View source for Balearic Catalan

{{Short description|Dialects of Catalan in the Balearic islands}}
{{Redirect|Mallorquí|people people with this surname|Mallorquí (surname)}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Balearic
| altname          = Majorcan, Minorcan, Ibizan
| nativename       = ''balear'' <br /> ''mallorquí'', ''menorquí'', ''eivissenc''
| states           = [[Spain]]
| region           = [[Balearic Islands]]
| ethnicity        = 
| speakers         = 746,792
| era              = 
| date             = 2001
| dateprefix       = 
| ref              = <ref name="ibestat"/>
| refname          = 
| speakers_label   = Speakers of any Catalan<br/> dialect in the islands
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Italic languages|Italic]]
| fam3             = [[Romance languages|Romance]]
| fam4             = [[Western Romance languages|Western Romance]]
| fam5             = [[Gallo-Romance languages|Gallo-Romance]]<ref name="alternative classification">Some Iberian scholars may alternatively classify Catalan as [[Iberian Romance languages|Iberian Romance/East Iberian]].</ref>
| fam6             = [[Occitano-Romance languages|Occitano-Romance]]<ref name="alternative classification"/>
| fam7             = [[Catalan language|Catalan]]
| fam8             = [[Eastern Catalan|Eastern]]
| fam9             = [[Insular Catalan|Insular]] 
| ancestor         = [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]]
| ancestor2        = [[Proto-Italic language|Proto-Italic]]
| ancestor3        = [[Old Latin]]
| ancestor4        = [[Vulgar Latin]]
| ancestor5        = [[Proto-Romance language|Proto-Romance]]
| ancestor6        = [[Old Occitan]]
| ancestor7        = [[Old Catalan]]
| dia1             = [[Majorcan dialect|Majorcan]]
| dia2             = [[Minorcan dialect|Minorcan]]
| dia3             = [[Ibizan dialect|Ibizan]]
| stand1           = 
| script           = [[Catalan alphabet]]
| agency           = 
| iso1             = 
| iso1comment      = 
| iso2             = 
| iso2b            = 
| iso2t            = 
| iso2comment      = 
| isoexception     = dialect
| glottorefname    = bale1256
| ietf             = ca-u-sd-esib
| map              = File:Balear.svg
| mapcaption       = The Catalan-speaking territories with the Balearic Islands in red ({{color|red|■}})
| image            = 
| imagecaption     = 
| imagealt         = 
| notice           = IPA
}}

{{Catalan-Valencian cultural domain|image=[[File:Catalan dialects-en.png|220px]]|expanded=Language}}

'''Balearic''' ({{langx|ca|balear}} {{IPA|ca-ES-IB|bəleˈa|}}) is the group of dialects of [[Catalan language|Catalan]] spoken in the [[Balearic Islands]]: {{lang|ca|mallorquí}} in [[Mallorca]], {{lang|ca|eivissenc}} in [[Ibiza]] and [[Menorcan|''menorquí'']] in [[Menorca]].

At the 2011 census, 861,232 respondents in the Balearic Islands claimed to be able to understand either Balearic or mainland [[Catalan language|Catalan]], compared to 111,912 respondents who could not; proportions were similar on each of the islands.<ref name="ibestat">{{cite web|url=https://ibestat.caib.es/ibestat/estadistiques/9cc677ad-ced2-475a-9e57-e0193466a532/44d2e222-954a-404b-993d-5a94b0305d68/es/I101004_ca02.px |title=2011 census, from Institut Balear d'Estadística, Govern de les Illes Balears |publisher=Caib.es |access-date=30 June 2022}}</ref>

==Dialects==
{{Expand section|date=November 2020}}
The dialects spoken in the [[Balearic Islands]] are {{lang|ca|mallorquí}}, spoken on Mallorca; {{lang|ca|menorquí}}, on [[Menorca]]; and {{lang|ca|eivissenc}}, on [[Ibiza]] and [[Formentera]].

==Features==
Distinctive features of Catalan in the Balearic Islands differ according to the specific variant being spoken (Mallorcan, [[Menorcan]], or Ibizan).

===Phonology===
{{See also|Catalan phonology|Help:IPA/Insular Catalan}}

;Vowels
:{| class="wikitable"
|+ {{no wrap|Vowels of Balearic Catalan}}
!
! scope="col" | [[Front vowel|Front]]
! scope="col" | [[Central vowel|Central]]
! scope="col" | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|- align=center
! scope="row" rowspan ="2" | Close
| {{IPA link|i}}
| 
| {{IPA link|u}}
|- align=center
| {{IPA link|e}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ə}}
| {{IPA link|o}}
|- align=center
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | Open
| {{IPA link|æ|ɛ}}
| {{IPA link|ɒ|ɔ}}
|- align=center
| colspan="3" | ({{IPA link|æ}}) &nbsp; {{IPA link|ɐ|a}}
|}

:Notes:
:* Most variants preserve a vocalic system of eight stressed vowels; {{IPAslink|a}}, {{IPAslink|ə}}, {{IPAslink|ɛ}}, {{IPAslink|e}}, {{IPAslink|i}}, {{IPAslink|ɔ}}, {{IPAslink|o}}, {{IPAslink|u}}:
:** The Majorcan system has eight stressed vowels {{IPA|/a, ə, ɛ, e, i, ɔ, o, u/}}, reduced to four {{IPA|/ə, i, o, u/}} in unstressed position.
:** The Western Minorcan system has eight stressed vowels {{IPA|/a, ə, ɛ, e, i, ɔ, o, u/}}, reduced to three {{IPA|/ə, i, u/}} in unstressed position.
:** The Eastern Minorcan and partly the Ibizan system have seven stressed vowels {{IPA|/a, ɛ, e, i, ɔ, o, u/}} reduced to three {{IPA|/ə, i, u/}} in unstressed position (as in [[Central Catalan]]). There are differences between the dialect spoken in [[Ibiza Town]] (''eivissenc de vila'') and those of the rest of the island (''eivissenc pagès'') and [[Formentera]] (''formenterer'').
:** The vowel {{IPA|/a/}} is central {{IPAblink|ä}} in Ibizan (as most Catalan dialects), while it is front {{IPAblink|a}} in Majorcan and Minorcan. The variant {{IPAblink|æ}} is found in [[Felanitx]].
:**The so-called "[[mid-open vowel|open vowels]]" (''vocals obertes''), {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and {{IPA|/ɔ/}}, are generally as low as {{IPA|/a/}} in most Balearic subvarieties. The phonetic realizations of {{IPA|/ɛ/}} approaches {{IPAblink|æ}} (as in American English ''l'''a'''d'') and {{IPA|/ɔ/}} is as open as {{IPAblink|ɒ}} (as in traditional [[Received Pronunciation|RP]] ''d'''o'''g'') (feature shared with [[Valencian language|Valencian]]). In many Majorcan dialects {{IPA|/ɔ/}} can be unrounded to {{IPAblink|ɑ}}.
:** In most of parts of Majorca, words with ante-penultimate stress ending in ''-ia'' lose the {{angbr|a}} {{IPAblink|ə}}; e.g. ''glòria'' ('glory') is pronounced as ''glòri'' {{IPA|[ˈɡlɔɾi]}}.

;Consonants
:{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Consonants of Balearic Catalan<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Carbonell|Llisterri|1992|p=53}}</ref>
! colspan=2 |
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]/<br />[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
! colspan=2 | [[Nasal stop|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}}
| {{IPA link|ɲ}}
| ({{IPA link|ŋ}})
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Plosive consonant|Plosive]]
! <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiceless]]</small>
| {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA link|t̪|t}}
| colspan=2 | {{IPA link|c}} ~ {{IPA link|k}}
|-
! <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
| {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA link|d̪|d}}
| colspan=2 | {{IPA link|ɟ}} ~ {{IPA link|ɡ}}
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
! <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiceless]]</small>
|
| {{IPA link|t͡s}}
| {{IPA link|t͡ɕ|t͡ʃ}}
|
|-
! <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
|
| {{IPA link|d͡z}}
| {{IPA link|d͡ʑ|d͡ʒ}}
|
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
! <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiceless]]</small>
| {{IPA link|f}}
| {{IPA link|s}}
| {{IPA link|ɕ|ʃ}}
|
|-
! <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
| {{IPA link|v}}
| {{IPA link|z}}
| {{IPA link|ʑ|ʒ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Rhotic consonant|Rhotics]]
! <small>[[Trill consonant|trill]]</small>
|
| {{IPA link|r}}
|
|
|-
! <small>[[Tap consonant|tap]]</small>
|
| {{IPA link|ɾ}}
|
|
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
! <small>[[Central consonant|central]]</small>
|
|
| {{IPA link|j}}
| {{IPA link|w}}
|-
! <small>[[Lateral consonant|lateral]]</small>
|
| {{IPA link|l}}
| {{IPA link|ʎ}}
|
|}

:Notes:
:* In Majorcan and some Minorcan subvarieties {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/ɡ/}} become [[palatal consonant|palatal]], {{IPAblink|c}} and {{IPAblink|ɟ}}, before non-back vowels and word-finally; e.g. '''''gu'''erra'' {{IPA|[ˈɟɛrə]}} ('war'), '''''c'''asa'' {{IPA|[ˈcazə]}} ('house').
:* A phonemic distinction between {{IPA|/v/}} and {{IPA|/b/}} is preserved, as in [[Algherese dialect|Algherese]] and Standard Valencian, e.g. '''''v'''iu'' {{IPA|[ˈviw]}}.
:* As Central Catalan {{IPA|/l/}} is velarised, {{IPAblink|ɫ}}, in all instances; e.g. ''te'''l'''a'' {{IPA|[ˈtɛɫə]}} ('fabric'). However the velarised {{IPA|/l/}} (also known as dark l) is not used in the transcriptions of any Catalan variety.
:* The palatal lateral approximant {{IPA|/ʎ/}} is preserved as a distinct phoneme, with absence of ''[[yeísmo|ieisme]]'' except for the most Castilianised speakers. However, most Majorcan speakers use {{IPA|[j]}} rather than {{IPA|/ʎ/}} in words that in Latin had {{IPA|/l/}} + yod (-{{smallcaps|li}}-, -{{smallcaps|le}}-), -{{smallcaps|cvl}}-, or -{{smallcaps|tvl}}-; e.g. ''pa'''ll'''a'' {{IPA|[ˈpajə]}} 'straw', from Latin {{lang|la|palea}}. This is known as ''[[:ca:Iodització|iodització]]''. Note that this phenomenon is more restricted than ''[[yeísmo|ieisme]]'', as {{IPA|/ʎ/}} is always used initially e.g. '''''ll'''una'' {{IPA|[ˈʎunə]}} ('moon'), as well as intervocalically in words that had -{{smallcaps|ll}}- in Latin.
:* Depalatalization of syllable-final {{IPA|/ɲs/}} and {{IPA|/ŋks/}} with compensatory diphthongization in Majorcan: ''a'''nys''''' {{IPA|[ˈajns]}} ('years'), ''tro'''ncs''''' {{IPA|[ˈtɾojns]}} ('logs').
:* Most Balearic variants preserve final stops in clusters; e.g. {{IPA|[mp]}}, {{IPA|[nt]}}, {{IPA|[ŋk]}}, and {{IPA|[lt]}}: ''ca'''mp''''' {{IPA|[ˈkamp]}} 'field' (feature shared with Modern Valencian).
:* Balearic variants of Catalan have the strongest tendency not to pronounce historical final {{angbr|r}} in any context; e.g. ''amo'''r''''' {{IPA|[əˈmo]}} 'love', ''co'''r''''' {{IPA|[ˈkɔ]}} 'heart'.
:* Assimilation of intervocalic clusters in some Majorcan and Minorcan subvarieties:

::{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! colspan="3" | Cluster assimilations
|-
! [[Help:IPA|IPA]]
! word
! gloss
|-
| {{IPA|/kt/ → [tː]}} || {{lang|ca|a'''ct'''e}} || 'act'
|-
| {{IPA|/ks/ → [t͡s]}} || {{lang|ca|e'''xc'''és}} || 'excess'
|-
| {{IPA|/ɡz/ → [d͡z]}} || {{lang|ca|e'''x'''amen}} || 'exam'
|-
| {{IPA|/pd/ → [dː]}} <br /> {{IPA|/bd/ → [dː]}} <br /> {{IPA|/kd/ → [dː]}} <br /> {{IPA|/ɡd/ → [dː]}} || {{lang|ca|pro'''pd'''it}} <br /> {{lang|ca|a'''bd'''uir}} <br /> {{lang|ca|anè'''cd'''ota}} <br /> {{lang|ca|mara'''gd'''a}} || 'before said' <br /> 'abduct' <br /> 'anecdote' <br /> 'emerald'
|-
| {{IPA|/bm/ → [mː]}} <br /> {{IPA|/pm/ → [mː]}} <br /> {{IPA|/dm/ → [mː]}} <br /> {{IPA|/tm/ → [mː]}} || {{lang|ca|su'''bm'''arí}} <br /> {{lang|ca|ca'''pm'''oix}} <br /> {{lang|ca|a'''dm'''et}} <br /> {{lang|ca|se'''tm'''ana}} || 'submarine' <br /> 'crestfallen' <br /> 'admitted' <br /> 'week'
|-
| {{IPA|/bn/ → [nː]}} <br /> {{IPA|/pn/ → [nː]}} <br /> {{IPA|/dn/ → [nː]}} <br /> {{IPA|/tn/ → [nː]}} || {{lang|ca|o'''bn'''oxi}} <br /> {{lang|ca|a'''pn'''ea}} <br /> {{lang|ca|a'''dn'''at}} <br /> {{lang|ca|co'''tn'''a}} || 'obnoxious' <br /> 'apnea' <br /> 'adnate' <br /> 'rind'
|}

:(Notice some of these assimilations may also occur in continental Catalan: ''capmoix'' {{IPA|/ˌkapˈmoʃ/ → [ˌkabˈmoʃ] ~ [ˌkamˈmoʃ]}} 'crestfallen').

:Other assimilations (amongst many) include:

:* {{IPA|/fɡ/ → [ɡː]}} (e.g. {{lang|ca|a'''fg'''ans}} 'afghani')
:* {{IPA|/ɾl/ → [lː]}} (e.g. {{lang|ca|Ca'''rl'''es}} 'Carl')

;Prosody
* Except in Ibiza, in combinations of [[verb]] and weak [[pronoun]] ([[clitic]]s), the [[Stress (linguistics)|accent]] moves to the final element; e.g. ''comprar-ne'' {{IPA|[komˌpɾaˈnə]}} or {{IPA|[kumˌpɾaˈnə]}} (Standard Central Catalan {{IPA|[kumˈpɾar.nə]}}).

=== Morphology and syntax ===
* Balearic preserves the ''salat'' definite article (derived from Latin ''ipse/ipsa'' instead of ''ille/illa''), a feature shared only with [[Sardinian language|Sardinian]] among extant Romance languages, but which was more common in other [[Catalan language|Catalan]] and [[Gascony|Gascon]] areas in ancient times. However, the ''salat'' definite article is also preserved along the [[Costa Brava]] ([[Catalonia]]) and in the [[Valencian Community|Valencian]] municipalities of [[Tàrbena]] and [[La Vall de Gallinera]].
*The personal article ''en''/''na'', ''n''' is used before personal names.
*The first person singular present indicative has a zero exponent, i.e. no visible ending. For example, what in Central Catalan would be ''jo parlo'' ('I speak') is realised as ''jo parl''.
*In verbs of the first conjugation (in ''-ar''), the first and second person plural forms end in -''am'' and -''au'' respectively. For example, ''cantam'' ('we sing'), ''cantau'' ('you [[grammatical number|pl.]] sing').
*Also in verbs of the first conjugation, the imperfect subjunctive is formed with -''a''-, e.g. ''cantàs'', ''cantassis''. However, the Standard Catalan forms in {{angbr|e}} are nowadays also common in many places.
*In combinations of two unstressed pronouns preceding a verb, one direct with the form ''el'', ''la'', etc. and the other indirect with the form ''me'', ''te'', etc., the direct pronoun appears first. For example, ''la me dóna'' ('s/he gives it to me'), Standard Catalan ''me la dóna''.

=== Lexicon ===
[[File:Artà 03 ies.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Catalan language sign in Artà.]]

*Balearic has a large quantity of characteristic vocabulary, especially archaisms preserved by the isolation of the islands and the variety of linguistic influences which surround them. The lexicon differs considerably depending on the subdialect. For example: ''al·lot'' for standard "''noi''" ('boy'), ''moix'' for "''gat''" ('cat'), ''besada'' for "''petó''" ('kiss'), ''ca'' for "''gos''" ('dog'), ''doblers'' for "''diners''" ('money'), ''horabaixa'' for "''vesprada''" ('evening') and ''rata-pinyada'' for "''rat-penat''" ('[[bat]]').
*Minorcan has a few English loanwords dating back to the British occupation, such as ''grevi'' ('gravy'), ''xumaquer'' ('shoemaker'), ''boínder'' ('bow window'), ''xoc'' ('chalk') or ''ull blec'' ('black eye').

== Political questions ==
Some in the Balearic Islands, such as the ''[[People's Party (Spain)|Partido Popular]]'' party member and former Balearic president [[José Ramón Bauzà]], argue that the dialects of Balearic Islands are actually separate languages and not dialects of Catalan. During the election of 2011, Bauzà  campaigned against having centralized or standardized standards of Catalan in public education.<ref>http://riowang.blogspot.com/2011/10/mallorcan.html {{Self-published source|date=August 2022}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Single article in linguistics website from 2011, highly critical of what it calls "election fever" position|date=August 2022}}

==See also==
* [[Catalan language]]
* [[Catalan dialects|Catalan dialects and varieties]]
** [[Algherese dialect|Alguerese]]
** [[Central Catalan]]
** [[Northern Catalan]]
** [[Valencian language|Valencian]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{Citation
|last1=Carbonell
|first1=Joan F.
|last2=Llisterri
|first2=Joaquim
|year=1992
|title=Catalan
|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association
|volume=22
|issue=1–2
|pages=53–56
|doi=10.1017/S0025100300004618
|s2cid=249411809
|url=https://joaquimllisterri.cat/publicacions/Carbonell_Llisterri_99_Catalan_IPA.pdf
}}

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