catalan... it's not a dialect.

so, i have received this question/comment more than once so i shall set the record straight.

i am taking Catalan classes. That's pronounced [kətəˈla]. It's the official language here in the region of Catalunya, along with castellano (Castilian), or as the Catalans refer to it as Spanish. It's not a dialect. Yes, it has similarities to Spanish, just as one who speaks Italian would say that it sounds similar, just as French is similar to Spanish. Catalan has it's own grammar, different vocabulary, different grammatical structures and a different alphabet from Spanish. Here's the wikipedia link. :)   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language

Spain is made up of 17 autonomous communities, one of them being Catalunya. Another is Andalusia, Madrid, Galicia, etc. Within the Communities, there are provinces. And within the provinces, capitals. Basically, like states. Well, a rough comparison.  Anywhoo, that's why Madrid (the capital of the country) is also a city in the province of Madrid, which is in the community of Madrid. Or, you have Barcelona, the capital of the Catalunya Community. You catching on?

Anyway, here's an example of a sentence in catalan:
My name is Justine. I am 23 years old and live in Barcelona but I'm from the United States.

Em dic Justine. Tinc 23 anys i visc a Barcelona, però so´c dels Estats Units. 
Italian: Il mio nome è Justine. Ho 23 anni e vivo a Barcellona, ma so'c Stati Uniti.
Spanish: Me llamo Justine. Tengo 23 años y vivo en Barcelona pero soy de los Estados Unidos.  
French: Mon nom est Justine. J'ai 23 ans et je vis à Barcelone, mais so'c États-Unis.

OPEN THE WINDOW PLEASE.
Catalan: Obriu la finestra, per favor.
Italian: Aprire la finestra, per favore.
Spanish: Abra la ventana, por favor.
French: Ouvrez la fenêtre, s'il vous plaît


You can see the difference. I love Catalan. I think it sounds very melodic. Although someone Friday night said anything is more melodic than English. whatever... And it's cute because many words are short versions of Spanish. Or so it seems. heh. And you know how i heart abbreviations.

Friday night i went out to dinner with some people from my catalan class because it was 2 girls bday. i'm sitting next to my prof in this shot. i have a total friend crush on her. my class is ridiculous and i love all of the crazy characters that they are. we are from more than 20 different countries. yay international peeps!