaks Catalan and thanks to using Catalan felt Catalonia like home, despite a few people consider me an outsider.
If you speak the language of the land: 1st you help to keep the culture alive and 2nd you make yourself like at home.
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u/jprava 4d ago
What the heck is a "real" catalan?
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u/GasolinePrius 4d ago
Someone that, apart from residing, working, paying taxes, creating bond with the community and etc. there, also uses and defends the language that represents its people historically.
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u/dry_lichen 4d ago
If you look at the latest polls (https://llengua.gencat.cat/ca/detalls/noticia/Presentacio-EULP2023), 32.6% of the population use Catalan as their habitual language, 46% use Spanish as their habitual language and 9.4% have no preference for one or the other.
It varies by region, with the south (Terres de l'Ebre) having the highest percentage of Catalan as habitual language (66.8%) and the Barcelona metropolitan area having the lowest (24.7%). It also varies from city to city and from neighourhood to neighbourhood.
Personally, I almost always speak Catalan; I only switch to Spanish when I speak with somebody who doesn't understand Catalan. I do have some friends that prefer to speak Spanish, and we tend to have bilingual conversations
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u/bronquoman 4d ago
El bilingüisme porta a la mort del català.
No el practiquis.
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u/dry_lichen 4d ago
Amb "converses bilingües" em referia que jo parlo català i ells em responen en castellà. La conversa és bilingue encara que jo no canviï l'idioma
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u/Dear-Pin-8698 2d ago
Resisteix, no fos pas que et venguin a buscar en els teus somnis i et se'n duguin per parlar l'altra llengua de la terra! jajajajaj
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u/riotinareasouthwest 4d ago
It's very dependant in the person you will address to. But also, different areas of Catalonia will have greater concentrations of specific types. For instance, Tarragona has a high Spanish immigrant population in the main city, so it's expected to find people who defaults to Spanish. If you go to interior villages, people will talk Catalan greatly. Oh, and that woman that just asked you to talk Catalan? Yes, we have that types also; and the types that would scream this is Spain speak Spanish? Yes, unfortunately, we have that as well. If you asked me, I would speak with you the language that you can or you address me first, but I can tell you I would be very (pleasenty) surprised to hear you in Catalan.
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u/PerracaAmor 4d ago edited 4d ago
I am an immigrant from the US living in Maresme (the comarca just north of Barcelona). My Spanish is about A2/B1 and my Catalan is for sure A1 but the proud culture and the language, has me mixing a bit of catalan in with my castellano when I speak to my neighbors… It’s respectful and a little goes a long way. My kids speak catalan at school and castellano on the playground.
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u/Wall38_0 4d ago
How do you get around if you don't mind me asking? In my experience most people barely speak English (in Barcelona)
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u/PerracaAmor 4d ago
in Barcelona I hear loads of english out on the streets and work at an international company that requires english, but mostly catalan is spoken in the office… i love the way it sounds. in my pueblo its a little more challenging, i do my best and find if i use my limited castellano and throw in 10 % catalan its just enough to have the catalans like me enough to speak to me in castellano…haha
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u/Heavy-Conversation12 4d ago
Ideally always but it's declining - that is why some people get defensive/protective over it or at least more pro-active (not changing to spanish at the smallest hint, usually racially based which makes it in fact racist).
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u/bronquoman 4d ago
Racisme es imposar l'idioma on no es natural.
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u/Heavy-Conversation12 4d ago
No crec que l'ètnia tingui res a veure amb la teva observació - no som una raça sinó una cultura. El meu punt és el següent: en quin idioma li parla la gent al repartidor de glovo que ve a casa i que possiblement pel seu aspecte no sigui nadiu? en castellà. Aquí està el racisme, en assumir directament que una persona llatinoamericana o àrab no sap ni un bri de català o que no el pot entendre.
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u/random_usuari 4d ago
No és racisme. És autoodi. Molts catalans pensen que el català és una llengua d'estar per casa i que per això els forasters no faran l'esforç d'aprendre-la.
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u/Heavy-Conversation12 3d ago
Completament d'acord. Per defecte no acostumem a donar prou autoritat a la nostra llengua. Entenc que és un esforç, que al bar de xinesos i a la botiga de queviures potser no t'acabaran d'entendre i que pot semblar que ho fem per tocar els collons, això de parlar-los en català quan prou feina tenen a parlar una llengua nova diferent. Però que no es digui que alguns no ho intentem.
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u/bronquoman 3d ago
Qui s'ha d'esforçar són els de fora.
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u/Heavy-Conversation12 3d ago edited 3d ago
Hi estic d'acord, s'hi han d'esforçar, així com nosaltres ens hem d'esforçar en facilitar les coses. La conversa hauria de ser bidireccional.
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u/bronquoman 3d ago
Fa un segle que ens esforcem i no ha servit de res.
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u/bronquoman 2d ago
Som una nació, és a dir, una ètnia.
Posa-li les etiquetes que vulguis però voler fer creure que les nacions o ètnies són només "software" és afirmar una falsedat.
Parlar a un estranger en castellà no és racisme.
És un costum submissió lingüística apresa dels Avantpassats per evitar la opressió castellana espanyola.
Perquè els castellans són estrangers.
Som una colònia.
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u/Super_Holder 4d ago
I speak always catalan, in little situations where I am forced I speak spanish. I wished there was a recognized right to not speak a language different than that of your land, but colonizing countries like russia, france, china or spain use their power to impose their languages trying to destroy any cultural minority or any form of diversity from that of the centralizing ruling power. Unfortunately spaniards are less educated and make little efford to learn catalan, while all catalans speak spanish.
My advice, if you want to communicate for work/business then speak english, ig you want to understand and connect with the people and culture then speak catalan, if you want to communicate for many life-useless cases, then speak spanish.
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u/LarsiSpasi 2d ago
Spain cannot be compared to Russia, France or China in any similar way. They differ in intent, scale and more factors. Nobody forbids you from speaking Catalan, the controversy and friction comes from Spaniards generalizing Catalans, and Catalans generalizing Spaniards.
The friction also occurs when certain regions view themselves as victim Entity A, completely different and distinct from the rest "evil" Entity B, when that is ultimately not true. Spain is not your enemy, and Catalans aren't the only ones that exist, there are MANY regions, many cultures and many ideals.
Ultimately, the most widespread is Spanish, that is a fact not a forceful implementation. If Catalan were the majority, then someone would be complaining that the Catalans are being oppressive. It's situational, and division is not the solution. We can talk for an eternity about what the dictatorship did wrong or what the government is doing wrong right now, but that doesn't mean they represent everyone except the Catalans, and therefore everyone else is of pure evil and low intellect.
In short, you are not being suppressed (which seems to be your implication), and "spain" isn't a label of hatred against Catalans, but a name that encompasses MANY people and cultures that are to some extend shared on the Iberian peninsula.
Finally Spanish isn't a life-useless language and definitely is used for business all around the world..
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u/Super_Holder 2d ago
You have no idea but if you are happy with your own song, which is in line with spanish propaganda, there you go.
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u/LarsiSpasi 2d ago
You replied with no counter-arguments. If anyone reads, spread love not hate. Please. We don't have to hate each other, especially not on sweeping claims.
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u/Dear-Pin-8698 2d ago
dude, Franco in under 6 feet since 50+ years ! Even longe than he was ruling ESP... give me a break !
CAT is just the weapon used to defend the privileges of a select few.
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u/Constant_Fortune_724 2d ago
"Unfortunately Spaniards are less educated" wow, so much supremacism concentrated in just one sentence.
I wonder how many life-useless cases can be drawn from the conversations of +400 million people who speak Spanish natively.
I wonder if, for you, it is possible defending the use of your language and the conservation of your culture without having to insult or demean others.
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u/Super_Holder 2d ago
Oh wait, now you are straight up lying and thats on you. Speaking spanish doesnt make you a spanniard. Totally different things. Indeed there are 10 times less spaniards than native spanish speakers worldwide. For instance, a mexican would never consider itself a spanniard.
Yes, I said spanniards are less educated in general and that is sustained with data, while over 99% of catalan speakers speak spanish perfectly, roughly 50% of spanniards living in catalonia for decades never make the slighliest efford to learn the language and always make/demand/expect other change to their languages without exception. That is the exact definition of supremacism, come to Valencia and test it yourself. That is not an insult or demeanor, its just the way many (over ,50%) spanniards are by own choice in these regions. I made it clear that this is unfortunate.
Hope it is clear to you now.
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u/Constant_Fortune_724 2d ago
You lack reading comprehension skills. I didn't say all people who speak Spanish are Spaniards, simply pointed out your comment about a "life-useless" language shared by 400+ million people.
Your measure of education is simply how many languages one speaks, and not other skills. That is very funny, especially considering how many spelling mistakes you have made in just two comments ("Spaniards", not "spanniards", "unfortunately", not "unfortunatelly", etc).
I would suggest being a bit humbler and checking out your own supremacism when you speak about other people who may or may not have your ability to be bilingual (and might be better educated than you in other aspects). But this is reddit and I know you won't think about it and you will probably end up showing your own fears and insecurities by insulting me in the next comments.
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u/Super_Holder 2d ago
You say I lack comprehension skills but it seems you are yet not able to see the title of this post. It is about languages in Catalonia. There are not 400 million spanish speakers in catalonia since its population is 9 milion. I think you really dont want to understand my point or the point of this post. You are just mad that some realities are not as you would like. Neither do I, but at least I am open minded to see and acknowledge them. With regard my english spell mistakes, yeah, I'm not native and this is a social network. All the best!
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u/Constant_Fortune_724 2d ago
I responded to your claims, not to the post ;) you claim you are open minded, yet you insult Spanish-speakers in Catalonia and Valencia, and claim that Spanish is a "life-useless language". I see.
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2d ago edited 2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Constant_Fortune_724 2d ago
I never insulted you ;) again, reading comprehension needed here. There is and has been supremacism and xenophobia in Catalonia against migrants for over a century, but I guess you don't see it. It is safer to play the victim and believe one is at the losing end of a great conspiracy than thinking critically about one's beliefs.
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u/Super_Holder 2d ago
Indeed these vast population (we are talking milions, around 30-60% of the population) of spanniards that PRACTICE cultural supremacism, colonialism, substitution, on a daily basis, supported by the state, and against the local original culture and language, can be called in my humble opinion ignorants, because they ignore a language they should know, and because they ignore the harm they cause to human diversity spreading their ignorance, and can be called less educated because they are not educated enough to not impose their language to locals. But indeed those terms are too soft and kind, should be called indeed supremacists as they not only think their language is superior, they impose and practise it. Not just masses of people, also most judges, police and figures of power. I was trying to be kind, but things are, again UNFORTUNATELLY, like this. I wished they were not.
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u/Healthy_Ad3702 4d ago
I bet your roots are andalusian
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u/Super_Holder 4d ago
I bet you are spanish, spaniards are very nationalistic, hateful people towards minorities, but we catalans are not like you. In catalonia the place of origin doesnt matter. I am catalan regardless of my origin wether you like it or not. We all come from Africa after all.
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u/TheHotHeart 4d ago
As a general rule, we always speak Catalan. Nonetheless, there are a lot of Spanish migrants and descendants of Spanish migrants in Catalonia who have Spanish as their native language. For these people, it depends on their background and ideology; they can range from using Catalan only if it's required for their job to only using Spanish with their parents. Also, there are towns near Barcelona where 90% of the population is descended from Spaniards or Spanish migrants and it is like nearly living in Spain, linguistically speaking. I worked for years in these towns and there are even some people who had only used Catalan in school and had problems speaking Catalan.
Personally, I'm different from most Catalans. I always speak Catalan in the Catalan Countries if they speak to me in Spanish and only change to Spanish if it looks like the other person doesn't understand me or says that they don't know Catalan and ask kindly to speak in Spanish, which rarely happens. Most of the people that I know use Spanish if the other person speaks Spanish or looks foreign.
About the Spanish language in Catalonia, I don't have an issue with there being people in Catalonia speaking in Spanish and I like that in Catalonia there are people from different cultures, but I hate the people and political parties that want to push Spanish to be the lingua franca or to be at the same level as Catalan. They say that it is to integrate people, but they never want the same for other languages that are in Catalonia like Darija, Amazigh, Russian, or any other language. For me, they are fucking colonizers and imperialists.
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u/random_usuari 4d ago edited 4d ago
Catalans speak Catalan everywhere: at home, at work, at school, at the market, when out socialising, … The only times where they often hold back from speaking Catalan are with the Spanish police and in court, because they think that if they speak Catalan there they will be at a disadvantage. And also with aggressive Castilians, also out of fear.
Your friends are probably the children of Castilian immigration. There are many of them on the Tarragona coast.
Catalonia is one of the regions that has received the most immigration in the world, in proportion, from 1900 to the present day. Immigrants who arrived before 1939 have largely integrated into Catalan society, but those who arrived after 1939 have done so less and less. And their children and grandchildren still speak exclusively Spanish.
Imagine if two million German immigrants went to the Swiss Romandy and for generations refused to speak French or Romand/Franco-Provençal. That is what is happening in Catalonia.
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u/Wall38_0 4d ago
I'm curious though. How come like 99% of Catalans speak fluent Spanish if they don't speak it in their everyday life? From school and media exclusively?
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u/random_usuari 4d ago
Catalans now make up only a third of Catalonia's population, and more than 200,000 Spanish-speaking immigrants arrive each year. We are constantly exposed to Spanish.
Catalans over 55 didn't learn to write in Catalan because it was forbidden. And despite the effort to normalize Catalan, many Castilianizing dynamics continued after the formal ban ended, and Catalan remains sidelined in many areas.
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u/Dear-Pin-8698 2d ago
not at school where kids are supposed to have 25% of the classes held in ESP but not always complied and havin PE in ESP among them.
The real truth is that despite talking about CAT needs to be the only language spoken in CAT, nobody wants their kids to become the first generation only speaking CAT... and that situtation is cahsing the extremist people here.
You can see it yourself, challenge them to raise their kids only in CAT... ;-)
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u/its_mayo0 4d ago
Hi! So we all speak catalan at school as your friend said, and we also tend to use catalan for more formal stuff. It depends on the family you grew up with, your social circle, your town/city.. Here in Catalonia many people that are old now arrived decades ago from southern Spain looking for better job opportunities. Obviously, these people had to adapt and everybody speaks catalan, but those families tend to use Spanish on their social circle like family and friends and catalan for work, school, talking to strangers.. Of course this has some exceptions, many people that originally came from southern Spain started speaking catalan as their main language, or in my case, my family is catalan and yet I speak Spanish with my family and friends (some of my cousins speak catalan with each other though) People from big cities also will generally speak Spanish much more often than in small towns or villages, where people tend to speak catalan as a main language, nevertheless we all mostly dominate both languages and have no issue speaking the other
Personally, something I have noticed is that oftentimes people from wealthier families (not necessarily rich, just with great economic stability) tend to speak catalan. It is also spoken by average families, but I find it curious because historically catalan has been seen as a language for the poor and the illiterates, and some people didn't even consider it a real language, and it's like now the tables have turned lmao
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u/bronquoman 4d ago
Els rics parlen castellà. Des de 1939 ja no que un bri de burgesia catalana. Tots són espanyols.
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u/Xiguet C2 4d ago edited 4d ago
I've always spoken Catalan with my family because we are not immigrants, which makes us something of an exception nowadays. At school, I mostly spoke Catalan, but I don't think that will be the case for most schools in 2026. I am fluent in Spanish, but I try to avoid using it as much as possible because I hate it. It's the language of the enemy, and I'm fed up with being forced to use it.
40% of Catalonia's population are first generation immigrants, 30% are second generation immigrants, and 10% are children of ethnically mixed families. The majority of these immigrants are Spanish and Spanish Americans who speak Spanish, hate us and consider themselves superior to everyone else. Native Catalans are being wiped out of our land, minorized, discriminated, marginalized, and humiliated by colonizers who want us to adopt their language, culture, and identity.
There are many former Catalans who gave up on their mother tongue and ancestral identity, but there is an also an important number of Catalans refusing to abandon their mother tongue and identity in favour of Spanish.
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u/Wall38_0 4d ago
When I visited Barcelona for a few days, I loved seeing and hearing Catalan everywhere. 90% of street signs, posters etc were in Catalan.
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u/random_usuari 4d ago
This is an area in which we have clearly improved. There are probably more street signs and posters in Catalan than ever before.
But it's not easy. On commercial posters, they are all too often error-filled machine translations, with no care or proofreading.
We often take one step forward and one step back. We get something new in Catalan, but at the same time, we lose something else that was in Catalan and ceases to be.
Google Maps translates into Spanish the names of many places that have their only official name in Catalan. Even business names, without the business owner's consent.
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u/vell_xaruc 4d ago
It's simple: Catalans speak Catalan. If someone doesn't speak it, they might live in Catalonia, but they aren't Catalan. Since we don't have a state, being or not being Catalan is an inner feeling, and one way to express it is through the language.
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u/Mightsole 4d ago edited 4d ago
Does it depend on the social circle or where you live
Yes, inside my social sardana circle, it’s all about talking catalan or become a paella topping.
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u/AprendizdeBrujo 4d ago
Catalan is my primary language, but it is really difficult to always maintain it. Nowadays in Barcelona, most conversations are started in Spanish by default in many shops and services, and I can only keep using Catalan with my close circle of friends and family.
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u/random_usuari 4d ago edited 4d ago
Jo visc a Barcelona i parlo català a les botigues, bars i a tot arreu. I els meus pares viuen a l'AMB a un barri amb només el 15% de catalans, i hi parlen català a tot arreu. Encara hi ha botigues de catalans, bars de catalans, associacions de catalans, clubs esportius catalans, … Als mercats municipals s'hi parla català.
Si vas a llocs per a guiris o per a dominicans, et pot passar el que dius. Però jo parlo català fins i tot a la Casa Regional de Sòria sense cap problema.
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u/bronquoman 4d ago
Jo mantinc el català des de fa 30 anys a Barcelona.
Canvia el xip.
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u/AprendizdeBrujo 4d ago
Doncs no sé com t’ho fas, jo visc a St.Antoni i ho intento sempre, però a l’escoleta i als parcs on vaig amb el meu fill un munt de famílies no l’entenen, al supermercat Bonpreu encara, però en bars i restaurants de la zona és força difícil.
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u/bronquoman 3d ago
Simplement fent-ho. Així dones exemple a ton fill.
Canviant-te d'idioma el que fas és ensenyar al teu fill a ser submís.
No li fas cap favor.
I als de fora tampoc.
Els de fora s'han d'adaptar als de dintre. Sinó tot és un absurd.
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u/tonybomdia 3d ago
I lived in a suburb of Barcelona mostly local people
I am from the UK and speak perfect Castilian they don’t call it Spanish in Catalunya
I remember my first experience was when I was getting my NIE
I went to the government department to sort it out and was speaking in Castilian and was told we don’t use that language here
I apologised but said I don’t speak Catalan that’s ok she said we will do this in English
Also it was the World Cup when was on and I bought an España football top to wear as I loved my new adopted country
I had many people stop me in the street and tell me not to wear it they were not rude but were worried about my safety
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u/random_usuari 3d ago
Catalonia is not Spain. If you love Spain, please go there. You wouldn't walk around Kyiv wearing a Russia top.
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u/Ok_Treacle6602 2d ago
"(i once asked for directions in spanish in barcelona and the woman cussed me out and told me to speak Catalan here)."
What bad luck some people have when it comes to this. I have been living in BCN for 4 years now, and I have never spoken Spanish to anyone here, and they cussed me out. (Yes, I am talking about places outside of Barna like Girona, Sitges, Llívia etc.)
But then again, I make it pretty clear from the beginning that I speak some Catalan. A bon dia/bona tarda, (una bossa) sisplau can make a huge difference. I have nothing but compassion for this country and their language, I have never had any issue with any Catalan person.
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u/Dear-Pin-8698 2d ago
"i'm guessing it's not like that for everyone (i once asked for directions in spanish in barcelona and the woman cussed me out and told me to speak catalan here)." --> there are rude people everywhere.
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u/jprava 4d ago
Real answer?
Some people DO or DON'T speak catalan for political reasons.
Some people DO or DON'T speak catalan for non-political reasons.
IE there isn't a single reason why some people do or don't speak it. I know families that are catalan-spoken on both sides of the family yet the children speak in spanish among them. Or families with the same background in which spouses speak in spanish to each other. Yet speak with other people or family in catalan without issue.
Some people see languages as political statements. Other simply as tools. In any case, what happens to me is that once I'm used to a specific language with someone... its hard to change that. This means that I use spanish with people that are perfectly happy to speak in catalan (and use with my parents and their families, for instance), etc.
But I'm not catalan nor I have ever lived in catalonia so the language is not really a political statement for me or people around me. Also, I believe the language will survive on its own or it won't. And forcing people to use it is pointless and stupid. For a very simple reason: if you force people to do something they will tend to do the opposite. Also, I use spanish for anything that needs to be written (even when writing among catalan-speaking coleagues) as our catalan dialect has no proper written form and writing the standard seems useless when I can write better spanish.
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u/mermoz30 3d ago
On va te répondre tout et n'importe quoi, mais dans la pratique il n'y pratiquement que dans la province de Girone que le Catalan domine, et est plus indispensable, et de toute façon tout le monde parle espagnol, si quelqu'un refuse de le parler, c'est seulement pas choix.
Et enfin si tu viens y vivre, et d'autant plus pour un francophone, il est trés facile de comprendre le catalan, et ensuite de commencer à le parler un epu.
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u/zoeybeattheraccoon 4d ago edited 4d ago
I'm from the U.S. but have been living in Barcelona for a while, just for full disclosure.
In short, I've found that the farther away from Barcelona I get, the more Catalan is spoken. I have a friend who lives in the pre-Pirineu and have gone to meet her friends and family and it's 100% Catalan. Her parents are from Andalusia and in the house they speak Spanish but outside they speak Catalan for professional and social reasons. She speaks a weird, fluid mix of both with her sister (it's hard to follow). But when I went to Olot or Vic or La Seu d'Urgell or other places I was very glad I can speak Catalan.
In Barcelona I've found that it can be heavily neighborhood dependent. The closer you get to the touristy areas, the more Spanish (and English) you hear. In the neighborhoods where I live and work the default seems to be Catalan in shops and restaurants, but people switch to Spanish easily.
In my office of around 40 people, around 5 know only Spanish. The rest know some combination of Catalan, Spanish and English. Daily conversations are about 50/50 Catalan/Spanish. I have a default language with each individual, including some in English.
In restaurants, shops, etc. I always start in Catalan and usually get it back, especially if they know me. Once in a while I'll still get a menu handed to me in English because I look like someone who doesn't speak the local languages.
A few months ago the butcher shop I've been going to for years hired a new lady. She is very nice and I heard her speaking Catalan like the rest of the employees. The first few times we spoke in Catalan and then one day she started using Spanish with me. Same thing the next time I went back. So I asked her (nicely), "you speak Catalan, right? Just curious why you're speaking to me in Spanish." She said, "well Catalan is my 2nd language and since you're not from here I figured you'd be more comfortable using Spanish." I said, "my Spanish is better but I like practicing Catalan" and she said, "ok we'll both practice Catalan from now on then!" and it's been a bit of a running joke ever since.