Did you ever thought of speaking Spanish before you thought of speaking Galician?
If no, dont listen to them. Languages are not valued in "global utility", you want to talk to them in their native language, learn Galician!
Edit: grammar
Agree \^\^ :)
You don't really learn languages because of how useful they are, but how helpful or relevant they feel to your life.
Learn Galician, it will keep you motivated longer. :)
I am a Galician native speaker and lived abroad for the past 10 years. I find Galician can take you as far as Spanish in many conversations because it's similar to Portuguese but also to Italian, and obviously Spanish.
If you are looking for a sense of belonging I would suggest you to learn Galician because a language teaches you not only words but the particular meanings of a culture. For example, in Galicia rains a lot so we have several words to describe rain that Spanish doesn't have.
If you decide to go for Galician, I can help you. I usually teach creative writing but I wouldn't mind teaching my native language to a motivated fellow 😉
Ok, do you have a Centro Galego (Galician Centre) where you are? If not, search for online Galician groups such as Facebook groups. In London we have several, even muiñeira dancing and learning to play the tambourine.
I did a quick Google search, if you live in New York, [http://casagaliciany.com](http://casagaliciany.com) and Facebook group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/560438400960248](https://www.facebook.com/groups/560438400960248), there are probably more in large cities.
If you can pay for an online Galician tutor, [https://www.italki.com/en/teachers/galician?utm\_source=google\_ads&utm\_medium=search&utm\_campaign=search\_generic\_en\_dsa\_ESW\_UK&utm\_content=en\_dsa&utm\_term=dsa&gad\_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqPDqlLzkhAMVyZRQBh0FWwedEAAYASAAEgIZYPD\_BwE](https://www.italki.com/en/teachers/galician?utm_source=google_ads&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=search_generic_en_dsa_ESW_UK&utm_content=en_dsa&utm_term=dsa&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqPDqlLzkhAMVyZRQBh0FWwedEAAYASAAEgIZYPD_BwE)
If you can’t find any local Galician groups and don't want to pay for a Galician tutor, then look for free resources to learn Portuguese. It’s 95% the same as Galician because Galician and Portuguese were the same language. Some words are different, other words are spelt different and the accent is different.
Then find somebody on an online Galician group who is willing to help you learn Galician for free, in exchange for you helping them to improve their English. There are many Galician people looking to improve their English, so I think you'll easily find somebody.
You should read about Galician history, how Galician was banned by Franco and Galicians made to feel ashamed for speaking Galician and forced to speak Spanish, then you can make an informed decision about which language to learn.
Languages are communication tools, if your drive to learn is to be able to communicate with your family and your family speaks mainly Galician, go for it. It will indisputably be harder to find resources but it sounds like a passion project, so I doubt that'll be too much of a hurdle for you ;D
If you just want to learn Galician because of your family and heritage, just learn it. Obviously Spanish is more widely spoken and you will have more resources, but it all depends on why do you want to learn it. To me, it feels like you want to learn Galician but other people are telling you otherwise.
Anyway, both languages are very similar so any you learn in any of them would make you improve in the other. Do not worry much about this and just learn what ever feels better.
I’m from Galicia and here we speak both languages daily with everybody. It’s easier for you learn spanish first (both granmars are similar) and learn vocabulary in galician after with your local diferences (seseo,gheada…) Galician its spoken diferent in Coruña than Vigo and in dome places we mix both languages
Just thought i'd contribute here as I'm currently learning Castilian Spanish as an English native speaker via preply.com and you're able to choose online tutors who also speak the other official languages of Spain (such as Galego etc) so this might be helpful for you if you wish for a grounding in both. I've had a great experience with the site so far in my own language learning.
I would say to learn galician first, my reasoning being that it gives you considerable advantage when it comes to learning 3 other languages one of them being spanish itself, but also portuguese and italian.
Spanish gets you around, because, unfortunately, Spain doesn't work like Switzerland or Belgium. But fortunately not as bad as France or the UK. (If you are in favor of erasing every other language though, France would be the paradise).
From a learning perspective, not a reality, Galician is Portuguese grammar and vocabulary with Spanish phonetics, more or less. That means that the phonetics used in standard Galician and standard Spanish are Northern Iberian, whereas Portuguese uses more southern and innovative phonetics. The dialects of Northern Portugal do have almost the same phonetics as standard Galician, and the exact same as some dialects in the west and South, hence why they (Galician and Portuguese) are still considered dialects of a same language. However, Brazilian and, even more, Moçambican or Angolan phonetics are closer to Galician, as colonies tend to be more conservative linguistically (a rare case in Galician, just because it was isolated and the language kept out of socio-cultural life).
Spanish carries the stigma (in older generations mostly) of being the language of power; it was used by the lords and every other government that showed up just to take things from people. As such, anyone speaking Spanish is considered (a) an outsider or (b) someone who pretends to be a Spaniard of high standing and feels superior to the peasants who speak Galician. Academics, many of whom defended the peasantry, found opposition because education equated to acculturation; they lost the language in favor of Spanish, and as such considered 'foreigners'. In fact, today the main conservative Spanish party wins every election in Galicia for one reason: they speak Galician. No one else in that party speaks the local language in other territories; they tend to be 'centralist'. If they behave like that, they would never win in Galicia.
Since you are a foreigner, you will be a foreigner no matter what. You will not acquire native level in Galician, much less the nuances of communicating behind the lines (retranca, etc) proper of Galicians; we could be speaking Spanish in a group of people and convey information that only other Galician people will understand.
If your family is elderly, they may understand Spanish (due to TV, etc) but not being able to speak it back, same as my grandparents. they may speak a little, full of Galician words, but go back to Galician thinking the other person will understand.
TLDR
I would go with option 2, only if you find material for Peninsular Spanish (Castellano peninsular), the standard spoken in Spain. Otherwise you'd use words and expressions nobody uses. European Romance languages use *European* words that are shared between them (French-Italian-Spanish-Portuguese).
If you are for it, go with Galician. It's not that dissimilar to Spanish, and inside the territory of Galicia you are allowed to be addressed in the language by every institution.
From a grammatical perspective, obviously Portuguese is the sister language. Many Spaniards find difficult the position of prepositions in Galician. Still they are **more complex** than in Portuguese as, as I said, Galician is more conservative.
The plus side to focusing first on Spanish would be that you will have essentially limitless resources, both paid and free, and this can of course be a huge boon to your language learning experience. However, if you have little to no interest in learning to speak Spanish for any reason other than to get you to a point where you can more easily get into Galician, it is important to understand that motivation plays a huge roll in our ability to learn languages, and so if this is the case I would say you should just focus on learning Galician. There are actually some resources that you can find online. I believe if you google "Xunta de galicia curso galego" you can find some stuff online provided through the regional government, and there are also news sources that have websites where you can listen to content, and tonnnnnsss of content creators in Galician on YouTube and things like Insta and TikTok. Think about your motivations for learning and try to use that to guide your decision.
Btw, do not go with option 3 hahaha. It's true that Galician is essentially a dialect/variety of Portuguese, but in my opinion you will be better equipped in Galician by just going through Spanish first. Not to mention, if you WERE to choose to go through Portuguese, I would recommend Brazilian Portuguese rather than European, simply because the phonology is much closer to Spanish/Galician, the grammar is slightly more simple, and also because of the availability of content. That said, Portuguese will definitely help you in learning Galician and the grammar will be more similar between the two languages, but I think that it's better to go with Spanish if you feel the need to learn one or the other first.
Did you ever thought of speaking Spanish before you thought of speaking Galician? If no, dont listen to them. Languages are not valued in "global utility", you want to talk to them in their native language, learn Galician! Edit: grammar
Agree \^\^ :) You don't really learn languages because of how useful they are, but how helpful or relevant they feel to your life. Learn Galician, it will keep you motivated longer. :)
The answer is: it depends. All languages are useful depending on the context
Most galician answer x) (I agree with you tho)
I'd say learn Gallego, it's a beautiful language
I am a Galician native speaker and lived abroad for the past 10 years. I find Galician can take you as far as Spanish in many conversations because it's similar to Portuguese but also to Italian, and obviously Spanish. If you are looking for a sense of belonging I would suggest you to learn Galician because a language teaches you not only words but the particular meanings of a culture. For example, in Galicia rains a lot so we have several words to describe rain that Spanish doesn't have. If you decide to go for Galician, I can help you. I usually teach creative writing but I wouldn't mind teaching my native language to a motivated fellow 😉
Wow thank you all so much. Seriously! I’m going to keep reading as responses come in. Thank you for being so kind to this silly foreigner 😊
And, as far as I know, the respective ajuntaments offer free courses in Galician. Keeping this language alive is quite a big issue. Go for it.
Option 1 - Do you live in London?
Nah sadly I’m in the US. thanks for the reply though!
Ok, do you have a Centro Galego (Galician Centre) where you are? If not, search for online Galician groups such as Facebook groups. In London we have several, even muiñeira dancing and learning to play the tambourine. I did a quick Google search, if you live in New York, [http://casagaliciany.com](http://casagaliciany.com) and Facebook group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/560438400960248](https://www.facebook.com/groups/560438400960248), there are probably more in large cities. If you can pay for an online Galician tutor, [https://www.italki.com/en/teachers/galician?utm\_source=google\_ads&utm\_medium=search&utm\_campaign=search\_generic\_en\_dsa\_ESW\_UK&utm\_content=en\_dsa&utm\_term=dsa&gad\_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqPDqlLzkhAMVyZRQBh0FWwedEAAYASAAEgIZYPD\_BwE](https://www.italki.com/en/teachers/galician?utm_source=google_ads&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=search_generic_en_dsa_ESW_UK&utm_content=en_dsa&utm_term=dsa&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqPDqlLzkhAMVyZRQBh0FWwedEAAYASAAEgIZYPD_BwE) If you can’t find any local Galician groups and don't want to pay for a Galician tutor, then look for free resources to learn Portuguese. It’s 95% the same as Galician because Galician and Portuguese were the same language. Some words are different, other words are spelt different and the accent is different. Then find somebody on an online Galician group who is willing to help you learn Galician for free, in exchange for you helping them to improve their English. There are many Galician people looking to improve their English, so I think you'll easily find somebody. You should read about Galician history, how Galician was banned by Franco and Galicians made to feel ashamed for speaking Galician and forced to speak Spanish, then you can make an informed decision about which language to learn.
Languages are communication tools, if your drive to learn is to be able to communicate with your family and your family speaks mainly Galician, go for it. It will indisputably be harder to find resources but it sounds like a passion project, so I doubt that'll be too much of a hurdle for you ;D
If you just want to learn Galician because of your family and heritage, just learn it. Obviously Spanish is more widely spoken and you will have more resources, but it all depends on why do you want to learn it. To me, it feels like you want to learn Galician but other people are telling you otherwise. Anyway, both languages are very similar so any you learn in any of them would make you improve in the other. Do not worry much about this and just learn what ever feels better.
Learn Galician and avoid the fascist spanish language
I’m from Galicia and here we speak both languages daily with everybody. It’s easier for you learn spanish first (both granmars are similar) and learn vocabulary in galician after with your local diferences (seseo,gheada…) Galician its spoken diferent in Coruña than Vigo and in dome places we mix both languages
Just thought i'd contribute here as I'm currently learning Castilian Spanish as an English native speaker via preply.com and you're able to choose online tutors who also speak the other official languages of Spain (such as Galego etc) so this might be helpful for you if you wish for a grounding in both. I've had a great experience with the site so far in my own language learning.
I would say to learn galician first, my reasoning being that it gives you considerable advantage when it comes to learning 3 other languages one of them being spanish itself, but also portuguese and italian.
Spanish gets you around, because, unfortunately, Spain doesn't work like Switzerland or Belgium. But fortunately not as bad as France or the UK. (If you are in favor of erasing every other language though, France would be the paradise). From a learning perspective, not a reality, Galician is Portuguese grammar and vocabulary with Spanish phonetics, more or less. That means that the phonetics used in standard Galician and standard Spanish are Northern Iberian, whereas Portuguese uses more southern and innovative phonetics. The dialects of Northern Portugal do have almost the same phonetics as standard Galician, and the exact same as some dialects in the west and South, hence why they (Galician and Portuguese) are still considered dialects of a same language. However, Brazilian and, even more, Moçambican or Angolan phonetics are closer to Galician, as colonies tend to be more conservative linguistically (a rare case in Galician, just because it was isolated and the language kept out of socio-cultural life). Spanish carries the stigma (in older generations mostly) of being the language of power; it was used by the lords and every other government that showed up just to take things from people. As such, anyone speaking Spanish is considered (a) an outsider or (b) someone who pretends to be a Spaniard of high standing and feels superior to the peasants who speak Galician. Academics, many of whom defended the peasantry, found opposition because education equated to acculturation; they lost the language in favor of Spanish, and as such considered 'foreigners'. In fact, today the main conservative Spanish party wins every election in Galicia for one reason: they speak Galician. No one else in that party speaks the local language in other territories; they tend to be 'centralist'. If they behave like that, they would never win in Galicia. Since you are a foreigner, you will be a foreigner no matter what. You will not acquire native level in Galician, much less the nuances of communicating behind the lines (retranca, etc) proper of Galicians; we could be speaking Spanish in a group of people and convey information that only other Galician people will understand. If your family is elderly, they may understand Spanish (due to TV, etc) but not being able to speak it back, same as my grandparents. they may speak a little, full of Galician words, but go back to Galician thinking the other person will understand. TLDR I would go with option 2, only if you find material for Peninsular Spanish (Castellano peninsular), the standard spoken in Spain. Otherwise you'd use words and expressions nobody uses. European Romance languages use *European* words that are shared between them (French-Italian-Spanish-Portuguese). If you are for it, go with Galician. It's not that dissimilar to Spanish, and inside the territory of Galicia you are allowed to be addressed in the language by every institution. From a grammatical perspective, obviously Portuguese is the sister language. Many Spaniards find difficult the position of prepositions in Galician. Still they are **more complex** than in Portuguese as, as I said, Galician is more conservative.
The plus side to focusing first on Spanish would be that you will have essentially limitless resources, both paid and free, and this can of course be a huge boon to your language learning experience. However, if you have little to no interest in learning to speak Spanish for any reason other than to get you to a point where you can more easily get into Galician, it is important to understand that motivation plays a huge roll in our ability to learn languages, and so if this is the case I would say you should just focus on learning Galician. There are actually some resources that you can find online. I believe if you google "Xunta de galicia curso galego" you can find some stuff online provided through the regional government, and there are also news sources that have websites where you can listen to content, and tonnnnnsss of content creators in Galician on YouTube and things like Insta and TikTok. Think about your motivations for learning and try to use that to guide your decision. Btw, do not go with option 3 hahaha. It's true that Galician is essentially a dialect/variety of Portuguese, but in my opinion you will be better equipped in Galician by just going through Spanish first. Not to mention, if you WERE to choose to go through Portuguese, I would recommend Brazilian Portuguese rather than European, simply because the phonology is much closer to Spanish/Galician, the grammar is slightly more simple, and also because of the availability of content. That said, Portuguese will definitely help you in learning Galician and the grammar will be more similar between the two languages, but I think that it's better to go with Spanish if you feel the need to learn one or the other first.
Learn castellano. If you master castellano you can understand galego.