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It is my experience, having started both from Lisboa and Porto, that English is well understood and spoken in Portugal. I also, like you, speak some Spanish, enough to go easily by in Spain, but I didn't need my Spanish in Portugal at all.I speak quite a bit of Spanish and have walked three full caminos: the frances, twice and the el norte, once. I'm considering doing the camino portuguese this September but don't speak a lick of Portuguese (which is quite different from Spanish - especially the pronunciation). Can I survive on the camino portuguese just speaking English and Spanish while traveling alone? Thanks!
Speak English! Unless you are inclined to seriously piss-off the Portuguese that you are addressingI speak quite a bit of Spanish and have walked three full caminos: the frances, twice and the el norte, once. I'm considering doing the camino portuguese this September but don't speak a lick of Portuguese (which is quite different from Spanish - especially the pronunciation). Can I survive on the camino portuguese just speaking English and Spanish while traveling alone? Thanks!
Absolutely, I walked the Portuguese Camino twice and in Portugal they seemed more receptive to English than to my distinctly average Spanish. . .I speak quite a bit of Spanish and have walked three full caminos: the frances, twice and the el norte, once. I'm considering doing the camino portuguese this September but don't speak a lick of Portuguese (which is quite different from Spanish - especially the pronunciation). Can I survive on the camino portuguese just speaking English and Spanish while traveling alone? Thanks!
Hi yes definitely , I'm a English man I walked from Lisbon to Santiago in 2019 and I can't speak a word of anything but English.I speak quite a bit of Spanish and have walked three full caminos: the frances, twice and the el norte, once. I'm considering doing the camino portuguese this September but don't speak a lick of Portuguese (which is quite different from Spanish - especially the pronunciation). Can I survive on the camino portuguese just speaking English and Spanish while traveling alone? Thanks!
Can I survive on the camino portuguese just speaking English and Spanish while traveling alone? Thanks!
You will be fine with English on the CP. The level of English spoken in Portugal is unexpectedly high - it is the European country that bucks the trend of English levels being higher in wealthier and geographically northern countries. According to the 2021 English Proficiency Index, Portugal's score is 'very high proficiency' and its country rank is No. 7 (among non-native speaking countries), one spot above Sweden. For comparison, France (No. 31) is one rung down at 'high proficiency', while Spain (No. 33) and Italy (No. 35) are one rung further down at 'moderate proficiency'.
Please don't try to speak Spanish to Portuguese people, as they do not like this. While the two countries are allies now, they have been rivals for most of the last 1000 years, including a period from 1580-1640 when Spain (Castile and León) took over the Portuguese crown. The fact that Portuguese people have their own, distinctly non-Spanish identity is one reason why Portugal ultimately regained and retained its independence while every other kingdom on the Iberian peninsula was eventually swallowed by Spain / Castile and León.
This was once written on the social media of Practice Portuguese (a podcast / learning platform for European Portuguese): ‘When you get to Portugal, you will notice that we love to show off our English skills. And of course, we love to help foreigners in need. So whenever you are having trouble finding a word, do not jump to Spanish please. Portugal and Spain are friends and neighbours but our languages are different, and we do not learn Spanish at school.’
In @jungleboy I (and you should) trust. Just relax: You'll be fine with your English.English, yes, Spanish, less so. Quoting myself from another thread:
Thanks!It is my experience, having started both from Lisboa and Porto, that English is well understood and spoken in Portugal. I also, like you, speak some Spanish, enough to go easily by in Spain, but I didn't need my Spanish in Portugal at all.
Oi is Brazilian Portuguese, they don’t say it in Portugal.Hello is Ola. I read that hello was “oi” and went around saying “oi” and people looked at me wierd. I guess it’s informal and you don’t say to people you don’t know.
Thanks for the heads up.Portugese people don't like tourists speaking español, better english or french.
A lot of them worked in France or Luxembourg and are very proud talking French (English).
This is correct. People here watch movies with Portuguese subtitles and are exposed relentlessly to the sound of English. Walk through a mall here and notice all the signs and piped-in music in English. You pass young people in the streets and they make jokes in English to amuse their friends (and probably show off). This is particularly true of the Algarve, where I live, but would be less so in the rural areas of northern Portugal and the agricultural region south of Lisbon known as the Alentejo.I tried to learn basic Portuguese before our Portuguese Camino several years ago. (I agree, even though there is lots of similar vocabulary, Portuguese pronunciation is so different and I found it much more difficult than Spanish, but fascinating.) But when we got there we were surprised to find nearly everyone spoke pretty good English. One person told us that he thought the reason the Portuguese people spoke English well was that English-speaking television programs are not dubbed like they are in Spain. This helps people learn English from an early age.
The Gallegos and Portuguese understand one another quite well. I was told on my last trip to Spain that both languages have a common root of the Latin from the northwestern Iberian Peninsula. Spanish (castellano) evolved from a different Latin dialect.I have to agree with everybody who said don’t try to speak Spanish with the Portuguese, (although I did see some Spanish visitors doing just that in Porto). I found English to be widely spoken by the Portuguese people I encountered, and on a fairly high level. I did find that my Spanish language ability made it easier to decipher Portuguese signs, menus, etc., as I also found with Gallego.
My experience has been that saying "Eu não falo português. May we speak English?" works wonders. And Google Translate is a good Plan B...I speak quite a bit of Spanish and have walked three full caminos: the frances, twice and the el norte, once. I'm considering doing the camino portuguese this September but don't speak a lick of Portuguese (which is quite different from Spanish - especially the pronunciation). Can I survive on the camino portuguese just speaking English and Spanish while traveling alone? Thanks!
And that's what makes the Portuguese the Portuguese. They are among the most gracious, kind and helpful people I have ever met.Brings to mind a story. Was walking the Portuguese and stopped to have dinner with some pilgrims I had met along the way. They didn't speak any Portuguese. I tried to learn a little before I left so I tried it out on the server. She didn't say anything, but the order was correct so I was feeling pertty good. At the end of dinner, the owner of the bar/cafe came up to the table with a nice Portuguese desert. And, in perfect English, told me that my Portuguese was pretty bad, but I deserved a desert for at least trying! That's what makes a Camino a Camino.
This reflects my experience. While not common, some people made it clear they would be happier, if one wasn't reasonably capable with Portuguese, to speak almost anything else but Spanish.Portugese people don't like tourists speaking español, better english or french.
A lot of them worked in France or Luxembourg and are very proud talking French (English).
Oh good to know. I learned it on Duolingo which didn’t specify which region of Portuguese it was teaching me. Thank you for the clarification.Oi is Brazilian Portuguese, they don’t say it in Portugal.
I'm just reviewing my Portuguese grammar (bad), using Duolingo. I've previously taken courses with continental Portuguese. I can confirm that Duolingo is definitely Brazil-based. Watch out!Oh good to know. I learned it on Duolingo which didn’t specify which region of Portuguese it was teaching me. Thank you for the clarification.
Not suprising, given the Spanish royalty assumed control of Portugal in 1580 and it took 60 years before the Portuguese regained thier independence... (https://www.historytoday.com/archive/shotgun-marriage-spains-annexation-portugal)This reflects my experience. While not common, some people made it clear they would be happier, if one wasn't reasonably capable with Portuguese, to speak almost anything else but Spanish.
Yes, and after the independece, Portugal recovered the control of all its territories in America, Africa and Asia except Ceuta where its people wanted to continue in Spain.Not suprising, given the Spanish royalty assumed control of Portugal in 1580 and it took 60 years before the Portuguese regained thier independence... (https://www.historytoday.com/archive/shotgun-marriage-spains-annexation-portugal)
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