Speaking broken Spanish in Spain ...?

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LXC

I am living in Madrid and have been here for about 4 months.

I can speak conversational Spanish at best, but definitely understand more than I can speak, although I am attending classes to improve.

I find that most of the time if you tell the person straight out (in spanish) that you only speak a little bit, and are very sorry, then continue on with the conversation, trying your best at the language, that you will be well recieved, and they will help you out, and sometimes you find that they speak english and will be happy to speak with you in that.

In saying that, I have found myself in situations, mainly in clothing stores where the majority of sales people are young woman, where I am treated like an idiot and laughed at and joked about in spanish and have had many eyes rolled at me. It does make me feel really bad as I do try my hardest and am working on learning the language. So bare in mind that you may come across people like that.

I also find speaking english intimidates alot of people here, so do not approach them flat out in english, that is considered rude, and you wont be treated as well as if you would have approached them in broken spanish.

In saying that, I live in Madrid, where they are particularly known for being very staunch in the sense that they only speak spanish, and not the most receptive of non-spanish speaking people, but I have been to Barcelona and you could definitely get away with not speaking any spanish at all.

Overall, I would say the majority are willing to help you if you help yourself :)

oliver p

Well, the French are French and do not even try to understand.
Spanish people are a bit more relaxed, but some are rude when it comes to help you with your phrases of Spanish.
Many times you will say hello and ask a question in Spanish, and they will answer you in a fast and not to understand way, so you will have to beg them to slow down in order to understand. I am in Spain at the moment and always greet in Spanish, tell them that my Spanish is very bad and ask in Spanish. Perfect results are given. So don't worry. And if you get a stupid look, it is the wrong person to talk to anyway.

Joan el guiri

I have always found the Spanish to be most appreciative of my attempts to speak Spanish but they do love to reply in English.
They will even try to reply in English when their English is worse than your Spanish which can be most annoying.

The less well educated they are, the more likely they are to be rude.

In general, Spaniards like you to try out your Spanish because it shows that you appreciate that you are in Spain and have taken the trouble to learn a few phrases.

The French.

The English have not yet forgiven the 'surrender monkeys' for Napoleon and the other thing 60 odd years ago.

Also ,most English people are quite rude to the French.
We should remember that the French have difficulty with English, poor dears, and do not like the opportunity to show it. Their best defence is attack.

paia423

I think you'll find the spanish helpful, as long as you try. You may get the "What the hell is that guy talking about?" look but when they realize you're not from around there and you're doing your best, they'll be helpful. Unless, of course they speak perfect english, in which case you should just give it up.

harie

they aren't nearly as bad as the french. some people are dickheads, same as everywhere else in the world. people make fun of foreigners here all the time, although we are generally helpful and understanding to people who don't speak english well. keep in mind though that america is full of people who originally spoke different languages and other countries aren't really like that. also the us is not well liked internationally at the moment, so if you seem like some asshole american wandering around spain, people are going to give you a tude. i studied there for a semester and didn't have many problems at all. figure out a culturally appropriate way to tell someone who acts like a jerk to go **** themselves, and you'll be fine. other than that, when you approach someone, just be nice and open and speak spanish to them as politely and quickly as possible cause they talk really fast. say disculpe, perdon, or permiso for excuse me. perdon is really french i think but people listen to that everywhere. and if you are out late at night or in a barrio somewhere looking for mota, tell them you're canadian if they don't seem friendly. i spread american pride wherever i go and pump my fist for la patria but as a female alone at night sometimes i'm just not taking any chances.

Mark R

Having lived here for the last 12 years and still mixing my tenses and conjugations I would say that of any country, Spain is the most tolerant and helpful and appreciative of anyone who learns a little of their language.......just remember that Castillian is not the only language spoken in Spain!

Try asking someone for directions on the street or for the time to see what I mean, then go into a bar or shop and try out what you know.

Stay away form the coastal resorts though if you wish to avoid being answered back in English!

LolitaLolita

From my experience in Spain, I've found that trying to speak Spanish is way better than just going in speaking English. My friends there always told me they were a bit turned off by those people because it shows an arrogance of sorts-- the whole, I'm American and you will speak English to me while I'm here. Everyone I met there was, if not impressed that you approached them in Spanish, put at ease that you would at least try. You can say, Hable despacio or Disculpeme, puedes repetirlo... because they do speak fairly quickly.

Thegustaffa

Well, from experience with spanish speakers, they tend to mock, insult and laugh at you for your feeble attempts. Of course, when others try to speak english and do so poorly, I don't see others making fun of them. That of course does not include everyone, but includes enough.

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