I would say the #2 question* people always ask me when they find out I live in Honduras is:
“So you speak Spanish then?”
And then I feel guilty and ashamed for about three seconds, because the answer is “not really”.
BUT!
I do live in Honduras…. however, I actually live off the coast of the mainland on an island called Roatan. A quick peruse of Roatan’s Wikipedia page lets you know that the local islanders of Roatan are mostly of European and Afro-Caribbean-British descent, and that the island used to be a British colony up until the late 1800s. What does this all mean?
The vast majority of islanders’ first language is ENGLISH. Not Spanish. So I can pretty much tell who is originally from the island as soon as they start speaking. If they can’t speak English, or have a Spanish accent, chances are slim that they were born here. Most islanders only learn Spanish once they get to school age and start taking Spanish at school.
So I actually have a really easy time getting around here without speaking Spanish, since most of the locals don’t speak it either. They speak English with a really lively Caribbean accent, and a patois/creole they call “island talk” or “island English” (but is linguistically known as Bay Island Creole) and is nearly incomprehensible to foreigners. I’ve been here long enough that I can understand most of it but you pretty much have to grow up here to be able to speak it properly. I love the sound of it, and when I leave here to visit other places I always find myself missing it!
The truth is though, I can speak Spanish a bit. I’m good with languages and pick them up fast. I can get myself around no problem. I can have a basic conversation, although I have the vocabulary of a three year old. I can also understand about 70% of conversations, and usually almost everything said if I know the context. I don’t need Spanish to live here, but it makes my life easier….because not everyone here is an islander! There are TONS of people who come over from the mainland looking for work and end up here on the island. Almost all the taxi drivers are Spanish speaking, and most of the construction workers, maintenance guys, cleaning ladies, etc. are Spanish. So I do use it a lot. I’m lucky that the other dive instructor where I work is from the capital city of Tegucigalpa, and she is fully bilingual but speaks Spanish with me so that I can work on it. I still have lots of people on speed dial for Spanish help if I run into trouble at the store or doctor where I can’t get what I’m trying to say across. Just yesterday I had to get my boat captain to take me to the tire place because I had a nail in the tire on my scooter. I probably could have done charades to get it across but sometimes I am just too lazy and want someone to translate for me.
The first time I was in a Spanish speaking country (Peru) I couldn’t speak one word, and NO ONE spoke English. It was alienating, humbling, and frustrating. It’s not so extreme here due to all the English speakers, but I am determined to keep up and keep learning Spanish because there’s so many places I want to travel to that I can use it.
So to anyone planning a trip to the Bay Islands – don’t worry! The islanders all speak English and you will be able to get around just fine. However, learning a few words in Spanish will help you along and is always a good idea when visiting a foreign country. I always learn how to say “hello”, “goodbye”, “please”, “thank you”, “can you help me?” and “where is the bathroom” in every language I need to when I’m traveling! I also really recommend getting a travel phrasebook – these things come in SO handy!! Don’t get suckered into using gringo lingo 🙂
My favorite that I use here and highly recommend:
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| you can buy the Lonely Planet Latin American Spanish Phrasebook & Dictionary here on Amazon, and no, this isn’t an affiliate link! i just really like this book. |
Pro Tip : For the frequent traveler, it is convenient to move office with solutions from CloudDesktoponline.com ( Cloud based Windows Desktop ) and CloudAppsportal.com ( Online SharePoint Services – share files, calendars, tasks online). These solutions are available in many languages.
Did you know that English is the first language of most Caribbean islanders? Have you ever traveled somewhere you didn’t speak the language and had an interesting situation because of it?
*The #1 question is, “but isn’t it really dangerous there?” Um, yeah. A bit. But I don’t care, I love it here and I try to use my common sense as everyone should!
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I wondered what language they spoke in Roatan. Then I wondered if you spoke spanish, if that's what language they spoke. It's funny how we all assume another language is spoken in other countries. I would have definitely assumed Spanish in Honduras. I think it sucks anyway how America doesn't really teach its children how to speak multiple languages. Which of course, I haven't been in school for a while so I hope things have changed in our school system. Are Canadians taught to speak other languages in school?
You'd be right for mainland Honduras, but Roatan and the other Bay Islands are really nothing like the mainland. They are totally Caribbean! And I agree on the monolingual America thing…so sad. In Canada we HAVE to take French for a few years during school (since it's our other official language) but after that you get to decide. I took it from the 3rd grade all the way through university but I can barely carry a conversation now 🙁
Like the others, I had no idea local Roatans spoke English.
People often ask me if I speak Norwegian and I feel really guilty that I don't but 90% of Norwegians speak great English making my motivation for language learning low.
Yep! Surprise!
I know what you mean – everyone speaking English makes it hard to practice. Norwegian sounds a little tricky to me!
I didn't know that English is their first language.
Traveling around China without speaking Chinese was difficult and we got into a lot of misunderstandings but we managed. You can always get around if you're polite, kind and patient.
Oh, I can't imagine trying to get around China… but you make a great point – a smile is universal and so are charades 🙂
Wow, who knew!? How cool. I wish I could claim this for my area of Germany because my German is terrible for being here two years…
I had no idea until I got here! I find that a lot of Germans who I've met traveling have amazing English…is it like that inside the country as well?
It's hard learning a language in a place where many people speak English. I've been struggling to learn French for three years in Montreal where everyone is bilingual. Though, I've just signed up to Duolingo to do Almost Fearless' Bilingual Summer http://kids.almostfearless.com/starting-your-bilingual-summer/ – it's a pretty fun way to better your language skills from wherever you are in the world!
Yeah, I find I learned a lot more in Peru where I was forced to do it, rather than here where I can use it if I want to, but I think most islanders prefer to speak English anyway. Looks like a fun course – bonne chance!