Catalan Language

Geography

~ Catalonia in Spain.
~ An adjacent strip of Aragon, Spain, in particular the comarques of Baixa Ribagorça, Llitera, Baix Cinca, and Matarranya.
~ Balearic Islands in Spain.
~ Andorra.
~ Part of the Land of Valencia in Spain, where the language is officially named Valencian.
~ Northern Catalonia in France.
~ The city of Alghero (l'Alguer) on Sardinia, an island in Italy.
~ A small region in Murcia, Spain, known as el Carche in Castilian and el Carxe in Catalan.

All these areas are informally called Catalan countries (Països Catalans), a denomination based originally on cultural affinity and common heritage, that some have subsequently interpreted politically.

Official Status

Catalan is the official language of Andorra. It is co-official in the Spanish regions of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and Valencia. It has no official status in the parts of Aragon where it is spoken, but has gained some recognition by Aragonese laws since 1990. It has no official status in the other places where it is spoken.