Tonight, Anna and I are going to see a Catalan band called "Anna Roig i l'ombre de ton chien". Which translates to "Anna Roig and the shadow of your dog". But, here's the thing... this is actually a mix of French and Catalan. Like I mentioned in the blog "Le Soleil", Catalan and French are closely related and share some words. Chien is not one of them. The Catalan word for dog is, in fact "gos". But, anyway, like I find sometimes over here, sometimes language is spoken as a blend of two or more languages. I don't mean just randomly mixed, of course, but it may be common to speak some sentences in one and some sentences in another, depending on the persons involved and with what they are most comfortable. Here, in Barcelona, you are more likely to hear people speaking a Catalan and Spanish interchangeably. Near, the border with France, more a blend between Catalan and French, or among other languages of the region, such as Occitan. In some ways and between some peoples, the languages are mutually comprehensible. This is how languages have evolved and spread throughout antiquity, by people speaking and expressing in their own way, what they mean. Another interesting example I came across was how, between Catalan, French and Spanish, there is a consistent difference in the spelling of some words. For instance, the English word "flour" is "Farina" en Català, "Farine" en Français, and "Harina" en Español.

Another example is:

English: Bean
Català: Fava
Français: Fève
Español: Haba

Ostensibly, the reason for this is due to the Arabic influence on the Spanish language, given the similarity of the Arabic letter "F" to the Latin letter "H". For 700 years much of modern Spain and Portugal was governed by Moorish peoples from the North west of Africa (modern Morocco, Algeria...) until the Christian Reconquest starting in 1492. So, when Latin-based characters were again used after the Reconquista, the letter had already become integrated into the Spanish lexicon. The full story may be much more complex that this, but I'll leave it to the reader to research it more. Portuguese was also heavily influenced by Arabic in many various and complex ways that I don't fully understand, but, by which I am eternally fascinated. Catalonia, much of the Northern parts of modern Spain and France, were not as influenced by the Arabic, due, at least in part to geographical and morphological features of the Earth that formed natural borders, such as the Ebro River (in the case of Catalonia) and the Pyrenees Mountains (in the case of France). On the map to the left, Catalonia and France are coloured grey. If you travel to the south of Spain, which I highly recommend, you will see this culture (eg. flamenco music and dance) still vibrant, alive and well in cities such as Granada, Sevilla and Córdoba. Granada, for example has a Moorish Quarter where you can buy different teas and items you might associate with Morocco.

So, where was I going with all this? Tonight, we are going to see Anna Roig. The following cute video clip is mostly in the Catalan language, but with French words and expressions, the title being, "Je t'aime"... Jo t'estimo... Yo te quiero... I love you. Music is truly without borders.



Peace,
Grant