a ticket un billet; return d’anada i tornada; card expired (on metro) títol esgotat
left esquerra; right dreta; here aquí; there allí; straight on recte; at the corner a la cantonada; as far as fins a; towards cap a; near a prop; far lluny; Is it far? És lluny?
In Catalan, as in French but unlike in Spanish, words are run together, so si us plau (please) is more like ‘sees-plow’.
à at the end of a word (as in Francesc Macià) is an open ‘a’ rather like ‘ah’, but very clipped
ç, and c before an ‘i’ or an ‘e’, are like a soft ‘s’, as in ‘sit’; c in all other cases is as in ‘cat’
e, when unstressed as in cerveses (beers), or Jaume I, is a week sound like the second ‘e’ in ‘centre‘
The official language of the Balearics is Catalan (català), of which mallorquí is dialect. Though every Spanish native on the island will speak Castilian Spanish, Catalan is the mother tongue of the majority. It was banned under Franco, and for many is a badge of pride, identity and independence. You might find that some locals will prefer to speak to you in English rahter than Castilian. Most of the road signs, street names, etc, that you’ll see on the island will be written in Catalan.