Catalan

Catalan is spoken in Spain by about seven million people in three autonomous regions: Catalonia, the Valencian region and the Balearic Islands, where it is the official language alongside Spanish. Outside Spain's borders, Catalan is spoken in Andorra, where it is an official language, further in the neighbouring French region of Roussillon as well as in and around the city of Alghero in Sardinia.

The areas where Catalan is spoken are in the middle of the Romance languages area. Many features are reminiscent of French, Italian and Spanish, which is of great interest for comparative studies of the Romance languages. In addition, Catalan has rich literature from both the Middle Ages and the present.