Editing Catalonia (section)

== Etymology and pronunciation ==
The name "Catalonia" ({{Langx|la-x-medieval|Cathalaunia}}), spelled ''Cathalonia'', began to be used for the homeland of the [[Catalans]] (''Cathalanenses'') in the late 11th century and was probably used before as a territorial reference to the group of counties that comprised part of the March of Gothia and the [[Marca Hispanica|March of Hispania]] under the control of the [[Count of Barcelona]] and his relatives.<ref>[http://www.enciclopedia.cat/fitxa_v2.jsp?NDCHEC=0016436 Enciclopèdia Catalana online: Catalunya ("Geral de Cataluign, Raimundi Catalan and Arnal Catalan appear in 1107/1112")] (in Catalan) {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206211826/http://www.enciclopedia.cat/fitxa_v2.jsp?NDCHEC=0016436|date=6 February 2012}}</ref> The origin of the name ''Catalunya'' is subject to diverse interpretations because of a lack of evidence.

One theory suggests that ''Catalunya'' derives from the name ''Gothia'' (or ''Gauthia'') ''Launia'' ("Land of the [[Goths]]"), since the origins of the Catalan counts, lords and people were found in the March of Gothia, known as ''Gothia'', whence ''Gothland'' > {{Lang|la-x-medieval|Gothlandia}} > {{Lang|la-x-medieval|Gothalania}} > {{Lang|la-x-medieval|Cathalaunia}} > ''Catalonia'' theoretically derived.<ref name="Books.google.com"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Ulick Ralph Burke|title=A history of Spain from the earliest times to the death of Ferdinand the Catholic|url=https://archive.org/details/ahistoryspainfr02burkgoog|year=1900|publisher=Longmans, Green, and co.|page=[https://archive.org/details/ahistoryspainfr02burkgoog/page/n187 154]}}</ref> During the [[Middle Ages]], [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] chroniclers claimed that ''Catalania'' derives from the local medley of [[Goths]] with [[Alans]], initially constituting a ''Goth-Alania''.<ref>The Sarmatians: 600 BC-AD 450 (Men-at-Arms) by Richard Brzezinski and Gerry Embleton, 19 August 2002.</ref>

Other theories suggest:

*''Catalunya'' derives from the term "land of castles", having evolved from the term ''castlà'' or ''castlan'', the medieval term for a [[castellan]] (a ruler of a [[castle]]).<ref name="Books.google.com">{{cite book|author=Maximiano García Venero|title=Historia del nacionalismo catalán: 2a edición|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nUABAAAAMAAJ|access-date=25 April 2010|date=7 July 2006|publisher=Ed. Nacional|archive-date=11 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311111242/https://books.google.com/books?id=nUABAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gencat.cat/catalunya/eng/historia/historia2.htm|title=La formació de Catalunya|publisher=Gencat.cat|access-date=25 April 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091215151546/http://www.gencat.cat/catalunya/eng/historia/historia2.htm|archive-date=15 December 2009}}</ref> This theory therefore suggests that the names ''Catalunya'' and ''[[Castile (historical region)|Castile]]'' have a common root.
*The source is the Celtic ''[[catalauni]]'', meaning "chiefs of battle", similar to the Celtic given name [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/Katuwalos *Katuwalos];<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bonfante|first=Giuliano|date=1948|title=Le nom de la "Catalogne"|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/ecelt_0373-1928_1948_num_4_2_1196|journal=Études celtiques|volume=4|issue=2|pages=365–368|doi=10.3406/ecelt.1948.1196|access-date=6 June 2020|archive-date=6 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606104705/https://www.persee.fr/doc/ecelt_0373-1928_1948_num_4_2_1196|url-status=live|issn=0373-1928 }}</ref> although the area is not known to have been occupied by the [[Celtiberians]], a Celtic culture was present within the interior of the [[Iberian Peninsula]] in pre-Roman times.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Catalan&allowed_in_frame=0|title=Online Etymology Dictionary|publisher=Etymonline.com|access-date=31 January 2014|archive-date=3 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203040542/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Catalan&allowed_in_frame=0|url-status=live}}</ref>
*The [[Lacetani]], an [[Iberians|Iberian tribe]] that lived in the area and whose name, due to the [[ancient Rome|Roman]] influence, could have evolved by [[Metathesis (linguistics)|metathesis]] to ''Katelans'' and then ''Catalans''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediterranees.net/vagabondages/divers/catalogne.html|title=La Catalogne: son nom et ses limites historiques, Histoire de Roussillon|publisher=Mediterranees.net|date=22 March 2008|access-date=1 February 2014|archive-date=18 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218071954/http://mediterranees.net/vagabondages/divers/catalogne.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Miguel Vidal, finding serious shortcomings with earlier proposals (such as that an original -''t''- would have, by normal sound laws in the local Romance languages, developed into -''d''-), suggested an Arabic etymology: ''{{transliteration|ar|qattāl}}'' ({{wikt-lang|ar|قتال}}, {{abbr|pl.|plural}} ''{{transliteration|ar|qattālūn}}'' {{lang|ar|قتالون}}) – meaning "killer" – could have been applied by Muslims to groups of raiders and bandits on the southern border of the [[Marca Hispanica]].<ref>Badia i Margarit, Antoni, 1981,

Gramàtica històrica catalana, Barcelona; see also Miguel Vidal's "Etymology of català, Catalunya", available [https://www.academia.edu/3815281/Etymology_of_català_Catalunya here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101182645/https://www.academia.edu/3815281/Etymology_of_catal%C3%A0_Catalunya|date=1 November 2020}}.</ref> The name, originally derogatory, could have been reappropriated by Christians as an autonym. This is comparable to attested development of the term [[Almogavars|Almogavar]] in nearby areas. In this model, the name ''Catalunya'' derives from the plural ''qattālūn'' while the adjective and language name ''català'' derives from the singular ''qattāl'', both with the addition of common Romance suffixes.<ref>Sabaté, Flocel (2015). ''Anàlisi històrica de la identitat catalana''. Barcelona, Institut d ́Estudis Catalans: p. 27; Publicacions de la Presidència (1).</ref>

In English, ''Catalonia'' is pronounced {{IPAc-en|k|æ|t|ə|ˈ|l|oʊ|n|i|ə}}. The native name, ''Catalunya'', is pronounced {{IPA|ca|kətəˈluɲə|}} in [[Central Catalan]], the most widely spoken variety, and {{IPA|ca|kataˈluɲa|}} in [[North-Western Catalan]]. The [[Spanish language|Spanish]] name is ''Cataluña'' ({{IPA|es|kataˈluɲa|}}), and the [[Aranese]] name is ''Catalonha'' ({{IPA|oc|kataˈluɲa|}}).