Els animals
Arri arri tatanet
El bedriol
El lleó no em
fa por
El ruquet
valent
Escarbat bum bum
Jo tinc
una cabreta
La petita
granoteta
Mireu els meus ànecs
Ploreu ploreu ninetes
Last updated: 22/12/2015 14:59
The songs below are part of ‘Joan del Rui’
The Catalan collection
compiled, adapted, translated and illustrated by Dany Rosevear
Return to the ‘Singing games for
children’ home
To listen to music from these
songs click on O
To watch the
author sing a song click on the title at:
Why a
separate Catalan collection?
My
intention in researching Catalan songs was to add just a small number to my
original Spanish collection. However it was obvious from the outset that this
region of Spain is a particularly rich source of wonderful music and rhythms
and before long I had assembled and translated a dedicated compilation of
singing games and dances.
Many
of these had been accessed on the internet in the form of videos. The dances
themselves should be self evident from the directions
given but I would urge anyone who would like to introduce these songs in the
Catalan language to classes of children to illustrate the dances using these
videos as a model to copy on their whiteboards.
© Dany Rosevear 2008 All rights reserved
You
are free to copy, distribute, display and perform these works under the
following conditions:
·
you must give the original author credit
·
you may not use this work for commercial purposes
·
for any re-use or distribution, you must make clear to others the
licence terms of this work
·
any of these can be waived if you get permission from the copyright
holder
Your
fair use and other rights are no way affected by the above.
The
Catalan Collection
Catalan
pronunciation
Spoken
Catalan like Spanish is quite distinctive from spoken English. The more
distinctive sounds of letters in the words of the songs are provided to aid
pronunciation in the guide below. The letters not listed are pronounced
approximately as in English.
a stressed sounds like ah (father) as
in pa
a unstressed sounds like a (sugar) as
in porta
e open sounds like e (met) at the beginning or within a word as in nen
e closed sounds like e (they) at the beginning or within a word as in llet
i sounds like ee (feet) as
in nit
e sounds like ay at the end of a word as in leche
o sounds like oa (boat) as
in boca
u sounds like oo (boot) as
in una
b is silent after m as in amb
c sounds like c (acid) before the letters i and e as
in cel
ç sounds like c (acid) as
in canço
g (before
e and i) and
j sounds like sh (vision) as in pàgina jeure
g sounds like h (hallo)
before the letters i
and e as in gente
h is always silent unless the word is of foreign origin
ll sounds like lli (million) as
in llapis
p is silent after m as
in llamp
v at the beginning of a word sounds like b as in vi
rr sounds like a Scottish r as
in carro
v sounds
like b as in vaca
s and z
sounds like z (zoo) as
in casa zero
u is silent after g
and q as
in gue qui
x at the beginning of a word or
after l, n, r sounds like sh as in xarop
There are many sites on line
that provide help with pronunciations
Catalan
punctuation
Written
Catalan like Spanish is distinctive from written English; fewer capitals are
used at the beginning of each line of verse, exclamation and question marks are
used both at the beginning and end of sentences. However, for familiarity I
have usually conformed to the English model when writing Catalan verse.
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Arri, arri, tatanet O A favourite knee riding game with toddlers. Encourage children to
think of different foods to be eaten at mealtime each time the song is
repeated. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P8MPoS_1JA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDJBmbtg0UU&feature=related Trot around the room, stop on the last line to finish with a big jump.
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El bedriol O ‘Bedriol does not feature in the ‘Diccionari de la llengua catalana’ but ‘vidriol’ does; a
long snake-like lizard with no legs, probably the same as our slow worm. The
dance itself suggests snakelike movements. However there is also a river ‘Bedriol’ and a gripe powder remedy so take your pick! Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5qM2TiHPwU&feature=related
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El lleó no em
fa por O
‘I’m not scared of the lion’ Who is scared of the lion? Who likes roaring? Practice your loudest
roars! Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yHfQwI9AUI&feature=related
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El ruquet valent O Encourage good posture and learn to move around the room while
balancing an object on the head without dropping it. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTdDReME0jg&feature=relmfu
Listen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8bGoRiVbHo&list=PLEF6A50A61DB730F3&index=36
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Escarabat bum-bum O This is traditionally a toddler’s song
where the child hides their face in an adult’s lap. The adult taps out a
rhythm on their back while singing. On the last line someone else pinches
them lightly and the child has to guess who it might be. ‘Escarabat’
can be shortened to ‘escarbat’ to make it easier to
sing. Listen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFK4I6xCpX4&feature=related
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Jo tinc una cabreta O Move like the creatures below to this traditional Italian tune. Choose
other animals and mime their actions. Listen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJDa4tDRrVk
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La petita granoteta O Frog is going for a stroll and it makes him very happy. See a Catalan version of a USA favourite at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt82MrMBnAw&feature=related
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Mireu els meus ànecs O Down at the farmyard the ducks are on the move. Join them swimming,
dabbling, eating and sleeping. These movements can be made in a space, line or circle. It is done in four groups at: http://vimeo.com/15612445 Sing the last verse softly.
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Ploreu, ploreu ninetes O
‘The donkey’s very ill’ Look after your donkey and with lots of
spoiling he’ll very soon recover. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMtWbktppKc
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