I came across this post on Instagram and thought it was juicy enough to make a post out of it!
One caretaker at an animal sanctuary asks the sheep how they’re doing and says they reply in Catalan. Here’s why:
The sound lambs and sheep make becomes the onomatopoeia “bee” /bέέ/ in Catalan, which resembles “bé” meaning “good”. In English, the conventional onomatopoeia for the same sound is “baa” or “meeh”.
Other interesting onomatopoeic contrasts would include the “woof woof” dogs make, which in Catalan becomes “bup bup” and in Spanish “guau guau”. Also to be pointed out is the basic sound of birds, which we say is “tweet tweet” in English while in Catalan it’s expressed as “piu piu” or “pío pío” in Spanish. This is where the expressions “No decir ni pío” (SP) and “No dir ni piu” (CAT) come from, meaning “Not making a peep”!
Native speakers of any language do not tend to test their fluency and knowledge in their native tongues. Well, this is not the case with Catalan!
Natives and newcomers alike, Catalan speakers must take a MECR-based test if they want to increase their chances getting into a master’s degree or finding a job here. It’s the way it is and you either comply or find other ways of making your curriculum look nicer.
The reason for the need behind this test depends on who you ask and there is not one clearly defined answer to give here (not one that we know of, at least). It might be political: Catalan is only co-official in Spain and is in a permanent coexistence (or competition) with Spanish. Despite being widely used all around Catalonia, the truth is you really don’t need to speak any Catalan here to survive. A vast majority of students now take as much Catalan as Spanish at school, but that wasn’t the case with the older generations. Another aspect that might have created the need for this test is linguistic promotion: having a MECR-based exam seems essential if any language aspires to be taken seriously. Therefore, politics and promotion might have created this necessity to test Catalans for Catalan, but this is up to opinions and experiences.
You’ll be tested on your writing, comprehension and oral skills. Compared to other language tests (Cambridge ESOL asks for up to 200€ to prove a C2 English level), this test is not expensive (22€ for A2, B1 and B2 levels or 53€ for C1 and C2 levels). Most universities offer courses to prepare for the exam and after successful completion of basic high school education all students are awarded a C1 level (making the C2 test a further step to take for educational and professional purposes).
Please do share your opinions and experiences with us! Have you ever felt the need to take a test to prove your fluency in your own native tongue? Do you think it’s fair?
La meva teoria de per què a la música trompetera catalana hi ha tant de oi oi oi ai ai ai ooooooooh oooooooh és perquè el públic pugui cantar a les festes majors sense necessitat de saber-se la lletra
Historia interesan de un grandiós elefán ab totas las assanyes que va passá desde son neixament hasta ‘l present any published by llibreria de Joan Grau. That’s one very large elephant and a very tiny hat.
Song eight from my translation of Junteu-vos by el Diluvi, featuring Huntza which means I got to translate some Basque too (into both Catalan and English)!
On estan tots aquells que “Al Vent” li cantaren? Where are all the people who sang “Al Vent” [“To the Wind”]? On estan les cabòries que sempre rondaven? Where are the worries that were always going around? On estan cada veu, cada crit, cada plor? Where is every voice, every cry, every tear? On estan les cançons, les de cor, les d’amor? Where are the songs, the ones from the heart, the ones about love? On estan els camins que a la lluita ens portaren Where are all the roads that brought us to the fight per lluitar sense por? to fight without fear?
[ TORNADA: T’escoltaré, quan t’aboques a l’abisme I’ll listen to you, when you’re staring down the abyss T’escoltaré I’ll listen to you I lluitarem de la mà contra els dimonis, And we’ll fight hand-to-hand against the demons, i lluitarem and we’ll fight ]
Non daude kantatzen zuten txoriak? On estan els ocells que cantàven? Where are the birds that used to sing? Non inoiz kontatu gabeko elezaharrak? On, les llegendes mai contades? Where are the legends never told? Non dago jendea mugitzen zuen haizea? On està el vent que mou la gent? Where is the wind that moves people? Non pasatako momentu guztiak? On, tots els moments passats? Where are all the moments that have passed? Borrokara eraman gintuzten bideak? Els camins que se’ns van emportar a la lluita? The roads that carried us into the fight? Beldurrik gabe aurrera! Endavant, sense por! Onwards, without fear!
[ ERREPIKA: Entzungo zaitut, amildegian heltzean T’escoltaré, quan arribes a l’abisme I’ll listen to you, when you’ve come to the abyss Entzungo zaitut T’escoltaré I’ll listen to you Eta borrokatu itzalen aurka batera i lluitar contra les ombres a la vegada and fight against the shadows at the same time Borrokatu lluitar fight]
Embriagant-nos de goig jugarem amb el foc; Getting drunk on joy when we play with fire; entre espurnes de llum la tristesa s’allunya. between sparks of light sadness goes far away. si l’ahir es el hui i el demà ja vindrà, If yesterday is today and tomorrow is yet to come mirarem a la nit, brindarem amb la lluna. we’ll look into the night, we’ll toast with the moon. Abrigats amb records farem fora els enyors. Wrapped cozily in memories we’ll drive out longing La nostàlgia esta nit ens serà inoportuna. Nostalgia will be unfitting for us tonight. Lluitarem sense por! We’ll fight without fear!
I translated the first song of this album back in April, which you can find here. Since then, I’ve decided to translated the whole thing because I can’t decide what I like best, so here we go!
[ TORNADA: Encara tens tot el que trobava aquella nit You still have everything that I found that night perdut en el teu llit lost in your bed i encara tremole. and I still tremble. Encara tens els ulls de fera, You still have those wild eyes, eres la València que mossega. you’re the Valencia that bites. Encara tremole I still tremble Encara tremole I still tremble]
Tremole amb l’escalforeta de sentir-te a prop I still tremble with the heat of feeling you close, i forta com el primer cop. as strong as the first time. Tremole I tremble Com quan ballàvem la dansa, Like when we were dancing, abraçàvem el canvi a la plaça. we were embracing change in the square Tremole amb l’oloreta del cafè, I tremble with the smell of coffee, dels teus ulls, llavis de mel, of your eyes, your lips of honey Com gota de gel que regalima al ventre Like a drop of ice that drips into my stomach i es va desfent. and slowly melts.
[ TORNADA ]
Quan et veig prendre el carrer dels Amants When I see you take on the Carrer dels Amants (lovers’ street) omplint-nos de goig de Quart a Serrans. filling ourselves with joy from Quart to Serrans. Tremole quant et recorde a aquell banc I tremble when I remember you on that bench bevent descosits, descamisats. the two of us drinking, unraveled, shirtless Tremole rodolant pels teus cabells, I tremble, rolling through your hair, bucles negres, bruna pell; black curls, dark skin; deixar-nos fer i perdre el seny letting ourselves go and losing our sensibility i tremolem. and we tremble.
[ TORNADA ]
Encara vivim sense pensar We still live without thinking Encara pensem que ens eixirà We still think we’ll make it out Encara eixim lluny per descobrir-nos We still make it out far to discover ourselves Encara eres vent que em fa navegar You’re still wind that lets me take sail Encara naveguem per aquell ball We still take sail through that dance Encara ballem quan em fas volar we still dance when you make me fly Encara volem per un dia de març We still fly through a day in March Encara no he deixat de tremolar… I still haven’t stopped trembling
The vast, impossibly intricate ceiling inside Gaudi’s temple. 130+ years later and it’s still being constructed. It’s amazing/moving how his legacy and vision continues to be upheld…
Taula central del Retaule del Centenar de la Ploma del pintor alemay Andreu Marçal de Sax; representa a Jaume I d'Aragó i a Sant Jordi lluitant a la Batalla del Puig de Santa Maria (1237)
Carta portolana nàutico-geogràfica confeccionada el 1375 després de la reannexió del regne de Mallorques a la Corona d'Aragó i que el Privilegi de Sant Feliu de Guíxols (1365) concedís als habitants de les illes el privilegi de ser considerats catalans, el dret a participar en les Corts catalanes i a tenir com a pròpies les Constitucions de Catalunya. La carta portulana és coneguda pel nom d'Atles Català (Biblioteca Nacional de França)
The concept for the pieces was derived from the artist’s 1942 painting “Interpretation Project for a Stable–Library,” in which a young woman nestles among sheep and lambs on the floor of a study-cum-barn. To her right, one of the lambs serves as a nightstand, with a drawer in its flank and a telephone on its back.
BD Barcelona created 20 individual white and one black sheep in collaboration with the famed Parisian taxidermy firm Deyrolle, which had worked on multiple projects with Dalí throughout his career.
The skins were ethically sourced from a meat-processing plant, so no animals were sacrificed for these works.
The name of the design, Xai, is Catalan for “Lamb.”
Lambs designed by Salvador Dali, Manufactured by BD Barcelona and Deyrolle,
Animal Skin, Brass, Wood,
Height: 27.96 in. (71 cm), Width: 34.26 in. (87 cm), Depth: 10.24 in. (26 cm),
Salvador Dali, “Interpretation Project for a Stable-Library,” 1942,
In linguistics, a filler is a sound or word that is spoken in conversation by one participant to signal to others that he/she has paused to think but is not yet finished speaking. These are not to be confused with placeholder names, such as thingamajig, which refer to objects or people whose names are temporarily forgotten, irrelevant, or unknown.
InArabic, يعني yaʿni (“I mean”) and وﷲ wallāh(i) (“by God”) are common fillers.[2][3][4]
InAmerican Sign Language,UM can be signed with open-8 held at chin, palm in, eyebrows down (similar to FAVORITE); or bilateral symmetric bent-V, palm out, repeated axial rotation of wrist (similar to QUOTE).
InCatalan,eh/ə/,doncs(“so”),llavors (“therefore”), and o sigui (“it means”) are common fillers.
InCzech,takortakže(“so”),prostě(“simply”),jako (“like”) are used as fillers. Čili (“or”) and že (“that”, a conjunction) might also be others. A person who says jakoandprostě as fillers might sound a bit simple-minded to others.[5]
InDutch,eh,ehm, and dus are some of the more common fillers.
InEsperanto,do (“therefore”) is the most common filler.
InFilipino,ah,eh,ay, and ano are the most common fillers.
InFinnish,niinku(“like”),tota, and öö are the most common fillers.
InFrench,euh /ø/ is most common; other words used as fillers include quoi(“what”),bah,ben(“well”),tu vois (“you see”), and eh bien (roughly “well”, as in “Well, I’m not sure”). Outside of France, other expressions are tu sais (“you know”), t’sais’veux dire? (“you know what I mean?”), or allez une fois (“go one time”). Additional filler words include genre(“kind”),comme (“like”), and style (“style”; “kind”)
InGerman, a more extensive series of filler words, called modal particles, exists, which actually do give the sentence some meaning. More traditional filler words are äh/ɛː/,hm,so/zoː/,tja, and eigentlich(“actually”)
InHebrew,eh is the most common filler. Em is also quite common.
InHindi,matlab (“it means”) and “Mah” are fillers.
InHungarian, common filler words include hát (well…) and asszongya (a variant of azt mondja, which means “it says here…”).
InIcelandic, a common filler is hérna(“here”).Þúst, a contraction of þú veist (“you know”), is popular among younger speakers.
InMandarin Chinese, speakers often say 这个 zhège/zhèige (“this”) or 那个 nàge/nèige (“that”). Another common filler is 就 jìu(“just/precisely”).
InNorwegian, common fillers are øh,altså,på en måte (“in a way”), ikke sant (literally “not true?”, “no kidding”, or “exactly”), vel (“well”), and liksom (“like”). In Bergen, sant (“true”) is often used instead of ikke sant. In the Trøndelag region, skjø’ (“see?” or “understand?”) is also a common filler.
InPersian,bebin (“you see”), چیز “chiz” (“thing”), and مثلا masalan (“for instance”) are commonly-used filler words. As well as in Arabic and Urdu, يعني yaʿni (“I mean”) is also used in Persian. Also, eh is a common filler in Persian.
InPortuguese,tipo (“like”) is the most common filler.
InRomanian,deci /detʃʲ/ (“therefore”) is common, especially in school, and ă /ə/ is also very common (can be lengthened according to the pause in speech, rendered in writing as ăăă), whereas păi /pəj/ is widely used by almost anyone.
InRussian, fillers are called слова-паразиты (“vermin words”); the most common are Э-э(“eh”),это(“this”),того(“that”),ну(“well”),значит (“it means”), так(“so”),как его (“what’s it [called]”), типа (“like”), and как бы (“[just] like”).
InSerbian,znači (“means”) and ovaj (“this”) are common fillers.
InSlovak,oné(“that”),tento(“this”),proste (“simply”), or akože are used as fillers. The Hungarian izé(orizí in its Slovak pronunciation) can also be heard, especially in parts of the country with a large Hungarian population. Ta is a filler typical of Eastern Slovak and one of the most parodied features.
InSlovene,pač (“but”, although it has lost that meaning in colloquial, and it is used as a means of explanation), a ne? (“right?”), and no (“well”) are some of the fillers common in central Slovenia, including Ljubljana.
InSpanish, fillers are called muletillas. Some of the most common in American Spanisharee/e/,este (“this”), and o sea (roughly means “I mean”).[6], in Spain the previous fillers are also used, but ¿Vale? (“right?”) and ¿no? are very common too.
InSwedish, fillers are called utfyllningsord; some of the most common are öhm,ja(“yes”),ba (comes from “bara”, which means “just”), assåoralltså (“therefore”, “thus”), va (comes from “vad”, which means “what”), and liksomandtyp (both similar to the English “like”).
InUrdu,yani(“meaning…”),falan falan (“this and that”; “blah blah”), umm, and aaa are also common fillers.
InTelugu,ikkada entante (“Whats here is…”) and tarwatha (“then…”) are common and there are numerous like this.
InTamil,paatheenga-na (“if you see…”) and apparam (“then…”) are common.
InTurkish,yani(“meaning…”),şey (“thing”), “işte” (“that is”), and falan (“as such”, “so on”) are common fillers.
InWelsh,deorynde is used as a filler (loosely the equivalent of “You know?” or “Isn’t it?”). Ym…andY… are used similarly to the English “um…”.
Remember that this stuff is really important for fluency of speech. I’ve encountered a bad attitude among language teachers before: “we don’t teach filler words, because that’s not “normative” vocabulary, and it encourages students to sound unsure.” But that’s so, so wrong.
All people use filler words in conversation and even in formal settings. It’s a way to keep the flow of speech when the train of thought pauses; it holds the audience’s attention and actually helps maintain clarity of thought. What’s more, these words are instrumental for language learners, who need to pause more often in their speech than native speakers. Allowing them to pause without breaking into their language (saying a filler word in their language) or completely breaking the flow of their speech allows them to gain fluency faster.
My high school Japanese teacher did it right: “etto” and “anou” were in the second lesson. Teach filler words, people!! And if you’re studying a language and don’t know them, look at this list!! It has a lot!
Could add these to the Icelandic list:
sko
þarna
ee
uu
skilur(ð)u
tja
I’d translate слова-паразиты as “parasite words” not “vermin” words.
Also, Bulgarian: znachi(”it means” or “so”), ami, and aaa
![useless-catalanfacts:Els accents diacrítics que no han mort a la guerra no ha eliminat l’IEC.[x]](https://64.media.tumblr.com/15d92a8115a78047c59b9e72788586f0/tumblr_oebtkoljfs1ucsx5so1_500.jpg "useless-catalanfacts:Els accents diacrítics que no han mort a la guerra no ha eliminat l’IEC.[x]")
