Catalan phrase book or web site?
 

Since we'll be in Barcelona and heading down the Costa Blanca, I'd like to learn some basic words and phrases in Catalan. Does anyone have a simple phrase book or web resource that they recommend for a language novice?

I live on the Costa Blanca and Catalan is not used this far south. The local 'language' is Valenciano which sounds like a mix of Castellano and French. I don't know any phrases in either Catalan or Valenciano, but I do know that if you learn some basic Spanish (Castellano), then you will be understood everywhere.

Hi alan64 !

It's definitely not necessary to learn Catalan, in Barcelona and most of the Costa Brava you can get by with English, and in smaller villages definitely with Spanish.

But yes, most people will very much appreciate it if you try to speak some Catalan !

I googled 'basic Catalan' and found this site:

http://weib.caib.es/recursos/abast/p...abast-eng.html

And just to some up the most important phrases:

Hello - Hola
Good day - Bon dia
Good night - Bona nit
Goodbye - Adeu
Thank you - Gracies
How are you? - Com va?

and the one I probably used the most:

Very good - Molt bé

Enjoy your trip !

In Barcelona and Catalunya a little Catalán goes a long way, so it is awesome that you are wanting to learn some phrases. Here in BCN you can find great phrase books at the La Central bookstore (C/ Elisabets just before hitting the MACBA) and the Generalitat (a state institution in BCN) publishes quite a few that you can pick up for free or for cheap at the Palau de la Virreina on the Ramblas (facing the port, it is on your right quite near the Liceu metro stop).

If you want to learn some stuff before hand, I would google and see what you can find. If you already speak Spanish, I have a grea online translation service I use to study for exams (I am in BCN right now). Here is the link:
http://www.torsimany.ua.es/index.php

I used to live in Alicante and you have to really work hard to hear Valenciano spoken and it is quite different both in accent and structure to Catalán (in my studies, we consider it a dialect derived from Catalán). For example, "exit" in Catalán is "sortida" but in Valenciano it is "eixida."

I highly recommend both Catalán and Spanish for your trip. My rule of thumb here in Barcelona is that no one ever gets sad or upset when you speak Catalán to them at first, but they do if you start off immediately in Castellano. So, I always go for Catalán and if they want to continue in Castellano, I am there.

Good on you for this linguistic concern!

My Castellano isn't great, but growing up in California I've developed a good vocabulary of Mexican Spanish which helped me in Spain. The basic phrases that Stardust wrote above are just the kinds of words I'd like to know, and I'll look at the web links too.

I don't expect to pick up very much before my trip, but if can say a few words in Catalán I'll be pleased. I'll also check out the book stores that laclaire mentioned.

Thanks everyone!

Bon profito !

(The only expression in Catalan I learned - meaning bon appétit, written on a black board in a restaurant so I kind of gussed, correctly)

Kappa- it's "bon profit." No "o" at the end.

Phrases I find key:

On está. . .= where is. . .
Què voleu?= What would you like (waiters say this a lot)
Volem. . .= we would like. . .
A má dreta/esquerra= on the right/left
Sisplau= please
Merci/moltes gràcies= thank you (merci is more colloquial and is pronounced with the rolled single R of Spanish, not French)
De res= your welcome
Mare meva= my gosh (literally: my mother)

If you have any specifics you want to ask, do so and I will work my translators charm on them.

Claire

There's a bit of a war trying to know what was first..Catalan or Valenciano :) The grammar is pretty much the same, just some different vocabulary and accent. The main difference is that the southern part of the Comunidad Valenciana was not part of it till XXth century, but Castilla La Mancha, so they speak only Spanish and that influence makes valenciano more "similar" to Spanish than Catalan is, which is more influenced by french.
After this boring speech , I have to say you won't need to learn any of them :) Just learn to say Bon dia and Bona nit (good morning and good night) and speak English :)

Top for last-minute practice! :)

I recently accompanied my husband to a conference in Spain. On a wives' trip, a fight nearly broke out between a lady from Catalunya and one from Valencia, because the Catalan had said that Valenciano was just a dialect of Catalan (which it is,.... or vica versa. They are very close with some vocabulary different. Similar say to UK and American English.) The Valenciana ended up threatening to punch the Catalan's lights out if she made that claim again. So be very careful what you say.