Editing Occitan language (section)

===Differences between Occitan and Catalan===
The separation of Catalan from Occitan is seen by some{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}} as largely politically (rather than linguistically) motivated. However, the variety that has become standard Catalan differs from the one that has become standard Occitan in a number of ways. Here are just a few examples:
* [[Phonology]] {{Main|Occitan phonology|Catalan phonology}}
** Standard Catalan (based on Central Eastern Catalan) is unique in that Latin short ''e'' developed into a close vowel {{IPA|/e/}} (''é'') and Latin long ''e'' developed into an open vowel {{IPA|/ɛ/}} (''è''); that is precisely the reverse of the development that took place in Western Catalan dialects and the rest of the Romance languages, including Occitan. Thus Standard Catalan ''ésser'' {{IPA|[ˈesə]}} corresponds to Occitan ''èsser/èstre'' {{IPA|[ˈɛse/ˈɛstre]}} 'to be;' Catalan {{lang|ca|carrer}} {{IPA|[kəˈre]}} corresponds to Occitan ''carrièra'' {{IPA|oc|karˈjɛɾo̞|}} 'street', but it is also ''carriera'' {{IPA|oc|karˈjeɾo̞|}}, in Provençal.
** The distinctly Occitan development of word-final ''-a'', pronounced {{IPA|[o̞]}} in standard Occitan (''chifra'' 'figure' {{IPA|[ˈtʃifro̞]}}), did not occur in general Catalan (which has ''xifra'' {{IPA|[ˈʃifrə]}}). However, some Occitan varieties also lack that feature, and some Catalan ([[Valencian language|Valencian]]) varieties have the {{IPA|[ɔ]}} pronunciation, mostly by vowel harmony.
** When in Catalan word stress falls in the antepenultimate syllable, in Occitan the stress is moved to the penultimate syllable: for example, Occitan ''pagina'' {{IPA|[paˈdʒino̞]}} vs. Catalan ''pàgina'' {{IPA|[ˈpaʒinə]}}, "page". However, there are exceptions. For example, some varieties of Occitan (such as that of [[Nice]]) keep the stress on the antepenultimate syllable ''(pàgina)'', and some varieties of Catalan (in Northern Catalonia) put the stress on the penultimate syllable ''(pagina)''.
** [[Diphthong]]ization has evolved in different ways: Occitan ''paire'' vs. Catalan ''pare'' 'father;' Occitan ''carrièra (carrèra, carrèira)'' vs. Catalan ''carrera''.
** Although some Occitan dialects lack the [[voiceless postalveolar fricative]] phoneme {{IPA|/ʃ/}}, others such as southwestern Occitan have it: general Occitan ''caissa'' {{IPA|[ˈkajso̞]}} vs. Catalan ''caixa'' {{IPA|[ˈkaʃə]}} and southwestern Occitan ''caissa, caisha'' {{IPA|[ˈka(j)ʃo̞]}}, 'box.' Nevertheless, some [[Western Catalan|Valencian dialects]] like Northern Valencian lack that phoneme too and generally substitute {{IPA|/jsʲ/}}: ''caixa'' {{IPA|[ˈkajʃa]}} (Standard Valencian) ~ {{IPA|[ˈkajsʲa]}} (Northern Valencian).
** Occitan has developed the [[close front rounded vowel]] {{IPA|/y/}} as a [[phoneme]], often (but not always) corresponding to Catalan {{IPA|/u/}}: Occitan ''musica'' {{IPA|[myˈziko̞]}} vs. Catalan ''música'' {{IPA|[ˈmuzikə]}}.
** The distribution of [[palatal consonant]]s {{IPA|/ʎ/}} and {{IPA|/ɲ/}} differs in Catalan and part of Occitan: while Catalan permits them in word-final position, in central Occitan they are [[Phoneme#Neutralization, archiphoneme, underspecification|neutralized]] to {{IPA|[l]}} and {{IPA|[n]}} (Central Occitan ''filh'' {{IPA|[fil]}} vs. Catalan ''fill'' {{IPA|[fiʎ]}}, 'son'). Similarly, [[Algherese dialect|Algherese Catalan]] neutralizes palatal consonants in word-final position as well. Non-central varieties of Occitan, however, may have a palatal realization (e.g. ''filh, hilh'' {{IPA|[fiʎ, fij, hiʎ]}}). 
** Furthermore, many words that start with {{IPA|/l/}} in Occitan start with {{IPA|/ʎ/}} in Catalan: Occitan ''libre'' {{IPA|[ˈliβɾe]}} vs. Catalan ''llibre'' {{IPA|[ˈʎiβɾə]}}, 'book.' That feature is perhaps one of the most distinctive characteristics of Catalan amongst the Romance languages, shared only with [[Asturian language|Asturian]], [[Leonese language|Leonese]] and [[Mirandese language|Mirandese]]. However, some transitional varieties of Occitan, near the Catalan area, also have initial {{IPA|/ʎ/}}.
** While {{IPA|/l/}} is always clear in Occitan, in Catalan it tends to be [[velarization|velarized]] {{IPA|[ɫ]}} ("[[dark l]]"). In coda position, {{IPA|/l/}} has tended to be vocalized to {{IPA|[w]}} in Occitan, while remained dark in Catalan.
** Standard [[Eastern Catalan]] has a [[schwa|neutral vowel]] {{IPA|[ə]}} whenever ''a'' or ''e'' occur in unstressed position (''passar'' {{IPA|[pəˈsa]}}, 'to happen', but ''passa'' {{IPA|[ˈpasə]}}, 'it happens'), and also {{IPA|[u]}} whenever ''o'' or ''u'' occur in unstressed position, e.g. ''obrir'' {{IPA|[uˈβɾi]}}, 'to open', but ''obre'' {{IPA|[ˈɔβɾə]}}, 'you open'. However, that does not apply to [[Western Catalan]] dialects, whose vowel system usually retains the ''a''/''e'' distinction in unstressed position, or to Northern Catalan dialects, whose vowel system does not retain the ''o''/''u'' distinction in stressed position, much like Occitan.
* [[Morphology (linguistics)|Morphology]]
** Verb [[grammatical conjugation|conjugation]] is slightly different, but there is a great variety amongst dialects. Medieval conjugations were much closer. A characteristic difference is the ending of the second person plural, which is ''-u'' in Catalan but ''-tz'' in Occitan. {{further|Occitan conjugation|Catalan conjugation}}
** Occitan tends to add an [[analogy|analogical]] -''a'' to the [[grammatical gender|feminine]] forms of adjectives that are invariable in standard Catalan: for example, Occitan ''legal'' / ''legala'' vs. Catalan ''legal'' / ''legal''.
** Catalan has a distinctive past tense formation, known as the 'periphrastic preterite', formed from a variant of the verb 'to go' followed by the infinitive of the verb: ''donar'' 'to give,' ''va donar'' 'he gave.' That has the same value as the 'normal' preterite shared by most Romance languages, deriving from the Latin perfect tense: Catalan ''donà'' 'he gave.' The periphrastic preterite, in Occitan, is an archaic or a very local tense.
* [[Orthography]]
** The writing systems of the two languages differ slightly. The modern Occitan spelling recommended by the [[Institut d'Estudis Occitans]] and the [[Conselh de la Lenga Occitana]] is designed to be a pan-Occitan system, and the Catalan system recommended by the [[Institut d'Estudis Catalans]] and [[Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua]] is specific to Catalan and Valencian. For example, in Catalan, word-final ''-n'' is omitted, as it is not pronounced in any dialect of Catalan (''Català'', ''Occità''); central Occitan also drops word-final ''-n'', but it is retained in the spelling, as some eastern and western dialects of Occitan still have it (''Catalan'', ''Occitan''). Some digraphs are also written in a different way such as the sound {{IPA|/ʎ/}}, which is ''ll'' in Catalan (similar to Spanish) and ''lh'' in Occitan (similar to Portuguese) or the sound {{IPA|/ɲ/}} written ''ny'' in Catalan and ''nh'' in Occitan.