Català / Castellano / English / Ajuda a traduïr aquesta pàgina (Help translate this page)
(In Catalan, please)
Why am I seeing this sticker? 🙋
- You’re seeing this as this business may be either breaching language legislation in Catalunya, or because it has been considered it should make an effort to increase Catalan language presence, in order to show commitment with the local territory.
Why is it important this business/service uses Catalan? 🌎
- Catalan is the only language that is original to Catalunya. Castillian Spanish is a language that, through years of imposition and linguistic substitution, has taken the lead in certain social and workplace settings, creating a false bilingual feeling in Catalunya.
- It is a requisite under current legislation: Catalan use is required in fixed elements such as signs, safety information, and wayfinding, as well as in those elements essential to the running of the business (a contract issued by a bank, a restaurant menu, item descriptions on supermarket shelves, etc). This is all disclosed in the Codi de Consum, with the aim to protect the language. Businesses may also choose to, additionally, include Spanish, English or any other language.
- By increasing Catalan language presence, we help give prestige and validity to a language that belongs to all of us.
I have a business, how can I ensure it complies with language law? 🏬
- Check out the guides from Generalitat and Consorci per la Normalització Lingüística
- Find out more about Catalan speakers as a target audience and their potential, and join the trend: Catalan Means Business – (El Català és Negoci)
What resources are available to me if I want to learn Catalan? 📓
- Sign up to Catalan courses from the Consorci per la Normalització Lingüística
- Find more resources and information about free catalan courses on the Generalitat website
- Parla.cat, ClubdelCatala.cat, EasyCatalan.org
- Sign up to practice/social groups like @Speakcatalan (Instagram)
- Living in Catalunya: Vocabulary in pictures. PDF resource with basic vocabulary.
- Use commercial software such as Duolingo for free
- Watch and read Catalan media for free:
- Films, series, and podcasts: 3Cat Platform.
- Books and physical media: Xarxa Biblioteques Municipals. Search the catalogue.
- Check out the Catalan cultural programme:
- Cultural agenda: Surtdecasa.cat
- Music & Concerts agenda: Viasona
- Sign up for Voluntariat per la Llengua (Language Volunteering Programme) and find a linguistic partner (volunteer).
- Set your device language to Catalan (more info below)
You have the right to speak and learn Catalan. Many have fought for their freedom over their years, and it’s now your turn to take advantage of that. Don’t be ashamed to speak it if you’re learning, locals will help and be appreciative: el pitjor català és el que no es parla (poor Catalan is better than no Catalan at all).
Why report it? 🚩
If we don’t take advantage of the legal protection Catalan language has, and ignore the resources we have access to as residents in Catalunya, we will only contribute to language substitution (castellanització), risking losing the rights we have rightly earned.
- What to do, in five minutes, to report a business or organisation you believe is breaching language legislation (in Catalan)
What else can I do? 📱
How to set my device language to Catalan
- We live in the digital age. Many Catalan speakers still set their devices to Spanish or English by habit, or because they’re unaware they can carry out their digital activities fully in Catalan.
- How to change my mobile device’s language
- Com change my computer’s language
- Most popular online services offer Catalan as an option. Sometimes, some search engines don’t recognise our language preference and default to Spanish or English. When browsing the web, look for an option to change the language.
- Set up Chrome to automatically direct you to the Catalan version of a website, when available.
- By doing this, you normalise Catalan use in digital environments, helping incentivise other businesses and organisations to offer Catalan as an option.
If you spot any mistakes on this website, I apologise. Please let me know by getting in touch. This is a non-for-profit, apolitical project.