While in the territory that will later be Catalonia, Catalan begins to differ slightly from the Occitan language, in Valencia already exists Valencian authors who create poetry and literature. Years later, in the 15th century, the Valencian culture will have their golden age. While Catalonia will not have his own golden age until the 19th century with the Renaixença.
In the study of Muslim Spain there are two major errors:
One, is to think that in the Muslim invasion , from Africa entered millions of settlers who displaced all Hispanics to the north.
In fact it is estimated that they could reach from Africa, at most, some 500,000 people, throughout the centuries of Arab domination, compared to the 6,000,000 Hispanics that the Iberian Peninsula was supposed to have, which means that it did not exceed 10%. Simply they were changed lords, the visigods, by others, the arabs. And not only that, since there were Visigothic lords who converted to Islam and continued to keep their possessions and their power. Meanwhile, part of the population converted to Islam, real or feigned.
And another is to think that by converting to Islam, by the work and grace of Allah, they began to speak Arabic and forgot their Romance language.
The reality is that during the first centuries of Muslim rule, Arabic in this area would be similar to Latin in the Christian zone. Where the people expressed themselves in their Romance language, while the administration, the justice and the church expressed themselves in Latin. In the Muslim zone, the people would continue to use their Romance language, while the administration and the church would use Arabic. Even leaders of the Arab Hispania apologize when they write to colleagues outside the Iberian Peninsula because of their deficient Arabic, since a hispano-Arabic dialect developed , very influenced by the romance spoken by the people.
Jarchas have been found in writings made between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries, which means that a Romance language was spoken long before the arrival of the Muslims in Spain, the Muslims arrived at the beginning of the 8th century.
Finding jarchas in the 14th century means that the Romance language lasted the entire time the Muslims were there. The official language, administrative and judicial, would be Arabic, while the majority of the population used romance in their family communication. As it has happened for so many years. with Spanish and the other languages of Spain (Galician, Basque, Valencian, Majorcan or Catalan).
So what we have are some territories that cover the Mediterranean basin of Spain and France, with similar dialects.
Dialectal classification, Wikipedia
Before the arrival of the Muslims there already existed in the Mediterranean strip of Spain and France
a common language, or very similar dialects.
We can see this during the conquest of Majorca by Jasmes I of Aragon. In the different chronicles of the conquest ( Desclot , Marsilio , the book of events , or the Tariq Mayurca de Rosselló ), describe the ease of communication with the natives Majorcan, in the same way that happened 8 years later in the conquest of Valencia.
The Catalans tell us that both Majorcan and Valencian are dialects of Catalan, that's why they are so similar. But they forget to say that the Occitan language of southern France is as similar to Catalan as it can be Majorcan or Valencian.
Text in Occitan.
"Comunicat de l'IEO (Institut d'Estidis Occitans): contribucion al debat pertocant a las proposicions de lei constitucionalas.
Vaquí lo punt de vista de l'IEO pels debats a venir suls tèxtes de proposicion de lei constitucionalas, per modificar la Constitucion dins la perspectiva de ratificar la Carta Europenca de las lengas regionalas o minoritàrias."
They also forget that for centuries, Catalan was considered one of the different Occitan dialects, and that it was not until 1862 that it was given the name of Catalan, before it was called Limousin (Occitan dialecte).
They will never admit what is obvious, and that is that in this area of the Mediterranean a series of dialects were developed that we could include within the so-called Occitan dialects, before the Muslim conquest of Majorca and Valencia.
The Cathar persecution , between 1210 and 1247, caused an important mass of population coming from the South of France, to cross the Pyrenees to reach Catalonia, through the Gerona area and from there to Barcelona, causing a linguistic anomaly, as can be observed in the map below.
Before the Muslim invasion in the year 711.
The idiomatic distribution in this area before the Muslim invasion could be the one we see in the first image. The Pyrenees is a barrier that makes the variation more accentuated .
The tongue of the rest of the territory varies naturally as we move through the area.
Balearic Islands was part of the Byzantine Empire. The Balearic Language Base, was probably shared with Sardinia, territories related for thousands of years of history and that they have a common feature in their language as is the use of Salty Speaking.
Notice how the language changes gradually as we go from the South of Valencia to the North of Lleida, some French philologists describe the Catalan language of Lleida as the Valencian language of Catalonia . . However, in the Barcelona-Gerona area the difference is more abrupt.
Occitan refugees entered through the Girona Pyrenees, which is the easiest step, and from there they went down to Barcelona, taking with them a differentiated Occitan, which when mixed with the one spoken in the area produced this anomaly.
This emigration from Occitania was repeated in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and also for religious reasons, further accentuating this linguistic anomaly.
The Romance language of the Balearics also received an important influence of the Occitan immigration, fruit of the Cathar persecution and the coming of settlers from the territories that the Kingdom of Majorca owned in the Occitan area. Without forgetting the Occitan mercenaries who came with James III of Majorca in his attempt to recover the Kingdom, and that after his defeat, many of them remained as settlers.
In spite of what catalanist propaganda tells us, the population contribution of Catalonia to Baleares was much less than arrival from Occitan territory.
After the French Revolution (1789), the Occitan language is relegated to oral use, imposing the French language. This will cause a slow but firm path towards his disappearance.
While the Catalan language from the nineteenth century, begins a great boom propitiated mainly by the wealthy Catalan bourgeoisie.
Occitan today survives as best he can. There are several publications in this language, that if we compare it with the Catalan and Majorcan, we should ask why the Majorcan is a dialect of the Catalan, while Catalan is a language different from Occitan.
The Catalanist manipulation has turned the Catalan dialect into a language different from Occitan. At the beginning of the 20th century it was still considered a mere dialect, by prestigious national and international linguists. But the Catalan economic power managed to turn some of these linguists into defenders of, "the ancient Catalan language".
A clear example of this is Wilhelm Meyer-Lübke, linguist, romanist and Swiss hispanist, in 1890 he assigned to the Catalan language the dialect status of Provencal (Occitan), in his "Grammar of Romance Languages", where he says:
"In the East the transition is operated little by little with Catalan in Roussillon: This latter speaks (parlen), which is nothing more than a Provencal dialect ..."
Surprisingly, he changed his mind when, in 1925, he was named, "Maintainer of the Jocs Florals of Barcelona" and had been "onerously loyalized" by the Catalan bourgeoisie. It was then that he began to use the name "Catalan language" widely.
This Catalanist manipulation not only made an Occitan dialect a "thousand-year-old language", but it managed to convert the most corrupt and infamous dialect of the entire old Crown of Aragon, the Barcelona dialect, into the Catalan linguistic standard.
These are the opinions of two important linguists, about the aberration of Barcelona:
Father Batllori, historian and university professor. Prize Prince of Asturias 1995 and doctor honoris cause by different Catalan univesidades. In 1992, University of Gerona:
"The Catalan of Barcelona that is tried to impose in Valencia is an infamous and infamous dialect, what is being tried to impose in Valencia and the Balearic Islands, as a literary language, is the infamous dialect of Barcelona" ..., "it will never be accepted that a dialect as infected as Barcelona can be imposed as a national language "...
Antoni Maria Alcover. Wikipedia.
Mossén Alcover (Majorcan linguist). Author of the Majorcan rondallas and now converted, by Catalan manipulation, into an apostle of Balearic Catalanism. In 1918:
"What right or literary category has the Catalan of Barcelona over the Balearic, the western or the Valencian? ABSOLUTELY NONE." We speak for those who hold the CRAZY and UPLIFTING THESIS that the CATALAN of BARCELONA must be the norm and the law and the number of "good Catalan", literary Catalan, the Catalan par excellence ... "," That our Majorcan Catalanits do not scandalize what I say here "llengo" and not "llengua" ... that's why I claim as an absolutely legitimate form of the Balearic Islands, no matter how much the hairs of certain Majorcan Catalanits bristle. "
Remember:
- That before the arrival of the Romans all this area of the Mediterranean of Spain and France was occupied by the Iberian people. Leaving a common linguistic deposit that lasted after the romanization.
- That the Mediterranean basin of Hispania and South of France, where the different Occitan dialects were developed, were united for more than 1,000 years, first by Romans and then by Visigoths.
- That the communication in the territory that comprises Barcelona to the north, including the Occitan area, was only interrupted for some 83 years.
- That during this period, the inhabitants of Barcelona, did not stop practicing their Christian religion and speak their Romance language.
- That even between the Muslim and Christian areas, except for periods of conflict, communication and trade existed.
- That Baleares, despite being part of the Byzantine Empire, was still related to the Iberian Peninsula.
- That for more than 100 years the Balearic Islands formed part of the Carolingian Empire , together with the Catalan counties and Occitania .
- That after the Muslim invasion of the Balearic Islands, an important mass of population fled towards the coasts of Gerona, with whom they had political and religious ties, leaving a trace that can still be seen in the salty speak of some coastal points.
- That after the French Revolution, the Occitan language was relegated to oral use, imposing the French language.
- That Catalanism, supported by the wealthy Catalan bourgeoisie, turned a mere Occitan dialect into a thousand-year-old language.
- That the Barcelonian, the most infamous dialect of the entire Crown of Aragon, was converted into the Catalan standard. To the detriment of the Valencian and Majorcan.
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