Speaking Spanish on Ibiza

soulcompromise

soulcompromise

Active Member
Hello. I am taking two Spanish classes in anticipation of visiting Ibiza. I understand that for the most part people there can speak English. That's not what I wanted to talk to you about.

What I really want to know is if they speak only Catalan (which is different, I think) or if they speak Castilian. Are those the same thing and I'm just sounding stupid now? See... I don't know! Lol. :)

Any advice will be very helpful. I want to be able to rely on taxis regardless of their particular dialect! ?

I would use an app if anyone is aware of one to learn the appropriate dialect (if we can agree on what it is).

Ok. That's all. Please help!
 
Thanks Jimmiz! I read some old threads as well that discuss the matter somewhat in depth. Thank you for your support and concern though. I'll just speak the Spanish they teach at my school and hope it doesn't piss anyone off! :oops:
 
soulcompromise said:
Thanks Jimmiz! I read some old threads as well that discuss the matter somewhat in depth. Thank you for your support and concern though. I'll just speak the Spanish they teach at my school and hope it doesn't piss anyone off! :oops:
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you'll be fine.

people always appreciate if you try to speak their language and someone would have to be pretty radical to reply to you in catalan if you speak to them in castellano.
 
soulcompromise said:
Thanks Jimmiz! I read some old threads as well that discuss the matter somewhat in depth. Thank you for your support and concern though. I'll just speak the Spanish they teach at my school and hope it doesn't piss anyone off! :oops:
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It will of course doesn't piss anyone, except maybe one or two "cap de Fava", but don't worry, 99% of the locals will really appreciate your efforts.
 
The mainland catalan weather report on TV3 always shows the temperatures in catalonia, french catalonia (“Catalunya Nord”) valencia and baleares but never the rest of Spain.. :lol:
 
They refer to all the catalan speaking territories as ‘paises catalans’ (‘the catalan countries’) which pisses off a few people in Palma, Valencia and Perpignan!
 
Yep, every time I’ve been to Barcelona it’s often been made abundantly clear that they’d rather speak English to me than Castilian. Of course, it might be that they decided my Spanish is shit...
 
soulcompromise said:
Hello. I am taking two Spanish classes in anticipation of visiting Ibiza. I understand that for the most part people there can speak English. That's not what I wanted to talk to you about.

What I really want to know is if they speak only Catalan (which is different, I think) or if they speak Castilian. Are those the same thing and I'm just sounding stupid now? See... I don't know! Lol. :)

Any advice will be very helpful. I want to be able to rely on taxis regardless of their particular dialect! ?

I would use an app if anyone is aware of one to learn the appropriate dialect (if we can agree on what it is).

Ok. That's all. Please help!
Click to expand...
While it's laudable to study the language before visiting a foreign country, you might be disappointed when you get to Ibiza at the lack of opportunity there is to practice. In my experience it's difficult to find anyone to speak Spanish to as many of the people you come into day to day contact with are either not themselves Spanish or will insist on trying to speak English. It drives me nuts when someone who speaks considerably worse English than I do Spanish persists in trying to use English - I realise many just want to practice their English but as far as I'm concerned, when I'm in Spain I'll speak Spanish - they have plenty of other people to practice with! On mainland Spain (Catalonia aside) it's usually a different story altogether...
 
TimmiT said:
While it's laudable to study the language before visiting a foreign country, you might be disappointed when you get to Ibiza at the lack of opportunity there is to practice. In my experience it's difficult to find anyone to speak Spanish to as many of the people you come into day to day contact with are either not themselves Spanish or will insist on trying to speak English. It drives me nuts when someone who speaks considerably worse English than I do Spanish persists in trying to use English - I realise many just want to practice their English but as far as I'm concerned, when I'm in Spain I'll speak Spanish - they have plenty of other people to practice with! On mainland Spain (Catalonia aside) it's usually a different story altogether...
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yes!! I get this all the time - the thing is any Brits who bother to use any Spanish are as rare as hen's teeth so obviously the local market adapts

car hires and hotels in my experience all insist on English. the exceptions are some family-run businesses where I put much more effort in.
 
the point about Catalan/tension actually applies far more to Catalan visitors than foreigners tbh. There was a nasty moment on my mum's friends' boat last year off IBZ coast when the people on a neighbouring anchored boat started jeering and yelling anti-Catalan abuse after they saw the flag (not something most foreigners would ever be too conscious of)
 
TimmiT said:
While it's laudable to study the language before visiting a foreign country, you might be disappointed when you get to Ibiza at the lack of opportunity there is to practice. In my experience it's difficult to find anyone to speak Spanish to as many of the people you come into day to day contact with are either not themselves Spanish or will insist on trying to speak English. It drives me nuts when someone who speaks considerably worse English than I do Spanish persists in trying to use English - I realise many just want to practice their English but as far as I'm concerned, when I'm in Spain I'll speak Spanish - they have plenty of other people to practice with! On mainland Spain (Catalonia aside) it's usually a different story altogether...
Click to expand...
Correct, every time I say them to speak Spanish... "no ablo ingles"...
 
soulcompromise said:
I am taking two Spanish classes ...

if they speak only Catalan or Castilian ...
>>

Citation is abridged

>>

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Hi, I'm learning Spanish at night classes (I will have to cover all the basics in 2 months), as I will be moving to Ibiza quite soon. Is the regional dialect easy to understand (I mean Eivissenc)? My tutor says it's mostly Castillian Spanish pronunciation he's trying to teach me now.
 
baumleipzig said:
Hi, I'm learning Spanish at night classes (I will have to cover all the basics in 2 months), as I will be moving to Ibiza quite soon. Is the regional dialect easy to understand (I mean Eivissenc)? My tutor says it's mostly Castillian Spanish pronunciation he's trying to teach me now.
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eivissenc is a dialect of catalan, not of castellano
 
baumleipzig said:
Hi, I'm learning Spanish at night classes (I will have to cover all the basics in 2 months), as I will be moving to Ibiza quite soon. Is the regional dialect easy to understand (I mean Eivissenc)? My tutor says it's mostly Castillian Spanish pronunciation he's trying to teach me now.
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Hey there, don't worry about the specific dialect / language on Ibiza.
With castellano that is taught in your evening classes, everything will be fine. I was studying Spanish and I think that Apps like Babbel or Duolingo could support an ongoing learning in a proper way too after your classes. If you need any further help and more specific training, you could contact the Instituto de Idiomas Ibiza (language school) for booking some additional courses. They could also serve you with further information about the Island, its inhabitants and culture. The 2 owners are German-speaking, which might make it a little bit more easy at the beginning.

Nevertheless of still practicing Spanish weekly nowadays, the most difficult thing in my opinion is, when someone Spanish speaks (too) fast. Then just tell them, that they should speak a little bit more slowly please :) You might have to say that phrase about thousand times, as they really speak really fast, but some day you will get used to it.But most of the time they take care of it by themselves and speak more slowly or repeat the sentence, when they realize that the opposite person doesn't understand immediately. Podcasts or series or movies translated from English to Spanisch are good chances to get familiar with listening comprehension. When I am / was saying something grammatically wrong or used a wrong word, the people in my surrounding very often corrected me, but in a nice way.
E.g.they repeated my sentence, but in the correct way.

So go out for it, make mistakes, don't think too much about grammar at the beginning.
My experience is:
People will always appreciate it if you as a foreigner try to speak their language.
Good luck, you will master it.
 
EsViver11 said:
Nevertheless of still practicing Spanish weekly nowadays, the most difficult thing in my opinion is, when someone Spanish speaks (too) fast. Then just tell them, that they should speak a little bit more slowly please :) You might have to say that phrase about thousand times, as they really speak really fast, but some day you will get used to it.But most of the time they take care of it by themselves and speak more slowly or repeat the sentence, when they realize that the opposite person doesn't understand immediately. Podcasts or series or movies translated from English to Spanisch are good chances to get familiar with listening comprehension. When I am / was saying something grammatically wrong or used a wrong word, the people in my surrounding very often corrected me, but in a nice way.
E.g.they repeated my sentence, but in the correct way.

So go out for it, make mistakes, don't think too much about grammar at the beginning.
My experience is:
People will always appreciate it if you as a foreigner try to speak their language.
Good luck, you will master it.
Click to expand...

I even find this on DuoLingo - now that I am getting further and further in, it's getting fast and faster!
When we move over I'll definitely be looking into lessons and get-togethers to learn/practice!
 
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