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Well, as to the other OP, French is not the second language.."oh..la grandeur"...
Acajack, maybe you coincided with the season lots of French come, or with a large French group, but really, Barcelona has not a dominant or very important French tourist presence, or maybe they don't stand out.
I wish there was more French cultural presence (not franchises).
I just checked, 2014 statistics...statistics do not reflect tourists that stay in resorts nearby Barcelona (some have more beds than Greece)...British stay at those places, that's why they are not number one, when "de facto" they are number one in presence.
There are also lots of Americans staying in Internet apartments "not registered", sleeping in gigantic cruise ships and visiting the city for hours (massive presence), etc.
French are not a dominant presence, maybe because they don't stand out.
I'd say that Americans are the most dominant presence right now, and Russians.
I think that real numbers are
1. England
2. US
3. France...Germany...Italy...and Russians.
I've seen lots of Latin American with a very large budget, lots of Brazilians, Mexicans.
Last edited by Rozenn; 03-02-2015 at 01:31 PM..
Reason: English only please!
I just checked, 2013 statistics...statistics do not reflect tourists that stay in resorts nearby Barcelona (some have more beds than Greece)...British stay at those places, that's why they are not way up. Does not reflect Americans, that sleep at cruise ships..or in "submerged" Internet apartments.
The number for France does not seem very high for a place that's just over the border and easily accessible for weekend getaways, etc. Relative to places much further away like Germany, etc.
Well, as to the other OP, French is not the second language.."oh..la grandeur"...
Acajack, maybe you coincided with the season lots of French come, or with a large French group, but really, Barcelona has not a dominant or very important French tourist presence, or maybe they don't stand out.
.
It wasn't just tourists, it was locals who could speak second language French too. Not everyone of course, but as we've been saying - more than we might expect.
Both my wife and I (on separate trips to Barcelona a decade or more apart), have had a number of conversations like this with locals:
- Acajack or Mrs. Acajack starts off in accented but comprehensible Spanish
- De donde es usted?
- De Canada
- Ah, si. De Montreal... Toronto... Quebec... Ontario?
- De Quebec.
- Ah, alors on peut parler français si vous voulez...
It wasn't just tourists, it was locals who could speak second language French too. Not everyone of course, but as we've been saying - more than we might expect.
It wasn't just tourists, it was locals who could speak second language French too. Not everyone of course, but as we've been saying - more than we might expect.
Both my wife and I (on separate trips to Barcelona a decade or more apart), have had a number of conversations like this with locals:
- Acajack or Mrs. Acajack starts off in accented but comprehensible Spanish
- De donde es usted?
- De Canada
- Ah, si. De Montreal... Toronto... Quebec... Ontario?
- De Quebec.
- Ah, alors on peut parler français si vous voulez...
Acajack
Most people over 50 studied French, and if you know Catalan and Spanish, you can get by in French.
Plus, Quebec is very popular because of political reasons.
Most people over 50 studied French, and if you know Catalan and Spanish, you can get by in French.
Plus, Quebec is very popular because of political reasons.
Ah, alors on peut parler français si vous voulez
Ah, pot parlar francès si voleu...
Yes, of course. These are good explanations as to why things are this way.
When Radio-Canada sends reporters to cover the political situation in Catalonia, it never seems to be a problem to find knowledgeable people (government officials, activists, professors) to be interviewed in French.
Location: Segovia, central Spain, 1230 m asl, Csb Mediterranean with strong continental influence, 40º43 N
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kikebxl
Barcelona is a big city, and a big touristy spot in Europe. It is fun, interesting, artistic, good weather, and kind of cheap if we compare it to other European cities like London or Paris.
Also, Barcelona is very well connected to France (6h by train from Paris, 1h30m from Perpignan, and countless flights). There are hundreds of thousands of French people going there.
People from Barcelona who are in the tourism industry (or restaurants, bars, shops, etc) have an interest in learning French (also English, for example). Catalan (and Spanish) are languages similar to French, so it is not so difficult for a Catalan speaker or a Spanish speaker to learn French.
Location: Near Tours, France about 47°10'N 0°25'E
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Barcelona is closer to France than to Madrid. As for the language when a french person goes to Barcelona and starts speaking Spanish to catalan people, many of them prefer to anwers directly in french (when they know it) because they want to show they are not Castillan and that their language (catalan) is as close to french as it is to Spanish. I experienced it many times in Catalunia, but not in other regions of Spain.
The number for France does not seem very high for a place that's just over the border and easily accessible for weekend getaways, etc. Relative to places much further away like Germany, etc.
Part of the reason why is because there are adjacent regions in France that are similar to Barcelona and quicker to get to. It's kinda like asking why Puerto Ricans don't take many vacations in the Dominican Republic.
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