Gerry, I don't know if you are
serious about this question: differences between Catalan and Spanish are
uncountable. Catalan phonetics, morphology and syntax were well defined
and standardized a long time ago. We have, as Piotr already said, classical
literature from the XV century, and old texts from X-XI centuries.
I don't know what
makes a non tonal language more melodious than others.
I see that you have
no idea about the political situation in Spain: the State is divided into
18 autonomous regions. Some have a special status, being amongst them the
Basque Country (Euskal Herria, in Basque) and Catalonia (Catalunya, in
Catalan). Catalan language is not considered more vulgar any longer. It
used to be this way in the XVIII cent. and during Franco's dictature, Catalan
was persecuted and its use was prohibited (I am not being partial at this
point, Piotr). In Balearic Islands Catalan is suffering a regression, and
so does in Valencia. The fact is that the autonomous government of Valencia,
following political reasons, has literally invented an origin for Valencian,
in which it has nothing to do with Catalan.
I don't really understand
the question about dialects in Madrid: it is a city!!
About dialects in
Spain, we should divide them as following:
-
North-East: Navarro-Aragonés (which should be considered
as a separate language, but it lacks of literature and of standarization)
(aka Fabla).
-
North: Astur-Leonés (somehow transitional separate language
that is living a rebirth, with a modern grammar and dictionaries, school
teaching, etc.) (aka Bable).
-
South-West: Extremeño (a transitional dialect between southern
Spanish dialects and Portuguese) (aka Estremeñu).
-
South: Andaluz (with several subdialects).
-
South-East: Murciano (transitional dialect between Andaluz and La
Mancha dialects).
-
South-Center: Castilian or Manchego dialects (from Castilla
La Mancha, like Don Quijote. One of them is the dialect spoken in Madrid).
As seen, Spanish
has no historical boundaries with French: Catalan, Navarro-Aragonés
and Basque are settled in the southern face of the Pyrenees.
I will tell you, as
my own personal opinion, that I do not feel myself Spanish. I have grown
in Catalan, been tought in Catalan, I think in Catalan and I live in Catalonia.
So why should I consider myself Spanish??