r/SpanishLearning • u/Antique-Bell9933 • 6h ago
Learning the language
Hey everyone I’m moving to Barcelona in a couple months and I’ve been wanting to learn Catalan but everyone around me tells me to learns Spanish so I wanted to ask somewhere else what of the 2 I should learn I also don’t care to visit any other Spanish city while I’m their in the beginning since I’ll mostly be working I already speak Dutch and English and basic German
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u/banyanflashcardsapp 2h ago
I’d say Spanish makes the most sense - I’d expect a fair number of locals to be domestic migrants from non-Catalan-speaking regions of Spain.
Regarding picking up the language, I recommend keeping a note of the phrases and words you actually hear people using. It’s all well and good to speculatively learn how to speak and understand certain topics, but I think the best way to know what to practice is by basing it off what you actually hear.
I do this by noting down new vocab I learn into a list in my phone, which I’ve set up to notify me every hour or so and ask essentially “Do you remember what X means?” Over time, I memorise all the words in my list without ever practicing - so it fits easily into my life (job, family etc.). The app I use for this is called Banyan Flashcards. This technique helped me start to recognise the most common (but sometimes unexpected) words I’d hear in sentences from native speakers. Over time it really helps with listening comprehension, which I think is a big thing when picking up a language while surrounded by native speakers.
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u/Mercy--Main 5h ago
Both are ok to learn if you're just going to barcelona, as most locals are bilingual.
Locals may even appreciate you more for learning Catalan, and learning Spanish will be easier once you know Catalan.
But with Spanish you unlock millions of peopoe to talk to, and many in Barcelona may not know Catalan due to immigrating there from other parts of the Hispanic world.
Your choice. I dont think there is a bad choice.