Camino Portugues - Language

[november_moon]

My husband and I are thinking about walking the Camino Portugues from Porto to Santiago, and I am wondering about language. We both speak Spanish and English (and a bit of a couple other languages), but neither of us speak any Portuguese. We've been to Lisbon before, and did just fine with Spanish and English, but what about in the countryside? We would learn some basics of Portuguese to be polite regardless, but how much Portuguese is necessary to learn beforehand?

 

[calmeg]

We walked the coastal route and spiritual variant through some small little towns. When I knew the portuguese- I used it. When I did not I spoke portenol- which is much like the Galician language. Or we spoke English. We were impressed at the high quality of English in many towns, but in the countryside there was never a problem when lots of smiles and thank yous were used!.

 

[JCLima]

My husband and I are thinking about walking the Camino Portugues from Porto to Santiago, and I am wondering about language. We both speak Spanish and English (and a bit of a couple other languages), but neither of us speak any Portuguese. We've been to Lisbon before, and did just fine with Spanish and English, but what about in the countryside? We would learn some basics of Portuguese to be polite regardless, but how much Portuguese is necessary to learn beforehand?

This thread will answer your question: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...gues-does-one-need-to-speak-portuguese.60593/

 

[november_moon]

Thanks! Sounds like we are good to go then

 

[Pelegrin]

We walked the coastal route and spiritual variant through some small little towns. When I knew the portuguese- I used it. When I did not I spoke portenol- which is much like the Galician language. Or we spoke English. We were impressed at the high quality of English in many towns, but in the countryside there was never a problem when lots of smiles and thank yous were used!.

Normative Galician language is not Portuñol.It doesn't have the strong sibilants and nasals sounds of Portuguese but never had them.

 

[jungleboy]

We've been to Lisbon before, and did just fine with Spanish and English, but what about in the countryside?

My first tip is not to speak Spanish to Portuguese people. Reposting from another thread:

Portuguese people are friendly but in general they don't like it when you speak Spanish to them. Not only are they separate languages, but there is a whole other language (Galician Spanish) 'between' them. As far as comprehension goes, Portuguese speakers understand Spanish speakers better than Spanish speakers understand Portuguese speakers (true in both Europe and South America).

See this comment from the Practice Portuguese podcast on Facebook to get an idea of how the Portuguese feel about having Spanish spoken to them:

Boa sorte!

 

[t2andreo]

I think you will find that far more Portuguese speak at least some English than is the case with Spaniards in Spain. There are, I believe, four basic reasons for this:

1. Unlike Spain, Portuguese TV programs in the evening are subtitled. A program is shown in English (if that is the source) with Portuguese subtitles displayed underneath the spoken words. This helps with improving comprehension across all age groups. In my experience in Europe, France, Italy and Spain do NOT do this.

2. English is a required subject in most schools across Portugal. I am not aware that this is the case in some other countries. So, younger folks will usually speak better English than the retired folks like me...but, I have been surprised...

3. As most of the internet is in English (just a fact) people who use the internet regularly have had to learn some English. So, they are usually not shy about it.

4. Many Portuguese have family in the US and Canada. Hence when they visit their extended families, they improve their understanding of English. Their family members also come to Portugal for visits. This way, language is spread.

When I am in Portugal, one of my favorite phrases to use at the outset of a conversation is: "?Fallah inglhese...?" (phonetic pronunciation). It asks simply, do you speak English? If they reply "nem" or "no," well, then I ask "?Espanol?" One always manages...

This is usually met with a flood of Spanish. The Portuguese are a very friendly and welcoming group... Many if not all speak at least some Spanish. They likely prefer not to, as they are rightfully proud of their language and culture. I remind myself that I am the ignorant foreigner, not them.

In 2015, I needed a pharmacy and was approached on the street, by a lovely older woman dressed all in black, and wearing a full apron. A lovely woman...she reminded me of my own mother.

She asked, I gather, if she could help me. We passed by "falla Ingles" quickly and into ?Espanol?" This got a negative reply as well.

At this, she reached into her apron pocket whipped out a mobile phone and proceeded to speed dial someone. She spoke to that person in rapid Portuguese, then handed the phone to me. When I said 'hello," I was met with a stream of perfect colloquial American English.

Turns out the fellow she called was her son, who had lived in the US. He sorted me out and had me return the mobile to mama. All was well after that.

I tell this story to illustrate the measures that Portuguese people have gone to, out of their way, to be helpful to at least this peregrino.

On balance, my suggestion is to obtain the Berlitz phrase book and CD. Practice. I rip the CDs to my computer and then copy the .mp3 files to my iPhone so I can listen and practice at my convenience. It really does help. It is also a sign of respect that you are trying to learn the language of the country you are visiting.

Also, I find the I Think Diff family of language dictionaries to be superb. They are very inexpensive and regularly updated. Each contains a phrasebook, reverse dictionary and the ability to sound out words so you get a good feel for pronunciation. These apps are available for most popular languages on the iTunes and Android app store platforms.

Hope this helps.

 

[november_moon]

Thanks for the responses. Our trip to Lisbon was actually just after finishing the Camino Frances - our route home had an overnight connection in Lisbon, then due to a flight change, we ended up with 2 nights in Lisbon instead - woohoo. We'd never been to Portugal and found Lisbon to be a really nice city with incredibly gracious people. We decided that if the rest of Portugal was that friendly, we wanted to see more. We're feeling the Camino bug again, so thinking about walking the Camino Portugues.

 

[Pilger99]

English is not the most important language and it's not spoken by everyone! Go to Asia if you really need approval.
Younger people in portuguese towns usually speak some words, but even in hostels along the way e.g. Santarem the English of the receptionist was very basic. In the northern parts of Portugal French can be a substitute. There are even some places where people left to work in Germany or Switzerland.

Subtitled films could have had an influence on gifted persons (they often pronounce English better than Spaniards) but there is also telenovelas, reportages, interviews, news ... which is still in portuguese/brazilian language.

After Porto I heard sometimes Spaniards talking Spanish with the locals at the shops, bars ... and it worked very well. The locals may think about them as "rude tourists", but it's also business.
It's usually fun to try translator apps, but it also has it's limits. If you speak Spanish, but you want to be polite (see post #6) try to write what you want on a cheat of paper. A good bunch of words looks similar, so it's not unlikely that you can read the local newspapers and make some sense out of it.

Most Portuguese I spoke with were very friendly. To defend the Spaniards, on the less common Santiago trails like Camino de Madrid, Via de la Plata people are also very friendly to pilgrims. Especially on the french way you have more business like situations and especially in the second half of the year locals are exhausted by both heat and crowds of pilgrims.

 

[november_moon]

Yes, I have been to Asia and have quite a bit of experience with challenging language situations. In fact, the bits of other languages (other than English and Spanish) that I mentioned in my original post include Mandarin and Japanese I am currently working on my Mandarin to make travel in China easier.

 

[Mike Savage]

I have walked a few caminos in Portugal and language was seldom a problem. The locals were always very helpful to me and did not shy away from communication even when we did not have a common language. With your Spanish you will quickly be able to understand most signs and menus and if you learn the basic phrases (some of which are the same or nearly the same as Spanish) you will get along great. Many times I have had the Portuguese go way out of their way to help, you just need to ask as they may be shy to start the conversation.

 

[jungleboy]

In addition to my comments in post #6 above, @Wendy Werneth and I have a lot more to say about the Portuguese language, English levels in Portugal and how this relates to the camino in our latest podcast episode (1.6): Camino Languages.