More than 300 languages spoken in Barcelona
Most spoken languages after Catalan and Spanish are Berber, Arabic, Bengali, and Urdu
arabic
Naseer Shamma shows the richness of the Arabic lute at Liceu
Iraqi master of the traditional instrument known as the oud performs in Barcelona's opera house as part of Abu Dhabi Festival
‘He was about to kill me,’ officer who shot dead knife attacker tells court
While police treat the incident as a terrorist attack, suspect’s family says he was no extremist and threatens legal action
700th anniversary of Ramon Llull’s death to be commemorated in 2015
This year the Catalan Government wants to highlight a number of important events and personalities and its goal is to promote them internationally. One of the most important figures is Catalan writer Ramon Llull, who died 700 years ago. Ramon Llull was an important writer rom Mallorca, who is credited with writing the first major work of Catalan literature. Furthermore, he was one of the greatest thinkers and writers of the Middle-Ages in Europe and North Africa. Catalonia’s institute for culture and language promotion abroad is named after him.
FC Barcelona debuts Twitter account in Arabic
The new official account completes this summer’s launch of www.fcbarab.com, the newest addition to Barça's online platform that can be enjoyed in seven languages. FC Barcelona launches @fcbarcelona_ara, its official Twitter account in Arabic, reinforcing its leadership worldwide on social networks. The new account joins the sports club’s accounts in Catalan, Spanish, English and French.
Wolof language courses taught to bring Catalan and Senegalese cultures closer
The Conca de Barberà County does not want to neglect the high number of immigrants living in Catalonia and is organising Arabic, Chinese, and Wolof language classes with native speakers as a pilot project. Wolof is a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania and has over 13 million speakers. The courses are designed to focus on the language, although there are aspects of tradition and custom taught in order to enhance the student’s exposure to other cultures.