The Gun Counter

The 2014 World Muzzle-Loading Championships got moved from South Africa to Spain (the South Africans could not supply enough gunpowder). Which leaves me with a question - am I better off to reinforce my French, or try to learn Spanish from the ground up?

My French is limited, but I was able to get around France OK. And when in Italy, I noticed that the French and Italians were able to communicate with each other in their own languages - they were close enough to make themselves understood.

Advice is welcome.

Where in Spain ? the location will have a great bearing on what you'll need to learn...

Granada.

Standard Spanish then. There are regions where the Valenciano dialect is spoken and knowing a little French would give you quite a head start in learning that ( although how you formally learn Valenciano dialect I'm not sure - I did it by living alone in a village where no-one spoke anything else. I thought I was learning standard Spanish but I wasn't - which is why I'm having a few problems with the language now )

Everyone is supposed to speak standard Spanish but knowing the dialect of the area ( if there is one ) can go a long way to smoothing your stay. As in getting free drinks in bars, leeway from the cops and help from the locals.

I asked a bit more about Granada and they pronounce their standard Spanish more like US Spanish, which means you won't have to learn that " th " sound which drives me crazy.

French won't be a great help to you, so I would recommend a Spanish course. Or you can do what I do and draw pictures, point at things and shout very loudly in English ( just kidding )
You'll meet people who are really pleased you are using Spanish and others who are trying to learn English and ask you to use that instead so they can practice.

Will you be driving when you get here ? if so there are a LOT of surprises waiting for you...

Not sure...I'm tempted to rent a car, though. Any advice?

Mike OTDP wrote:Not sure...I'm tempted to rent a car, though. Any advice?

Renting a car will be fairly painless. The 'Traffico' here are wankers and are looking to bust you for anything. The ultimate stealth vehicle is a white van of the Renault or Citroen variety. That's what the good 'ol boys like

Driving in Spain is a whole different experience. No-one uses turn signals, there aren't always stop signs ( or at least any ones which make any sense ) and 90% of the population drive like 80 year old Alzheimer victims. The other 10% drive like they are immortal.

Having been in other countries w. interesting drivers - it can be more efficient/slightly less harrowing to hire a local, if you have a good contact, to be your driver.

Learn German and use it exclusively.

You still won't be able to communicate effectively, but the rudeness and arrogance will be understandable by other Europeans, and you'll send some grief somewhere other than the U.S.

Highspeed wrote:

Mike OTDP wrote:Not sure...I'm tempted to rent a car, though. Any advice?

Renting a car will be fairly painless. The 'Traffico' here are wankers and are looking to bust you for anything. The ultimate stealth vehicle is a white van of the Renault or Citroen variety. That's what the good 'ol boys like

Driving in Spain is a whole different experience. No-one uses turn signals, there aren't always stop signs ( or at least any ones which make any sense ) and 90% of the population drive like 80 year old Alzheimer victims. The other 10% drive like they are immortal.

So, they drive like Saudis?

Aesop wrote:Learn German and use it exclusively.

Come to think of it, I have the Rosetta Stone software for Deutsch. The only problem being that most Germans speak English - and are looking for an opportunity to practice.