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MALLORCA
Language

Cities in MALLORCA

Ca'n pastilla Ca'n picafort Cala d’or
Cala millor El arenal Magaluf
Palma de mallorca Palma nova Playa de muro
Playa de palma Puerto de alcudia Sa coma
Santa ponsa

Popular destinations SPAIN

AndalusiaCataloniaCosta blanca
Costa bravaCosta del solEl hierro
FormenteraFuerteventuraGran canaria
IbizaLa gomeraLa palma
LanzaroteMallorcaMenorca
Tenerife

Language

Map of Spanish Dialects, MallorcaMap of Spanish Dialects, MallorcaPhoto: Stephen Shaw at the English Wikipedia CC 3.0 no changes made

Two languages are spoken and written in Mallorca, Mallorquin, a Catalan dialect, and Castilian Spanish (Castellano). In the thirteenth century, Catalan (Català) supplanted the Arabic of the Moors. After the unification of Spain, the court language, Castilian, became increasingly important and in 1715 declared the official language of all Spain, including the Balearic Islands.

It was not until the nineteenth century that there was more attention for Catalan again and its autonomous status since 1983 has made Catalan an official language again in the Balearic Islands.

A dialect of Catalan, Mallorquin is difficult to understand even for mainland Spaniards, and differs in both pronunciation and vocabulary.

English Castilian Mallorquin


Sources

Dominicus, J. / Mallorca
Gottmer

Lee, P. / The rough guide to Majorca
Rough Guides

Nahm, P. / Majorca, Minorca
Baedeker

Rokebrand, R. / Reishandboek Mallorca
Elmar

CIA - World Factbook

BBC - Country Profiles

Last updated February 2024
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