History of Catalunya - got it from the library

Catalan is the official language in Catalonia. About 7 million people speak Catalan, which is kind of like a cross between French and Spanish. Now if you look at the map, Catalonia (or Catalunya) is actually the on east coast of Spain. Even though Spanish (Espanol) is officially Spain's language, to the people of Catalonia Catalan is their main tongue, followed by Spanish, and then French. They are very proud of their 'country' and you could actually offend them by saying that Catalonia is Spain!!! Catalonia's capital is Barcelona.

Spanish, or Castellano is Spain's main language. It is spoken by more than 1 billion people worldwide. Spain was once ruled by the dictator, Franco, however now it has reverted back to become a constitutional monarchy, just like Malaysia.

The Spanish people (including the Catalonians) practice a dual-name system, whereby the offspring carries both the mother's and the father's family name.
For example:
Father: Enric Casas y Bardolet
Mother: Angels Arrufat y Dalmau
Children: Nuria Casas y Arrufat, Clara Casas y Arrufat

y means and in English. So as you can see, the child will take on the father's family name followed by the mother's.

Dictionary:
(Red for Spanish, Green for Catalan)
Hello: Hola, Hola
Good morning: Buenas dias, Bon dia
Good night: Buenas noches, Bon nuit
Good bye: Adios, Adeu
Thank you: Gracias, Gracie, Merci
Please: Por favor, Si us plau