Catalan Language Evolution and Grammar
Ramon Llull and Linguistic Shifts
Ramon Llull significantly affected subsequent work. His lexical and syntactic structures broke with the hegemony of Latin. He wrote in Latin, Occitan, and Arabic, in addition to Catalan, which became increasingly prominent.
Historical Chronicles
The Chronicles include important works such as:
- The Book of Feats (Llibre dels Fets)
- The Book of the King (Llibre del Rei)
- The Chronicle of Ramon Muntaner
- The Chronicle of Peter IV of Aragon
The Chancery and Language Conflict
The Chancery: This body was responsible for the bureaucracy associated with the government of the Crown of Aragon and played an important role in resolving language conflicts.
Fifteenth Century Literature
In the fifteenth century, the language conflict subsided, but poetry remained influential until the middle of the century, featuring great authors such as Martorell, Jaime Roig, and Ausias March in Catalan Literature of the Century.
Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Crisis
The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries brought a literary crisis due to several factors:
Political Causes
- Loss of political sovereignty.
- Assimilation and Castilianization of the Catalan nobility, leading many nobles to adhere to the Castilian court.
- The rise of an absolutist Spanish ideology.
- The formation of The Revolt, which resulted in the mutilation of northern Catalonia to France.
Cultural Causes
- Highbrow literary production lost encouragement.
- Catalan was forced to yield to Latin again.
- The printing press was slow to adopt Catalan, leading to Catalan becoming dialectized.
Economic Causes
The decline in literary production in the late seventeenth century coincided with an economic recovery.
Catalan Syntax: Weak Pronouns
1. Function of Weak Pronouns
These pronouns replace a syntactical element that performs the same function.
Direct Object (CD) Pronouns
Can be:
- Definite: el, la, los, las. (Used when the object is preceded by the definite article, demonstrative, or possessive.)
- Indefinite: en.
- Neuter: ho. (Used for 'this,' 'that,' or in subordinate clauses.)
- When the CD refers to the 1st person: me, us.
- When the CD refers to the 2nd person: et, vos.
- When the CD refers to the 3rd person: se.
Indirect Object (CI) Pronouns
Replace the indirect object that receives the benefit or harm of the verbal action, usually preceded by 'a' or 'per a' (to/for).
- 1st person: me, us.
- 2nd person: et, vos.
- 3rd person (and reflexive): li, se.
Prepositional Complement (CRV) Pronouns
Replace complements that require a preposition with certain verbs.
- Replaced by hi, unless the verb is reflexive, in which case it is en.
Attributive Pronoun (ATB)
Replaces the complement of copulative verbs (ser, estar, semblar).
- If the ATB is definite (including CDs): el, la, los, las.
- If the ATB is undefined (like CD): en.
- If the ATB expresses emphasis: en.
Predicative Complement (CPred) Pronouns
Similar to the ATB, but agrees with the CD or the subject.
- Replaced by hi, except with verbs like fer-se, dir-se, elegir, nomenar, where en is used.
Double Complement (DC) Pronouns
Replaced by hi, except when combined with CCC + preposition 'de', where en is used.
Noun Complement (CN) Pronouns
Replaced by en when the complement is part of the CD and has the preposition 'de', or when replacing only the CD or the CN, but never both.
Subject Pronouns
Used under two conditions:
- Subject of an intransitive verb.
- When the subject is undefined: en.