Valencian (valencià)

Valencian is the official language of the Valencian Community (Comunitat Valenciana) in Spain, and is also spoken in the El Carche area of the neighbouring Region of Murcia by about 2.4 million people.

Valencian at a glance

Native name: valencià [valensiˈa]
Language family: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Western, Gallo-Romance, Occitano-Romance, Catalan, Western Catalan
Number of speakers: c. 2.4 million
Spoken in: Valencian Community and the Region of Murcia in Spain
First written: 14th century
Writing system: Latin script
Status: official language in the Valencian Community and officially recognised as a regional language of Spain.

Valencian is considered a separate language by about half the people in Valencia, while others consider it to be a variety of Catalan. It is classified by linguists as a Western dialect of Catalan, and the Valencian Language Academy (Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua, AVL) considers Valencian and Catalan to be two names for the same language.

Valencian is used on radio and television stations and in literature. A way to write Valencian was created in 1932 by the AVL. An alternative orthography was created by the Real Acadèmia de Cultura Valenciana (RACV) in 1979.

Valencian alphabet

Download an alphabet chart for Valencian (Excel)

Notes

c = [k] before the a, o and u, and [s] before e and i.
ç only appears before a, o and u and is pronounced [s]
g = [ɡ/ɣ̞] before a, o and u and g = [ʤ] before e and i.
gu = [ɡw/ɣ̞w] before a, o and u, and before e and i.
gü is pronounced [ɡw/ɣ̞w] and is used before e and i.
h is silent, except in foreign loanwords, where it’s pronounced [x].
q is always followed by u or ü.
qu = [kw] before a, o and u, and [k] before e and i.
qü is pronounced [kw] and is used before e and i.
r = [r] after the beginning of words, and [ɾ] elsewhere.
w is only used in foreign loanwords.

Sample text

Tots els éssers humans naixen lliures i iguals en dignitat i en drets i, dotats com estan de raó i de consciència, sʼhan de comportar fraternalment els uns amb els altres.

A recording of this text by Margarita Gracia Sanz from Valencia

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Sample videos in and about Valencian

Information about Valencian | Phrases | Numbers | Tower of Babel

Links

Information about Valencian
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valencian_language
https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valencià
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idioma_valenciano
https://howismyspanish.com/valencian-language/

Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua
https://www.avl.gva.es/

Diccionari Normatiu Valencià
https://www.avl.gva.es/lexicval/

Romance languages

Aragonese, Aranese, Aromanian, Asturian, Catalan, Corsican, Dalmatian, Emilian, Extremaduran, Fala, Franco-Provençal, French, Friulian, Galician, Gallo, Gascon, Genoese, Guernésiais, Istro-Romanian, Istriot, Italian, Jèrriais, Ladino, Ladin, Leonese, Ligurian, Lombard, Lorrain, Megleno-Romanian, Mirandese, Moldovan, Monégasque, Mozarabic, Neapolitan, Occitan, Occitan (Auvergnat), Occitan (Languedocien), Occitan (Limousin), Occitan (Provençal), Picard, Piedmontese, Portuguese, Romagnol, Romanian, Romansh, Sardinian, Sicilian, Spanish, Valencian, Venetian, Walloon

Languages written with the Latin alphabet

Page created: 28.11.21. Last modified: 06.08.26

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