Valencian^[b] (valencià)^[c] or the Valencian language^[3] (llengua valenciana)^[d] is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community of Spain to refer to the Romance language also known as Catalan,^{[e][4][5][6][7][8]} either as a whole^[f] or in its Valencia-specific linguistic forms.^[g][9][10] The Valencian Community's 1982 Statute of Autonomy officially recognises Valencian as the name of the regional language.^[3][11]

The neutrality of this article is disputed. (June 2023)

Quick Facts Pronunciation, Native to ...

Valencian
valencià
Pronunciation	[valensiˈa]
Native to	Spain
Region	Valencian Community, Region of Murcia (Carche) See also geographic distribution of Catalan
Ethnicity	Valencians
Native speakers	2.4 million (2004)[1]
Language family	Indo-European Italic Latino-Faliscan Romance Italo-Western Western Romance Gallo-Romance[a] Occitano-Romance Catalan Western Catalan[2] Valencian
Early forms	Proto-Indo-European Proto-Italic Old Latin Vulgar Latin Old Occitan Old Catalan
Writing system	Valencian orthography (Latin script)
Official status
Official language in	Spain Valencian Community
Recognised minority language in	Spain Carche, Region of Murcia
Regulated by	Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
ISO 639-6	vlca
Glottolog	None
IETF	ca-valencia
Map of the Valencian Community (Valencian speaking areas in green) Extension of the whole language in Europe
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Valencian displays transitional features between Ibero-Romance languages and Gallo-Romance languages. According to philological studies, the varieties of this language spoken in the Valencian Community and Carche cannot be considered a single dialect restricted to these borders: the several dialects of Valencian (Alicante's Valencian, Southern Valencian, Central Valencian or Apitxat, Northern Valencian or Castellon's Valencian and Transitional Valencian) belong to the Western group of Catalan dialects.^[12][13]

There is a political controversy within the Valencian Community regarding its status as a glottonym or as an independent language, since official reports show that the majority of the people in the Valencian Community consider it as a separate language, different from Catalan, although the same studies show that this percentage decreases among younger generations and people with higher studies.^[14][15] According to the 2006 Statute of Autonomy, Valencian is regulated by the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL),^[3] following the legacy established by the Castelló Norms,^[16] which adapt Catalan orthography to Valencian idiosyncrasies.

Some of the most important works of Valencian literature experienced a Golden Age during the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Important works include Joanot Martorell's chivalric romance Tirant lo Blanch, and Ausiàs March's poetry. The first book produced with movable type in the Iberian Peninsula was printed in the Valencian variety.^[17][18] The earliest recorded chess game with modern rules for moves of the queen and bishop was in the Valencian poem Scachs d'amor (1475).

The Valencian language is usually assumed to have spread in the Kingdom of Valencia when Catalan and Aragonese colonists settled the territory after the conquests carried out by James I the Conqueror.^[19] A new resettlement in the 17th century, after the expulsion of the Moriscos, largely led by Castilians, defined the Spanish language varieties of inland Valencia. However, Valencian has historically been the predominant and administrative language in the kingdom.

The first documental reference to the usage of the term valencià to refer to the spoken language of the Valencians is found in a judicial process of Minorca against Gil de Lozano, dated between 1343 and 1346, in which it is said that the mother of the indicted, Sibila, speaks valencianesch because she was from Orihuela (formerly Oriola).^[20]

The concept of Valencian language appeared in the second half of the 14th century and it was progressively consolidated at the same time that its meaning changed due to events of a diverse nature (political, social, economic).^[21] In the previous centuries the Catalan spoken in the territory of the Kingdom of Valencia was called in different ways: romanç (13th century) and catalanesch (during the 14th century, for the medieval concept of nation as a linguistic community). The concept of the Valencian language appeared with a particularistic character due to the reinforced nature of the legal entity of the Kingdom of Valencia for being the Mediterranean commercial power during the 14th and 15th centuries, becoming in the cultural and literary centre of the Crown of Aragon. Thus, the Valencians, together with the Majorcans, presented themselves to other peoples as Catalans while they referred to themselves as Valencians and Majorcans to themselves to emphasise the different legal citizenship of each kingdom.^[22]

In the 15th century, the so-called Valencian Golden Age, the name "Valencian" was already the usual name of the predominant language of the Kingdom of Valencia, and the names of vulgar, romanç or catalanesch had fallen into disuse. Joanot Martorell, author of the novel Tirant lo Blanch, said: "lit. 'Me atrevire expondre: no solament de lengua anglesa en portuguesa. Mas encara de portuguesa en vulgar valenciana: per ço que la nacio d·on yo so natural se·n puxa alegrar'." ("I dare to express myself: not only in English in Portuguese. But even so from Portuguese to vulgar Valencian: for that the nation I am from born can rejoice").

Since the Spanish democratic transition, the autonomy or heteronomy of Valencian with respect to the rest of the Valencian-Catalan linguistic system has been the subject of debate and controversy among Valencians, usually with a political background. Although in the academic field (universities and institutions of recognszed prestige) of linguists the unity of the language has never been questioned since studies of the Romance languages, part of Valencian public opinion believes and affirms that Valencian and Catalan are different languages, an idea that began to spread during the turbulent Valencian transition by sectors of the regionalist right and by the so-called blaverisme (Blaverism). There is an alternative secessionist linguistic regulation, the Normes del Puig (Norms of El Puig), drawn up by the Royal Academy of Valencian Culture (Real Acadèmia de Cultura Valenciana, RACV), an institution founded in 1915 by the Deputation of Valencia, but its use is very marginal.

The official status of Valencian is regulated by the Spanish Constitution and the Valencian Statute of Autonomy, together with the Law on the Use and Teaching of Valencian (ca).

Article 6 of the Valencian Statute of Autonomy sets the legal status of Valencian, establishing that:^[23]

• The native language^[h] of the Valencian Community is Valencian.
• Valencian is the official language in the Valencian Community, along with Spanish, which is the official language of Spain. Everyone shall have the right to know and use them, and to receive education on Valencian and in Valencian.
• No one can be discriminated against by reason of their language.
• Special protection and respect shall be given to the recuperation of Valencian.
• The Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua shall be the normative institution of the Valencian language.

Passed in 1983, the Law on the Use and Teaching of Valencian develops this framework, providing for the implementation of a bilingual educational system, regulating the use of Valencian in the public administration and judiciary system, where citizens can freely use it when acting before both, or establishing the right to be informed by media in Valencian among others.

Valencian is also protected under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, ratified by Spain. However, the Committee of Experts of the Charter has pointed out a considerable number of deficiencies in the application of the Charter by the Spanish and Valencian governments.^[24]

This is a list of features of the main forms of Valencian. There is a great deal of variety within the Valencian Community, and by no means do the features below apply to every local version. For more general information about other linguistic varities, see Catalan language.

The Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL) specifies Standard Valencian as having some specific syntax, vocabulary, verb conjugations and accent marks compared to Standard Catalan.

Phonology

Main article: Catalan phonology

For assistance with IPA transcriptions of Standard Valencian for Wikipedia articles, see Help:IPA/Catalan.

Vowels

More information Front, Back ...

Vowels of Valencian^{[36][37][38][39]}

	Front	Back
Close	i	u
	e	o
Open	ɛ	ɔ
	a

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• The stressed vowel system of Valencian (V) is the same as that of Eastern Catalan (EC):
  • /a/, /e/, /ɛ/, /i/, /o/, /ɔ/, and /u/ (with /ɛ/ and /ɔ/ being considerably lower than in EC).^[40]

Close (and close-mid) vowels

• The vowels /i/ and /u/ are more open and centralised than in Spanish.
  • This effect is more pronounced in unstressed syllables, where the phones are best transcribed [ɪ, ʊ]^[41] (e.g. xiquet [t͡ʃɪˈket] 'boy'). As the process is completely predictable, the latter symbols are not used elsewhere in the article.
    • (Due to the proximity of unstressed close and/or close-mid/mid vowels, non-standard colloquial Valencian may feature further lowerings producing vowel alterations or metathesis, e.g. piscina → *pescina 'pool').^[42]
• The vowel /e/ is somewhat retracted [e̠] and /o/ is somewhat advanced [o̟] both in stressed and unstressed syllables (e.g. metro [ˈme̠tɾo̟] 'metro').
  • /e/ and /o/ can be realised as mid vowels [e̞, o̞] in some cases. This occurs more often with /o/ (e.g. amor [aˈmo̞ɾ] 'love').^[43]

Open vowels

• The so-called "open vowels", /ɛ/ and /ɔ/, are generally as low as /a/ in most Valencian dialects. The phonetic realisations of /ɛ/ approaches [æ] and /ɔ/ is as open as [ɒ] (as in traditional RP dog). This feature is also found in Balearic.^[44] For a list showing the frequency of these vowels, see cases where /ɛ/ and /ɔ/ are found in Valencian.
  • /ɛ/ is slightly more open and centralised before liquids /l, ɾ, r/ (e.g. verdes [ˈvæɾðes] 'greens') and in monosyllabics (set [ˈsæt] 'seven').^[45]
  • /ɔ/ is most often a back vowel (soc [ˈsɒk] 'clog', bou [ˈbɒw] 'bull').
    • In some dialects (including Balearic) /ɔ/ can be unrounded ([ˈsɑk], [ˈbɑw]).^[46]
• The vowel /a/ is slightly more fronted and closed than in Central EC (but less fronted and closed than in Majorcan). The precise phonetic realisation of the vowel /a/ in Valencian is [ɐ ~ ä], this vowel is subject to assimilation in many instances.^[47]
  • Stressed /a/ can be retracted to [ɑ] in contact with velar consonants (including the velarised [ɫ]):^[47] pal [ˈpɑl] ('stick'); and fronted to [a] in contact with palatals:^[47] nyap [ˈɲap] ('botched job'). This is not transcribed in the article.
    • The palatal pronunciation of /a/ may merge with /ɛ/ by some speakers: raig [ˈræt͡ʃ] ('ray').^[48]

Vowel reduction

• There are five general unstressed vowels /a, e, i, o, u/ (rare instances of /ɛ/ and /ɔ/ are found through compounding and vowel harmony). Although unstressed vowels are more stable than in EC dialects, there are many cases where they merge:^[49]
  • /a/: final unstressed /a/ may have the following values: [ɛ̈ ~ ɔ̈ ~ ä̝] (phonetically [ɜ ~ ɞ ~ ɐ], and traditionally transcribed without diacritics and/or atypical characters: /ɛ, ɔ, a/ for simplicity), depending on the preceding sounds and/or dialect (see vowel harmony below).
    • In some regions of the Valencian Community (especially Southern Valencian) unstressed /a/ followed by stressed /i/ becomes [ə]: raïm [rəˈim] ('grape'). Beltran i Calvo (2000) states,^[50] that final /a/ is close to [ə] in some towns of Marina Alta: xica [ˈt͡ʃikə] ('girl').
  • /e/: unstressed /e/ and /ɛ/ may be realised as /a/ (phonetically [a], [ɐ̃], [ɑ̃], etc.) in initial position in contact with sibilants, nasals and certain approximants and liquids (e.g. eixam [ajˈʃam] 'swarm').
    • Similarly (although not recommended by the AVL), unstressed /e/ and /ɛ/ merges with /i/ (phonetically [ɪ]) in contact with palatal consonants (e.g. genoll [d͡ʒiˈnoʎ] 'knee'), and especially (in this case it is accepted) in lexical derivation with the suffix -ixement (e.g. coneixement [konejʃiˈment] 'knowledge').
      • In the standard (/e/ → /i/ [ɪ]) is only accepted in words with the suffix -ixement).^[51]
  • /i/: it is more open and centralised [ɪ] in unstressed position.
  • /o/: unstressed /o/ and /ɔ/ may be realised as /u/ (phonetically [ʊ]) before labial consonants (e.g. coberts [kuˈbɛɾ(t)s] 'cutlery'), before a stressed syllable with a high vowel (e.g. sospira [susˈpiɾa] 'they sighs') and in some given names (e.g. Josep [d͡ʒuˈzɛp] 'Joseph').
    • (Note in some colloquial speeches initial unstressed /o/ can diphthongise to [aw], olor [awˈloɾ]) 'smell (n.)'). This is regarded as non-standard.
  • /u/: it is more open and centralised [ʊ] in unstressed position.

Elision and diphthongisation

• In certain cases, unstressed /a/ and /e/ become silent when followed or preceded by a stressed vowel:
  • Unstressed /a/: quina hora és? [ˌkin‿ˈɔɾɔ ˈes] or [ˌkin‿ˈɔɾa ˈes] ('what time is it?')
  • Unstressed /e/: este home [ˌest‿ˈɔme] ('this man').
• In some accents, vowels occurring at the end of a prosodic unit may be realised as centring diphthongs for special emphasis, so that Eh tu! Vine ací 'Hey you! Come here!' may be pronounced [ˈe ˈtuə̯ ˈvine a̯ˈsiə̯]. The non-syllabic [a̯] (phonetically [ɐ̯]) is unrelated to this phenomenon as it is an unstressed non-syllabic allophone of /a/ that occurs after vowels, much like in Spanish.

Vowel harmony

• Many Valencian dialects feature some sort of vowel harmony (harmonia vocàlica). This process is normally progressive (i.e. preceding vowels affect those pronounced afterwards) over the last unstressed vowel of a word; e.g. tela /ˈtɛla/ > [ˈtɛlɛ] 'fabric, cloth', hora /ˈɔɾa/ > [ˈɔɾɔ] 'hour'. However (although regarded as non-standard), there are cases where regressive metaphony occurs over pretonic vowels; e.g. afecta /aˈfɛkta/ > [ɛˈfɛktɛ] 'affects', tovallola /tovaˈʎɔla/ > [tɔvɔˈʎɔlɔ] 'towel'.
  • Vowel harmony differs greatly from dialect to dialect, while many varieties assimilate both to the height and the quality of the preceding stressed vowel (e.g. terra [ˈtɛrɛ] 'Earth, land' and dona [ˈdɔnɔ] 'woman'); in other varieties, it is just the height that assimilates, so that terra and dona can be realised with either /ɛ/ ([ˈtɛrɛ] and/or [ˈdɔnɛ]) or with /ɔ/ ([ˈtɛrɔ] and/or [ˈdɔnɔ]), depending on the region and speaker.^[52]
    • In some subvarieties the unstressed vowels produced by vowel harmony may actually be higher than the stressed ones (e.g. porta [ˈpɔɾtɔ̝] 'door').
• In a wider sense, vowel assimilations can occur in further instances (that is all or most instances of final unstressed /а/, regardless of the preceding sounds and involving palatalisation and/or velarisation): xica [ˈt͡ʃikɛ] or [ˈt͡ʃikɔ] ('girl'). This is considered non-standard.

Other sound changes

Vowel nasalisation and lengthening

• All vowels are phonetically nasalised between nasal consonants or when preceding a syllable-final nasal (e.g. diumenge [diwˈmẽɲd͡ʒe] 'Sunday').^[49]
• Vowels can be lengthened in some contexts^[49] (e.g. coordinació [koːɾðinasiˈo] 'co-ordination').

More information Phoneme, Allophone ...

Main vocalic allophones^[53][49]

Phoneme	Allophone	Usage	Example	English
/a/[47]
	[ä] ~ [ɐ]	- Found in most instances	mà	hand
	[a]	- Before/after palatals, may be higher [æ] (both in stressed and unstressed position)	nyap	botched job
	[ã]	- Same than [a], but followed by a nasal; may be higher [æ̃] (both in stressed and unstressed position)	llamp	lightning
	[ɑ]	- Before/after velars, usually higher in unstressed position [ʌ]	poal	bucket
	[ɑ̃]	- Same than [ɑ], but followed by a nasal; usually higher in unstressed position [ʌ̃]	sang	blood
	[ɐ]	- In unstressed position	abans	before
	[ɐ̃]	- Nasal [ɐ]; that is, [ɐ] followed by or in between nasals	llançat	thrown
	[ɛ̈] ~ [ɔ̈]	- Final unstressed syllables (vowel harmony), may be lower [ɛ̞̈] and [ɔ̞̈]	terra / dona	Earth, land; woman
/ɛ/[54]
	[æ]	- Before liquids and in monosyllabic terms	set	seven
	[æ̃]	- Before nasals	dens	dense
	[ɛ]	- Rest of cases, may be lower [ɛ̞]	tesi	thesis
/e/[55]
	[e]	- Found in stressed and unstressed syllables, may be lower [e̞]	sec	dry
	[ẽ]	- In stressed and unstressed position followed by or in between nasals, may be lower [ẽ̞]	lent	slow
	[a]	- In some cases, in initial unstressed position before palatals; may be higher [æ]	eixam	swarm
	[ɐ]	- In some cases, in unstressed position	terrós	earthy
	[ɐ̃]	- In some cases, in initial unstressed position before nasals (except velar nasals)	entén	they understands
	[ɑ]	- In some cases, in unstressed position in contact with velars; may be higher [ʌ]	clevill	crevice
	[ɑ̃]	- In some cases, in initial unstressed position before velar nasals; may be higher [ʌ̃]	enclusa	anvil
	[ɪ]	- Found in the suffix -ixement	naixement	birth
/i/[56]
	[i]	- Especially found in stressed syllables	sis	six
	[ĩ]	- Nasal [i]; that is, [i] followed by or in between nasals	dins	in, within, inside
	[ɪ]	- Unstressed position	xiquet	boy
	[ɪ̃]	- Nasal [ɪ]; that is, [ɪ] followed by or in between nasals	minvar	to decrease, to wane
	[j]	- Unstressed position before/after vowels	iogurt	yoghurt
/ɔ/[57]
	[ɒ]	- Found before stops and in monosyllabic terms	roig	red
	[ɒ̃]	- Before nasals	pont	bridge
	[ɔ]	- Rest of cases, may be lower [ɔ̞]	dona	woman
/o/[58]
	[o]	- Found in stressed and unstressed syllables	molt	much, very
	[õ]	- Nasal [o]; that is, [o] followed by or in between nasals	on	where
	[o̞]	- Found in the suffix -dor and in coda stressed syllables	cançó	song
	[ʊ]	- Unstressed position before labials, a syllable with a high vowel and in some given names	Josep	Joseph
	[ʊ̃]	- Same as [ʊ], but followed by a nasal	complit	to fulfill
	[ew]	- Found in most cases with the weak pronoun ho	ho	it
/u/[59]
	[u]	- Especially found in stressed syllables	lluç	hake
	[ũ]	- Nasal [u]; that is, [u] followed by or in between nasals	fum	smoke
	[ʊ]	- Unstressed position	sucar	to soak, to dip
	[ʊ̃]	- Nasal [ʊ]; that is, [ʊ] followed by or in between nasals	muntó	a lot
	[w]	- Unstressed position before/after vowels	teua	your (f.)

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Consonants

More information Labial, Dental/ Alveolar ...

Consonants of Valencian^[37][38][39]

		Labial		Dental/ Alveolar		Palatal		Velar
Nasal			m		n		ɲ		(ŋ)
Plosive		p	b	t	d			k	ɡ
Affricate				t͡s	d͡z	t͡ʃ	d͡ʒ
Fricative		f	v	s	z	ʃ	(ʒ)
Approximant	Central						j		w
	Lateral				l		ʎ
Rhotic	Tap				ɾ
	Trill				r

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Nasals

• /m/ is bilabial, except before /v/ and /f/ where it becomes labiodental [ɱ].
• /n/ is apical front alveolar [n̺], and laminal denti-alveolar [n̪] before /t/ and /d/.
  • In addition, /n/ is postalveolar [n̠] or alveolo-palatal [ɲ̟] before /d͡ʒ/, /t͡ʃ/, and /ʃ/; velar [ŋ] before /ɡ/ and /k/; and labiodental [ɱ] before /v/ and /f/, where it merges with /m/. It also merges with /m/ (to [m]) before /b/ and /p/.
• /ɲ/ is laminal front alveolo-palatal [ɲ̟].
• /ŋ/ is velar and is only found in the coda.

Obstruents

• Obstruents assimilate to the voicing of the following consonant and vowel: els amics [elz‿aˈmiks] ('the friends').
  • Voiced obstruents undergo final-obstruent devoicing so that fred ('cold', m. s.) is pronounced with [t] (or [d̥]) [ˈfɾet] while fredes ('cold', f. pl.) is pronounced with [ð] [ˈfɾeðes]. (See also "plosives" and "affricates and fricatives").

Plosives

• /b/ and /p/ are bilabial.
  • /b/ is lenited to the approximant (or fricative) [β̞] (or [β]) in betacist dialects, after a continuant, i.e. a vowel or any type of consonant other than a stop or nasal (e.g. cabut [kaˈβ̞ut] 'big head, stubborn' vs. canvi [ˈkambi] 'change', Standard without betacism: [kaˈbut] and [ˈkaɱvi]).
  • Voiced contrast is lost word finally, so cub ('cube') and cup ('winepress') are both pronounced with final [p] (also represented as [b̥]).
    • Final /p/ may be lenited before a vowel: cap estret [ˈkab‿esˈtɾet] or [ˈkaβ̞‿esˈtɾet] ('narrow head').^[60]
    • Final /p/ after nasals is preserved in most dialects: camp [ˈkamp] ('field').
• /d/ and /t/ are laminal denti-alveolar [t̪] and [d̪]. After /s/ and /z/, they are laminal alveolar [t̻] and [d̻].
  • /d/ is lenited to the approximant (or fricative) [ð̞] (or [ð]), after a continuant, i.e. a vowel or any type of consonant other than a stop or nasal (exceptions include /d/ after lateral consonants): fades [ˈfað̞es] 'fairies' vs. faldes [ˈfal̪des] ('skirts').
    • /d/ [ð] is often elided between vowels following a stressed syllable (found notably in feminine participles, /ada/ → [aː], and in the suffix -dor); e.g. fideuà [fiðeˈwaː] ( < fideuada) 'fideuà', mocador [mokaˈoɾ] 'tissue' (note this feature, although widely spread in south Valencia, is not recommended in Standard Valencian,^[39] except for reborrowed terms such as Albà, Roà, the previously mentioned fideuà, etc.).
  • Voiced contrast is lost word finally, so sord ('deaf') and sort ('luck') are both pronounced with final [t] (also represented as [d̥]).
    • Final /t/ may be lenited before a vowel: tot açò [ˈtoð‿aˈsɔ] ('all this').^[60]
    • Final /t/ after nasals and laterals is preserved in most dialects: cent [ˈsen̪t] ('hundred') and molt [ˈmol̪t] ('very').
• /ɡ/ and /k/ are velar.
  • /ɡ/ and /k/ are fronted to pre-velar position [ɟ̠, c̠] before front vowels: qui [ˈc̠i] ('who'). This is not transcribed in broader transcriptions of Valencian.
  • /ɡ/ is lenited to the approximant (or fricative) [ɣ̞] (or [ɣ]) after a continuant, i.e. a vowel or any type of consonant other than a stop or nasal.
    • In some dialects, /ɡ/ may lenite [ɣ] in all environments (e.g. gat [ˈɣ̞at]), except after nasal (angoixa [aŋˈɡojʃa] 'anguish').^[61]
  • Voiced contrast is lost word finally, so reg ('irrigation') and rec ('irrigation ditch') are both pronounced with final [k] (also represented as [ɡ̥]).
    • Final /k/ may be lenited before a vowel: poc alt [ˈpɔɣ‿ˈal̪t] ('not very tall').^[60]
    • Final /k/ after nasals is preserved in most dialects: banc [ˈbaŋk] ('bank').

Affricates and fricatives

•  /d͡z/ and /t͡s/ are apical alveolar [d͡z̺] and [t͡s̺]. They may be somewhat fronted, so that the stop component is laminal denti-alveolar, while the fricative component is apical post-dental. /t͡s/ is rare and may not be phonemic.
  • In the Standard, intervocalic /d͡z/, e.g. setze ('sixteen'), and /t͡s/, e.g. potser ('maybe'), are recommended to be pronounced with a gemination of the stop element ([dd͡z] and [tt͡s], respectively. However this is not transcribed in standard transcriptions.
    • Note /d͡z/ is deaffricated to [z] in verbs ending in -itzar and derivatives: analitzar [analiˈzaɾ] ('to analyse'), organització [oɾɣanizasiˈo] ('organisation'). Also in words like botzina [boˈzina] ('horn'), horitzó [oɾiˈzo] ('horizon') and magatzem [maɣaˈzem] ('storehouse') (c.f. guitza [ˈɡid͡za], 'kick' (from an animal)).
• /d͡ʒ/, /t͡ʃ/, ([ʒ]), and /ʃ/ are described as back alveolo-palatal, or postalveolar.
  • Valencian has preserved in most of its varieties the mediaeval voiced pre-palatal affricate /d͡ʒ/ (similar to the j in English "jeep") in contexts where other modern dialects have developed fricative consonants /ʒ/ (like the si in English "vision"), e.g. dijous [diˈd͡ʒɔws] ('Thursday').
  • Note the fricative [ʒ] (and [jʒ]) appears only as a voiced allophone of /ʃ/ (and /jʃ/) before vowels and voiced consonants; e.g. peix al forn [ˈpejʒ al ˈfoɾn] ('oven fish').
  • Unlike other Catalan dialects, /d͡ʒ/ and /t͡ʃ/ do not geminate (in most accents): metge [ˈmed͡ʒe] ('medic'), and cotxe [ˈkot͡ʃe] ('car'). Exceptions may include learned terms like pidgin [ˈpidd͡ʒin] ('pidgin').
  • Final etymological /d͡ʒ/ is devoiced to [t͡ʃ]: lleig [ˈʎet͡ʃ] ('ugly').
• /z/ and /s/ are apical back alveolar [z̺] and [s̺], also described as postalveolar.
  • In some dialects, /s/ is pronounced [sʲ] or [ʃ] after /i, j, ʎ, ɲ/. In the Standard only is accepted after /i/ (in the inchoative form with /sk/ → [ʃk]), and after /ʎ, ɲ/: ells [ˈeʎʃ] ('they'). In some variants the result may be an affricate.^[62]
  • Final /z/ is devoiced to [s] (also represented as [z̥]): brunz [ˈbɾuns] ('they buzzes').
• /v/ and /f/ are labiodental.
  • /v/ occurs in Balearic,^[63] Alguerese, Standard Valencian and some areas in southern Catalonia (e.g. viu [ˈviw], 'they lives').^[64] It has merged with /b/ elsewhere.^[65]
    • /v/ is realised as an approximant [ʋ] after continuants: avanç [aˈʋans] ('advance'). This is not transcribed in this article.
    • Final /v/ is devoiced to [f] (also represented as [v̥]): salv [ˈsalf] ('save, except').

Liquids (rhotics and laterals)

• /l/ is apical front alveolar [l̺], and laminal denti-alveolar [l̪] before /t/ and /d/. (In addition, /l/ is postalveolar [l̠] or alveolo-palatal [ʎ̟] before /d͡ʒ/, /t͡ʃ/, and /ʃ/).
  • /l/ is normally velarised ([ɫ]), especially in the coda.
    • /l/ is generally dropped in the word altre [ˈatɾe] ('other'), as well as in derived terms.^[39]
• /ʎ/ is laminal front alveolo-palatal [ʎ̟].
• /ɾ/ is apical front alveolar [ɾ̺] and /r/ is apical back alveolar [r̺], also described as postalveolar.
  • Between vowels, the two rhotics contrast (e.g. mira [ˈmiɾa] 'they looks' vs. mirra [ˈmira] 'myrrh'), but they are otherwise in complementary distribution. [ɾ] appears in the onset, except in word-initial position (ruc 'donkey'), after /l/, /n/, and /s/ (folre 'lining', honra 'honour', and Israel 'Israel'), and in compounds (infraroig 'infrared'), where [r] is used.
  • /ɾ/ is mostly retained in the coda (e.g. anar [aˈnaɾ], 'to go'), except for some cases where it can be dropped: prendre [ˈpendɾe] ('to take'), arbre [ˈabɾe] ('tree'), and diners [diˈnes] ('money').^[39]
    • In some dialects /ɾ/ can be further dropped in combinatory forms with infinitives and pronouns (anar-me'n [aˈna.men] 'to go away, to leave' [myself]).
    • In other dialects, further instances of final /ɾ/ (like nouns and/or infinitives, regardless of combinatory forms with pronouns) are lost: anar [aˈna] ('to go').

Semivowels

• The vowels /i/ and /u/ have as non-vocalic correlates the semivowels [j] and [w], respectively, which form a diphthong with the preceding or following vowel (e.g. hiena [ˈjena] 'hyena', feia [ˈfeja] 'I / they was doing', meua [ˈmewa] 'mine', pasqua [ˈpaskwa] 'Easter').
  • According Wheeler (2005),^[66] the sequences [ɡw] or [kw] are regarded as labiovelar phonemes /ɡʷ/ and /kʷ/.

Metathesis

• In some places, some terms can undergo sound changes (such as metathesis), like cridar → *crid(r)ar or quid(r)ar ('to call'). This is heard frequently in the term aigua (standard) → àuia (colloquial) ('water').

Valencian and Catalan use the Latin script, with some added symbols and digraphs.^[70] The Catalan-Valencian orthographies are systematic and largely phonologically based.^[70] Standardisation of Catalan was among the topics discussed during the First International Congress of the Catalan Language, held in Barcelona October 1906. Subsequently, the Philological Section of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC), founded in 1911, published the Normes ortogràfiques in 1913 under the direction of Antoni Maria Alcover and Pompeu Fabra. In 1932, Valencian writers and intellectuals gathered in Castelló de la Plana to make a formal adoption of the so-called Normes de Castelló (Castelló Norms), a set of guidelines following Pompeu Fabra's Catalan language norms.^[71]

The letters k, y and w only appear in loanwords. In the case of y it also appears in the digraph ny. Most of the letters are pronounced the same in both standards (Valencian and Catalan). The letters c and g have a soft and hard pronunciation similar to English and other Romance languages, ç (found also in Portuguese and French) always has a soft pronunciation and may appear in word final position. The only differences between the main standards are the contrast of b /b/ and v /v/ (also found in Insular Catalan), the treatment of long consonants with a tendency to simplification in Valencian (see table with main digraphs and letter combinations), the affrication (/d͡ʒ/) of both soft g (after front vowels) and j (in most cases), the affrication (/t͡ʃ/) of initial and postconsonantal x (except in some cases)^[ix] and the lenition (deaffrication) of tz /d͡z/ in most instances (especially the -itzar suffix).

• Misteri d'Elx (c. 1350). Liturgical drama. Listed as Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
• Curial e Güelfa (15th century), humanistic chivalric romance
• Ausiàs March (Gandia, 1400 – Valencia, 3 March 1459). Poet, widely read in renaissance Europe.
• Joanot Martorell (Gandia, 1413–1468). Knight and the author of the novel Tirant lo Blanch.
• Isabel de Villena (Valencia, 1430–1490). Religious poet.
• Joan Roís de Corella (Gandia or Valencia, 1435 – Valencia, 1497). Knight and poet.
• Obres e trobes en lahors de la Verge Maria (1474) The first book printed in Spain. It is the compendium of a religious poetry contest held that year in the town of Valencia.^[18]

Until its dissolution in November 2013, the public-service Ràdio Televisió Valenciana (RTVV) was the main broadcaster of radio and television in Valencian language. The Generalitat Valenciana constituted it in 1984 in order to guarantee the freedom of information of the Valencian people in their own language.^[76] It was reopened again in 2018 in the same location but under a different name, À Punt, and it is owned by À Punt Media, a group owned by the Generalitat Valenciana. The new television channel claims to be plural, informative and neutral for all of the Valencian population. It is bilingual, with a focus on the Valencian language. It is recognised as a regional TV channel.^[77]

Prior to its dissolution, the administration of RTVV under the People's Party (PP) had been controversial due to accusations of ideological manipulation and lack of plurality. The news broadcast was accused of giving marginal coverage of the Valencia Metro derailment in 2006 and the indictment of President de la Generalitat Francisco Camps in the Gürtel scandal in 2009.^[78] Supervisors appointed by the PP were accused of sexual harassment.^[79]

In face of an increasing debt due to excessive expenditure by the PP, RTVV announced in 2012 a plan to shed 70% of its labour. The plan was nullified on 5 November 2013 by the National Court after trade unions appealed against it. On that same day, the President de la Generalitat Alberto Fabra (also from PP) announced RTVV would be closed, claiming that reinstating the employees was untenable.^[80] On 27 November, the legislative assembly passed the dissolution of RTVV and employees organised to take control of the broadcast, starting a campaign against the PP. Nou TV's last broadcast ended abruptly when Spanish police pulled the plug at 12:19 on 29 November 2013.^[81]

Having lost all revenues from advertisements and facing high costs from the termination of hundreds of contracts, critics question whether the closure of RTVV has improved the financial situation of the Generalitat, and point out to plans to benefit private-owned media.^[82] Currently, the availability of media in the Valencian language is extremely limited. All the other autonomous communities in Spain, including the monolingual ones, have public-service broadcasters, with the Valencian Community being the only exception despite being the fourth most populated.

In July 2016 a new public corporation, Valencian Media Corporation, was launched in substitution of RTVV. It manages and controls several public media in the Valencian Community, including the television channel À Punt, which started broadcasting in June 2018.

Linguists, including Valencian scholars, deal with Catalan and Valencian as the same language. The official regulating body of the language of the Valencian community, the Valencian Language Academy (Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua, AVL) considers Valencian and Catalan to be two names for the same language.^[83]

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

AVL: Dictamen sobre els principis i criteris per a la defensa de la denominació i l'entitat del valencià

[T]he historical patrimonial language of the Valencian people, from a philological standpoint, is the same shared by the autonomous communities of Catalonia and Balearic Islands, and Principality of Andorra. Additionally, it is the patrimonial historical language of other territories of the ancient Crown of Aragon [...] The different varieties of these territories constitute a language, that is, a "linguistic system" [...] From this group of varieties, Valencian has the same hierarchy and dignity as any other dialectal modality of that linguistic system [...]

— Ruling of the Valencian Language Academy of 9 February 2005, extract of point 1.^[75][i]

The AVL was established in 1998 by the PP-UV government of Eduardo Zaplana. According to El País, Jordi Pujol, then president of Catalonia and of the CiU, negotiated with Zaplana in 1996 to ensure the linguistic unity of Catalan in exchange for CiU support of the appointment of José María Aznar as Prime Minister of Spain.^[84] Zaplana has denied this, claiming that "[n]ever, never, was I able to negotiate that which is not negotiable, neither that which is not in the negotiating scope of a politician. That is, the unity of the language".^[j] The AVL orthography is based on the Normes de Castelló, a set of rules for writing Valencian established in 1932.

A rival set of rules, called Normes del Puig, were established in 1979 by the Royal Academy of Valencian Culture (Real Acadèmia de Cultura Valenciana, RACV), which considers itself a rival language academy to the AVL, and promotes an alternative orthography, treating Valencian as an independent language, as opposed to a variety of Catalan. Compared to Standard Valencian, this orthography excludes many words not traditionally used in the Valencian Community, and also prefers spellings such as ⟨ch⟩ for /tʃ/ and ⟨y⟩ for /j/ (as in Spanish). Besides, these alternative Norms are also promoted and taught by the cultural association Lo Rat Penat.

Valencian is classified as a Western dialect, along with the North-Western varieties spoken in Western Catalonia (Province of Lleida and most of the Province of Tarragona).^[85][86] The various forms of Catalan and Valencian are mutually intelligible (ranging from 90% to 95%)^[87]

Despite the position of the official organisations, an opinion poll carried out between 2001 and 2004^[15] showed that the majority (65%) of the Valencian people (both Valencian and Spanish speakers) consider Valencian different from Catalan: this position is promoted by people who do not use Valencian regularly.^[88] Furthermore, the data indicate that younger people educated in Valencian speaking areas are considerably less likely to hold these views. According to an official poll in 2014,^[14] 54% of Valencians considered Valencian to be a language different from Catalan, while 41% considered the languages to be the same. By applying a binary logistic regression to the same data, it was also found that different opinions about the unity of the language are different between people with certain levels of studies and the opinion also differs between each of the Valencian provinces. The opinion agreeing on the unity of Valencian and Catalan has significant differences regarding age, level of education and province of residence, with a majority of those aged 18–24 (51%) and those with a higher education (58%) considering Valencian to be the same language as Catalan. This can be compared to those aged 65 and above (29%) and those with only primary education (32%), where the same view has its lowest support. People living in the province of Castellón are more prone to be in favor of the unity of the language, while people living in the province of Alicante are more prone to be against the unity of the language, especially in the areas where Valencian is not a mandatory language at schools.^{[verification needed][89]} Later studies also showed that the results differ significantly depending on the way the question is posed.^[90]

The ambiguity regarding the term Valencian and its relation to Catalan has sometimes led to confusion and controversy. In 2004, during the drafting of the European Constitution, the regional governments of Spain where a language other than Spanish is co-official were asked to submit translations into the relevant language in question. Since different names are used in Catalonia ("Catalan") and in the Valencian Community ("Valencian"), the two regions each provided one version, which were identical to each other.^[91]

• Pluricentric language
• Valencian Sign Language
• Che (interjection) § Other uses (spelled xe in Modern Valencian)
• Valencian linguistic conflict
• Similar linguistic controversies:
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