Like other accents, Catalan has different accents that must be marked textually depending on the linguistic situation. That is why, if you want to communicate effectively and assertively in this language, you should know the accents in Catalan very well.
Most Romance languages have a series of graphic accents that are used to differentiate certain words from others. Both in terms of their typology and their meaning and pronunciation.
It is essential to know them, as they mark the main difference between different languages. Although, in some cases, a large number of languages use the same graphic accents. For example, many of these accents are also used in languages such as Spanish, French, Portuguese, etc.
Before knowing how accents are classified in Catalan, it is important to know what these symbols are and what kind of differences they make when they are used.
The common graphic accent in Catalan is marked with the same type of graphic accent mark as in Spanish. The difference is that, in Catalan, there are two types of this accent. We will talk about this later on.
The cedilla, on the other hand, is nothing more than the letter C with a virgulilla underneath it. Its use in Catalan words can vary greatly and is something you will have to memorise. However, whenever it appears, it should be pronounced just like the letter S in Spanish.
Finally, we come to another linguistic symbol that is also frequently used in Spanish: the umlaut. Its use is also the same as in Spanish. An umlaut is placed over the letter U whenever you want to differentiate its pronunciation when it is between the letters G or Q.
Now that you know a little more about graphic accents, it is time to focus on the accents used in Catalan. We will mainly highlight the differences that their presence causes in the pronunciation and writing of the Catalan language.
Let's start by talking about the acute accent, which is easier to recognise as it is also used in Spanish. The acute accent is represented by the graphic accent mark (').
It should be noted that its use in Catalan is only used on certain specific vowels. These are the vowels e, i, o and u. Moreover, the presence of this accent on the letters e and o slightly changes the way these vowels are pronounced. If it is present, you will have to vocalise a slightly more closed sound.
On the other hand, when we talked about the grave accent, it is a type of accent that we do not have in Spanish, but which will undoubtedly be familiar to us. This is because its symbol is the following: (`). In other words, it is similar to the previous one, only on the other side.
This type of accent is also used in French, and its use in Catalan is similar to the French language. It is used to mark the opening of a vowel. Moreover, unlike the previous case, if this accent is present on the vowels e and o, it must be pronounced more openly.
It is important to know that in Catalan a diacritical accent is used to distinguish the meaning of some monosyllabic words that are homographs. In other words, they are spelled the same, but their meaning is different.
This is something that also happens in Spanish in the case of the monosyllabic word “más”. Which, when written with the accent, is used to express a comparative value. While “más”, when written without accent, is an adversative conjunction.
Well, this is something that also happens in Catalan. In Catalan, several monosyllabic terms must have a diacritical accent. Here is a detailed list of these:
· Bé: It is written with an accent when it means "Good" to differentiate it from "Be" which means "Lamb".
· Déu: It is written with an accent when it means "God" to differentiate it from "Deu" which means "Ten".
· És: It is written with an accent when it is the conjugation of the verb "Ser" to differentiate it from "Es" which is the Spanish equivalent of the impersonal pronoun "Se".
· Mà: It is written with an accent when it means "Hand" to differentiate it from "Ma" which is a feminine possessive adjective in Catalan.
· Més: It is written with an accent when it means "More" to differentiate it from "Mes" which means "Month".
· Món: It is written with an accent when it means "World" to differentiate it from "Mon" which is a masculine possessive adjective in Catalan.
· Pèl: It is written with an accent when it means "Hair" to differentiate it from "Pel" which is the equivalent of "Por" in Spanish.
· Què: It is written with an accent when it means "What" to differentiate it from "Que" which is a relative pronoun.
By knowing and memorising this type of distinction you will gradually start to improve your Catalan pronunciation. So all you have to do is keep practising to improve your communication skills with this language.
If you are looking to improve your command of the Catalan language, but there are still some linguistic issues that confuse you, you can request the services of a private tutor to finish learning. At WeSmartly you can find a wide range of private tutors who are willing to help you.
Whether you are studying the language for academic reasons or interested in learning it for travel purposes, our teachers will help you. Especially because we have teachers whose mother tongue is Catalan. So you can take advantage of the benefits of having native tutors.
