Among the languages of Europe spoken by bilingual communities, Catalan has a special status because of its vitality. Catalan enjoys official recognition in Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands, in spain and in the principality of Andorra. Catalan is of importance within the Romance family because it constitutes a link between the Ibero-Romance family of languages and the Gallo-Romance branches. This book will be of interest to both Romanists and general linguists engaged in comparative work.