Language Problem ?
 

I speak only English. Will this be a problem for me as I tour throughout Spain? For example, to rent a car, buy a bus or train ticket, shopping, restraurants, hotels, etc. I prefer to drive myself around at my own pace but if not knowing Spanish is going to be a major problem, I might have to rethink this and perhaps take a bus tour of the country.

In my experience people do not widely speak English in Spain. In major cities at major sites yes, but not everywhere. I'd check out a language course on Cd or cassette from your local library. Learn the basics, you should be fine. Also check out a book called Spanish in 10 minutes a day.

We found exactly the opposite - that almost everywhere at least some basic english is spoken - by someone if not everyone.

And in major cities and tourist centers a very high percentage of people in contact with tourists (not the local dry cleaner perhaps - but people in hotels, restaurants, tourist sites, car rental offices etc) speak quite good english.

That said - I would get one of those pocket guides in sections (at the hotel, at the service station) etc - in case you run into someone in a small town and need a phrase or two.

We even dealt with having a mechanic fix a problem with our rental car (although the guide book did help us figure out the problem needed to be looked at - since it identified frenos as brakes).

He had no english at all - and we were still able to organize (via gestures, the couple of sentences in the book plus our high school Spanish from the ice age) that it wasn't the brakes that were bad - just the brake light indicator in the dash.

No hablo mucho Espanol. My experience a couple of years ago was that in cities (Madrid, Seville) many of the people who serve the public do speak some English. Rural areas that see few foreign visitors are another matter. There I often found it was necessary to conduct business in my extremely limited Spanish. It was fun when it worked, a little frustrating when it did not but no real problems.

I don't speak spanish but know some words and phrases. I learned them from one of my employees and I ask him all the time how to say things in spanish. As suggested, get some tapes and play them as often as you can. Knowing some words is very helpful. I took 5 years of french in college and in high school and then got some tapes before my trip to Paris because I hadn't spoken or written french in over 30 years. Even then, it can sometimes be difficult. I have a hard time understanding french when it's spoken to me. Too fast etc. And even knowing some of the language, I had some "dicey" experiences. We were at the Louvre and I wanted to ask a question about the line..it was pretty long so went to one of the gentlmen that was at the entrance and said my bonjour and pardon and having never spoken a word of french to a real french person, my first words were the only ones that would come to my brain: "parlez-vous englais"? Well, wouldn't you just know it..his response to me was "NO". At that point my mind was totally blank, my mouth did not have one little ounce of saliva in it, my lips were stuck to my teeth in what I thought was supposed to be a smile, but was actually some sort of frightening grimace. He could see I was desparate, and just as I was breaking out into a cold sweat, I could see the corners of his mouth twitching..he was trying not to smile but I could tell the "little brat" was just enjoying the hell out of the whole thing. After a few moments I regained my composure and was able to ask my question..haltingly, but I did it. It was just too too funny. I think it's that fear of not being sure you are saying things correctly, and all that. The longer I was there the braver I got. My point is, that having a few phrases and words really helps in a lot of situations. It also helps you to read signs etc. although in Paris, there are a lot of signs in english as well as french. You might also get a food guide incase you are in a place that does not have an english menu. I think by learning some spanish before you go will make your visit that much richer. Believe it or not, I actually stopped being afraid after a day or two and was actually enjoying using what french I could although by the end of the day my little pea brain was just worn out. You will have fun, for sure.

I speak no Spanish. Have been to Barcelona, Madrid, and Balbao on my own during the day (husband working) with no problems. Did not rent a car so can't give you any info there. I did, however, read my guidebooks thoroughly and knew where I wanted to go.

I have a small, purse size translator. It has been very helpful. Although I have learned a great deal of Spanish, it is helpful to put it all together, find words you don't know, and remember words/phrases you forget.

Please http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34654700

Best wishes,

Rex

As people have said before, in the major cities many people will speak English.

If you plan on traveling out into rural areas, particuallarly rural Galicia, Pais Basque or Catalugna you will find that Spanish is of little use (their local dialects, while similar, are almost impossible for foreigners to understand)

We just got back from Spain, (Barcelona and Sitges) and were a little surprised to find that many people did not speak English all that well even at the big hotels in Barcelona. I can only imagine that this problem is worse the futher you get from the main tourist areas. I personally dislike bus tours, but this might be a more comfortable option for you if you're nervous about it. Good luck!

Please take a notepad. Write questions or information required. Block letters. I think I am speaking Polish but no one can understand me! Translating machines are available and are inexpensive. A small (limited) Spanish-English dictionary will suffice for most verbal exchanges.

Hola

We too have just returned from Spain and agree totally with Weadles. I couldn't believe how little English is spoken. Yes even in Madrid. I made some attempt to use the local language. I speak Italian so at least I could pronounce the words. Some of the Spanish was similar to Italian. I even bought a translation book so I could work out what I am ordering in a restaurant etc. I do appreciate I am in their country but compared to other places in Europe it did come as a surprise. Nonetheless we were still able to communicate so no drama. Fortunately I come from a non English speaking background so I don't have a problem with any language barrier. A little patience and courtesy gets the job done!

Have fun in Spain. It's a magnificent country. By the way are you going on a tour? We used Cosmos (15 days).

Adios

"We too have just returned from Spain and agree totally with Weadles. I couldn't believe how little English is spoken."

Why? Considering how many Spanish speakers there are in America, isn't it more surprising that a lot of you from the US don't speak Spanish?

Larlar, I wouldn't let the lack of language hold you back. It's amazing what you can do with smiles and hand gestures. Car rental places frequently hire to foreigners, and will almost certainly speak English.

Get a phrase book, if nothing else you can learn odd words to get you by.

And remember, millions (and millions) of useless Brits go to Spain every year with not a word of Spanish between them. In fact, I watched a programme last night about 1000s of Brits buying houses in Spain and managing to live there for years without speaking a word of Spanish. (I might add, I don't condone this behavious)

Well, those monoglot Britons tend to stay in the Costa del Yobbo where the barmen and hoteliers speak English.

I think that a few basic phrases are always useful. "Good morning", "thank you", "how much", "I'm sorry, I don't speak Spanish" etc.
Wherever you go, I think that your first words to a local should never be in English.

"Well, those monoglot Britons tend to stay in the Costa del Yobbo where the barmen and hoteliers speak English."

I wouldn't be so sure about that, considering we tend to learn French, rather than Spanish, at school. I can't speak a word beyond hello, goodbye and thank you, but that doesn't stop me venturing off the beaten track.

Kate

I'm from Oz. I agree with your comments. Please read my post again.

Cheers

Fall back on that high school Spanish so often joked about. If you had a
decent program in high school, that is
a real good base. As many have said, not much English is spoken in Spain; however, I am continually impressed how
well people who know little Spanish do
simply by using their wits...
dictionaries...gestures and smiles, as Kate suggested.

You are making me feel an exception..:)
Gestures language is useful here because we use it even when speaking our own language !! We move hands, arms, eyes, mouth .. :)
Anyway, I think you can't say English is poorly spoken here because you have found 20 or 30 people during your travel that don't speak a word :)
Many people that works in the tourist industry at least understands English but I know they are beginning to hire people from other countries that don't even speak well Spanish..it's the summer season, too much work !! :)
But I can't tell you for sure we are not as monolingual as Brits and Germans that actually live here all year round !!

If you learn how to say "good day" (buenos dias) "Please" (por favor) and "thanks" (gracias) and you will be fine...You'll find in most European cities, most will be able to speak at least some English -- and some people are shy about it until they realize how bad YOUR language skills are...so don't be surprised to hear someone say they don't speak English, only to find out they do...they're not being rude, usually just embarrassed -- until they hear your Spanish. ;)

Carry a Spanish phrasebook and point as necessary when you run into situations where there aren't English speakers.

It gets REALLY fun when you resort to sign language. Pretty much everybody speaks that. :)

Happy travels,

Jules

Just back from Spain and I think a lot depends on what places you visit. Had no trouble buying train tickets in Barcelona, Seville, and Madrid, or being easily understood in those cities. Many people spoke and understood more than enough English and my poor Spanish.

Same situation at the Alhambra in Granada and at the Granada airport.

Do NOT take a bus tour for the "language" reason.