Too Many Choices
New Member
I'm just wondering what the language barrier is like when walking? I'll endeavour to pick up some Spainish before I walk, but do many people over there speak English?
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This reminds me that I met an Irish pilgrim who thought it was better to speak to Spanish people in schoolgirl French rather than be rude and just speak English. This just confused the situation further.iago1709 said:Anyway a French pilgrim walked in and asked for the toilet in French...
No, not among the Spanish who provide most of the services along the Camino. Other pilgrims speak English and some hospitaleros speak English. Everyone is very accommodating, but clerks and waitresses generally speak only Spanish (or Basque, or Gallego). Gestures and smiles work pretty well, but remember, repeating the question in English, but louder, will not work.do many people over there speak English
falcon269 said:remember, repeating the question in English, but louder, will not work.
falcon269 said:No, not among the Spanish who provide most of the services along the Camino. Other pilgrims speak English and some hospitaleros speak English. Everyone is very accommodating, but clerks and waitresses generally speak only Spanish (or Basque, or Gallego). Gestures and smiles work pretty well, but remember, repeating the question in English, but louder, will not work.do many people over there speak English
Not bad at all with basic sign language. :idea:Too Many Choices said:I'm just wondering what the language barrier is like when walking?
Well done Mark! There is a big difference between someone visiting a country where you can't speak the language as a tourist for a day or two and one who is going to be walking accross that country for weeks on end, where inevitably you come in contact with the local people. Although English is becomming more and more the "universal language" spoken between people of different backgrounds, you cannot avoid the interaction also between those who provide services for you along the Way! The more you try and communicate with them, the more you are appreciated! Also learning school English has only become more or less universal in schools over the last decade or so. Sometimes not even now. (My 3 eldest grandchildren go to school in the Southern Italian part of Switzerland and none of them have more than rudimentary English - in Switzerland it is thought more important that each of the countries linguistic divisions, learns first the language of their fellow citizens - that is German, French and Italian). The older generations of Europeans from countries other than the British Isles did not always receive English in their school curriculum! AnneMark2012 said:I really don't want to be one of 'those' people who travel to another country and expect everyone to speak my language; even though I wouldn't mean offence and I'm sure no-one else does either, it strikes me that there is something fundamentally disrespectful about it.