For a trip to Barcelona - should I learn some basic Spanish or Catalan?

I was in Barcelona a week ago. People there speak Catalonia first, Spanish second. My daughter knows Italian and she was able to communicate well. We definitely received a different, more welcoming reception trying to communicate in a language other than English (which of course they can speak). Whatever language you choose, your efforts will be appreciated, but I think you would WOW them with some Catalonia phrases! They are so happy that you try to embrace their culture.

Both Spanish (Castilian) and Catalan are the co-official languages of Barcelona, in practical terms, Spanish is the most widely spoken/understood in the city, with around 60% speaking Catalan as well.

However, I'm sure that if you learn some essential Catalan, it will definitely differentiate you as a tourist and help connect you with Catalan culture. But do not be surprised if you end up talking to someone who does not speak Catalan, as Barcelona is a cosmopolitan city. If you want to be most widely understood, then learning Spanish would be your best bet.

Personally I would try to learn a little bit of both languages, as they both share a good amount of similarities.

I speak a little Spanish, but am planning on learning some basics like Please, Thank you, hello and good-bye in Catalan.

I ended up not going to Barcelona on my last Spain trip, but I had downloaded a translation sheet of english/spanish/catalan. At least, if you can order a beer wine or food in Catalan, I am sure you would bring a smile to people's faces.
On a side note, I went to Valencia instead of Barcelona....and was surprised to realize once there that they have a local language they speak as well...and it looks very similar to Catalan. Of course, it is near the Catalan border and I am sure through the ages dealt more with the Catalan regions along the coast than Castile.

Regarding Maria's side note, the regions of Catalonia and Valencia (along with most of the western Mediterranean) were all part of the Crown of Aragon, a multicultural empire that once stretched from Athens to Provence and down to Valencia during the high Middle Ages. The Crown of Aragon later merged with the Crown of Castile in the early Renaissance period to create the Spanish Empire.

That's why many of the former regions of Crown of Aragon speak very similar languages, some would argue the same, although I should mention that Valencian and Catalan are recognized as separate languages under the current Spanish Constitution (and many Valencians would like to keep it that way).

Nick, of course, Ferdinand and Isabella.....thanks for the history lesson.

Nick? Lol, no worries Maria :)

I'm a bit of a history buff, especially interested in Classical Antiquity (500 BC - 200 AD) and High-Late Middle Ages (1200 AD - 1500 AD). I jump in anytime when this history can be brought up for travel!

Maria - not me, that was Carlos giving you the history lesson! I was going to point out that whilst "Valencian" has co-official status in Valencia, most linguists think it isn't a separate language, but a dialect of Catalan. Like some claim there is a llengua murciana but most consider it a variant of "spanish".

Sorry Nick. Sorry Carlos. I wish the forum allowed us to read the last post when adding a reply. Some of us seem to suffer memory loss moving from one screen to another...:-(

But I at least remembered the similarities to two languages.

.....and then, there is Euskara, the Basque language. I will be in the Basque nation while on the RS "Best of Basque" tour in autumn, and I am attempting to learn a little of this difficult language. Good luck!
Regarding your initial question - I have found - and this is an almost universally praised endeavor - learning a little of the local language is appreciated by the locals. My Spanish (poor though it is) is based on "new world" (western hemisphere) learning - not Castilian Spanish - so my attempts in Madrid were hampered by my "unusual" pronunciation. I'll have to work on that. While in Catalonia, I also tried out my new found "skills" in Catalan.....again, without much success although my efforts seemed to be greeted with kind looks and appreciation. Somehow, knowing that nearly everyone in Barcelona speaks better English than either of my skills in Spanish or Catalan was a blessing.
Barcelona is a wonderful city, as is the country of Spain.

1) There are many different dialects in Spain and many different Spanish people live in Barcelona. So don't worry too much about language.

2)A good day or Bon día and goodbye would possibly be good to learn.

3)Once people know you're American, 99% of the time they will speak to you in English. I was only able to use my Spanish skills a few times in Barcelona-mostly in the small cafes or grocery stores. Anywhere else when workers discovered I wasn't Spanish-even when I spoke it, they would answer me back in English-probably because of my accent and I pronounce my "c" in the Latin America way. Catalan is interesting as it's a bit of a mix between Spanish and French. Try. out some Catalan words and phrases as it might set you apart from the tourists trying to speak Spanish:)

I speak a medium amount of Spanish - I can get what I need in transactions, ask directions, and, if people are patient, speak slowly and use simple grammar, I can have a conversation. I can read more than I speak, so I can figure out signs and labels in sights. This has been extremely useful in much of Spain (in my experience Madrid area and a lot of Andalucia).

In Barcelona, as soon as I started speaking Spanish, most people would switch to English. I'm clearly not a fluent Spanish speaker, and I guess my accent gives me away as an English speaker. I get the impression that people who knew Catalan, Spanish, and English would rather speak English than Spanish to a tourist. Next time, I might try to learn some Catalan, I'm just worried about confusing my already-iffy Spanish which I need for the rest of Spain and Latin America.

So for just going to Barcelona, my sense is that trying some Catalan would be interesting to people - most visitors don't seem to try, and rely on Spanish or English. Spanish would be more useful other places, but if your main concern is your visit to Barcelona then consider Catalan phrases. Of course, Spanish would be useful too.

If you're only visiting Barcelona, Catalan would be useful - however, speaking Spanish you will be more widely understood generally. I lived in Barcelona for about a year and found that as a foreigner (English) the locals will usually talk back to you in Spanish anyway. From a written language perspective, where traditional Spanish will have "ll" in some words ("Calle" is the word for street), the same word in Catalan will use "rr" ("Carrer"). Other notable differences between the 2 dialects, where Spanish uses "j", Catalan will often use "x". Catalan also uses apostrophes in abundance just to make pronunciation more fun :-)