The Catalan language: the quick facts
Where it's spoken, who speaks it, and why it matters so much to people in Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands.
📱 Learning Spanish too? My app's free to start.
Try my app free 📱Where is Catalan spoken?
- Catalonia: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona
- The Balearic Islands: Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera
- Valencia, where it's called valencià
- Andorra, where it's the only official language
- A strip of Aragon along the Catalan border
- The south of France around Perpignan
- Alghero, a town in Sardinia, Italy
How many people speak it?
About 9.7 million people say they can speak Catalan (Plataforma per la Llengua, InformeCAT 2025). Plenty more understand it.
Is Valencian a different language?
Valencian is the name used in Valencia for the same language. There are some differences in words and accent, a bit like British and American English, but speakers understand each other fine.
The main accents
| Accent | Where | What you'll notice |
|---|---|---|
| central | Barcelona and around | Soft vowels. The one most learners hear first. |
| valencià | Valencia | Clearer vowels, some different words |
| balear | Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza | Says es and sa for "the" (es Molí, sa Platja) |
| nord-occidental | Lleida | Clearer vowels, close to valencià |
A very short history
- Middle Ages: Catalan grows out of Latin. Some of the oldest texts written in it are from the late 1100s.
- 1200s: Ramon Llull, from Mallorca, writes books on philosophy and science in Catalan, at a time when most scholars wrote in Latin.
- 1900s: under Franco's dictatorship (1939 to 1975) Catalan was pushed out of schools and public life.
- Today: it's co-official in Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands, taught in schools, and used on TV, radio and road signs.
That history is why speaking a bit of Catalan means a lot to people there. It's not just a holiday nicety.
What it looks like
Catalan uses the same alphabet as English, plus ç, l·l and accents. You'll see it on signs, menus and buses all over Catalonia. Learn the sounds and you can read most of them out loud.
See how it compares on the Catalan vs Spanish page, or jump into the beginners' guide.
Keep going: Catalan vs Spanish · Catalan culture · Catalan for beginners · All the free Catalan guides, flashcards and games.
Learning Spanish too? 📱
One subscription gets you my full video course, in the right order, in an app you carry everywhere. Plus loads of fun games.
Start free on the app 🚀Free to start. Spain Spanish, taught by Sam.
Questions people ask
Where is Catalan spoken?
Catalonia, Valencia (as Valencian), the Balearic Islands, Andorra, part of Aragon, the south of France around Perpignan and Alghero in Sardinia.
How many people speak Catalan?
About 9.7 million people say they can speak it, according to Plataforma per la Llengua's InformeCAT 2025.
Is Valencian the same as Catalan?
Yes, it's the same language with its own name, accent and some different words.
Is Catalan an official language?
Yes. It's the only official language of Andorra, and co-official with Spanish in Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands.
Learning Spanish too? 📱 My app teaches Spain Spanish with games and quizzes. Free to start.
Try the app