Colombiano o Espanol ?.

calor11 says on Jun 21, 2007, 09:12:

ha, what a job you must have to live by everyday, must make you quite paranoid about just wanting to chill with your pals. you should be able to tell over time, i would watch mannerisms, spaniards are more reserved than south amercians. Also look on the web about info on Barcelona, and inconspiciously bring up some of this info in a conversation, " have you been to this bar ?" or " whats the name of that big church in center of town ?"... good luck

nine inch nails says on Jun 21, 2007, 14:09:

I no Spanish expert but do know that the "thhhhhh" sound is definetely from Andaluc (thhh) ia (far southern Spain, Sevilla, Jerez, Vejer, Cadiz etc...) which is almost at the complete opposite end from Barcelona on the Iberian peninsula. Maybe they make that sound also in Catalan which from what I understand is a mixture of Spanish and French.

Someone born and raised in BCN should have been raised on Catalan but you never know.

Good luck!

get down, get down

Ekdog says on Jun 21, 2007, 14:58:

"I no Spanish expert but do know that the "thhhhhh" sound is definetely from Andaluc (thhh) ia (far southern Spain, Sevilla, Jerez, Vejer, Cadiz etc...) which is almost at the complete opposite end from Barcelona on the Iberian peninsula."

That sound is standard in Spain for "c" before "i" and "e" and for "z". It is quite common for people here in Seville, however, to pronounce those letters like an "s" (as in Latin America). This is known as "seseo" pronunciation. There are other parts of Andalusia, on the other hand, where the "s" takes on this sound. That pronunciation is known as "ceceo", and is looked down on by many speakers.

There are people who live in Barcelona that don't speak Catalán, but I find it hard to believe that someone born and raised there wouldn't speak it.

Regards,

Ekdog

raulinho says on Jun 21, 2007, 15:25:

easy ...ask him does he like futbol. unless he is gay he does ..ask him what Barcelona's second team is? espanyol is the answer and they are hated rivals of Barcelona futbol team. The c is Spain is almost always like th except in las Canarias and is soft like an s though not quite, in Andalucia . It's funny most foreigners know about Barcelona but Madrid is much less common I bet the guy is a fake..

billyb says on Jun 22, 2007, 06:28:

My sister-in-law is Catalan, born in Barcelona and I have been there several times and everybody that I have met that was born in Catalunya spoke Catalan, infact many refused to speak spanish on priciple.

Leeroy says on Jun 22, 2007, 07:21:

I lived and worked in Madrid for a couple of years - while I am no expert on Barcelona, I can almost guarantee that someone born and raised in Barcelona would speak Catalan. In any case, if he is speaking Spanish to you, he would retain some Iberian Spanish-isms:

1. "Joder!" and "Coño!" as general expletives.
2. "Gillipollas!" means "Tonterias!" (rubbish!), more or less
3. "tio" as "marica" as it would be said here, or "dude, man..." in English
4. 3:45 would be "las 4 menos 15", instead of "las 3 y 45"
5. vosotros verb conjugations
6. very limited use of "usted"
7. alli and aqui, instead of alla and aca

Oh, and the "thhh" is common in most parts of Spain - the places that don't do it are the exceptions (such as the Canaries). Nonetheless, it is pretty easy to fake.

Don't forget the politics: Ask him what he thinks about Jose Maria Aznar. If he goes red in the face and starts spitting and vomiting green fluid then he's Catalan... If he says "who?", then he is not from Barcelona.

LaMovidCh(u)eca says on Jun 22, 2007, 09:46:

Hi,


I lived in Barcelona for almost 3 years. Yes, it is possible that someone who was born and raised in Barcelona doesn't speak catalan but it is very unlikely, specially with younger people (catalan was reinstituted as an official language in 1978, after Franco died). Everyone that goes to public schools nowadays has to study it, but that doesn't mean they actually learn it. Met a young girl who understood it perfectly, but would never speak it because all her friends only spoke in Spanish. How old is this person?

I think the Español-Barcelona question is a good one. You might also ask him in what stadium they play. That´s a trick question because Español plays in the Olympic Stadium and Barcelona in the Camp Nou. You might ask him what neighborhood he's from.


Good luck,

P.S. Pronuncing c and z as "th" is the standard way in Spain. What Andalucians and latin american do ("s" sound instead of "th") is not "ceceo" but "seseo", "ceceo" is the other way around ("th" instead of "s"). Beautiful thing is that for those who "sesan" , like colombians, both are pronounced identically.

latinlife says on Jun 22, 2007, 10:42:

Thanks for your responses.
This came about when an ex- novia was in my apartment at the same time as the espanol/colombiano and proceded to question him on things like the catalan and also I believe yoghurt has a different name en barcelona ......I guess I have to decide if the guy is using a front only to friendly or what !!
This country would be paradise if not for a small minority of people here!!!....but sod 'em slowly slowly I am developing a buena vida in this smashing town..

raulinho says on Jun 23, 2007, 10:35:

Espanyol the futbol team is written like that ......ESPANYOL

LaMovidCh(u)eca says on Jun 25, 2007, 01:49:

Correct! Espanyol is Catalan for "spanish". I thought they wrote it as eitjer espanyol or español, but no, its only Espanyol.

From Wikipedia:
"In 1906 the club folded due to financial reasons and most of the players joined the X Sporting Club. This club won the Campionat de Catalunya three times between 1906 and 1908. In 1909 this club was effectively relaunched as Club Deportivo Español and in 1910 they adopted the present day colours in honour of Admiral Roger de Llúria, a Catalan naval hero."