Catalan is the language of Catalonia. The Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia states that Catalan and Spanish are the official languages of Catalonia. Catalan is spoken by 75.3% of the population of Catalonia and 95% of the population understand it. Catalan is one of the ten most spoken and written languages of the European Union (Catalan is also spoken in the region of Valencia, the Balearic Islands, the eastern strip of Aragon, French Catalonia, the city of Alghero on the island of Sardinia, and Andorra. The total population of these regions is over ten million people.

Catalan at the URV

The Statutes of the URV state that Catalan is the language of the URV, where it is used for institutional and administrative purposes. For teaching purposes, both official languages?Catalan and Spanish?are used. Teachers have the right to choose the language they wish to use, and their choice must be respected. In 2002, 64.9% of classes at the URV were taught in Catalan.

The closeness of the romance languages means that a student who knows one of them can soon follow classes that are taught in Catalan. Also, as the Catalan used in teaching is of a scientific or technical nature, it is even easier to understand. Moreover, the classes that are taught in Catalan do not require exchange students to actively use this language, so when speaking in class, taking notes, writing projects or taking exams, etc., you can use Spanish whenever you like.

Learning catalan

If you would like to learn Catalan, you can:

• attend the Catalan language courses run by the URV's Language Service.
• enrol onto the Gràcies programme (introductory language sessions combining classes with tutorials).
• take part in the cultural and recreational activities run by the URV's Voluntariat Lingüístic.
• learn Catalan on-line via the Intercat programme.

Related Links

• Gencat
• URV Language Service
• Intercat programme
• Translator