Catalan orthography

::llar**g** ('long') ↔ llar**g**ària ('length') ::pròdi**g** ('prodigal') ↔ prodi**g**ar ('to waste, to lavish') ::blan**c** ('white') ↔ blan**c**or ('whiteness') ::ar**c** ('arch') ↔ ar**c**ada ('arcade, retching') ::pràcti**c** ('practical') ↔ practi**c**ar ('to practice') :EXCEPTIONS: It is written c, despite having derivatives with g, in some plain or grave words (paroxytones), like aràbi**c** 'Arabic', bròfe**c** ('sullen, scorched'), càrre**c** ('charge, position [work]'), espàrre**c** ('asparagus'), etc. :NOTE: In the past, the digraph ch was used in final position, to represent the sound , spelling that is still preserved in some lineages: Doméne**ch** 'Doménech', Mar**ch** 'March', Pitar**ch** 'Pitarch', Estru**ch** 'Estruch', etc. ### The representation of the sound [s]: the spellings s, ss, c and ç #### The spelling s The voiceless fricative alveolar sound is represented by s in the following cases: :a) At the beginning of a word: **s**alut ('health, greeting'), **s**enyor ('lord, owner, mister'). :b) Between consonant and vowel or between vowel and consonant: an**s**a ('handle'), a**s**pecte ('aspect'). :c) At the end of a word: go**s** ('dog'), excel**s** ('of great excellence'). :EXCEPTIONS: Some words from other languages are written with z, such as hert**z** ('hertz'), and the noun brun**z** (buzz), from the verb brun**z**ir (to buzz). :d) After certain prefixes and prefixed forms: a**s**imetria ('asymmetry'), anti**s**ocial ('antisocial'), contra**s**enya ('password'), multi**s**ecular ('multisecular'), poli**s**èmia ('polysemy'), psico**s**omàtic ('psychosomatic'), dino**s**aure ('dinosaur'), etc. :e) In compound words whose second formant is written with an initial s: esclata-**s**ang ('bloody/saffron milk cap'), para-**s**ol ('parasol, sunshade'). #### The spelling ss The voiceless fricative alveolar sound is represented by ss between vowels: ba**ss**a ('pond'), pa**ss**ar ('to pass'). NOTE: The spelling ss preceded by a consonant may also appear in words in which a prefix ending in s, such as trans- or sots-, is attached to a root beginning with s (tran**ss**exual 'transsexual', tran**ss**iberià 'trans-Siberian', sot**ss**ecretari 'sub-secretary') and in the plurals of cultured formation qual**ss**evol ('any, whichever') and qual**ss**evulla ('any, whichever'). #### The spellings c and ç For etymological reasons, the sound is also represented by the spellings c and ç in certain cases: :a) It is represented by ç before a, o, u and at the end of a word: confian**ç**a ('trust'), lli**ç**ó ('lesson'), ven**ç**ut ('won, expired'), feli**ç** ('happy'). :b) It is represented by c before e, i: **c**eba ('onion'), bi**c**icleta ('bicycle'). :NOTE: In the most common pronunciation, the sc group also represents the sound in words such as pi**sc**ina ('pool') and a**sc**ensor ('lift'). ### The representation of the sound [z]: The spellings s and z The voiced fricative alveolar sound is represented by the spellings z or s, according to the following rules: :a) It is represented by z in word-initial position and between consonant and vowel: **z**ebra ('zebra'), pin**z**ell ('paint brush'). :EXCEPTIONS: Derivatives and compounds of fons, dins and trans are written with s: enfon**s**ar ('to send down, to sink'), endin**s**ar ('to put in, to go into'), tran**s**atlàntic ('transatlantic'), etc. :b) It is represented by s between vowels: ca**s**a ('house'), revi**s**ió ('review'). :EXCEPTIONS: Some loans and cultisms (learned borrwings) are written with z in intervocalic position: bi**z**antí ('Byzantine'), proto**z**ou ('protozoo'), na**z**isme ('Nazism'), buldò**z**er ('bulldozer'), etc. ### The spelling tz In certain heritage words, the spelling tz represents the alveolar affricate phonetic group : do**tz**e ('twelve'), tre**tz**e ('thirteen'), se**tz**e ('sixteen'). This same group is also used, with the phonetic value of , in the graphic representation of verbs formed with the suffix -itzar (and derivatives), such as caracteri**tz**ar ('characterize'), reali**tz**ació ('realization'), etc. ### The representation of the sounds [ʒ] and [dʒ]: The spellings g, j, tg and tj The voiced fricative palatal sound (Catalan) or the affricate palatal sound (Valencian) is represented by the consonants g and j, according to the following rules: :a) It is represented by g before e, i: àn**g**el ('angel'), à**g**il ('agile'). :EXCEPTIONS: For etymological reasons, j is written before e in certain cases, such as **j**erarquia ('hierarchy'), **j**eroglífic ('hieroglyphs'), **j**ersei ('jersey'), **j**esuïta ('Jesuit'), ma**j**estat ('majesty'), etc., and before the groups -ecc- and -ect-: in**j**ecció ('injection'), ob**j**ecte ('object'), etc. In fewer cases, and mainly in loanwords, j is also found before i (Bei**j**ing 'Beijing', fi**j**ià 'Fijian', Fu**j**i 'Fuji', **J**im 'Jim', etc.). :b) It is represented by j before a, o, u: pen**j**ar ('to hung [up]'), **j**ove ('young'), de**j**uni ('fasting'). The spellings tg and tj for the sound in both language standards, which correspond to the geminate pronunciation practiced in some places, are presented only in intervocalic position. Parallel to the corresponding simple spellings, tg is written before e, i, and tj before a, o, u: cora**tg**e ('courage'), paisa**tg**ístic ('landscape'); desi**tj**ar ('to wish'), pi**tj**or ('worse'), corre**tj**ut ('leathery, tough'). ### The representation of the sound [tʃ]: The spellings x, tx, ig and g The voiceless affricate palatal sound is represented by the spellings x, tx, ig and g, according to the following rules: :a) At the beginning of a word it is written x: **x**afar ('to crush'), **x**iquet ('boy'), **X**elva ('Chelva'), **X**irivella ('Xirivella'). Note: Those words are pronounced with only in some language varieties (Valencian), in other varieties they are pronounced with . :EXCEPTIONS: In word-initial position, it is also represented by tx in some words or proper names from other languages: **Tx**ad ('Chad'), **Tx**aikovski ('Chaikovski'), **tx**ec ('Czech'), etc. :b) Between vowels it is always represented by tx: clò**tx**ina ('blue mussel'), pi**tx**er ('pitcher'). :c) After a consonant is represented by x: an**x**ova ('anchovy'), per**x**a ('pole, hanger'), pon**x** ('punch'), Bar**x** ('Barx'), El**x** ('Elche'). See the note in the item a). :EXCEPTIONS: It is also represented by tx between consonant and vowel in some words or proper nouns from other languages: solon**tx**ac ('solonchak'), Khruix**tx**ov ('Khrushchev'). :d) At the end of a word following a vowel, the spelling tx is used if the derivatives are written with tx, and the spelling ig is used (after a, e, o, u) and the spelling g (after i) if the derivatives are written with g/j or tg/tj: ::despa**tx** ('office, dispatch') ↔ despa**tx**ar ('to complete, to send, to attend') ::capri**tx** ('caprice, fancy') ↔ encapri**tx**ar ('to cause to fall in love') ::cartu**tx** ('cartridge') ↔ cartu**tx**era ('cartridge belt') ::bate**ig** ('baptism') ↔ bate**j**ar ('to baptize') ::ro**ig** ('red') ↔ ro**j**a ('red', f.) ::desi**g** ('wish') ↔ desi**tja**r ('to wish') ### The representation of the sound [ʃ]: The spelling x The voiceless fricative palatal sound is always represented by the spelling x: **X**àtiva ('Xàtiva'), **X**avier ('Xavier'), **x**enòfob ('xenophobic'), coi**x**í ('cushion'), dibui**x** ('draw'). The letter x in this value can be word-initial, follow a syllabic or non-syllabic i, a non-syllabic u or a consonant. Some speakers do not pronounced a non-syllabic i before an x, so the [ʃ] sound following a syllabic vowel different from i should be written as ix except in compound words (e. g. electro**x**oc) and in some surnames (e. g. Re**x**ach). ### The representation of the phonetic group [ks] The phonetic group is represented by the letter x in the following positions: :a) Between vowels: fi**x**ar ('to fix'), mà**x**im ('maximum'). :b) Between vowel and voiceless consonant: e**x**plosió ('explosion'), e**x**tens ('extensive'). :c) At the end of a word after a vowel: anne**x** ('annexe), apèndi**x** ('appendix'). :EXCEPTIONS: At the end of a word after a consonant, the phonetic group is also represented, in some cases, by x: esfin**x** ('sphinx'), larin**x** ('larynx') and lin**x** ('lynx'). :NOTE: The x does not represent the unvoiced group , but the voiced , in the initial groups ex- and inex- followed by a vowel, h or voiced consonant: e**x**amen ('exam'), e**x**agerar ('to exaggerate'), e**x**hortar ('to exhort'), e**x**diputat ('ex-deputy'), ine**x**orable ('inexorable'). ### The spellings b and p The bilabial occlusive voiced sound (or the corresponding fricative variant ) is represented by the spelling b, and the bilabial voiceless occlusive sound , by the spelling p: **b**aix ('low, short'), ro**b**a ('clothes'); **p**oc ('little, [a] few'), llé**p**ol ('sweet-toothed'), com**p**ra ('shopping'). At the end of a syllable, in internal or word-final position, the opposition between voiceless and voiced consonants is neutralized. Regardless of the pronunciation, which can be unvoiced or voiced depending on the context, the use of the spellings b and p conforms to the following rules: :a) At the beginning of a word, the syllables ab-, abs-, ob-, obs-, sub-, subs- are written with b: a**b**dicar ('to abdicate'), a**b**straure ('to abstract'), o**b**jecció ('objection'), o**b**struir ('to obstruct'), su**b**venció ('subsidy'), su**b**stantiu ('substantive'). :EXCEPTIONS: For etymological reasons, some words such as a**p**nea ('apnea'), a**p**te ('apt'), o**p**tar ('to opt'), ò**p**tica ('opticians'), ò**p**tim ('optimal'), etc. are written with p. :b) At the beginning of a word, the syllable cap- is written with p: ca**p**çal ('head [of a bed], pillow'), ca**p**tiu ('captive'). :EXCEPTIONS: Some words such as ca**b**dal ('main, primary'), ca**b**dell ('ball [of wool, cotton]'), ca**b**dill ('caudillo'), etc. are written with b. :c) Within a word, p is written before the spellings c, s, n and t: egi**p**ci ('Egyptian'), à**p**side ('apse, apsis, apside'), hi**p**nòtic ('hypnotic'), re**p**te ('challenge'). :EXCEPTIONS: For etymological reasons, some words such as dissa**b**te ('Saturday'), du**b**te ('doubt') and so**b**te ('suddenly', only used after *de*) are written with b. :d) At the end of an acute word, p is written after a vowel: ce**p** ('vine, cep'), galo**p** ('gallop'), gru**p** ('group'), xo**p** ('soaked, black poplar'). :EXCEPTIONS: For etymological reasons, some words such as ado**b** ('adobe'), alju**b** ('well, cistern'), clu**b** ('club'), esno**b** ('snob'), íncu**b** ('incubus'), tu**b** ('tube'), etc. are written with b. Instead, b or p is written, depending on the spelling of the derivatives, at the end of an acute word after another consonant or at the end of a plain word after a vowel: ::destor**b** ('obstacle, nuisance') ↔ destor**b**ar ('to obstruct') ::cor**b** ('crow') ↔ cor**b**ató ('crow's chick') ::àra**b** ('Arabian') ↔ ara**b**esc ('arabesque') ::cam**p** ('countryside, field') ↔ cam**p**estre ('rural') ::pòli**p** ('polyp') ↔ poli**p**oide ('polypoid') ::ser**p** ('snake') ↔ ser**p**entí ('snakelike, serpentine') ### The spellings b and v Although some Valencian speakers differentiate the voiced occlusive bilabial sound from the voiced labiodental fricative , to avoid confusion in the use of the spellings b and v it is necessary to take into account that b is written in the following cases: :a) Before l and r: **b**leda ('chard, a passive person'), **b**romera ('froth, lather'). :b) After m: em**b**otit ('stuffed, crammed'), tom**b**a ('tomb'). :c) In those cases where it alternates with p in words of the same family: ca**b**ut 'big-headed, stubborn' (↔ ca**p**, 'head'), sa**b**er 'to know' (↔ sa**p**, 'he/she/it/formal singular you know(s), also ↔sa**p**s, informal you know). :NOTE: In some cases, due to differences in cultural or heritage treatment, words from the same family may alternate the use of b and v: a**v**ortar ('to abort') / a**b**ortiu ('abortive'); cal**b** ('bald') / cal**v**ície ('baldness'), cer**v**ell ('brain') / cere**b**ral ('cerebral'). And v is written in the following cases: :a) After n: ca**n**viar ('to change'), in**v**ent ('invent'). :b) In those cases where it alternates with u in words of the same family: bla**v**a 'blue, f.' (↔ bla**u**, 'blue, m.'), escri**v**iu 'you write' (↔ escri**u**re, 'to write'). :c) In the endings of the imperfect indicative of the first conjugation -ava, -aves, -àvem, -aveu, -aven: canta**v**a ('I sang, they sang'), canta**v**es ('you sang'), cantà**v**em ('we sang'), cantà**v**eu ('you sang, pl.', canta**v**en ('they sang, pl.'). ### The spellings d and t The voiced occlusive dental sound (or the corresponding fricative variant ) is represented by the spelling d, and its voiceless correlate , by the spelling t: **d**onar ('to give'), ban**d**a ('side, band'), ba**d**ar ('to open [up], to be careless'); **t**allar ('to cut'), con**t**ar ('to tell, to say'), gaia**t**o ('shepherd's crook'). At the end of a syllable, in internal or word-final position, the opposition between voiceless and voiced consonants is neutralized. Regardless of the pronunciation, which can be unvoiced or voiced depending on the phonetic context, the use of the spellings d or t conforms to the following rules: :a) The final consonant of the following syllable is written with d of consonant, in word-initial position: a**d**judicar ('to award, adjudge'), a**d**missió ('admission'). :EXCEPTIONS: For etymological reasons, some words such as a**t**làntic ('Atlantic'), a**t**les ('atlas'), a**t**leta ('athlete') and a**t**mosfera ('atmosphere') are written with t. :b) At the end of an acute word, t is generally written after a vowel: bla**t** ('wheat'), lle**t** ('milk'), humi**t** ('humid'), bruixo**t** ('warlock'), pelu**t** ('hairy'). :EXCEPTIONS: For etymological reasons, some words such as almu**d** ('almude'), flui**d** ('fluid'), fre**d** ('cold'), su**d** ('South'); Alfre**d** ('Alfred'), Conra**d** ('Conrad'), Davi**d** ('David'), as well as feminine words formed with the cultured endings -etud and -itud: quietu**d** ('stillness, calm'), multitu**d** ('crowd'), etc. Instead, d or t is written, depending on the spelling of the derivatives, at the end of an acute word after another consonant or at the end of a flat word after a vowel: ::ver**d** ('green') ↔ ver**d**ós ('greenish') ::sor**d** ('deaf') ↔ ensor**d**ir ('to deafen') ::àri**d** ('arid') ↔ ari**d**esa ('aridity') ::sor**t** ('luck') ↔ sor**t**eig ('draw, sorting') ::pon**t** ('bridge') ↔ pon**t**et ('little bridge') ::crèdi**t** ('credit') ↔ credi**t**or ('creditor') ### The spellings m, n, mp, tm and tn The letter m usually represents the nasal bilabial sound : **m**are ('mother'), ca**m**a ('leg'), ter**m**al ('thermal'), bra**m** ('bray, roar'), and the n, the nasal alveolar sound : **n**as ('nose'), ma**n**ar ('to command'), ur**n**a ('urn'), gra**n** ('great, grand'). The spelling mp is used with the value of or , for etymological reasons, in a medial syllable, in cases such assu**mp**ció ('assumption'), ate**mp**tar ('attempt'), co**mp**te ('to count'), pro**mp**te ('soon'), sí**mp**toma ('symptom'), etc. At the end of a syllable, in word-internal position, the opposition between the nasal consonants is neutralized. In this position, the spellings m or n are used, according to the following rules: :a) m is written before b, f, m and p: sí**m**bol ('symbol'), a**m**fiteatre ('amphitheatre'), co**m**moure ('to disturb, to move'), o**m**plir ('to fill [up]'). :EXCEPTIONS: The spelling n is kept when it belongs to certain prefixed forms or to the first constituent of a compound word: e**n**mig ('in the middle'), be**n**parlat ('well-spoken'), entor**n**peu ('baseboard'), etc. As for f, the spelling n is also used in words beginning with con-, in- and in most of those beginning with en-: con**f**essar ('to confess'), con**f**egir ('to spell'); in**f**ermer ('nurse'), in**f**init ('infinite'); en**f**angar ('to cover with mud'), en**f**ortir ('to strengthen'), etc. :b) n is written before v: con**v**ent ('convent'), recan**v**i ('spare, replacement'). :EXCEPTIONS: The spelling m is kept when it belongs to prefixed forms or to the first constituent of a compound word: circu**m**valació ('ring road'), tra**m**via ('tramway'), triu**m**vir ('triumvir'), etc. For etymological reasons, certain borrowings are spelled tm or tn: se**tm**ana ('week'), se**tm**esí ('born in the seventh month of gestation'), logari**tm**e ('logarithm'); co**tn**a ('pork rind'), è**tn**ia ('ethnic group, ethnicity'). ### The spelling ny The nasal palatal sound is represented in all positions by the spelling ny: **ny**ora ('a type of pepper'), pi**ny**a ('pine cone, pineapple'), codo**ny** ('quince [fruit]'). ### The spellings l, ŀl and tl The lateral alveolar sound is represented in all cases by the consonant l: **l**íquid ('liquid'), co**l**ar ('to strain'), pè**l** ('hair'), b**l**at ('wheat'). For etymological reasons, certain words are written with ŀl: a**ŀl**icient ('lure, incentive'), Ave**ŀl**í ('Avelline'), Brusse**ŀl**es ('Brussels'), co**ŀl**aborar ('to collaborate'), escarape**ŀl**a ('cockade'), ga**ŀl**icisme ('Gallicism'), i**ŀl**egal ('illegal'), i**ŀl**ògic ('illogical'), i**ŀl**usió ('illusion, hope, happiness'), mi**ŀl**ímetre ('millimeter'), sí**ŀl**aba ('syllable'), aquare**ŀl**a ('watercolour'), etc. Some heritage words that have a geminate pronunciation in a part of Valencian are written with the spelling tl, such as ame**tl**a ('almond'), ba**tl**e ('mayor'), gua**tl**a ('quail'), mo**tl**e ('mold'), ve**tl**ar ('to stay up, to patrol, to watch over'), etc. However, the spelling tl represents the sounds in borrowings such as a**tl**es ('atlas'), a**tl**àntic ('Atlantic'), etc. ### The spellings ll and tll The lateral palatal sound is usually represented by the letter ll, which can appear in any position: **ll**ebre ('hare'), pa**ll**asso ('clown'), co**ll** ('neck'). But, in certain cases, it is also represented by the spelling tll ( in Standard Catalan): bi**tll**et ('ticket, bank note'), ro**tll**o ('roll, annoyance'), ra**tll**a ('line, scratch'), etc. ### The spellings r and rr The spelling r is used to represent the alveolar tap sound and the vibrating alveolar sound : mi**r**a ('they look') / mi**rr**a ('myrrh'). The tap is always represented by the spelling r, while the vibrating is represented by the spellings r or rr, according to the following rules: :a) r is written at the beginning of a word or after l, n and s: **r**abosa ('fox'), hon**r**at ('honoured'). :b) rr is written between vowels: ba**rr**anc ('cliff'), te**rr**a ('Earth, land'). :EXCEPTIONS: The sound is also represented by the spelling r in intervocalic position when it follows a prefix, a prefixed form or a formant of a compound word ending in a vowel: a**r**ítmia ('arrhythmia'), contra**r**estar ('counteract'), vice**r**ector ('vice-rector'), malva-**r**osa (rose geranium), etc. ### The h spelling The h spelling is usually silent; it is used, for etymological reasons, in a series of words, such as **h**armonia ('harmony'), **h**erba ('herb'), **h**ivern ('winter'), a**h**ir ('yesterday'), etc. NOTE: In certain interjections or in words derived from foreign proper names, the spelling h is pronounced aspirated: e**h**em ('ahem'), **h**a ('ha [laugh]'), **h**e ('he [laugh]'), **h**egelià ('Hegelian'). ### The spelling w The spelling w is used in certain words from other languages, but it represents two different phonic values depending on whether they have a Germanic or Anglo-Saxon origin: :a) In words of continental Germanic origin, it represents the voiced bilabial fricative sound : **w**agnerià ('Wagnerian'), **w**olframi ('tungsten'). :b) In words of Anglo-Saxon origin, it has a phonic value equivalent to that of the semivowel u : **w**hisky ('whisk[e]y'), **w**èlter ('welter'). ### The spelling y The spelling y, in addition to being used to form the digraph ny, is also used independently, with the phonetic value that would correspond to i, in the representation of certain words from other languages or formed from proper names: farada**y** ('faraday'), gra**y** ('gray'), jansk**y** ('jansky'), Nova **Y**ork ('New York'), etc. ## Diacritics ### Accentuation #### Acute and grave accents Catalan and Valencian also use the acute and grave accents to mark stress or vowel quality. An acute on indicates that the vowel is stressed and close-mid (), while grave on indicates that the vowel is stressed and open-mid (). Grave on and acute on simply indicate that the vowels are stressed. Thus, the acute is used on close or close-mid vowels, and the grave on open or open-mid vowels. For example: - ''tamb'''é''''': or ('also') - ***è**xtasi*: or ('ecstasy') - *c**ó**rrer*: or ('to run') - *pr**ò**xim*: ('nearby') - ***à**nima*: or ('soul') - *past**í**s*: or ('pie') - *f**ú**csia*: or ('fuchsia') Standard rules governing the presence of accents are based on word endings and the position of the stressed syllable. In particular, accents are expected for: - Oxytones ending in a syllabic vowel, a vowel + -, or -/, examples: - *parlà* or ('he spoke') - *parlés* or ('that he spoke' past subjunctive) - *entén* or ('he understands') :This does not occur in words like *parleu* or ('you are speaking' plural), or *parlem* or ('we are speaking'). - Paroxytones with any other ending, including non-syllabic -, -, examples: - *parlàveu* or ('you were speaking' plural) - *parlàvem* or ('we were speaking') :This does not occur in words like *parla* or ('he is speaking'), *parles* or ('you are speaking' singular), or *parlen* or ('they are speaking'). - Any proparoxytones, examples: - *química* or ('chemistry') - *ciència* or ('science') Since there is no need to mark the stressed syllable of a monosyllabic word, most of them do not have an accent. Exceptions are those with a diacritical accent differentiating words that would otherwise be homographic. Example: *es* or ('it' impersonal) vs *és* ('is'), *te* or ('you' clitic) vs *té* ('s/he has'), *mes* or ('month') vs *més* ('more'), *dona* or ('woman') vs *dóna* or ('s/he gives'). In most cases, the word bearing no accent is either unstressed (as in the case of 'es' and 'te'), or the word without the accent is more common, usually a function word. The different distribution of *open e* vs *closed e* between Eastern Catalan and Western Catalan is reflected in some orthographic divergences between standard Catalan and Valencian norms, for example: anglès (Catalan) vs anglés (Valencian) ('English'). In the Balearic Islands, open e tends to be a centralised e () in the same cases where *open e* contrasts with *closed e* in Catalan and Valencian. The cases where the difference of pronunciation of *e* can have graphical repercussions are the followings: - Words ending with the demonym -*es* (*anglès* / *anglés* 'English', *francès* / *francés* 'French'), the past participles (*admès* / *admés* 'admitted', *compromès* / *compromés* 'committed') and adjectives (*cortès* / *cortés* 'courteous'). - The ordinal numerals ending in stressed *e*: *cinquè* / *cinqué* ('fifth'), *sisè* / *sisé* ('sixth'). - The ending of the third person of the plural of indicative -*en* of some verbs of the 2nd conjugation (*aprèn* / *aprén* 'learn', *comprèn* / *comprén* 'comprehend', *depèn* / *depén* 'depend'), except in the cases where this ending is preceded by the consonant *t* or *c*, where it is pronounced with a closed *e* in all speeches (*atén* 'attend', *entén* 'understand', *pretén* 'pretend', *encén* 'switch on'). - The infinitives ending in -*eixer* (*conèixer* / *conéixer* 'to know', *merèixer* / *meréixer* 'to deserve', *parèixer* / *paréixer* 'to seem', but uniquely *créixer* 'to grow') and -*encer* (*vèncer* / *véncer* 'to win', *convèncer* / *convéncer* 'to convince'). - The second and third person of the plural of the simple past tense of indicative with accent on the radical: *fèiem* / *féiem* 'we did', *fèieu* / *féieu* 'you pl. did'. #### Circumflex The circumflex is rarely used in modern Catalan and Valencian, nonetheless it has been used in the beginning of the 19th century by Antoni Febrer i Cardona to represent schwa in the Balearic subdialects. According to the *Diccionari català-valencià-balear*, in modern times there are some cases where the circumflex can be used to indicate silent etymological sounds (similar to French) or a contraction. Contrary to the restrictions of the acute and grave accent, the circumflex can be used with all vowels , the most common, especially in Valencian, being (i.e. due to the elision of ), e.g. *mascletâes* (instead of *mascletades* 'pyrotechnic festivals'), *anâ* (instead of *anar* 'to go'), *témê* (instead of *témer* 'to fear'), *sortî* (instead of *sortir* 'to exit'), *pâ* (instead of *per* 'for' akin to Colloquial Spanish 'pa' from para 'for'). ### Diaeresis The diaeresis has two different uses: to mark hiatus over , and to mark that is not silent in the groups . If a diaeresis appears over an or that follows another vowel, it denotes a hiatus, examples: - *raïm* or ('grape') - *taüt* or ('coffin') This diaeresis is not used over a stressed vowel that already should have an accent. Examples: *suís* ('Swiss' masculine), but *suïssa* or ('Swiss' feminine), *suïs* ('that you sweat' subjunctive) (without the diaeresis, this last example would be pronounced , i.e. as only one syllable, like *reis* 'kings'). Certain verb forms of verbs ending in *-uir* do not receive a diaeresis, although they are pronounced with separate syllables. This concerns the infinitive, gerund, future and conditional forms (for example *traduir*, *traduint*, *traduiré* and *traduiria*, all with bisyllabic ). All other forms of such verbs do receive a diaeresis on the *ï* according to the normal rules (e.g. *traduïm*, *traduïa*). In addition to this, represents between a velar consonant or and a front vowel ( and are used to represent a hard (i.e. velar) pronunciation before or ). - *ungüent* ('ointment') - *qüestió* or ('topic') Forms of the verb *argüir* represents a rare case of the sequence , and the rules for and clash in this case. The ambiguity is resolved by an additional rule, which states that in cases where diaereses would appear on two consecutive letters, only the second receives one. This thus gives *arguïm /arguˈim/, i.e.* and *arguïa /arguˈia/,* but *argüir /arˈgwir/,* *argüint /arˈgwint/* and *argüiré* */argwiˈre/* as these forms don't receive a diaeresis on the *i* normally, according to the exception above. ### ''Ce trencada'' (c-cedilla) Catalan and Valencian *ce trencada* ([Ç ç](c)), literally 'broken c', is a modified with a cedilla mark ( ¸ ). It is only used before to indicate a *soft c* because using , much like in Portuguese, Occitan or French, would make it pronounced (e.g. compare *coça* or 'kick', *coca* or 'cake' and *cosa* or 'thing'). In Catalan and Valencian, *ce trencada* also appears as last letter of a word (e.g. *feliç* or 'happy', *falç* 'sickle'), but then may be voiced to before vowels and voiced consonants, e.g. *feliçment* or ('happily') and *braç esquerre* or ('left arm'). ## Capitalization Neither of the Catalan and Valencian standards capitalise days of the week, months, or demonyms. Although, like in English, both standards capitalise proper nouns. ::*dilluns*, *setembre*, *anglès, Barcelona* ::'Monday', 'September', 'English', 'Barcelona' ## Punctuation Catalan and Valencian punctuation rules are similar to English, with some minor differences. - Guillemets (*cometes baixes*) *« »* are frequently used instead of double inverted commas. They are used to mark titles of works, or phrases used as proper names. - In texts containing dialogue, quoted speech is usually set off with dashes, rather than inverted commas. ::—*Què proposes, doncs?* ::—*El que hauríem de fer —s'atreví a suggerir— és anar a...* ::'What do you propose, then?' ::'What we should do' she ventured to suggest 'is to go to...' - In Catalan, there is no or unlike in Spanish, but in Valencian questions and exclamations are optionally opened with a or , like in Spanish. Before 1993, questions and exclamations could be enclosed with *¿...?* or *¡...!*, but this is no longer recommended by the IEC but still is optionally allowed by the AVL. ### ''Punt volat'' (middot) The *punt volat* or middot is only used in the sequence (called *ela* or *el(e) geminada*, 'geminated l') to represent a geminated sound (often simplified to , especially in Valencian), as the digraph is used for the palatal lateral . This usage of the middot sign dates to the beginning of twentieth century; in medieval and modern Catalan, before Fabra's standardisation, it was sometimes used to note certain elisions, especially in poetry. The only (and improbable) possibility of ambiguity in the whole language is the pair *ceŀla* ('cell') vs *cella* ('eyebrow'). ### Hyphen The hyphen (called a *guionet*) is used in Catalan and Valencian to separate a verb and the combination of pronouns that follow them (e.g. *menjar-se-les*), to separate certain compounds (e.g. *vint-i-un* and *para-sol*), and to split a word at the end of a line of text for the purpose of maintaining page margins. Compounds are hyphenated in cases that involve numerals (e.g. *trenta-sis*, and *trenta-sisè*/*é*); cardinal points (e.g. *sud-americà*); repetitive and expressive compounds (*xup-xup*); those compounds in which the first element ends in a vowel and the second starts with , , or (e.g. *penya-segat*); and those compounds in which the combination of the two elements can lead to wrong reading (e.g. *pit-roig*). There are also compound terms in which the first element carries a grave accent (*mà-llarg*), the construction *no* plus noun (but not *no* plus adjective, *no-violència* but the *nacions no violentes*) and certain singular constructions like *abans-d'ahir* and *adéu-siau.* The hyphen in numbers is set according to the D-U-C rule (*Desenes-Unitats-Centenes*, 'Tens-Units-Hundreds'), thus, a hyphen is placed between tens and units (*quaranta-dos*) and between units and hundreds (*tres-cents*). For example, the number 35,422 is written *trenta-cinc mil quatre-cents vint-i-dos*. When a word gets separated due to a new line, syllable boundaries are kept, although, there are some digraphs that can be separated. These digraphs are those that, when splitting them, they result in two graphs the corresponding sound from which they share a phonetic trait with the sound of the digraph. The digraphs that cannot be separated are those in which the two graphs correspond to sounds that they are not related with the sound of the digraph. The syllabic separation of words follow the following rules: - The following digraphs and combination of letters can be separated: :: ix (*quei-xa*), rr (*car-rer*), ss (*pas-sar*), sc (*es-ce-na*), l·l (*vil-la*), tj (*jut-jat*), tg (*fet-ge*), tx (*pit-xer*), tl (*vet-la*), tll (*rot-llo*), tm (*rit-me*), tn (*cot-na*), ts (*pot-ser*), tx (*despat-xar*), tz (*set-ze*), mm (*im-mens*), nn (*in-no-cent*) - The following digraphs cannot be separated: :: gu (*jo-guet*), ny (*pe-nya*), qu (*pa-quet*), ig (*ba-teig*), ll (*pe-lle-ter*) - The constituents of a compound, or the prefix of a prefixed word, can be separated: :: *ad-herir*, *in-expert*, *ben-estar*, *mil-hòmens*, *des-encolar*, *vos-altres* - Letters cannot be left on their own at the end or beginning of a line: :: *d'a-mor*, *aber-rant*, *l'a-plicació*, *histò-ria* ### Apostrophes Catalan and Valencian follow some apostrophisation rules that serve to determine whether it is necessary to use an apostrophe (') or not ;Articles The masculine singular articles (*el*, *en*, and dialectally *lo*, in Continental Catalan; and *es* and *so* in Balearic), and the feminine singular articles (*la*, *na* and dialectally *sa*) are apostrophised before all masculine words that begin with a vowel, e.g. *l'avió*, *l'encant*, *l'odi*, *n'Albert*, *s'arbre, and l'emoció, l'ungla, l'aigua*; with a silent *h*, e.g. *l'home*, *l'ham*, *n'Hug*, *s'home, and l'heura, l'holografia, n'Hermínia, s'horabaixa.* The masculine singular article also contract when the next word starts with s + consonant, e.g. *l'spa*, *l'Stuttgart;* but *la Scala de Milà*. They aren't apostrophised before words that begin with an or (with or without h) that is pronounced or , or for the feminine articles when the word begins with an unstressed or , e.g. *el iogurt*, *el iode* (or dialectally *lo iogurt*, *lo iode*), and, *la hiena, la humitat, la universitat, la imatge*. Additionally, *la*, *na* and *sa* before letter names, e.g. *la i, la hac, la essa*; and some other specific words like *la una* (when referring to the time), *la ira*, *la host,* etc. . The forms *al* (dial. *as*), *del* (dial. *des*), *pel* (dial. *pes*), *cal* (dial. *cas*) and *can* are broken and become a *l'* (dial. *a s'*), *de l'* (dial. *de s'*), *per l'* (dial. *per s'*), *ca l'* (dial. *ca s'*) and *ca n'* respectively. Traditionally, to avoid ambiguity, words beginning with the negative prefix a- did not take an apostrophe. Nowadays, general apostrophising rules are followed: *l'anormalitat*, *l'amoralitat*, *l'atipicitat*, *l'asimetria*, *l'asèpsia*, etc. . The 1995 edition of the *Diccionari de l'Institut d'Estudis Catalans* (DIEC) started was the first one to use this rule, however, it was never explicitly stated. ;The preposition *de* The preposition *de* changes into *d''' in all the same cases as the feminine singular articles with one exception: normally it doesn't contract in metalanguage: *el plural de alt és alts.'' ;Weak pronouns Weak pronouns take the apostrophe in the following cases: Before a verb that starts with a vowel, using its elided form: *m'agrada*, *n'abastava*, *s'estimaran*, *l'aconseguiria*, at the end of a verb that finishes in a vowel, using the reduced form: *menja'n*, *trenca'l*, *fondre's*, *compra'ns,* between two of them if the other orthographic rules allow it: *me'n*, *li'n* , *se'm*, *te'ls*, *la'n*, *n'hi*; if it is possible, it takes the apostrophe with the following word, like *me n'ha dut tres*. The apostrophe always goes the further to the right possible: *te l'emportes*, not **te'l emportes*. Does not take the apostrophe: The pronouns *us*, *vos*, *hi*, *ho*, *li*, *les*: *us el dono* or *vos el done*, *se us esperava* or *se vos esperava*. Like in the case of the article, the pronoun before words that start by unstressed *i* and *u* (with silent *h* or without): *la ignora*, *la hi pren*, *la humitejarem*, *la usàvem*. It also does not take the apostrophe the first weak pronoun in the forms *la hi* and *se us*. ## Other conventions The distribution of the two rhotics and closely parallels that of Spanish. Between vowels, the two contrast but they are otherwise in complementary distribution: in the onset, an alveolar trill, , appears unless preceded by a consonant; different dialects vary in regards to rhotics in the coda with Western Catalan generally featuring an alveolar tap, , and Central Catalan dialects like those of Barcelona or Girona featuring a weakly trilled unless it precedes a vowel-initial word in the same prosodic unit, in which case appears. In Eastern Catalan and North Western Catalan, most instances of word-final are silent, but there are plenty of unpredictable exceptions (e.g. in Central Eastern Catalan por 'fear' but mar 'sea'). In Valencian, most instances of word-final are pronounced. ## Notes ## References ## Bibliography - [Ortografia catalana. Institut d'Estudis Catalans](https://oiec.iec.cat/inici) - - {{cite journal - {{cite book - - {{cite book - {{cite book ## References 1. [[:ca:Antoni Maria Badia i Margarit. Badia i Margarit, Antoni M]]. «{{lang. ca. El procés d'unificació de l'ortografia catalana». 2. (2013). "Enciclopèdia de la Llengua Catalana". *Edicions 62*. 3. (2009). ["The Architect of Modern Catalan: Selected writings"](https://books.google.com/books?id=cUu_apMqBF0C). *John Benjamins Publishing*. 4. (May 2017). ["Ortografia catalana"](https://www.iec.cat/llengua/documents/ortografia_catalana_versio_digital.pdf). *Institut d'Estudis Catalans*. 5. {{Harvcoltxt. Wheeler. 2005 6. ["A List of Local Keyboard Layout in 24 Countries/Regions."](https://sites.google.com/site/brightmeasurement/Home/keyboard-for-english-around-the-word). 7. Altarriba, Núria. (2013-01-24). ["Cent anys de les Normes Ortogràfiques de l'Institut d'Estudis Catalans"](http://www.bnc.cat/El-Blog-de-la-BC/Cent-anys-de-les-Normes-Ortografiques-de-l-Institut-d-Estudis-Catalans). *Biblioteca de Catalunya*. 8. ''Estàndard oral valencià''. ''L'alfabet'', AVL, p. 36. 9. ''Guia d'usos lingüístics'', ''Institut Interuniversitari de Filologia Valenciana'', 2002. ''Diferències dialectals en la distribució de la e tònica'', p. 40 10. [https://dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp?word=accent ''accent'']. ''Diccionari català-valencià-balear'' 11. [https://dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp?Word=circumflex&Id=34625&search=circumflex ''circumflex'']. ''Diccionari català-valencià-balear'' 12. {{Harvcoltxt. Wheeler. 2005 13. {{Harvcoltxt. Wheeler. 2005 14. {{Harvcoltxt. Padgett. 2003 ::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_orthography) and is available under the [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the [article history page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_orthography?action=history). ::