If you’ve come this far, I imagine it’s because you want to take another step towards integration in the city of Girona, put English aside for a while and get to know (understand and speak) the languages that make up the city.
However, you are not sure whether to start first with Catalan or with Spanish (Castilian). I’ll warn you right off the bat that this is not an easy decision and that giving it some time for reflection makes sense.
Beyond the usual list of considerations, which you may have already discussed with a local friend or family member, I would like to offer you some further thoughts to help you decide which language best suits your purposes.
Taking into account the effort, perseverance, commitment and enthusiasm needed to learn a new language, you might want to meditate a little on the following questions and think about which ones best reflect your current situation.
I hope that this reflection exercise will help you to choose the option that suits you best:
• Have you thought about making Girona your home?
• Do you have young children to take to school?
• Would you like to have an active and participatory cultural life?
• The people you normally interact with… what language do they normally use?
• Do you want to get rid of the tourist label?
• Do you intend to travel or live in another Spanish-speaking place?
• Do you want the effort, perseverance, commitment and enthusiasm you put into learning a language to be used to speak with millions of other people in the world?
• Do you find it difficult to learn languages?
• Would you like to study at university?
• Do you want to work in the city of Girona?
• Have you thought about starting a business in Girona?
I have been teaching Spanish & Catalan to people like you for over twenty years.
My view is that when you feel you’ve begun to be fluent in one language,
that’s the time to start studying the other.
For me, living in a land where people can communicate in two languages is fortunate.