Catalan Language

Programes dels nivells Inicial 1 al CNL del Maresme

by Elisabet Alenyà

Carbonell, J. F., & Llisterri, J. (1992). Catalan.

by Joaquim Llisterri

Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 22(1-2), 53-56.

Carbonell, J. F., & Llisterri, J. (1999). Catalan.

by Joaquim Llisterri

In Handbook of the international phonetic association. A guide to the use of the international phonetic alphabet. (pp. 61-5). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1992)

Specific neural traces for intonational discourse categories as revealed by human-evoked potentials

by Joan Borràs-Comes

Co-authored with Jordi Costa-Faidella (UB), Pilar Prieto (UPF) and Carles Escera (UB).

The neural representation of segmental and tonal phonological distinctions has been shown by means of the mismatch... more The neural representation of segmental and tonal phonological distinctions has been shown by means of the mismatch negativity (MMN) event-related brain potential, yet this is not the case for intonational discourse contrasts. In Catalan, a rising-falling into-national sequence can be perceived as a statement or as a counterexpectational question depending exclusively on the size of the pitch range interval of the rising movement. We here tested, using the MMN, whether such categorical distinctions elicited distinct neurophysiological patterns of activity, supporting their specific neural representation. From a behavioral identification experiment, we set the boundary between the two cate-gories and defined four stimuli across the continuum. Although the physical distance between each pair of stimuli was kept constant, the central pair represented an across-category contrast whereas the other pairs represented within-category contrasts. These four auditory stimuli were contrasted by pairs in three different oddball blocks. The mean amplitude of the MMN was larger for the across-category contrast, suggesting that intonational contrasts in the target language can be encoded automatically in the auditory cortex. These results are in line with recent findings in other fields of linguistics showing that, when a boundary between categories is crossed, the MMN response is not just larger but rather includes a separate subcomponent.

'Seeing tunes'. The role of visual gestures in tune interpretation

by Joan Borràs-Comes

Co-authored with Pilar Prieto (UPF).

One of the unresolved questions in audiovisual prosody is the relative contribution of acoustic and visual cues to the... more One of the unresolved questions in audiovisual prosody is the relative contribution of acoustic and visual cues to the expression of prosodic meaning. Though the majority of studies on audiovisual prosody have found a complementary mode of processing whereby sight provides relatively weak and redundant information in comparison with strong auditory cues, other work has found that sight provides information more efficiently than hearing. In Catalan, a pitch range contrast in a rising-falling nuclear configuration conveys a difference between a contrastive focus statement and an echo question. The main goal of this study is to investigate the relative contribution of visual cues in conveying this distinction. Twenty native speakers of Central Catalan participated in two identification tasks in which they had to decide between a focus statement and a question interpretation. Experiment 1 used a pitch range auditory continuum combined with two congruent and incongruent videotapes showing the facial gestures that are characteristic of the two pragmatic meanings. Experiment 2 used the same auditory continuum in combination with another continuum for facial gestures produced using a digital image-morphing technique. The responses and reaction times obtained in both experiments revealed a consistent reliance on visual cues in the listener’s decisions, but also a consistent effect of the auditory stimulation. We argue that although facial gestures are the most influential elements that Catalan listeners rely on to decide between contrastive focus and echo question interpretations, bimodal integration with the acoustic cues is necessary for perceptual processing to be accurate and fast. Finally, we discuss the implications of these results for models of audiovisual processing.

T'estimo lliure. Resposta a l'atac a la normalització lingüística del català

by Anna Brasó i Rius

Agentivity and epxeriencer verbs in Catalan and Mayangna and the roles of little 'v'

by Ricard Viñas-de-Puig

Published in 'Journal of Portuguese Linguistics', 7(2), 151-172.

Using Catalan and Mayangna data as evidence, I claim that experiencer predicates are drawn from a universal structure,... more Using Catalan and Mayangna data as evidence, I claim that experiencer predicates are drawn from a universal structure, headed by the functional projection vEXPP. According to this structure, an experience-denoting N is merged with a V-head to obtain an experience predication, which may take a source of experience phrase as its specifier. The experiencer, introduced by the vEXP head, c-commands the source of experience allowing for a ‘parasitic’ possession relationship. Additionally, the data presented here show that a limited subset of experience phrases allow an agentive reading. I argue that such agentive interpretation is the result of the merging in the structure of an agentive functional head, vAG, generated above vEXPP. In turn, this agentive functional head is responsible for the introduction of the agentive, external argument.

La duplicació del complementador en les llengües iberoromàniques [Complementizer doubling in Ibero-Romance languages]

by Francesc González i Planas

Ms. Universitat de Girona. Work in progress (21/XI/2011).

Complementizer doubling in the Ibero-Romance languages is a cover term for two distinct phenomena related with... more Complementizer doubling in the Ibero-Romance languages is a cover term for two distinct phenomena related with embedded clauses. In the first, the second complementizer (que2) is used to set the boundaries between a reproduced discourse and the clausal elements that were implicit in the original discourse, which must be reintroduced in the new communicative situation because they are not shared by the interlocutor. The second, allways in subjunctive clauses, corresponds to a jussive clause in indirect speech, where a prominent element appears on the left periphery between the subordinating particle que1 and the obligatory jussive particle que2'.

Nietzsche o Aristòtil? Reflexions entorn l’obra After Virtute d’Alasdair MacIntyre

by Ignasi Llobera Trias

Diàlegs, 53(2011)juliol-setembre, p. 67-86.

Som a l’inici del segle XXI. Mirem al nostre voltant i descobrim que tota moral és essencialment irracional... Tota?... more Som a l’inici del segle XXI. Mirem al nostre voltant i descobrim que tota moral és essencialment irracional... Tota? No! Una tradició moral ha estat capaç de superar els embats de la història; la tradició moral aristotèlica es perfila capaç de superar la crítica nietzscheana.

Present and historical perspectives on the Catalan GO-past

by Bart Jacobs

Zeitschrift für Katalanistik 24 (2011), 227–255

For being a highly marked case of grammaticalization, the Catalan GO-past – also known in the literature as perfetmore For being a highly marked case of grammaticalization, the Catalan GO-past – also known in the literature as perfet
perifràstic – has received a considerable amount of attention from scholars from different disciplines in a time span of over a century. The present paper provides new, both synchronic
and diachronic, perspectives on the GO-past. Amongst other things, I argue that the feature developed first in Old Occitan, only to subsequently diffuse into (Old) Catalan.

Quebec, Catalunya i Euskadi: una tipologia de planificació sociolingüística [Quebec, Catalonia and Euskadi: A (socio)linguistic planning typology]

by Albert Bastardas-Boada

Published in 'Treballs de sociolingüística catalana' (Barcelona) 7,1988, pp. 51-56.

История создания каталанского литературного языка

by Hèctor Alòs i Font

Доклад представленный в Международной научно-практической конференции «Чувашская письменность: история и современность», Шупашкар, 17 июня 2011 г http://chgign.ru/engine/download.php?id=57

Статья представляет обзор создания современного литературного (стандартного) каталанского языка в его историческом и... more Статья представляет обзор создания современного литературного (стандартного) каталанского языка в его историческом и социальном контексте. Описывается процесс определения языковых норм. Обсуждаются и трудности распространения стандартного языка в обществе. Менее подробно наблюдается и обработка языка, позволяющая использовать его во всех сферах жизни.

Language Management and Language Behavior Change: Policies and Social Persistence

by Albert Bastardas-Boada

Persistència i canvi en el comportament lingüístic: la planificació sociolingüística [Persistence and change in language behavior: The sociolinguistic planning]

by Albert Bastardas-Boada

25 anys de política i planificació lingüístiques [25 years of language policy and language planning]

by Albert Bastardas-Boada

Published in 'Revista de llengua i dret' 51 (June 2009), pp. 125-132.

VALLS, E. (2008): "La desdialectalització del català nord-occidental: cap a una convergència total amb l'estàndard?". In "De Lingua Aragonensi", n.4, pp. 55-89.

by Esteve Valls

Paper in Catalan.

Aquest article és una primera aproximació al procés de canvi lingüístic que ha afectat sis poblacions de parla... more Aquest article és una primera aproximació al procés de canvi lingüístic que ha afectat sis poblacions de parla catalana nord-occidental en els darrers 80 anys. L'estudi segueix el mètode dialectomètric desenvolupat arran de l'explotació del "Corpus Oral Dialectal" de la Universitat de Barcelona, consistent a calcular la distància lingüística entre les varietats estudiades a partir de la discriminació dels elements impredictibles i predictibles de la llengua des d'una perspectiva generativa clàssica. Els resultats permeten detectar un procés divergent en el si d’aquestes varietats: d’anivellament dialectal entre els parlars del Principat i de divergència entre aquests parlars i els dialectes nord-occidentals de l’Aragó. L’efecte-frontera entre Catalunya i l’Aragó està contribuint, doncs, a crear una falla dialectal en el tradicional contínuum del català nord-occidental.

Review of: BASTARDAS, Albert (2007): "Polítiques de la llengua i la identitat a l’era glocal". Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Autonòmics (Generalitat de Catalunya). In “Grial. Revista galega de cultura”, n. 176, 2008.

by Esteve Valls

Review in Galician.

Review of: SOLÉ I CAMARDONS, Jordi (2007): "La llengua que ens va parir. Set pensadors a la recerca del català". Barcelona: Dux. In "Grial. Revista galega de cultura”, n. 178, 2008.

by Esteve Valls

Review in Galician.

Review of: PRADILLA, Miquel-Àngel (2008): "Sociolingüística de la variació i llengua catalana". Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans. In “Estudos de Lingüística Galega”, n. 2, 2010.

by Esteve Valls

Review in Galician.

Review of: PRADILLA, Miquel-Àngel (2009): "La tribui valencana. Reflexions sobre la desestructuració de la comunitat lingüística". Benicarló: Onada. To appear in “Cadernos de Lingua”, n.33, 2011.

by Esteve Valls

Review in Galician.