What is the difference between Catalan and Spanish?
I heard "Merry Christmas" in Spanish is "Feliz Navidad" but in Catalan it's "Bon Nadal" ... Is it a Spanish dialect or sub-language? Although, "Bon" is a french word, right?
3 Answers
Catalan is a separate language from Spanish, so it is not a dialect. Even within Catalan there are variations (or dialects). However, it is closely related to the romance languages such as Spanish and French as opposed to the Basque language (also spoken in Spain) which is of a different family and is a vestige of the Celtic tribes and regions in northern Spain.
jroesch, I'm sorry but Basque or Euskara has no relation whatsoever to Celtic. In fact it hasn't been found to be related to any language spoken today.
I have heard that Catalan is closer to Italian than Spanish. The same Bon Nadal is Buon Natale in Italian, so might be true.
