“Many expats have lived on the island for 30 years and can't speak a word...” | R.L.
Palma30/12/2021 10:12
The new Channel 4 dating programme The Language of Love sees a group of Britons and Spaniards pairing up despite not speaking the same language. I have always been rather amazed at the limited Spanish spoken by many expat Britons. My own parents lived on the island for 30 years and didn´t speak a word but they still managed to enjoy Mallorca and go about their everyday lives.
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I was sent by my company as sole representative to Venezuela in 2002. I didn't speak a word, and had to deal with government officials and business partners. Surprisingly, English was hardly spoken. I learned passable business Spanish in under 6 weeks. But then, I'm not British!
I find more and more island youth speaking English and always very willing to try it out when possible with the English. One of the barriers to speaking more Spanish here, is the prevalence of Catalan and if you live in a village, Mallorquin.