Languages of Catalonia
According to the government of Catalonia, Spanish, locally known as Castilian, is currently the most spoken language in Catalonia (45.9% daily users of Spanish vs. 35.6% daily users of Catalan vs. 11% daily users of both Spanish and Catalan) and especially in the Barcelona metropolitan area, as well as native language and usual language of many Catalan citizens. This language is widely prevalent in the press, cinema and in daily life.
History of Catalonia
The Iberian language was a Paleohispanic language. The oldest inscriptions are dated from the end of the 5th century BC, and the most recent of the end of the first century BC, even at the beginning of the 1st century AD, after being gradually replaced by Latin. In its different variants, the Iberian language was spoken in a broad coastal strip stretching from southern Languedoc to Alicante.