I'm from the south of the Valencian Country a native Catalan speaker although it is usual for people to also call the language Valencian. (It's like those Americans who say American instead of English.)
The dialects spoken around the city of Valencia do have a more Spanish intonation and they have lost some of the sounds of the language. In towns and villages in the south we speak with a more musical lilt and with all the sounds. I am a Valencian from the south and when I hear Valencian speakers from the city of Valencia they also sound like Spanish language speakers who have learnt the language even if they speak quite pure Valencian.
I once met Occitan speakers from the Alps on the Italian side where Occitan is spoken and although the languages are different for popular speakers the sound was closer to my native southern Valencian. I would say southern Valencian has a singing tune similar to Provençal and northern Italian dialects and our vowels are extremely opened.
Remember I'm not speaking of the languages but of how the languages sound to the ear.
Occitan is more similar to Catalan the further back you go in history. In the early Middle Ages the two languages were extremely similar and could have evolved to one language should there have been political unity. This was not the case and Occitan and Catalan have been evolving separatly since the 13th C.
Nowadays, although they have evolved it is easy for someone speaking Standard Catalan to learn Standard Occitan in a few months. The differences are of a similar nature between Danish and Swedish for example. Once you get used to the language you understand quite a lot although there are also some important differences not only in lexicology but also in morphology and syntax.
I ara vos deixe que he de fer moltes coses abans d'anar-me'n al llit.
I leave you now because I've got lots of things to do before going to bed.
The dialects spoken around the city of Valencia do have a more Spanish intonation and they have lost some of the sounds of the language. In towns and villages in the south we speak with a more musical lilt and with all the sounds. I am a Valencian from the south and when I hear Valencian speakers from the city of Valencia they also sound like Spanish language speakers who have learnt the language even if they speak quite pure Valencian.
I once met Occitan speakers from the Alps on the Italian side where Occitan is spoken and although the languages are different for popular speakers the sound was closer to my native southern Valencian. I would say southern Valencian has a singing tune similar to Provençal and northern Italian dialects and our vowels are extremely opened.
Remember I'm not speaking of the languages but of how the languages sound to the ear.
Occitan is more similar to Catalan the further back you go in history. In the early Middle Ages the two languages were extremely similar and could have evolved to one language should there have been political unity. This was not the case and Occitan and Catalan have been evolving separatly since the 13th C.
Nowadays, although they have evolved it is easy for someone speaking Standard Catalan to learn Standard Occitan in a few months. The differences are of a similar nature between Danish and Swedish for example. Once you get used to the language you understand quite a lot although there are also some important differences not only in lexicology but also in morphology and syntax.
I ara vos deixe que he de fer moltes coses abans d'anar-me'n al llit.
I leave you now because I've got lots of things to do before going to bed.