<< | Índex? | >>

Counterarguments

1. In Valencian it is said "jo pense" and in Catalan "jo penso".

Not true. Many Valencians say "jo penso": for example, from Cabanes to the north they say it, and we must bear in mind that during the 15th and 16th centuries the Catalans also said "jo pense", until the –o form appeared because of the influence of Castilian.

2. In Valencian it is said "xiquet" and in Catalan "noi", in Valencian it is said "xicotet" and in Catalan "petit".

Well, the Catalans are not unaware of the forms derived from "xic" (xiquiu, xicot...), and the Valencians are also not unaware of the forms derived from "petit". Thus, it is said "és un nano petano". In Lleida, "petit" and "xicotet" coexist. The same thing happens with corder/xai, poal/galleda, granera/escombra, which the Blaverists point out as distinctive and are also said in Lleida. In the specific case of the word "granera", the Valencians from the Castilian-speaking hinterland also use this word, without prejudice to the linguistic unity that these Valencians share with the Castilians who say "escoba".

3. In Valencian it is said "creïlla" and in Catalan "patata".

Not exact. In the city of Castelló, and from there to the north, they say "patata", and not precisely because of the influence of Catalonia: the form "patata" was general throughout the linguistic domain and "creïlla" comes from the Castilian "criadilla", and it is a form that enters from the south from Murcia. The clearest proof of this is that in some towns older people still say "credilla".

4. In Valencian it is said "iaia, iaio" and in Catalan "àvia, avi".

No more adequate testimony to deny it than one of our most distinguished writers, Isabel de Villena: "E la dita senyora Anna presentà al seu amat nét una camisa que li havia feta per goig de la venguda, ab freset d’or en les mànegues e en los muscles, la qual lo Senyor vestia ab molt plaer per amor de la santa àvia sua" (Vita Christi, chapter XCV).

5. In Valencian the final –r is made, in Catalan it is not.

Not true. In the entire Maestrat region the final –r is lost, and it is also lost, but only in pronominal combinations, in the entire territory north of Moncofa and Xilxes and in the entire coastline that goes from Dénia to the south, including the Elx dialect and some towns like Crevillent, where all the final –r's are also lost. As for the Catalans, all of them sensitize the –r when there is a weak pronoun behind it. "mirà", but "miraR-ho", "anà", but "anaR-hi", "fe", but "feR-ne".

6. In Valencian it is said "eixir" and in Catalan "sortir".

Not true. In Eivissa, for example, they say "eixir", and also in some areas to the north of the Pyrenees. The reason is that the two verbs ("sortir" and "eixir") were originally different verbs: "eixir" was "to leave a place" and "sortir", to leave suddenly, in a hurry. In Barcelona, the form sortir began to replace the verb eixir due to its greater expressiveness, and this novelty began to spread, until only the extreme areas of the linguistic domain, or those furthest from the influence of Barcelona (Valencian Country, Eivissa and the Pyrenees) have preserved the verb "eixir".

7. In Valencian it is said "meua, teua, seua" and in Catalan "meva, teva, seva".

Not true. In Eivissa and Girona they say "meua", and this form was general throughout the linguistic domain until the consonantization of the intervocalic u began to prevail in Catalonia in the 15th century.

8. In Valencian it is said "dins" and in Catalan "dintre".

Not true. In the entire region of the Elx field and in the Alacantí, the form "dins" is unknown and it is said "dintre". Otherwise, in Catalonia both words coexist.

9. In Valencian it is said "mare, pare, portar" and in Catalan "mara, para, purtar".

Vowel neutralization is not a phenomenon alien to Valencian. In many Valencian towns it is said, for example, "amportar" and "ascolta" for "emportar" and "escolta", it is also common to hear "Jusep" for "Josep". This neutralization also occurs in verbal conjugations, such as "vullgau" or "vingau", forms that can be heard in many Valencian towns.

On the other hand, the typical vowel neutralization, so to speak, of Barcelona Catalan, is not such an old phenomenon: it began around the 16th century in the vowels a and e and later (around the 17th century) in o and u. In the Balearic Islands, by the way, it is only done between e and a, and in some fully Valencian dialects such as that of the Camp d'Elx it is very common to hear "mun pare" for "mon pare" or "ubert" for "obert". It should be added that Catalans such as those from Lleida, Tortosa or Amposta do not neutralize vowels and are more similar in pronunciation to Valencians than to those from Barcelona or Girona.

10. "Aquest" and "altre" are Catalan and not Valencian words.

No. Old documents and Valencian literary works from the Middle Ages are full of these two words, and citing examples would be an endless work. "Aquest" comes from adding to the Latin ISTE the reinforcer ACCUM, which also reinforces the Latin ILLE forming aquell (ACCUM + ILLE). In this sense, if using the demonstrative with prior reinforcer is Catalan, so is using "aquell" or "aquella". On the other hand, forms like "aqueste" are not unknown in Old Castilian.

As far as "altre" is concerned, it comes from the Latin ALTERUS, a word that, as we can see, already contains the L. In this sense, defending the validity of the popular Valencian form "atre" is anti-etymological.

11. The forms "mos" and "vos" are specifically Valencian.

False. These forms (which the Blaverists use in their slogan "No mos fareu catalans" as a distinctive Valencian trait with respect to Catalan) are used in all the Balearic dialects. And aside, in the Catalonia itself they are used in the area that goes from Camp de Tarragona to the border with the Valencian Country.

Testimonies of words traditionally considered "Catalan" by the Blaverists, collected from classical Valencian writers

Open and expandable section.

JAUME ROIG – SPILL – PREFACE, PART FOUR

AUSIÀS MARCH – POEM CVIII

MISTERI D'ELX – LA FESTA

SOR ISABEL DE VILLENA – VITA CHRISTI – CHAPTER XCV

"E la dita senyora Anna presentà al seu amat nét una camisa que li havia feta per goig de la venguda, ab freset d’or en les mànegues e en los muscles, la qual lo Senyor vestia ab molt plaer per amor de la santa ÀVIA sua"

JOANOT MARTORELL - TIRANT LO BLANC – CHAPTER 294

"¡Oh molt cruel cavaller, entre molts nobles valerós! ¿Qui ha regirats així los teus pensaments? ¿On són ara los precs los quals moltes vegades a mi, per restauració de la vida vostra, planyent e sospirant oferíeu, que la vostra vida e mort estava en les mies mans? ¿On són ara los piadosos ulls ab los quals tota volta mostraven ésser vists amb llàgremes? ¿On és l’amor que envers mi mostràveu passant delitoses paraules, e los greus treballs e congoixes que jo he presos per meus propis, en delit e servei de vostra mercè? ¡Partir-se de tan virtuosa senyora, la més alta en dignitats e virtuts que en tot lo món sia, sens dir-li ADÉU SIAU!" [(c. 294, p. 832). Tirant lo blanc, edition by Martí de Riquer. Editorial Ariel].