I think they feel European, and admire London as a city and the UK for our once-strong economy.

They don't like our association with the US, but which nationality does!!!?!?!

I often find they are interested in our internal history in the UK, particularly the relationship between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

My husband is Colombian and the South American's do get a different response from us from the Catalans to be honest!

The chauvinistic me again. Somehow I automatically assume that all the people I talk to here are males but your "my husband"-bit made me realise that perhaps not all of them are.

Both my kids speak Valenciano & Castellano

In the primary schools in this area, there is the 'linea castellana' & the 'linea valenciana'

In the 'linea castellana' they are taught roughly 60% in Castellano & 40% in Valenciano - the other way round in the 'linea valenciana'

In primary school, both my girls were in the castellano line, but my older dd has just started at the instituto & has chosen to switch to the valenciano line. She had a spoken test to check fluency. She now studies everything except Castellano & German in Valenciano.

She chose to swap because you get less foreigners in the classes for obvious reasons, and also teenagers brought here from other countries & dumped into secondary school without a word of spanish are put into the castellano line - they often don't want to be here, don't want to learn the language, and disrupt classes :curse: (don't get me started)

I don't speak Valenciano, but I can read it reasonably well, and understand it spoken - but have no real desire to learn it properly (I don't like the sound of it)

On the street you tend to find the locals speaking valenciano rather than castellano - although they will speak to you in castellano - in fact I have been told by locals that they would consider it disrespectful to speak to a foreigner in Valenciano

My older dd loves to 'butt in' in Valenciano in shops if the staff are speaking Valenciano

The expression on the faces of the shops assistants is a picture! This tall, blonde, obviously non-spaniard - speaking to them perfectly in their own secret language

(actually, I'm now wondering how much the various other languages deviate from Castillano. I'm familiar with how Catalan does, in terms of letters used, etc., but is it possible to give a simple example?)

Have a look at this.

http://www.xunta.es/linguagalega/an_...ician_language

Compared to the Basque Country, Catalonia, Valencia or the Balearics, a higher % of Galicians actually speak their own regional language. It's strange, as Galicians tend to be in the news less than the other regions because of their wish for more autonomy.

I don't speak Galego but I speak Portuguese and armed with Spanish, Galego is quite simple to decipher. It actually a language in its own right but as usual, because of it's unfortunate geographical location between two heavy-weight languages, it's often been considered an offshoot of either Portuguese or Castillian.



Hello Ola.
How are you? Como estás? Como está?
Fine, thank you. Moi ben, grazas.
What is your name? Como te chamas? (informal); Como se chama? (formal)
My name is ______ . Chámome ______ .
Nice to meet you. É un pracer.

I can't speak Galician [well]. Non falo [moi ben] o galego.
Do you speak English? falas inglés?

Hello Ola.
How are you? Como estás? Como está?
Fine, thank you. Moi ben, grazas.
What is your name? Como te chamas? (informal); Como se chama? (formal)
My name is ______ . Chámome ______ .
Nice to meet you. É un pracer.

I can't speak Galician [well]. Non falo [moi ben] o galego.
Do you speak English? falas inglés?[/QUOTE]

Thanks for that...it often amazes me how similar many of the Latin languages are yet they're all distinct - we were in a pizza/pasta place last week & the woman asked my little boy his name & he answered (Spanish). Except I did a double take & twigged that she'd spoken to him in Italian & he'd answered in Spanish .. & I once had a not terribly fluent conversation with a woman in the Caribbean about Spain & things Spanish..... yet she was actually Portuguese & I don't speak a word of it

Thanks for that...it often amazes me how similar many of the Latin languages are yet they're all distinct - we were in a pizza/pasta place last week & the woman asked my little boy his name & he answered (Spanish). Except I did a double take & twigged that she'd spoken to him in Italian & he'd answered in Spanish .. & I once had a not terribly fluent conversation with a woman in the Caribbean about Spain & things Spanish..... yet she was actually Portuguese & I don't speak a word of it[/QUOTE]


I think many of the differences are written - verbally the Latin languages sound very similar........I can't speak Italian - though I can recognise it - and used to manage conversations with an Italian neighbour

I think many of the differences are written - verbally the Latin languages sound very similar........I can't speak Italian - though I can recognise it - and used to manage conversations with an Italian neighbour[/QUOTE]
I speak cockney, but can still converse with Brummies and scousers etc.

PS fiona don`t cut the quote tags off, look at what happens to the text. ;-(

I speak cockney, but can still converse with Brummies and scousers etc.

PS fiona don`t cut the quote tags off, look at what happens to the text. ;-([/QUOTE]

Don't think it was me, guv.....honest
...or maybe it was...don't understand what's happening.

Just managed it in another thread, maybe it's when double-quoting it gets complicated

Don't think it was me, guv.....honest
...or maybe it was...don't understand what's happening.

Just managed it in another thread, maybe it's when double-quoting it gets complicated[/QUOTE]

looking at it, I thought it was me - but I don't think it was

looking at it, I thought it was me - but I don't think it was[/QUOTE]

Aha! happened again! Harrumph!

B*****.....and again. must be the double quote

Aha! happened again! Harrumph!

B*****.....and again. must be the double quote[/QUOTE]

Aha! happened again! Harrumph!

B*****.....and again. must be the double quote[/QUOTE]

[/QUOTE]

Look at your text showing there is no quote tags at the front of the sentence, don`t quote for a while and it will sort itself out.
Do you use the multi quote box ?

[/QUOTE]

Look at your text showing there is no quote tags at the front of the sentence, don`t quote for a while and it will sort itself out.
Do you use the multi quote box ?[/QUOTE]

I know it definitely wasn't me that time