Language Barrier

[Gerard Hazelebach]

I am leaving in a week and am very excited. I do worry though about my inability to speak Spanish. For those like me, how have you communicated with the locals and Alburgues?

Don't U worry! HOLA ( Hello), BUEN CAMINO(speaks for itself), DOS CERVEZAS(2 beer) and CAFE CON LECHE( coffee and milk) is all you need apart grom good feet!!

 

[Thornley]

Don't U worry! HOLA ( Hello), BUEN CAMINO(speaks for itself), DOS CERVEZAS(2 beer) and CAFE CON LECHE( coffee and milk) is all you need apart grom good feet!!

Well said Gerald,
I think the spanish on the path who meet 60 plus nationalities are not too worried about our success with their language
You have covered the most important plus "PER FAVOR"

 

[smj6]

I'm having lots of fun with Duolingo (a Spanish language teaching app). ......

There's a good discussion some where in this forum about useful Spanish phrases & words for the Camino (some of it tongue in cheek). There I heard about Duolingo & I downloaded it. It's fun to work with & can be used say for 5-10 mins a day (ie one doesn't have to overdose!!). I've one year before my first Camino (inshallah) so time to brush up on some Spanish (whilst continuing to learn Urdu because I'm working in Pakistan!).
Suzanne )

 

[Mark Lee]

You are going to be a guest in another country. You will find the Spanish, German and many from other countries speak very good English, shouldn't you take the time to learn some Spanish?

This is something that amazes me, believe it or not we Americans are snobs who feel everyone should bow to us.

You will be fine, but take the time to learn some Spanish and even some French, it will make your journey all that much better.

Hmmm.........awfully broad brush you just painted with.
Speak for yourself, dude.

 

[t2andreo]

I do not understand or speak conversational Spanish, so I relied on the App, "Translate", which translates one typed -- or spoken -- language into another typed -- or spoken -- language. See the attached image for an example, and note the microphone and speaker icons. The spoken translation was very helpful for people who could not read the translation on my iPhone. I used Translate for English to Spanish, French, Korean, and Polish.

View attachment 12701

To add to this excellent post, I want to mention that you can save the entire string of translations you do. So, if you scroll down, even off-line, the complete history is there. You can reuse past translations using copy and paste. I used the "Notes" app as the working area for building the "new" English question and the Spanish translation. You can also save these notes as separate files for future reference as well.

The advantage of this is HUGE! For example, it means you can e-mail ahead for reservations merely by changing date information. Copy and paste the Spanish text from the Google Translate history thread into a new e-mail and send it at the next opportunity you have Wi-Fi.

I use an iPod Touch v5 (the newest one) on both my 2013 and 2014 Caminos. After two walks, I have scripts for hostals, pharmacies, clothing and shoe stores, hiking gear, health care, buses and taxis. Things like "Do you know where I can buy (X)," "Can you call a taxi for me?" or where can I get the bus for (Y)" are especially useful.

Essentially, you build a custom phrase book for YOU. In situations where I could not convey my message, I just showed the other person the message and pointed. It NEVER failed me. In fact, I even reduced a pharmacist to gut-busting laughter with my description of a foot fungus I picked up early in my 2014 Camino..."...my feet smell like cheese...even after I wash carefully with soap and water..." Actually, it was a common foot fungus, but I evidently nailed the symptomatology. It was amusing.

Also, make one of your standard phrases a POLITE request for a Spanish speaker to place a call down-the-way on your mobile phone to make a reservation or to ask a question over the phone. Again, all you need to change is the destination name and phone number, and possibly the arrival date. You should store two versions for "tonight" and for the night of "day and date." Do not forget to use the DA/MO/YR European date format.

I hope this helps.

 

[Celieness]

I am leaving in a week and am very excited. I do worry though about my inability to speak Spanish. For those like me, how have you communicated with the locals and Alburgues?

Sign language worked for me!
But, you'll pick up words and phrases pretty quickly

 

[Thornley]

Translations today provides translation services in almost all languages and offers Spanish interpretation services in all major cities around the world. Our English to Spanish translationand Spanish to English translation is provided by translators with the right cultural and educational background. Since American Spanish and European Spanish are quite different, we ensure that we have professionals with both backgrounds to avoid embarrassing and expensive errors for our clients. Our English to Spanish translationservices are used by companies around the world today and our Spanish interpretation services are highly sought after for important international events. Translationstoday.com

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English to Spanish Translation

50% of the pilgrims walking the camino are not Spanish.
There are other spanish speaking countries represented however there is no need except for the obvious ones Gerald has previously mentioned.
If on other routes this is a very different matter , especially the long one from down south.

 

[Al the optimist]

Although my Spanish is adequate enough I have Jibbigo Translator in my phone. I often find myself with other nationals whose command of English is commendable but not always enough for our needs.

 

[Thornley]

Although my Spanish is adequate enough I have Jibbigo Translator in my phone. I often find myself with other nationals whose command of English is commendable but not always enough for our needs.

Al with feet aching, knees giving way, sore back and The Fuhrer telling me to slow up an enjoy the walk ,.....language is not important.
On the Frances in 08 .....the owner of the cafe/bar spoke no english ...... .....that was to Nz's , Germans and Spanish in our daily group.........a beer was 1 euro ......no debate
I gave her 80c ................
Its is a euro for a beer and if you wish to have a little spirit for you walk , which i suggest its 1.50e , in good english.
The place burst into laughter.....and we had tooooooo many grappa's with the locals.

In other words Al...short change them [ innocently] and you will know immediately how their english relates.
We never walked on that day.

 

[Al the optimist]

What I meant was that I had to rely on the command of English amongst my fellow walkers for us to communicate amongst ourselves, not with the locals. As you may well know after a while conversations get quite involved, especially when someone is trying to describe something abstract for which neither of you know the words in the other's language.

 

[Houlet]

True Linguist's Story from this May.

I was washing my socks in an albergue and this tall fellow came in, probably assumed I worked there and in terrible Spanish asked if he could have a bed for the night.

In even my worse Spanish I directed him towards the bar to ask there.

I met the man later, he turned out to be Irish, and I am Scottish, so naturally we had a beer or two together.

 

[Robo]

Hola Amigos,

As our Camino is now only a few months away, I thought that I should make an attempt at leaning a bit of Spanish. My Spanish is non existent!

I don't really like studying from books though. I'm way too impatient for that. So I've been looking a an audio course. I find those much better to get the correct pronunciation with a new language.

Anyway, I found this one. If you are looking for a course you might want to take a look. They have a trial lesson on the website. I think the whole course cost me about $40. I downloaded it all and have it on my phone, so I can listen in the car, walking to work etc. There are also 'books' that can be printed out, though I haven't looked at those yet.

The teaching style is interesting. He starts with teaching you words that are very similar in English, but just pronounced differently. So you can get started quite quickly. You'll get a sense of that from the free trial on the website.

This is the website. http://www.shortcuttospanish.com/spanishshortcut1.html

At the bottom of the webpage is a link to buy the program.

And NO, I don't have any commercial relationship with the site or owners.

Ivar, maybe you should!

 

[Thornley]

Hola Amigos,

As our Camino is now only a few months away, I thought that I should make an attempt at leaning a bit of Spanish. My Spanish is non existent!

I don't really like studying from books though. I'm way too impatient for that. So I've been looking a an audio course. I find those much better to get the correct pronunciation with a new language.

Anyway, I found this one. If you are looking for a course you might want to take a look. They have a trial lesson on the website. I think the whole course cost me about $40. I downloaded it all and have it on my phone, so I can listen in the car, walking to work etc. There are also 'books' that can be printed out, though I haven't looked at those yet.

The teaching style is interesting. He starts with teaching you words that are very similar in English, but just pronounced differently. So you can get started quite quickly. You'll get a sense of that from the free trial on the website.

This is the website. http://www.shortcuttospanish.com/spanishshortcut1.html

At the bottom of the webpage is a link to buy the program.

And NO, I don't have any commercial relationship with the site or owners.

Ivar, maybe you should!

Won't need them Robo , just please , thank you , beer , coffee and Bon Camino......

 

[Robo]

Won't need them Robo , just please , thank you , beer , coffee and Bon Camino......

I'm sure you are right Thornley. I've managed in lots of countries without much more than that in terms of language skills. It's just personal preference. If I can, I would prefer to have a bit of a broader vocabulary. And because we have a few months before we go, there is really no reason not to learn a bit of Spanish.

For me, learning some of the language is a sign of respect more than anything else. If I'm going to spend a couple of months in Spain and I can only speak a few words, what does that say about me? It also makes the whole experience more enriching. Just to be able to engage a bit more with the locals. My wife is paranoid that I'll have a heart attack or something! So at least she can now say 'I need a Doctor' and 'I need a Hospital'

In Australia we tend to be rather (very) lazy when it comes to learning other languages. It's sad really. Whereas Europeans will generally have a smattering of other languages picked up whilst at School or on Holidays.

 

[Thornley]

After 43 years of marriage if i dropped whilst walking into Zubiri, La Faba etc Robo i would get a WINK and then a SMILE and thats about all.

 

[Mike Savage]

After 43 years of marriage if i dropped whilst walking into Zubiri, La Faba etc Robo i would get a WINK and then a SMILE and thats about all.

36 years here. I doubt I'd get the wink . . .

 

[Bogong]

Well said Gerald,
I think the spanish on the path who meet 60 plus nationalities are not too worried about our success with their language
You have covered the most important plus "PER FAVOR"

And "Gracias" (grathias) , and "lo siento" if you've done something particularly silly (like me forgetting to pay for breakfast and having to backtrack). And donde estan los albergues de peregrinos (where are the pilgrim hostels)

And for that nice young thing serving you at the bar:

"Tienes una sonrisa moi bonita"

But then at near 70 I can get away with that!

De colores

Bogong

 

[Bogong]

Hola Amigos,

As our Camino is now only a few months away, I thought that I should make an attempt at leaning a bit of Spanish. My Spanish is non existent!

I don't really like studying from books though. I'm way too impatient for that. So I've been looking a an audio course. I find those much better to get the correct pronunciation with a new language.

Anyway, I found this one. If you are looking for a course you might want to take a look. They have a trial lesson on the website. I think the whole course cost me about $40. I downloaded it all and have it on my phone, so I can listen in the car, walking to work etc. There are also 'books' that can be printed out, though I haven't looked at those yet.

The teaching style is interesting. He starts with teaching you words that are very similar in English, but just pronounced differently. So you can get started quite quickly. You'll get a sense of that from the free trial on the website.

This is the website. http://www.shortcuttospanish.com/spanishshortcut1.html

At the bottom of the webpage is a link to buy the program.

And NO, I don't have any commercial relationship with the site or owners.

Ivar, maybe you should!

"Shortcut to Spanish" is Marcus Santamaria's site. He is an Aussie! I did this and his "Synergy Spanish" before I left and found I could hold basic conversations with the locals! It's a really lovely language and easy to pick up a bit except for the verb constructions.

Crowning glory was with my wife and sister-in-law after my stroll when at two places people thought I was a Spanish gentleman squiring two Australian ladies! Lucky they didn't ask me too much!

There seem to be any number of Spanish courses available. I might continue learning a bit more when my kids' inheritance recovers from the battering the trip gave it (mostly after I met up with the two ladies, I must say).

Likewise no commercial relationship with the site/owners.

De colores

Bogong

 

[Robo]

"Shortcut to Spanish" is Marcus Santamaria's site. He is an Aussie! I did this and his "Synergy Spanish" before I left and found I could hold basic conversations with the locals! It's a really lovely language and easy to pick up a bit except for the verb constructions.

Crowning glory was with my wife and sister-in-law after my stroll when at two places people thought I was a Spanish gentleman squiring two Australian ladies! Lucky they didn't ask me too much!

There seem to be any number of Spanish courses available. I might continue learning a bit more when my kids' inheritance recovers from the battering the trip gave it (mostly after I met up with the two ladies, I must say).

Likewise no commercial relationship with the site/owners.

De colores

Bogong

I missed that he was an Aussie. Though his wife does all the Spanish bits. Mexican I think? I like the course because it focusses well on pronunciation. Which is so important! Get it right and you are easily understood, get it wrong and you are very hard to understand......

Whilst I am no language expert, far from it, like you I've been flattered at times. In Germany I was asked if I came from Munich (due to my accent). And no my German is VERY basic. I have learnt a bit of Thai, as my wife is Thai. Now that is an interesting language! But at least the limited vocabulary I have, is actually understood. Again, via audio lessons and repetition. Just mimicking the accent basically.

Hopefully I'll get beyond "where is the hospital" with Spanish! Which class deals with ordering copious amounts of alcohol? Maybe I can skip forward to that one....

 

[basquelady]

I forgot to mention earlier, it's normal in Spain when entering a small store or bar to say 'Hola, Buenos dias' when entering the premises and 'Adios' when leaving, even if you haven't bought anything. The locals find it rude if these little courtesies aren't observed, although they're probably used to it by now but it will also give you more confidence in the language when you get a smile and a reply back.

The same applies when you phone; ALWAYS start with "buenos días/tardes" and give the other party time to reply before you start your request for a bed or whatever. Makes a really good start to the relationship!