The Menorcan dialect

Menorcan - menorquín - is a dialect of Catalan spoken on Menorca.

It is very similar linguistically to the Mallorcan and Ibizan dialects of Catalan spoken in the Balearic islands.

A typical difference to Catalan are the gramatical articles sa (instead of la) and es (instead of el).

Since Menorca used to be a British colony some English words made their way into Menorcan and are still being used, for example:

• bòtil = bottle
• mèrvel= marble
• greví = gravy
• xoc = chalk

and, last not least, the ever-present idò which comes from the English I do.

Menorcan is one of the two official languages on Menorca, the other being Spanish, or Castillian.

In the local newspapers you will find articles in the two languages.

During the summer months, every Thursday you will also find an English-language page and there is an English online version of Menorca.info.