I will be visiting Bilbao next week and I would like to know whether I should speak English or Spanish. I don't know Basque. What is acceptable for tourists? And are there any "don'ts" I should be aware of?
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My edit was to remove the request of what to see/do, as that is not part of TSE format and could result in your question being closed as off topic.– GiorgioJul 9, 2017 at 13:20
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I've never been to any Basque areas, but I've been to touristy areas in Catalonia, and I'd be surprised if speaking either language as a tourist would cause you trouble. You can always ask people if they prefer one language or the other. This shows that you want to be careful not to offend, which already goes a long way to avoiding offense.– phoogJul 9, 2017 at 15:28
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1Not worthy of an answer, but I lived in the Basque country for ten years and never learned any Basque beyond ordering a beer or counting up to twenty. If you know a little Spanish, that will be better than most Spaniards' English.– Diego SánchezJul 9, 2017 at 20:47
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We get a lot of "what to know before visiting X" questions; IMO they are both too broad and opinion-based; what's important for one person need not be for another.– fkraiemJul 9, 2017 at 23:54
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3@fkraiem this isn't just an open ended "what to know before visiting X" though, the question body is much more specific and makes it clear it's about language and related sensibilities which can be a big deal in a region with a history like that of the Basque country– user56reinstatemonica8Jul 10, 2017 at 7:58
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3 Answers
I was there last year. The locals do speak Euskarian and Spanish. There is a clear bias to Euskarian similar to how Canadians in Quebec or Montreal speak English: They all can do it quite well, but they will speak French by default.
English is touch and go: you can certainly do simple transaction like ordering food, buying stuff, etc but we didn't meet a lot of people that could engage in a deep conversion.
I'd recommend: If you are proficient in Spanish, use that. Otherwise, use English as it sets a clear context and some mishaps or miscommunication are expected and perfectly okay.
Great town & people to visit! Have fun !
EDIT: one tip: around 6pm or so most bars start serving Pintxos which is small sandwhiches and finger foods. It's very good (and affordable) and very popular, so the places are packed. In Spanish it would be called pinchos or maybe tapas, but it's always Pintxos in Bilbao
I have been four times to the Basque Country (and twice specifically to Bilbao) and I never had any problem speaking Spanish to Basque people.
Bilbao locals are usually native to both languages and sometimes they simply use a few words from one language when speaking the other one. For instance, some Basque words that I got used to hear because they are often used among Spanish dialogues are: "aita" (dad), "ama" (mom), "agur" (bye), "ez" (no), "bai" (yes), "zorionak" (congrats), "ongi etorri" (welcome) and "eskerrik asko" (thanks).
So, if you can speak fluent Spanish, just use it.
Regarding the "don'ts":
- Don't speak about politics (this is extensible to any country in the whole world).
- Don't miss the opportunity to have some "pintxos" and drink some "zuritos".
It is Preferable that you use Spanish to communicate, even if you only know a little, since most Basques (not to mention almost all) do not speak English or are not fluent in the language, although there are some places and people who can assist you in English, it will be very little, since English is not a very popular or well-known language in the country. The most Spoken Languages are Euskera, the mother tongue of half of the Basque population with 40%, and used daily. French which is spoken by 20% to 35% in some regions, and Spanish which is spoken by 95% of the Basque population and used in all parts of the Basque Country, being the lingua franca of the Country. So you could refine your Spanish a little before going on a trip to the Basque Country, the use of Spanish will help you a lot to get in touch with the culture like the people of the Basque Country, I hope you enjoy your trip a lot :)
