Traveling to Italy then Spain - Which language should I focus on learning?

As an Italian speaker, I would say focus on Italian. I understand a lot of Spanish and Spanish speakers seem to understand me as well. BUT with not much time, maybe just learn the simplest things in both languages: please, thank you, hello, goodbye, where is the bathroom, how much, and so on.

Hi Matt, since you’re staying in the bigger cities, you won’t need as much local language, although it’s always nice to speak it, especially the cordial greeting words and tourist words.

I like going through Duolingo for several months before a trip, but I think for your amount of preparation time, I would recommend pulling up some YouTube basic tourist “language” and learning those very well. The Duolingo words will be less helpful at this stage. Also, it’s helpful to pull up some menus on line to get an idea of the basics. If you will be traveling by train, I always want to know their numbers & clock time, so I can hear numbers as well as see some reader boards.

And to answer your language choice question, I would definitely start with Italian so that will be fresh in your mind as you arrive.

Just a note: I’ve never carried a phrase book with me during our ten trips to Europe. If you really want something, the Google translate app would probably suffice.

I agree, if you are a beginner learn the basic phrases for each.
I was in Barcelona and Madrid two weeks ago; everyone in the service industry spoke or reverted to English after I tried in Spanish. And I have used Spanish in smaller towns in Italy when English did not work.

Thanks for the help, all. Good to know. It sounds like learning the basics of both is the most realistic approach here and also to start focusing on Italian for right now since that is my first stop. My friend and I are planning to see some of the Tuscany region as well. Would be nice to show folks there I at least made the effort to learn some Italian.

Jean, great tip to look up menus online now to get familiar with them.

Hoping some of what I learn in Italian carries over to Spanish as well.

Thanks!
Matt

Using basic phrases will show people that you're trying. That's really enough. If you want to make an impression in Barcelona, learn basic phrases in Catalan, which is the preferred language there. I have a vague sense that many folks there would rather you use English than Spanish.

Once I went to Spain from Italy and it took me a week to get over using Italian instead of Spanish.

Just learn hello, good morning/afternoon, bye and numbers 1-5 in each. It will show you have tried.

I am currently in Spain and tried to order something in Spanish in a cafe. The server spoke back to me in rapid Spanish and of course, I didn’t understand a word! Most places here, if they hear my poor Spanish reply in English.

If you were going into smaller towns in Spain (central or south especially), I’d say Spanish. The amount of English spoken is lower there, other than in seaside resorts, than in similar towns in Italy. I speak rudimentary Spanish and it was extremely helpful in Andalucia while my husband’s similarly basic Italian was nice but not necessary as often in Tuscany and Sicily.

BUT for those bigger cities, learn a few basics in both.

My own experience in Barcelona was that if I broke out my limited Castillian Spanish the person I was trying to speak to would a) rather converse in Catalan and b) work out in short order that I was in fact English and switch to English as opposed to labouring through a conversation in ‘regular’ Spanish. But the thought was there on my part!

I once did a trip through Italy with an English guide who lived in Spain. He spoke fluent Spanish and good Italian, but he confessed when he got stuck in Italian he would switch to Spanish and eventually he’d be understood, generally speaking. So I guess Spanish is the catch-all one to learn unless you are in Catalunya, and you can guarantee patient Italians!

No worries, I took Spanish in HS and College, but by the time I visited Spain and Italy, I had forgotten much of it.
In hotels and touring places, people speak English.

I'd agree with others to concentrate on learning the "polite"/"essential" phrases in both languages (or all three if you're going to Barcelona) - greetings, thanks, ordering a drink and so on. Try to remember to switch when you change country - although you certainly won't be the first tourist to say "grazie" when in Spain.

For a more boring answer, (castellano) Spanish and (standard) Italian have a lot of similarities, both in grammar and vocabulary (about 80% of words are cognate, compared to around 25% of English words). If you were fluent in one language, you probably could largely understand (or successfully guess the meaning of), someone using the other, especially when written down (or spoken very slowly). Accents and dialects can be an added problem, though. I have Madrid colleagues who joke that it's easier to understand an Italian than an Andalucian.

I'm glad some of you brought up Catalan vs. Castillion. Digging in a little more on my research, I was wondering if I'd have to learn basic phrases in 3 languages. :) Sounds like a few basics in Catalan will do me good as well.

I can definitely understand locals quickly switching to English once they realize I am a tourist. I've had similar experiences in Mexico and in Montreal, Canada. I will definitely learn how to say something along the lines of "I know very little Italian/Spanish" as a follow up to basic phrases.

This is my first post on this forum. Thanks so much for the quick and helpful responses!

• Matt

As others have said, given where you’re going, it shouldn’t be difficult to find somebody who knows English. In either country, once you get away from the tourist areas, there a greater chance fewer people will know English. On a positive note, if you know either French, Spanish, or Italian, you’ll be able to pick out words or phrases in the others since many words are similar. Properly pronouncing the words is a whole different issue.

I wouldn't focus too much on this issue. Personally I would prefer to concentrate on Spanish as that has more benefits for future use as it's more widely spoken than Italian. I try my limited Spanish in Spain but, like Jennifer, I'm often replied in such rapid Spanish that I quickly give up and murmur in embarassed English. Although the reverse happened to me in a hotel in San Francisco where I asked the waiter for water, he was unable to understand the four attempts I made until I decided to ask for it in Spanish....it worked!

I can identify with how difficult it can be to understand Spanish spoken in Andulusia. The accent and blending of words is odd to my ears, but they seem to understand me for the most part. Spanish is the language in which I have the most fluency. I am much less fluent in Italian but my knowledge of Spanish definitely helps me in Italy. And as other posters said learning basic phrases, especially ones that relate to courtesy create an idea that you are respectful and making an effort .

Focus on Italian. We had a Spanish-speaking friend with us in Italy who said, "I can understand them, but they can't understand me."

There is so much overlap... learn some key phrases/words and you’ll be fine (and it will be appreciated).

I speak Spanish fairly well, but very little Italian (I’m learning). When we were in Venice, we had the wonderful experience of food shopping with a local chef who then cooked us a meal in our apartment. She spoke only Italian, zero English. But we did great shopping in the market with my Spanish and her Italian; we could each understand the other pretty well (although I still have no idea what kind of fish we had that night; apparently specific fish species don’t overlap between languages).

Learn a few key words, use them a lot, be polite, laugh at yourself and apologize when you get it wrong, and you’ll have a great trip!

Thanks DebVT!

I will definitely prepare myself for making mistakes and not taking myself too seriously. Part of the adventure is not knowing everything over there like I do here in the US...and the goal is to have fun for sure vs having perfect grammar. :)

No one appreciates an effort to speak their language more than Italians. The hardest part for me was so many words are very similar (e.g. Senorita, Senorina). I found myself halting, wondering whether that was the Spanish or Italian word? After a while I realized if the word was very close, they would understand anyway.

I'd say start with the polite words in both languages, that will get you a long way. After that, if you're going to Italy first, I'd say focus on Italian. Most places you visit you will find plenty of English speakers to survive, polite words help more than fluency.

My husband was in the insurance business and sold many auto policies to customers who had moved to Colorado from Mexico. He learned quite a bit of "insurance Spanish" in order to do so. Then he studied Italian quite seriously for our trips to Italy. Later, when in a conversation with a Spanish-speaking customer, if he noticed their eyes glaze over he would realize that he had used an Italian word instead of a Spanish one. He would then stop and say, "Oops - Italian" and everyone would have a laugh.