La mare està preocupada perquè la meva germana encara no respon.

In Catalan, it is very common to use the definite article with family members:

• la mare = mother / mum
• el pare = father / dad
• la germana = sister

So La mare està preocupada is completely natural.

You usually drop the article when directly addressing the person:

• Mare, escolta
• Pare, vine aquí

So in a normal statement, la mare is the expected form.

Catalan often uses estar for a temporary state or condition, and ser for a more permanent characteristic.

Here, preocupada means worried, which is a temporary emotional state, so està preocupada is the natural choice.

• està preocupada = she is worried right now
• és preocupada would sound unnatural here, as if you were describing worry as part of her essential character

So this is very similar to Spanish in this case.

Because the adjective has to agree with the person it describes.

Here it describes la mare, which is feminine singular, so the adjective must also be feminine singular:

• masculine singular: preocupat
• feminine singular: preocupada
• masculine plural: preocupats
• feminine plural: preocupades

So:

• La mare està preocupada
• El pare està preocupat

Here perquè means because.

So:

• La mare està preocupada perquè... = Mother is worried because...

The accent matters because Catalan distinguishes several similar-looking forms:

• perquè = because
• per què = why / for what reason

Examples:

• Està preocupada perquè la seva filla no respon = She is worried because her daughter is not replying
• Per què està preocupada? = Why is she worried?

So in your sentence, the one-word accented form perquè is correct because it introduces the reason.

In standard Catalan, possessives are usually used together with the definite article:

• la meva germana = my sister
• el meu amic = my friend
• els nostres veïns = our neighbors

This is different from English, where you normally say my sister without the.

So la meva germana is the normal Catalan pattern.

There are a few situations where the article may be omitted, especially in direct address or in some fixed expressions, but for ordinary statements, article + possessive is the standard form.

Encara no means still not or not yet, depending on how you translate it in English.

In this sentence:

• encara no respon = she still is not replying / she has not replied yet

It expresses that the speaker expected a response, but up to now it has not happened.

A few useful comparisons:

• encara = still
• ja = already
• encara no = not yet / still not
• ja no = no longer

Examples:

• Encara dorm = He is still sleeping
• Encara no dorm = He is not asleep yet / He still is not sleeping
• Ja no dorm = He no longer sleeps / He is no longer sleeping

Catalan often uses the simple present where English prefers the present perfect.

So encara no respon can naturally correspond to:

• she still isn’t replying
• she hasn’t replied yet

Both ideas fit the Catalan present here, depending on context.

Catalan can also use a perfect form:

• encara no ha respost = she hasn’t replied yet

That version sounds a bit more explicitly completed-event focused. The present encara no respon is also very natural, especially when the situation feels current and ongoing.

Catalan often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending usually shows the person.

Here respon could mean:

• he replies
• she replies
• you reply in formal singular

But in this sentence, the context makes it clear that it refers to la meva germana, so Catalan does not need to add ella.

You could say ella encara no respon, but that would usually add emphasis or contrast.

This is very normal in Catalan:

• No ve = He/She is not coming
• Ja ho sap = He/She already knows it

Yes. Respon comes from the verb respondre, which is indeed related to English respond.

Some useful forms are:

• respondre = to reply / to answer
• responc = I reply
• respons = you reply
• respon = he/she replies
• responem = we reply
• responeu = you all reply
• responen = they reply

So in your sentence, respon means replies / answers.

Depending on context, respondre can mean either to answer or to respond.

Yes. Respondre can often be translated as either answer or respond, depending on context.

So la meva germana encara no respon could mean:

• my sister still isn’t answering
• my sister hasn’t answered yet
• my sister still isn’t responding

If the context is a phone call, message, or email, English often prefers answer or reply. If the context is more general, respond may fit better.

A rough pronunciation guide would be:

la MA-re es-TA pre-o-ku-PA-da per-KE la ME-va jer-MA-na en-KA-ra no res-PON

A few helpful notes:

• ll is not in this sentence, so no special issue there.
• què in perquè is stressed at the end: per-KE
• germana has a soft g sound, like the j in genre for many learners as a rough guide, though the real Catalan sound is different
• respon is stressed on the last syllable: res-PON

Pronunciation varies a bit by dialect, but this rough pattern will help you say it intelligibly.