Geography lesson: Barcelona is the capital of Catalunya/ Cataluña, where people speak Catalan as their primary language (or so they say). Their second language is what we would call Spanish (Español), but they call it Castilian (Castellano). Confused, yet? Even more, some people have the opinion that Catalunya is a nation of its own separate from Spain.
In reality, the Catalan language, a blend of French and Spanish, is more a matter of cultural pride than anything. If you walk into a store or stop someone on the street and speak Spanish to them, they will answer you back in Spanish without a problem. I even had someone tell me, after living here for 5 months and seeing things from an outside perspective, that the first language is Spanish, the second is English, and the third is Catalan. So, some of my goals for this year include becoming fluent in Castellaño/ Español, trying to convince at least one local that I was born here and don't understand English (not even close yet), and being able to pronounce a few words in this melting pot of a language they call Catalan. Wish me luck.
2 comments:
This was somewhat confusing because all the links are in Spanish but somehow I managed to find how to leave a comment. I guess I am natural at Spanish :) Sounds great about the apartment and your job sounds good as well. I think our experiences are somewhat similar because this region of France I am in (Bretagne) also considers itself Breton first and then French. Their traditional language is Breton which isn't at all similar to French, and some classes at my school are taught in it.
welcome to the world of 'blogging'. haha
isn't it awful! i never thought it was something for me. but its an easy way to keep everyone up to date.
glad to hear you found an apartment!
Post a Comment