language barrier

According to the EU report on languages, "Europeans and Languages", pub. 2005, both Catalan and Castillian are official languages of Catalonia. But that doesn't mean most people don't use Catalan.

Don't worry about it...most anywhere in the world you travel, anyone who wants your money will speak english;) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEPgPVH3KfU

From my limited international travel, I've found Michael's response to be right. If you had to identify a universal language, it would probably be English. It's easy to find restaurants with English menus, but it's more fun to grope through Spanish only menus. We went to a restaurant in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter, and the exceedingly pleasant and accommodating waiters brought out various plates to show us which items on the menu they were. That, along with our Spanish-English dictionary, made for one of the best and most memorable meals we had. But you will find enough people speaking, at least, some English to make for an easy vacation. Enjoy, we fell in love with the country and people.

Your high school Spanish skills will be adequate. The trick is how to employ them. Always greet the waiter, shopkeeper, etc. in Spanish. Say please and thank you in Spanish. Then you can stumble along the rest of the way as best as you can but the civilities will have been complete.

Just remember that in Barcelona the official language is Catalan, not Spanish.

As long as you know some basic phrases ("Where is the bathroom?", "How much does this cost?", etc.), you should be fine. Many people will respond in English but it's polite to make an effort and to show that you don't assume that everyone speaks English.

of all the places I've been in Europe, I had the most "trouble" with language in Barcelona. even in the touristy areas, I encountered people behind counters and in restaurants who didn't speak any English. that said, I speak zero spanish, and I didn't have any trouble pointing and smiling, so I wouldn't worry about it at all.

I speak some high school French, which is similar to Spanish and had no trouble in Spain this past summer. At one point in Madrid I wanted an international calling card to use at a pay phone. This was hard to explain so the person behind the counter called someone in a different part of the store on the phone and gave the phone to me. They then explained it to the cashier. This was the most difficulity I had. If someone did not speak English, another customer or staff would help.
Enjoy Spain. I love it.

I have traveled many times to Spain - twice each year for 4 or so years now - and never have had any real difficulty as far as the language is concerned. The Spanish in Barcelona is Catalyan, not the same as I learned in high school 50 years ago. The Spanish I learned is the same as that in Madrid and when I stepped off the plane I was astonished that I actually could get the gist of what I heard!!! If you want a great experience while there, participate in the www.vaughantown.com where you "teach" English to Spanish particpants! A fantastic opportunity.

If you do some cramming on polite phrases and basic survival words and phrases (Hello, please, thank you, excuse me, do you speak English? where is? what does this cost? bus, train, station, restaurant, grocery store, drug store, bathroom, atm, etc.), you will do fine. It's also worth learning some basic food names, especially if you're a picky eater. I find with some pre-cramming plus immersion when I'm there, I can do fairly well.

Note that if you are accustomed to "Mexican Spanish" there are some significant differences in pronunciation. Nothing that can't be worked around, just wanted to mention.