Vom Latein zum Katalanischen

Abstract

Catalan, as a linguistic system, is the uninterrupted continuation of the language of the Romans. Having a different name from "Latin" is a matter of conscience that can be explained by Charlemagne's reforms. The fact that Catalan and Occitan are now considered two separate languages ​​was not predetermined but was a corollary of 13th-century political events.

Linguistic change is a universal fact due to the activity of speakers, but without their intention. In any language, the three irreversible processes of phonetic shrinkage, syntactic and lexical extension, and fusion of contiguous elements in the spoken string take place continuously. These processes are illustrated by Catalan examples.