Speaking Catalan

[LarryL]

I am interested in finding a way to learn basic Catalan for our pre-cruise stay in Barcelona next year. We are planning on geting a Rosetta Stone fo Spanish but I am not sure what to do about Catalan. I don't need to master the language but would like to communicate the best I can in the 18 months I have to prepare. Thanks in advance for any ideas.

 

Larry

[ab0si]

there are books, CDs, and on-line sites for learning Catalan. I suggest using something like google's Shopping search engine to see what is available to buy and using a normal search for Catalan Language or Catalan Learning to see what is on-line.

 

Having a visitor simply attempt to speak a few phrases will bring a smile to their faces. If followed by an an apologetic comment about speaking a foreign language before switching to Castellano, you will be greeted with a hearty laugh.

[CruisinGerman]

Dear friends:

 

Greetings from Madrid. We make our home between Madrid and Barcelona. Barcelona is a very cosmopolitan city with people from all walks of life and from all regions of Spain and abroad.

 

While when you live here you can kind of have an instinct as to who speaks Catalan and who does not, the average tourist will not have this instinct.

 

You may find yourself trying to speak Catalan to someone who doesn't speak it, in turn.

 

All Catalan people speak both Spanish and Catalan fluently as dual native languages, although there is a heavy promotion by the Catalan Government in modern times to promote the use of Catalan.

 

As a foreigner, it will be much appreciated if you can utter a few sentences in Spanish, and it won't be necessary for you to learn Catalan. However, it will probably be appreciated by a Catalan speaker if you can speak it.

 

You will get by fine with some Spanish. If someone tries to talk Catalan to you and realizes that you only speak Spanish, that person will change instantly to Spanish and there is no problem in communication. For example, I am the President of a Homeowner's Board in Barcelona and, although before the meeting starts, some of the Catalan speakers may speak Catalan among themselves; although as soon as the Spanish speakers enter the room and I myself as the President who speaks Spanish but not Catalan, then the whole event changes to Spanish.

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Gunther and Uta

[LarryL]

Thanks for the information. I think I may focus more on Spanish and see if I can pick up a few words or phrases in Catalan. This will be our first trip to Europe and we are very excited to go.

[dingsterkat]

Larry, I'm very impressed with your thoughts to learn both Castillian Spanish and Catalan. Catalan to me sounds rather pretty, but I'm pseudo-fluent in Castillian Spanish and oftentimes don't understand a word of Catalan when I hear it! In fact, I still remember the first time I consciously heard a group of Catalans speaking their native tongue - I really though they MUST be speaking Spanish, and I'd simply lost my mind as I couldn't comprehend them.

 

I've never seen a single sign as a tourist in Barcelona that the locals thought I was crass or stupid for not knowing Catalan - I think really concentrating on Spanish would be a better use of your time. While I used to work on long term assignments in Madrid, speaking Spanish was key - as few Madrilenos spoke fluent English. (And of course a good Madrileno would never learn Catalan - quite a rivalry for which city is superior.) Barcelona I believe has more English speakers.

 

Regardless, have fun with it and let us know how it works out!

[Got2Cruise]

Don't know if this is a fact or not, but my coworker who is originally from Madrid told me that people in Barcelona have no problem speaking English to English speaking tourists. And when we were there, we found that to be the case. Even the cab drivers tried to put a few English words together and understand us. What they won't do is speak Castillian Spanish. They will speak Catalan and ignore her when she speaks Castillian Spanish. Of course this is coming from the view point of a Castillian.:)

 

Larry, I'm very impressed with your thoughts to learn both Castillian Spanish and Catalan. Catalan to me sounds rather pretty, but I'm pseudo-fluent in Castillian Spanish and oftentimes don't understand a word of Catalan when I hear it! In fact, I still remember the first time I consciously heard a group of Catalans speaking their native tongue - I really though they MUST be speaking Spanish, and I'd simply lost my mind as I couldn't comprehend them.

 

I've never seen a single sign as a tourist in Barcelona that the locals thought I was crass or stupid for not knowing Catalan - I think really concentrating on Spanish would be a better use of your time. While I used to work on long term assignments in Madrid, speaking Spanish was key - as few Madrilenos spoke fluent English. (And of course a good Madrileno would never learn Catalan - quite a rivalry for which city is superior.) Barcelona I believe has more English speakers.

 

Regardless, have fun with it and let us know how it works out!

[CruisinGerman]

Dear friends:

 

That's not really true. What does sometimes happen is that if you are in a group of three and there are two Catalan speakers, sometimes they inadvertently go on between themselves in Catalan and have to bite their tongue when they realize the third person is there who doesn't speak Catalán.

 

In any case, with regard to the service people most tourists will come into contact with, you are just as safe with Spanish as with Catalan. Many or even most of the taxi drivers do not speak Catalan because they are originally from other regions of Spain such as Andalusia or Extremadura.

 

A very large percentage of waiters in most mid market restaurants is South American.

 

There are a great many front desk clerks in Barcelona hotels who are from Argentina, etc.

 

Barcelona is a very cosmopolitan city and although Catalan is promoted and sometimes even imposed by the local government there, the fact of the matter is that Spanish is very widespread and you will have no problem using it.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[ab0si]

Gunther and Uta live in Spain and undoubtably know more about it than I do. Thats, said, my experience with Catalans has generally been:

 

1) they have always been willing to speak Castellano with me, if I start the conversation in that language. Of course, my version is Argentine with a North American accent (Being a Chicago lad who ran an office in BA). I am clearly NOT a Castilian.

 

2) I've always gotten smiles of appreciation and a warm reception when I have attempted a little Catalan. This has nothing to do with not understanding Castellano, but with history (Falange and Franco & The 2nd Spanish Republic going back to early medieval times), cultural pride and regionalism.

 

3. As G & U point out, English is very widely spoken -- certainly by those in industries serving tourists. This is true in most part of Spain, but particularly true in Barcelona and even more so in the coastal cities of Andalucía (a favorite British holiday area).

 

So, the bottom line is: you are unlikely to need either language to happily get by as a tourist. If you want a "local" language as a backstop in case your English is not understood, Spanish is your best bet. An attempt at Catalan will make a positive impression -- if your target is Catalan .. as mentioned, many in the service industries are not.

[Jolimont]

I'm an American living in France and I spend time in Catalunya several times a year. My neighbors in Catalunya tell me to forget the Catalan and learn more Spanish, so that's what I do.

[Jolimont]

3. As G & U point out, English is very widely spoken -- certainly by those in industries serving tourists. This is true in most part of Spain, but particularly true in Barcelona and even more so in the coastal cities of Andalucía (a favorite British holiday area).

That maybe the case for tourist areas, but outside of those I don't find many Spaniards who speak English. They are super friendly and put up with my terrible Spanish, but they don't try to speak English (or French) themselves.

[want2cruiseagain]

When my DH and I were in Barcelona, he spoke Spanish to the hotel clerk. She responded in Catalon and when he looked at her with a strange look on his face, she quickly switched to Spanish. Although even her Spanish was hard to understand. After that, he spoke English. :p

[DrivesLikeMario]

Forget Rosetta Stone - it's very pricey!!!! I got the best Italian Language CDs at Costco for $27.99. They also had Spanish, French and a few others. It is almost exactly like Rosetta Stone's program.

 

Having 3 years of Espanol in high school (many moons ago) has made learning Italian incredibly easy. If you've had Spanish in the past, it should be quite easy for you to pick it up again.

 

The "Instant Immersion" CDs come in a bright yellow box and are made for travelers and people relocating to Spanish-speaking countries. They have vocabulary words and phrases which you are tested on after each segment. You can replay the proper pronounciation of the words as often as you like and this is what has really helped me. You see the word and hear it. It really makes it easy to learn a new language! (no, I do not work for the company! lol )

[riffatsea]

It is always polite to learn a few words of the language of the area you are visiting. The FIRST language of Barcelona is Catalan but everyone speaks Spanish too.

You can just say Bon dia, for a formal good morning and adeu(

ah-day-oo) for good bye. Thankyou sounds the same as Latin American Spanish- gracies with an s sound NOT a th like Castilian. Please is si us plau(see-oos-plow)

If you listen carefully you can hear that some of Catalan sounds like French with a Spanish touch.

Learning Spanish would certainly help in restaurants and with taxi drivers. IF you don't know how to say an address then write it down for them to read.

My Spanish is Latin American and not Castilian and I had no probs at all.

 

[riffatsea]

Here's a web site where you can hear the Catalan phrases:

http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/catalan.php