Unit 1
Sounds & Spelling through the IPA
By the end you can: read any Catalan word aloud from its spelling or its IPA — the foundation for the oral exam.
From spelling to sound
| Spelling | IPA | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ç ; c+e,i | /s/ | plaça /ˈplasə/ square; cinc /ˈsiŋk/ five |
| ny | /ɲ/ | any /ˈaɲ/ year |
| ll | /ʎ/ | llibre /ˈʎiβɾə/ book |
| l·l | /l/ | paral·lel /pəɾəˈlɛl/ parallel |
| x | /ʃ/ | xocolata /ʃukuˈlatə/ chocolate |
| tx ; -ig final | /tʃ/ | cotxe /ˈkɔtʃə/ car; maig /ˈmatʃ/ May |
| j ; g+e,i | /ʒ/ | jo /ˈʒɔ/ I; gent /ˈʒen/ people |
| h | (silent) | hola /ˈɔlə/ hello |
| v | /b, β/ | vi /ˈbi/ wine |
| unstressed a, e | /ə/ | setembre /səˈtɛmbɾə/ September |
| unstressed o | /u/ | color /kuˈlo/ colour |
Accents & stress
A written accent marks the stressed syllable: grave è/ò = open /ɛ ɔ/ (cafè /kəˈfɛ/ coffee), acute é/ó = closed /e o/ (camió /kəmiˈo/ lorry). No accent? Words ending in a vowel, -s or -en are stressed on the second-to-last syllable; others on the last: hospital /uspiˈtal/ hospital, taula /ˈtawlə/ table.
New vocabulary — first survival words
| Catalan | IPA | English |
|---|---|---|
| sí / no | /ˈsi/ /ˈno/ | yes / no |
| i / o | /i/ /o/ | and / or |
| què? | /ˈkɛ/ | what? |
| qui? | /ˈki/ | who? |
| on? | /ˈon/ | where? |
| quan? | /ˈkwan/ | when? |
| com? | /ˈkom/ | how? |
| quant? | /ˈkwan(t)/ | how much? |
| per què? | /pəɾ ˈkɛ/ | why? |
| perquè | /pəɾˈkɛ/ | because |
| aquí / allà | /əˈki/ /əˈʎa/ | here / there |
| això / allò | /əˈʃɔ/ /əˈʎɔ/ | this / that (thing) |
| molt / poc | /ˈmol/ /ˈpɔk/ | a lot / little |
| bé / malament | /ˈbe/ /mələˈmen/ | well / badly |
| la paraula | /pəˈɾawlə/ | word |
| la frase | /ˈfɾazə/ | sentence, phrase |
| la pregunta | /pɾəˈɣuntə/ | question |
| la resposta | /rəsˈpɔstə/ | answer |
| l'exemple | /əɡˈzemplə/ | example |
| el so | /ˈsɔ/ | sound |
New phrases
| Com es diu… en català? | /ˌkom əz ˈðiw ən kətəˈla/ | How do you say… in Catalan? |
| Què vol dir…? | /ˌkɛ βɔl ˈdi/ | What does… mean? |
| Pots repetir, si us plau? | /ˌpɔdz rəpəˈti si us ˈplaw/ | Can you repeat, please? |
| Més a poc a poc, si us plau. | /ˌmez ə ˌpɔk ə ˈpɔk/ | More slowly, please. |
| No ho entenc. | /ˌno w ənˈteŋ/ | I don't understand. |
| Ho sento. | /u ˈsentu/ | I'm sorry. |
These classroom-survival phrases are exam gold: examiners expect A1 candidates to ask for repetition in Catalan rather than switching to English.
Resources for Unit 1
Listen: interactive IPA charts — click any symbol from this unit's tables to hear it → jbdowse.com/ipa · Loecsen first-contact phrases with audio → loecsen.com/en/learn-catalan
Practise online: look up each new word on Forvo and shadow the native speaker → forvo.com/languages/ca
Practise online: look up each new word on Forvo and shadow the native speaker → forvo.com/languages/ca
Exercises
EX 1.1
Transcribe into IPA (use the tables above).
- plaça
- any
- jo
- cotxe
- color
EX 1.2
Read the IPA — which Catalan word is it?
- /ˈʎiβɾə/
- /ˈɔlə/
- /kəˈfɛ/
- /ˈmatʃ/
EX 1.3
Mark the stressed syllable (write the word with CAPITALS).
- hospital
- taula
- català
- setembre
EX 1.4
True or false?
- The symbol /ə/ is the most common vowel in Central Catalan.
- Written v is pronounced /v/ as in English.
- Final -r of infinitives is silent.
- /ʃ/ is the sound of Catalan x.
EX 1.5
Match the question word to its meaning.
EX 1.6
What do you say when… (use a new phrase)
- …you didn't understand?
- …you want something repeated?
- …you want to know what a word means?