Differences between the three main Catalan dialects
Catalan is spoken in Catalonia, in the region of Valencia, in the Balearic Islands and in a part of Aragó (all of them in Spain). It’s also the official language of Andorra and it’s spoken in the south of France and in an Italian city called L’Alguer. The language can be divided in two blocks: el bloc occidental y el bloc oriental (western and eastern block).
As you can see, part of Catalonia, the south of France, the Balearic Islands and L’Alguer are in the eastern side, while Andorra, part of Aragó and the region of València are in the western side (NOTE: the areas that are not painted in the region of València are the areas where Spanish is the ‘traditional’ language).
The main dialects are: el català oriental, el valencià/nord-occidental i el mallorquí (this is how we call the dialect from the islands. However, the subdialects are eivissenc and menorquí. Some people include l’alguerés here as well, while others don’t). Inside these dialects there are subdialects.
NOTE: To talk about the Balearic Islands and L’Alguer, I’ll use the term “the islands”.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN DIFFERENCES?
The articles change a bit.
Everyone uses “el, la, els, les”, except in the islands, where they use l’article salat (the “salty” article). So, a Catalan speaker would say “Les illes” to talk about the Balearic Islands, but someone from these islands or from L’Alguer would say “Ses Illes”.
He comprat sa casa que volia (I’ve bought the house I wanted) (islands)
He comprat la casa que volia (I’ve bought the house I wanted)
Since there’s a context it’s easier to understand, but if someone from Majorca says “sa casa” (the house), people from other places would understand “his/her house”, since “sa” is like “la seua”, a possessive pronoun.
sa llengua (the language)
ses llengües (the languages)
I’m going to be honest: if you can understand someone from the islands you deserve a C2 certificate.
1 PERSON SINGULAR IN THE PRESENT TENSE
Depending on the dialect, a person will say:
penso pense pens (I think)
penso: in Catalonia, in the map, the areas called “Central” and “Septentrional”
pense: in Valencian and the Nord-occidental dialect
pens: in the islands. This is the oldest form, it’s been found in the oldest Catalan texts.
Penso que tens raó (I think you’re right)
Pense que tens raó (I think you’re right)
Pens que tens raó (I think you’re right)
Obviously this doesn’t happen if the verb ends in a consonant (example, jo crec (i believe/think))
Possessives change a bit as well, but just one letter!
In the western block people say “la meua casa” “la teua casa” “la seua casa” “les meues cases” “les teues cases” “les seues cases”. However, in the eastern side people will say “la meva casa” “la teva casa” “la seva casa” “les meves cases” “les teves cases” “les seves cases”.
La meua amiga és molt alta. (My friend is very tall)
La meva amiga és molt alta.
Like Spanish or English or any other language, there are some vocabulary differences. There many words, but I’ve just listed some:
(male form. in order: western block, central Catalan and the islands)
xiquet nen nin/fiet/boix (child)
tomaca tomata tomàtiga (tomatoe)
You can use whatever word you want, people will understand you. This is like saying “lift” to an American, they know it means “elevator”.
This video (in Catalan) explains the vocabulary differences, including L’Alguer.
1 PERSON IN THE PRESENT OF SUBJUNCTIVE
The ending of the verbs in the first person of the present tense in subjunctive changes as well.
Example: potser compri un llibre (I might buy a book) (eastern)
potser compre un llibre (I might buy a book) (western)
There are some more differences in the subjunctive. Example:
Que parle qui ho haja fet (Whoever has done it must speak up) (western)
Que parli qui ho hagi fet (Whoever has done it must speak up) (eastern)
The pronunciation changes a bit as well, but this is easier to see if you listen, rather than reading. Some examples:
Some from the eastern side would say “doctah”, like the British, while people from the western side will say each letter.
Also, in the eastern side the “e” sounds like a “a” (more or less) when it is not the stressed letter.
In an eastern Catalan, you’d hear “poetas”, although the “a” sound will be quite weak.
Same happens with the “o”, if it isn’t a strong one it sounds like an “u”. Example: portar. Wirtten “portar” but pronounced “purtar” in the eastern side.
The video form the 80s every student has watched in high school: “Compraré peres” (in Catalan)
Of course, there are many more differences, if you want to add any (or correct anything) feel free to do so!