American Tourist in Spain Busts Out CATALAN, Locals Stunned 

Thanks Xiaoma very cool!

FIRSTTTT

When are u coming back to Ireland ? The rural parts are amazing. I can also challenge u with a very peculiar flavour of the English language....the elderly locals speak with some amazing phrases & grammar.

Go to Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Cuba! You can't miss with Spanish, and yes, you can go to Cuba no problem, although I don't know about interviewing people on the street.

Language is great,but family and your health is more important.Glad you chose to put as much effort into health as you do language.Follewed for years and your trim self is indication you have taken health into consideration,no more Micheleen man puffy face lol.

Needs to use "what's popular here?" or something to that effect more, would get better answers lol.

Except that one guy who confidently said the strawberries

🇺🇸❤️🇲🇦❤️🇲🇫🤮🤮 Sáhara free!!

"There ARE a lot of civilians..." Plural subject requires a plural verb.

⁠@@user-dh6bj2me5pStop "correcting" people. I'm a native english speaker and can assure you I've heard and said that construction many times preferentially over "there are".

​@@anonymousanonymous6438 that's because it's quicker/easier to say despite being incorrect. Also being native doesn't always mean you know better. Normally it is not polite to tell people what they're wrong at the way he did but considering this is a channel all about learning languages and/or introduce other cultures he's right to fix a wrong.

@@Fahleen It's only wrong accordin to books made for a standardized formal english. However, if you want to speak like a native speaker, which should be your goal as a language learner, I wouldn't use "there are". It sounds forced and unnatural and is just harder to say. Native speakers actually DO always speak the most correctly because PEOPLE are the source of language, not a book.

And still all the road signs, directions etc are in Catalán. I think there is even a law that forces businesses to have their outside signage in Catalán. Inside you will oftentimes find a worker coming from some latin american country who doesn't speak Catalán at all. 🙈 I love Barcelona, but the language issue seems highly political there.

Well, this is true if you are a tourist or from another country where your mother tongue is other than Spanish, unfortunately, the situation is very different if you come from another region of Spain. It doesn't matter if you have an even better level than they do, or if you have a lot of interest in the culture, you are always going to receive passive aggressive comments. Not all people (obviously), you are probably nice.

Ahora te falta conocer Galicia y aprender algo de galego que seguro que te resulta fácil.

@@mariagabulltotalmente 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 además es el lugar donde más racismo, intolerancia y ladrones hay. Y van de ejemplares y modernos.

@@soyconcienciayamor Ha-ha...relájate tio, y de paso ya te buscas otra fóbia

@@soyconcienciayamorjajajajaja lo que hay que leer

Hahaha! I love her. This was hilarious.

9:06 I started busting out laughing at "Get the man some cheese!" hahaha

Loved it 😂

Lol what a line.

I'm Catalan, there's a word I don't understand in the middle of the sentence because of the background noise, but more or less the woman says: "dona-li, que el noi vol formatge, Jordi". The correct translation into English would be "give him, the guy wants cheese, Jordi" (Jordi is a common name in Catalonia, equivalent to George). For people who speak Catalan, does the woman say "el noi", "només", "l'home" or something else? I don't quite understand what it says between "dóna-li que" and "vol".

Beeing from the nothern french part of catalunya, I'm also very happy to finally see Xiaoma in Barcelona, Cheers to my southern brothers ! Sorry to not answer in catala, i'm too bad x)

Totalment d'acord

Bueno, hablar catalan muy entre comillas, porque dice frases sueltas y mezclandolas con castellano XD

They were just busting on one another

seems like they were old friends trash talking each other for a laugh. that's the impression I got

@@chrismcdaniel6035 yeah, very common with market sellers here.

@@chrismcdaniel6035 An you're 100% right 😅 We joke like that in Catalonia 😅

​@@chrismcdaniel6035Yes this is very common behavior in Spain

They speak Spanish, they don't need to speak Catalan, as it's not an international language.

@@jsolloso When you move to another place, it is expected to learn the local language to show respect.

@@compashinpei it's Spain, the local language is Spanish.

The NATIONAL language is spanish, but the LOCAL language is Catalan. I'm Scottish and any American who learns Scots is getting many free drinks from me as opposed to the guy who just learns English. The local culture is valued and treasured​@@jsolloso

@@jsolloso Actually Barcelona is in Catalonia. And in Catalonia there are two official languages; Catalan and Spanish. Of course if you speak Spanish to us instead of Catalan we will understand you and talk back in Spanish without problems. Otherwise, if you pretend to move here and get into our culture, you will find out a barrier due to the Catalan culture is strictly attached to our language.

Once it looks like you are actually trying to learn about their culture and understand a bit more than just what's on the guides people see you as an ally. But tourists tend to have a rly bad rep, especially in Barcelona since the housing market has been kinda fucked partially by the Airbnb type homes and those are mostly for tourists.

@@cadid3874 Exactly, but the ones to blame the most should be the owners of those houses that put them in Airbnb. The greedy people who want to make easy money. There's plenty in Mallorca too, people that has inherited a house and put that automatically in airbnb. I would ban or tax with 200% those houses and we would see the end of this situation.

Vota al Puigdemont!! ;)

@@Comycboy06hahaha

I am from England uk and went on holiday to Spainish island majorca last week i saw your country andorra while in the sky on the plane and also saw Barcelona👍 football club i support since 2015 when i was a kid was Barcelona so my dream is to visit Barcelona one day Catalan culture looks so interesting i understand alot of castilian but i only just started this week trying to learn Catalan its a bit difficult but ill try my best i guess and i noticed Spanish people are just much friendlier then the grumpy English people

do andorrans speak catalan too?

@@kingjojojo1 Yes, it's Andorra's official language ! 😊😊

@@kingjojojo1 it is the only official language in Andorra

@@MarcelRecasens oh interesting

Que se pierda, igual que se perdió el aragones

Visca Catalunya!🎉

I la CV també, no? 😁

Visca Catalunya!

I was in majorca spain 2 weeks ago on holiday the most spoken language was definitely Catalan but also German

@@Leojw10 yeah tourism is becoming a problem

@@Leojw10 It's Catalan but a really different than ours in Catalonia. It's quite hard for us to understand depending on how hard their accent is, and It changes depending on the island 😅

@@perrymanso6841 not true. I'm a Catalan and I don't have any problem with any native accent.

@@Enric. Everyone's experience is different, so you can't just use your own personal experience as proof if something is true or not. Now I'm not saying whether or not your claim is valid or not, as I'm personally not an expert on the subject in the slightest...But when you make a claim like you did, that you can't entirely rely on something so subjective as anecdotal evidence. It should always be accompanied by actual tested and verifiable evidence if you want your claims to be taken seriously. Otherwise the whole argument is rendered moot and becomes completely pointless.

So good? Oh cmon. The effort is appreciated, but his catalan was clunky af.

​@@ambeatzZz better than many people living there for decades

@@Victor-rv1cq oh for sure. But that doesn’t make it “so good”. Just “better than many people living there for decades”.

What

I’m Spanish and I don’t get the “Spanish hand insults” could you elaborate? 😂😂😂

I have been told this my whole life when Im outside of Spain, that I am very agressive and gentle at the same time. What is it that we have different? I cannot notice the spanish from tthe video behaving "aggresiveley". Thanks!!!

Damn this is putting words on the feeling I had leaving Barcelona

i didn't pick up on the "aggressiveness" of the people what did you mean by this?

@@josepartida1711 for one, some old dude came up mid-convo with the security guard to call the seller a bad man lol.

@@TheNosnets ok but I think they knew each other and that’s how they joke around

I noticed it too. Trying to lose some weight myself. I hope I stay on track.

@@CrossEyedLion85it can be done and you will do great!

Xiaoma made a video about it! 😁

I was thinking the same thing,hes lost loads of weight 😊

I lost 40kg in a year. Don't stress it too much, don't push yourself so hard that you feel miserable about it. I tried to cut out everything with high sugar and carb content, and I started going on hikes up the local hills. It's a good workout and the views, smells and sounds of the local nature is a good reward. Good luck, you can do it!​@@CrossEyedLion85

tbh is not really a big deal the fact of knowing Spanish anywhyere in Spain.. is a bit like going to England, speak english and expect the people to be amazed by it.. 😅

They are over-emphasizing the problem. Better safe than sorry, but if they make it seem like everyone who goes there is going to run into issues, it's nothing like that

@@LMW87MMA how do you know she was over emphasizing? I take it she's speaking from personal experience. I wound take a local at their word. By the way, I love Portugal. Planning to move there soon.

​@delt19 I'm a local and she is definitely over emphasizing it. I have never been robbed in almost 30 years living there. But yes they target more some areas and tourists but still if you are a bit careful as you should be in any big city, you will be ok.

​@@LMW87MMAit's out of kindness they don't want a clueless tourist to get robbed. The fact that he was walking around and kept his backpack on his back the whole time makes him a bit of a target.

@@Urhekdsu I agree they are going over the top. I am English but I have lived in Barcelona for years. I am always around the centre, including at night. You do have to be a bit cautious but I have never been robbed once.

There's *plenty* of germans living in Mallorca since many decades that don't speak a word of mallorquín, so as a Mallorquí I appreciate anyone who at least tries to learn it. Btw, If I was rulling the island I would put a test for all foreigners that want to buy property here, that test will be a language test, spanish and català and if they fail to pass the test they will have to pay extra taxes, like 20 or 30% more than the rest.

Catalan from France though....

​@@Svnfoldread the comment again. They mean Ari's pronunciation..

@@lsche35 yeah I figured but what I'm saying is Catalan from Roussillon sounds different

hahaha

that's just wierd

People are very hug-friendly there so more prophetic than weird ;)

com és que et fa cringe parla en català?

@@ignasifont8041 Bueno no es algo mio, la inmesa mayoria de gente se siente incomoda cuando intenta hablar lenguas que no esta acostumbrada a hablar. No tiene sentido pero le pasa a mucha gente. S2!

Unlike the typical American tourist he is also very respectful and quiet.

Los mohas

I'm German and I've been to Barcelona, Palma and Valencia as a tourist (never lived there tho) and.. Well, la veritat és que a tots aquests llocs sempre parlava català amb la gent perquè és la llengua pròpia dels països catalans i cada turista hauria de saber al menys 3 paraules: 'bon dia', 'gràcies' i 'adéu' (jo sé més xquè l'estic aprenent 😅). És trist que alguns turistes ni saben que existeix el català... Quin horror. Salutacions des d'Alemanya!! Una gran abraçada 🫂🫂🫂

The toughest parts of both of the languages lol

occitan*

@@isabelle5089 Occitan-Catalan are just like Portuguese-Galician, I don't know if there's a need to correct it like that.

I thought so! I’ve been learning Spanish with language transfer and have noticed that.

give an example please..

It's Crema Catalana. Créme is french, not catalan

It's Crema Catalana, not créme. Créme is in french

The first references to the recipe of the crema catalana date from the midle age, XIV century. Quite older than the French crême brulée.

@@jordif7310 Thank you, I'm damaged by tourist menues abroad, they always write the French name.

@@octaviduartediez5547 damn, I had no idea how old it was and that it predated brulèe!

Who doing it?

@@georgemulford2910who do you think? The people from Barcelona.

@@JuanCollins69 the indigenous Spaniards are robbing from other Spainiards?

I was there for a week and had zero issues. Like they said, just keep your stuff zipped up in a bag at the front where you have an eye on it. I travelled on crowded trams and in tourist hotspots and everything was fine. That doesn't mean that there isn't a pickpocket issue, but for the average visitor, it's totally safe

Keep your senses about you and nothing will ever happen to you, guaranteed. Pickpockets there target people that are visibly 'absent', or a bit clueless / careless. I remember when I lived there even stopping a guy pickpocking another guy right in front of me. He was incredibly quick and only because I just happened to be in the exact perfect spot and distance to see it happen was I able to stop it. Of course, the guy that almost got pick-pocketed looked vulnerable.

I think you could be on to something 😅

The way it was translated led me to believe she had been there before! Interesting.

The guy who answered you in the bookstore was extremely rude. Having a strong sense of culture and acting like a jacka** are 2 very different things.

@@sottovoce4626 I mean, you could be right, but also if you think about it in this video Xiaoma was speaking in catalan and some people were just responding in Spanish and this is actually far more common than the situation described above. Actually it was also kinda annoying seeing how they would reply in spanish and not Catalan, and that is because as Catalans we are too used to change to spanish when we see someone with problems speaking Catalan. I know Spaniards that want to practice Catalan but they find it impossible just because people like you say it is rude. No, It is the only way to learn a language! Obviously if you are asked politely to change the language you should switch (but that is common sense).

@@goldsteinresist You're talking about a completely different situation, in which someone appears to be struggling speaking in Catalan and others reply in Spanish (in some cases maybe they aren't Catalonian and don't speak it either). The example I replied to was way different...that is someone who replies to Spanish in Catalan when you darn well know that they can speak Spanish. That's rude (no doubt about it).

​@@sottovoce4626 It's not necessarily rude, is just what you do to preserve your language. Many people live in Catalonia expecting to speak only English or Spanish, and get upset if you talk in your own language. How are we supposed to preserve Catalan? By not speaking it? Would you say that to a Frenchman, English or German? I agree it depends a lot with the situation though, I don't mind translating. But in so little words you can not know if the person is a tourist, an expat who's been living in Catalonia for years, if he's is trying to learn or not...

@@sottovoce4626​​⁠​⁠​⁠You would never say all of this if a customer spoke in Catalan and the shop keeper answered in Spanish. You would find it perfectly natural.

That's like pretty much every big city, especially in the tourist areas...

The islands did get ringed on the map in the video, although that line went straight through Valencia... besides don't they say they speak Valencian :)

@@mikiex you have never been to Lleida, Vinaros or Tarbena have you?

And Andorra! And small parts of Italy and France 😊

​@@mikiexthey call valencian to catalan language, thats all

Is it gypsies or is that in eastern europe?

@@PokerJeezusthat’s Eastern Europe

Every time I go to another country (or honestly, even another state), people are always so quick to tell me it’s not safe and to watch out. In my head I’m like, “You have no idea where I’m from, though,” but out loud I thank them for letting me know. I think Ari was having that same thought.

@@PokerJeezus I think it’s all types of people, they can be very good at it too and you won’t notice your things are gone till it’s too late.

@@YellaBellaReno The thing is the majority of them are not muggers, so you wouldn't fucking know until your things are already gone because they're freaking good.

I mean to say "man", not "men", sorry

If you live in Catalonia, you should definitely learn it, just as you're expected to learn German in Germany, French in France or English in England. Catalan is the native language of Catalonia. Spanish is also official, but it's not truly "native" if you know what I mean.

@@flutterlump I get what you're saying but your comparison mixes nations and regions though. Following consistent logic one would be expected to to learn Spanish in Spain. Otherwise you need to start throwing in languages like Frisian and Basque

@@hockysa It does not matter if Catalonia is a region, a city, or an independent state. Catalonia has its own constitution and its own laws, which stipulate that Catalan is the official language, alongside Spanish. In Catalonia, the Catalan language is just as official as French is in France, or Italian in Italy. It is the ONLY language used as a language of instruction in all public schools (Spanish is taught on the side), many workplaces require you to know Catalan, the languages is extensively used in the media, in the government, and in everyday life. There is absolutely zero difference to actual countries when it comes to the official language and Catalonia being a "region" does not make Catalan any less important. Regions can 100% have their own official language like entire countries do, especially if they have their own government like Catalonia does. If you move to Catalonia and you plan to stay, learn at least some Catalan. It is for your own good, the good of the people around you and it's key to integrating into society. One of the first thing one should learn when moving to Spain is that the "one nation, one language" idea simply does not apply here. Trust me, Catalans do not like to welcome people who move to Catalonia and not even bother to integrate. Ask any Catalan, and they will highly recommend you to learn it. Yes, Spanish can get you very far, but if you don't learn the local language, you will never be fully able to take part in society, you'll never be able to truly follow up on the local news/media like TV/Radio, you'll never be able to understand important announcements when using public transit (yes they're in Catalan only), or even the labels under the items on the supermarket shelves (unless you read the ingredients), let alone signs in Catalan (many of which have no Spanish translation). Just learn Catalan. It won't hurt.

The reality is the opposite. Despite the harsh repression, there used to be many more Catalan speakers (they spoke Catalan at home). In 1900, 99% of the population spoke Catalan. In 1990, it was over 50%. In 2024 it is less than 35%, and less than 20% among young people. The main reason is that Catalans do not have children (one of the lowest birth rates in the world) and immigrants do not speak Catalan.

it's exactly the opposite. Old people speak Catalan, young ones don't. Simply because old people are often local (half of them), and 80% of young people are immigrant (first or second generation)

Young catalans are more literate on catalan, but they use it less than old people (mostly in metropolitan areas of Barcelona and Tarragona, where more than half of the population of Catalonia live). And then there are the Valencian Country and Balearic Islands (and North Catalonia and Alguer) where the situation is even worse

We call them "àvies" or "padrines" not "abuelas". Show some respect.

​@@jesucritter1295 How am I being disrespectful? Abuela is Spanish is It not? If someone messes up English I'm not going to assume they're being disrespectful.

if your ancestors are from Barcelona, they didn't speak Spanish, but Catalan

@@Enric. yes I thought so! However I doubt they passed the language down, since I'm from the Philippines and the Spanish people who came to the islands would've spoken in Spanish rather than their respective native language (If it wasn't Spanish)

Try to come in December, January or February, if you can, so you can taste calçots, they're amazing!! 🤤🤤

El problema és que als Països Catalans els catalanoparlants ja som una minoria i cada cop costa més trobar gent que parli català, sobretot a les zones turístiques.