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The goal of this paper is to show that there is a principled way of capturing structural (i.e., qualitative) differences between dialects within a quantitative approach and that the result of applying such methodology to dialect grouping is more accurate than the one obtained on purely qualitative or quantitative grounds. We base our work on data compiled in a corpus of contemporary Catalan, the Corpus Oral Dialectal (COD), gathered with computerization in mind. We first present the characteristics of the COD as well as the main tenets of the quantitative dialectometrical methodology. We then show the kind of linguistic analysis we pursue to distinguish regular phonetic facts from underlying differences, and evaluate the consequences of such distinction for dialectometrics. Finally, we illustrate the results of our research by reviewing the dialectal classification of Valencian Catalan.

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This paper presents a method to teach intercomprehension (a strategy for simultaneous learning of receptive capacities in languages that belong to the same linguistic family) as a means for strengthening multilingualism in order to overcome communication problems generated by the growing need for interrelationships, without having to forsake language diversity. The paper introduces EuroCom, an intercomprehension project involving three large European linguistic families (Slavonic, Germanic, and Romance), and describes its methodology and strategies for learning. The article stresses the importance of intercomprehension for languages like Catalan as a strategy to truly promote the respect for linguistic diversity at the European and Spanish levels.

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