La tieta ja ha convidat dues amigues i una veïna, però encara falten altres convidades.

In Catalan, it is very common to use the definite article before family members when you are referring to a specific person: la mare, el pare, la tieta.

So la tieta is normal Catalan and does not sound unusually emphatic. In direct address, though, you would normally drop the article: Tieta!

Historically, tieta is a diminutive of tia, but in everyday Catalan it often just means aunt, sometimes with a slightly affectionate or familiar tone.

So in many contexts, tieta is simply a natural way to say aunt, not necessarily tiny aunt or dear little aunt.

Ja means already.

So ja ha convidat means has already invited. It tells you that this part of the action is completed by now.

Ha convidat is the present perfect:

• ha = has (3rd person singular of haver)
• convidat = past participle of convidar

So:

• ha convidat = has invited

It is used here for an action that has already happened and is relevant to the current situation.

Because with haver in Catalan, the past participle normally does not agree with the direct object.

So you say:

• ha convidat dues amigues
• not ha convidades dues amigues

Agreement appears in other structures, such as adjective or passive uses:

• les convidades = the invited guests
• han estat convidades = have been invited

Because Catalan marks gender in these forms:

• dues = two for feminine nouns
• dos = two for masculine nouns
• una = feminine singular a / one

Since amigues and veïna are feminine nouns, the forms are:

• dues amigues
• una veïna

Because dues and una already determine the nouns.

Catalan does not normally add another article in this kind of phrase:

• dues amigues = two friends
• una veïna = a neighbor / one neighbor

If you said les dues amigues, that would usually mean the two friends, referring to a specific pair already known in context.

Because the sentence is referring to female people.

Catalan nouns and related words often show grammatical gender:

• amigues = female friends
• veïna = female neighbor
• convidades = female guests

If the group were masculine or mixed, Catalan would normally use the masculine plural form:

• amics
• veí
• convidats

Encara means still or yet.

So:

• ja ha convidat... = has already invited...
• però encara falten... = but there are still... missing / but ... are still needed

The contrast between ja and encara is very important in the sentence: already one part is done, but still something remains.

Here faltar means something like to be missing, to still be absent, or to still be needed.

The subject is altres convidades, which is plural, so the verb is plural too:

• falten altres convidades = other guests are still missing

Even though the subject comes after the verb, it is still the subject.

Compare:

• falta una convidada = one guest is still missing
• falten altres convidades = other guests are still missing

Because altres convidades means other / additional guests in a more indefinite way.

If you said les altres convidades, that would usually mean the other guests — a specific remaining group that both speaker and listener already know about.

So the difference is roughly:

• altres convidades = other guests / additional guests
• les altres convidades = the other guests

The ï has a diaeresis, which shows that the i is pronounced in a separate syllable.

So veïna is pronounced in three syllables:

• ve-ï-na

A simple English-style approximation is veh-EE-nuh.

The diaeresis prevents the letters from blending into a single diphthong.