Is there a significant amount of people in the uk that speak Spanish???

Question

since ill be moving to the uk someday, i dont want to forget my Spanish. i would love to find people who will speak it there lol. unless i find people who speak it there, then ill be more prone to forget it over time. especially my Spanish writing skills. i know i wont always be able to talk to my family on the phone, it just wont be the same than living with them and speaking spanish with them. please dont take this hte wrong way, im not in any way saying that i will refuse to integrate into British culture, i am willing to throw my American ways out the window LOL. but i certainly dont want to forget my first language when i move there, i will just want to find someone to speak it with. i would be devastated if i did lose my Spanish.

to the first answerer(parakeetaliciouse).....this is a serious question, serious answers please or dont bother to answer.

Punketto_93....., you silly i AM in America LOL.

Larry Callaghan...if i wanted a joke answer i would have asked this on the jokes section. i do have a sense of humor but this isnt a question about humor. please dont judge me. this is a serious question and im not asking for much.

Answer 1

There is a small number of people in UK who do speak Spanish as it started being taught in schools some twenty years back as an alternative to French and German which used to be the preferred second languages. However the Brits have never been very good at learning and memorising foreign languages because English is spoken as a second language in so many countries that they do not have to make the effort to learn other people's languages.
The number of people speaking Spanish has also grown due to the EEC, as some Spanish natives have come to work in UK now that they can do so without any restrictions.
If you settle in or near London there are various ways you can meet and practice your Spanish with native speakers such as :
http://spanish.meetup.com/30/members/2269867/
There also are "Spanish" events at other venues. At the moment there is a Spanish film season at the French Institute in Kensington (London SW7), for instance.
You could also apply to be a Spanish speaking assistant in a school, as now it has been recommended that foreign languages should be taught in primary schools.
I would not worry too much about loosing your first language. If you continue reading, listening to the radio or watching Spanish TV (which you can do from UK), you will not forget it.
I have been here for a large number of years and I have not lost my first language. If anything I ave perfected my knowledge of it because I have had to explain it to others.

PS. You can easily hop off to Spain for long week-ends very cheaply. There are frequent cheap flights, and very affordable travel packages. Lots of Brits go to Spain on holiday all year round.

Answer 2

You will struggle to find any Spanish speaking people anywhere here in the UK as far as I am aware.

Also I have never met a Spanish person anywhere here ever. Not even a Brazilian or Portugese person either.

If you are in a really large city in England you may get lucky and meet or make friends with a Spanish speaking person. But all is not lost, if I was you I would use the internet to find such a friend, there would be nothing wrong in that - you just make it clear you are looking for Spanish speaking friend(s).

Answer 3

You might find ,Spanish spoken a little, in maybe London, but outside in the provinces not at all. So you would definitely have to make an effort to maintain your language in reasonable shape My brother is married to an American Porto Rica girl (second generation)they live in N.Y were Spanish is the second language spoken,she does not speak Spanish at all. Her parents made a choice when they arrived in America, not to get categorised or ghettoised, through there language,like so many NY citizens are. They wanted to be fully integrated,and to them that meant dropping the language. I think they were wrong, they should have at least kept it in the background. I Think every one should have at least two languages. So i think your right to try and maintain your Spanish

Answer 4

Its nonsence for a previous answerer to say that Comic Relief and Children in Need dont spend any money on admin - how do you suppose that the grants are assessed and paid out? In 2006 Comic Relief spent £2,237,000 on admin and Children in Need spent £1,617,000 on admin of grants - small proportions of the amounts given in grant aid, but far from nil! All charities incur admin costs - you cannot possibly deliver services to people without them. How is the day centre for disabled children going to be run without staff, someone to pay them, someone to clean the place, train the staff and vols, ensure they are all employed legally, not to mention look after the money, do the accounts, do the fundraising? If I was donating, I would give to a local charity where I could go in and see the work they do, assess their capability and see the outcomes for myself. I would rather pay some money towards making sure the organisation was properly run than see the project mis mangaged and fail the beneficiaries.

Answer 5

Sure! Remember that Spain is on the same continent as the UK, and people migrate to England from all over the world. Also, you can stay in contact with members of your Spanish-speaking family and friends on the Internet. I think it's great that you want to remember Spanish!

Answer 6

It very much depends on which part of the UK you're thinking of moving to. You will find many native Spanish speakers in the big English cities - the problem will be how to meet the right sort of person. I do work for a global consultancy company in Bristol and there are native Spaniards working there; but they're probably a bit old for you - around 30. Anyway, I'm sure you could contact a foreign language school in whichever city you decide to settle and ask them to put you in touch with people of similar age to yourself.

You're unlikely to lose your Spanish - you may have to learn a few 'real' Spanish words as spoken by Spaniards ☺

Answer 7

Not many British people speak Spanish though in cities you will find groups of Spanish people and Spanish restaurants.
A lot of people going on holiday learn basic Spanish and you can take it at school but they will not be fluent.
You could always go on the Spanish version of Answers!

Answer 8

If you are a novice who is aware of extremely minor if any Spanish but you will like to find out much more then you have to take a course https://tr.im/dftV2 the on the internet program of Spanish

Answer 9

If you don't wanna forget spanish, go to the USA because spanish is the second language after english,over 27 million of people speak spanish in USA.

Answer 10

A LOT

a bout 1 billion! Gazllion! Frimillion!*


*spoken in Dr. Evil(Austin Powers) voice