Catalan Language - Phonology

Phonology

The Catalan phonology varies depending on the dialect. Notable features include:

• Marked constrast of the vowel pairs /ɛ - e/ and /ɔ - o/, like in other Western Romance languages, except Spanish.
• Lack of nasalized vowels, unlike Portuguese or French.
• Lack of diphthongization of Latin ĕ, ŏ, like in Galician and Portuguese, and unlike French, Spanish and Italian.
• Abundance of diphtongs containing /w/, like in Galician and Portuguese.

In contrast with other Romance languages, Catalan has many monosyllabic words; and those ending in a wide variety consonants and some consonant clusters. Also, Catalan has final obstruent devoicing, thus featuring many couplets like amic "(male friend") vs. amiga ("female friend").