Majorca - language

Language: The local language is Catalan, with a great deal of dialectal variety when compared to the Catalan of other areas (Catalonia, Valencia) or even the other Balearic islands. There is also a relatively large amount of variation between Majorcan localities. In view of the diversity, the local language is often termed "Majorcan" (mallorquí) or Balearic (balear) rather than the general term Catalan (català). Despite numerous differences between Majorcan and Central Catalan, islanders generally agree that they are varieties of the same language, whereas Valencians very often deny that their language is Catalan, and the matter is often hotly disputed. Spanish also has the status of an official language, and many Spanish speakers moved from other parts of Spain to the island in the twentieth century. Young Majorcans are typically bilingual in Catalan and Spanish, with some knowledge of English or German as a foreign language, especially due to the large number of tourists on the island

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