how can i find out which dialect of spanish is spoken in spain?

Question

i'm learning spanish and wish to visit as many parts of spain as possible to practise. However, so far i've been unlucky as I've visited Barcelona and Valencia. I hadn't realised that they speak their own dialects. I found it v hard to translate menus/written info etc. I wish to travel to parts of spain where castellano (castillian) spanish only is spoken. Please advise best places! thanks x

Anybody have a URL for a map of spanish dialects. I've tried google and wikipedia - not much help. Thanks.

Answer 1

There are several dialects spoken in Spain, each region and sometimes each province has variations in pronunciation, vocabulary and vocal habits...just like accents and vocabulary differences in English.
The major dialects (a word I dislike) are:
Asturiano from Asturias
Andaluz from Andalucía (more of an accent)
Canario--Canary Isles (more of an accent)
Mallorquí (Mallorca)
Valenciano (closely allied to Murciano)
Aragones (Aragon)
Castellano (castillian) is considered "pure" Spanish.
There are also three other languages:
Catalán (which some argue is a dialect of the ancient langue d'oc in France)
Gallego
Vasco (Euskara)

Answer 2

You have been the victim of a misplaced sort of chauvinism that is quite common in Catalunya (Barcelona) and Valencia. It is a political thing, but foreigners, who have taken the trouble to learn some Spanish before visiting Spain, do not deserve to be confronted with it. Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY, who went to school anywhere in Spain is fluent in Castellano. To refuse to speak it is bad manners and very discourteous.
To hear only "real" Castellano go to the central provinces and the big cities, like the province of Castilia / La Mancha and Madrid.
In the Basque provinces you will hear Basque spoken, which is totally different from Spanish.

Answer 3

Appart from Spanish there are other languages spoken in Spain:
Catalonian in Catalonia,
A similar form of Catalonian (Valenciano) is spoken also on teh Eastern Coast and the Mediterramean Islands.
Then you've got Basque in the Basque Country and maybe a bit of Navarra.
And Galician in Galicia.
Try go somewhere different from these places and you won't get these kind of surprises!

Answer 4

Well, you went to Catalunya, where they prefer not to speak Castillano. Just about any other part of Spain will speak Castillian, but there are other dialects there as well. Try Madrid and its environs. Otherwise, I recommend searching for a dialect map of Spain to help you. You should be able to find one on google with ease.

Answer 5

Do a lot of research of not only the country but also the cities you might go to. That situation can happen in other coutries aswell. Take the US for example, there's southern, slang, etc.

Answer 6

Castellan

Answer 7

Try Seville

Answer 8

if you want to go to where they speak castillian spannish, go to the castille region of spain! duh! yet they alll tend to speak and understand stanard spannish.
my bf understands spaniards, and hes a latino....their spanish is waaay different!

Answer 9

in castilla is where they speak castellano

Answer 10

it would depend on the area