The first names, or glossonyms, of the

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

Valencian Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the Carche, El Carche comarca in Región de Murcia, Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance lan ...

language formed in a

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

al relation with

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, in which Catalan existed as a

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

. These names already expressed the relationship between the two languages (

Council of Tours 813 In the medieval Roman Catholic church there were several Councils of Tours, that city being an old seat of Christianity, and considered fairly centrally located in France. Council of Tours 461 The Council was called by Perpetuus, Bishop of Tours, ...

). New names that related Catalan to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(''lingua romanana'', ''romançar'' or ''romanç'') came about to dignify the Catalan language in the thirteenth century, though Latinists called it ''vulgar'' (or ''sermo vulgaris'') and the people ''planus'', or ''pla''. During the Muslim presence in

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

and the ''

Reconquista The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...

'', it was known as ''chrestianesch'' ('Christianish'), or ''lingua chrestianica'', or ''christianica'' ('Christian language'), and contrasted with Classical languages, like Arabic and Hebrew; that are linked to Islamic and Judaic traditions. With the language expanding beyond

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, names that indicated its place of origin were favoured: ''catalanesch'' (or ''cathalanesch''), ''valencianesch'' and ''balearica'' or ''maioricensis''. Likewise, the monarchy became associated with the language, which neutralized the political divisions of its territory. The increased range of the language had the effect of unifying the territory that it came to be spoken in, a fact that successive

rulers A ruler, sometimes called a rule, line gauge, or scale, is a device used in geometry and technical drawing, as well as the engineering and construction industries, to measure distances or draw straight lines. Variants Rulers have long ...

took advantage of to neutralize political divisions, as was recorded by Ramon Muntaner. The first written reference to Catalan appears in the ''regles de trobar'' (Rules of the Trobadour's Art, ca. 1290), written in Occitan in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

by the Catalan troubadour and monk Jofre of Foixà: ''"si tu trobes en cantar proençals alcun mot que i sia frances o catalanesch..."'' (If you find a French or Catalan word in a troubadour song...) By the end of

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, Latin was less of a universal language, provoking Catalan to receive other names that remarked a local character and the political divisions of the time: ''materna lingua'' (or ''maternus sermo''), ''maioricensis'' (in the

Kingdom of Majorca The Kingdom of Majorca ( ca, Regne de Mallorca, ; es, Reino de Mallorca; la, Regnum Maioricae; french: Royaume de Majorque) was a realm on the east coast of Spain, which included certain Mediterranean islands, and which was founded by James I o ...

), ''valencianesch'' (in the

Kingdom of Valencia Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

). Similarly, when Castile and Aragon were united in the fifteenth century, the range of the Catalan name was reduced to simply mean "from Catalonia" and confusion about the origin of the language led to the apparition of names such as ''lemosin'', or ''llemosí'' (

Limousin Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...

). Before the

Renaixença The ''Renaixença'' (; also written ''Renaixensa'' before spelling standardisation), or Catalan Renaissance, was a romantic revivalist movement in Catalan language and culture through the mid 19th century, akin to the Galician ''Rexurdimento ...

, which revitalized Catalan-language culture, some unpopular terms such as ''llemosí-català'', ''català i valencià'', and ''bacavès'' (after ''balear-català-valencià'') were created.

* Antoni I. Alomar, «La llengua catalana com a patrimoni de les Balears des del punt de vista del passat», dins Societat Arqueològica Lul·liana, ''Actes del IV Congrés El nostre patrimoni cultural: El català, patrimoni de Mallorca'', Palma, 1997, pàgs. 17-56. * Josep Amengual i Batle, "La llengua del poble dins els sínodes mallorquins", ''Randa'' 6. * Germà Colón i Domènech, ''La llengua catalana en els seus textos'' I, Curial Ed., Barcelona, 1978. p. 39-59, 60-71. . * Germà Colón i Domènech, ''El español y el catalán, juntos y en contraste'', Editorial Ariel, Barcelona, 1989, p. 19-32. . * Germà Colón i Domènech, ''Estudis de filologia catalana i romànica'', Institut Interuniversiari de Filologia Valenciana - Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat, València/Barcelona, 1997, p. 185-194. . * Germà Colón i Domènech, ''De Ramon Llull al Diccionari de Fabra. Acostament a les lletres catalanes'', Fundació Germà Colón, Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat, Barcelona, 2003, p. 229-242. . * Antoni Ferrando, ''Consciència idiomàtica i nacional dels valencians'', València, Universitat de València, València, 1980. * Antoni Ferrando i Miquel Nicolás, ''Panorama d'història de la llengua'', Tàndem Edicions, València, 1993. . * Antoni Ferrando i Miquel Nicolás, ''Història de la llengua catalana'', Universitat Oberta,Ed. Pòrtic, Barcelona, 2005, p. 105-107, 165-169, 251.254. . * Rosalia Guilleumas, ''La llengua catalana segons Antoni Rubió i Lluch'', Ed. Barcino, Barcelona, 1957. . * Antoni Mas i Forners, «De nationes seu linguae a cuius regio eius lingua. Les demominacions gentilícies de la llengua a Mallorca durant l’edat mitjana», ''Homenatge a Guillem Rosselló Bordoy'', Volum II, Palma, 2002. p. 585-606. . * Josep Massot i Muntaner, «La consciència lingüística als segles XV-XVIII», Lluc, desembre de 1969, pàgs. 6-8; recollit dins ''Els mallorquins i la llengua autòctona'', Curial, Barcelona, 11972, pàgs. 13-25. * Josep Massot i Muntaner, "Antoni M. Alcover i la llengua catalana", II Congrés Internacional de la Llengua Catalana, Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat, Barcelona, 1985, p. 118-127. * Manuel Sanchis Guarner, "La llengua dels valencians", Ed. Tres i Quatre, València, 1972. p. 2144. * Pere Oliver i Domenge, ''La catalanitat de les Mallorques. Conferència llegida en la vetlla del 23 de març de 1916, en el Casal Catalanista de Sants «Els Segadors»'', Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya – Illes Balears i Pitiüses, Mallorca, 1993. * Antonio Planas Rosselló, ''El proceso penal en el Reino de Mallorca'', Miquel Font Ed., Palma, 1998. . * August Rafanell (ed.), ''Un nom per a la llengua. El concepte de llemosí en la història del català'', Vic/Girona, EUMO Editorial/Universitat de Girona, 1991. . * August Rafanell Vall-llosera, ''El llemosinisme. Un estudi de les idees sobre la variació lingüística en la història de la llengua catalana'', Publicacions de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Tesi Doctoral (microfitxa), Bellaterra: UAB, 1991. * Mila Segarra, "Llengua i escriptura en la societat catalana medieval" dins ''Història de la cultura catalana I'', Ed. 62, Barcelona, 1999, p. 125-150. {{ISBN, 84-297-4544-0. * ''Sobre la llengua els valencians. informes i documents'', Universitat de Valencia, València, 1998. Catalan language

See also

Further reading