In Barcelona, as in the rest of Catalonia, two official languages are spoken: Catalan and Spanish.
The languages coexist harmoniously, so you will have no problem getting around Barcelona if you only speak Spanish. Being a cosmopolitan city, Barcelona also has an ever increasing number of businesses and services prepared to speak in English and other international languages.
The Catalan language is part of Catalonia’s cultural heritage and is a symbol of Catalan identity.
Catalan is fully adapted to the needs of modern society as the fact that it is the 19th most used language on the Internet testifies. It is a language with a rich literary and cultural tradition.
After a long period of persecution from 1980, Catalan was granted the legally recognised status of being Catalonia’s language and also it is an official language alongside Spanish throughout Spain. As a result, Catalan today is the language of schools, Catalonia’s own governing institutions, in the mass media.