Greeting other road bikers in Spain

[glasgowcyclist]

My first language is Galician, so I am actually more comfortable with Portuguese than Spanish.

Have you watched this YouTube channel?


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2syCCpeBBbs


It was set up to compare and discuss the various Romance languages and they reference Galician, Catalan, Aragonese, Asturian etc. experimenting with mutual intelligibilty between them. A really interesting channel, so even though I don't know Portuguese, French or Spanish I can get the context from following the Italian speaker. (The regular line up comprises one speaker each of Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese and sometimes the French speaker will drop out to be replaced by a guest who will be from one of the many other Romance languages. Each person speaks their own language.)

 

[Chislenko]

I live in Worcester, of all places, so not that far from Wales, and the landscape going into Herefordshire is very much like in Galicia.

We had a week in Worcester first week of December. Did the cathedral, Commandary, River walk, little museum etc and plenty of pubs.

Thoroughly nice time was had.

 

[Grant Fondo]

buenas noches from a very chilly North West England, brrrrr.
Was in Alicante in November, bloody gorgeous

 

[C R]

Have you watched this YouTube channel?


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2syCCpeBBbs


It was set up to compare and discuss the various Romance languages and they reference Galician, Catalan, Aragonese, Asturian etc. experimenting with mutual intelligibilty between them. A really interesting channel, so even though I don't know Portuguese, French or Spanish I can get the context from following the Italian speaker. (The regular line up comprises one speaker each of Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese and sometimes the French speaker will drop out to be replaced by a guest who will be from one of the many other Romance languages. Each person speaks their own language.)

Interesting, I didn't know about this channel, it agrees with my perception that they are mostly mutually intelligible. Most of the difficulties with the intelligibility of the spoken language come from pronunciation. French, and to some degree Portuguese pronunciation is very different from the rest. A case in point is the word for burp in that video. The r in Portuguese is pronounced as a guttural sound, like in French, whereas in the other languages it is rolled, so it takes some effort. A given written text would be mostly identical in Galician and Portuguese, but if you hear it in both languages, it would sound significantly different. I have trouble understanding people from southern Portugal because of this, but people from the north speak with a pronunciation much like ours.

 

[C R]

We had a week in Worcester first week of December. Did the cathedral, Commandary, River walk, little museum etc and plenty of pubs.

Thoroughly nice time was had.

Worcester is nice and quiet. A bit like Santiago, old Cathedral city with lots of history. I quite like it here.

 

[Grant Fondo]

Worcester is nice and quiet. A bit like Santiago, old Cathedral city with lots of history. I quite like it here.

Funnily enough I have been to Sant de Comp cathedral but not seen Worcesters fine example. Hope to remedy that one day.

 

[ColinJ]

[Pedant]Ola is a wave, as in the sea. Hola (the h is mute) is a wave as in hello[/Pedant]

Definitely don't make my mistake, which was to call out 'Alo' - that got me some very strange looks!

 

[C R]

Definitely don't make my mistake, which was to call out 'Alo' - that got me some very strange looks!

I was just chatting to one of my friends back in Galicia, who is quite into cycling, he reckons that there are more cyclists that don't greet. As to the greeting, a wave, maybe accompanied by an olá from the ones that bother.

 

[Dayvo]

Nothing wrong with it at all, I do that too.

It's just the Spanish seem a tad more friendly that that (on the whole)

If you choose to join in, that's fine, if not, it's unlikely you're going to get taken away and shot,.

No- one expected the Spanish inquisition!

 

[mudsticks]

No- one expected the Spanish inquisition!

I was just chatting to one of my friends back in Galicia, who is quite into cycling, he reckons that there are more cyclists that don't greet. As to the greeting, a wave, maybe accompanied by an olá from the ones that bother.

They must all have been having a very cheery moment when I was there then..
No end of greetings.

I even had one very enthusiastic chap almost run me off the road in his eagerness to tell me all about a short cut I could, or even should be taking through town.

He seemed almost reluctant to allow me to take the longer yet more scenic route by the sea..

I defied him.. But in a very polite British way of course

 

[C R]

They must all have been having a very cheery moment when I was there then..
No end of greetings.

I even had one very enthusiastic chap almost run me off the road in his eagerness to tell me all about a short cut I could, or even should be taking through town.

He seemed almost reluctant to allow me to take the longer yet more scenic route by the sea..

I defied him.. But in a very polite British way of course

I guess that someone with a loaded touring bike is more likely to attract interest than a run of the mill mamil.

 

[mudsticks]

I guess that someone with a loaded touring bike is more likely to attract interest than a run of the mill mamil.

I guess.

And the absence of manliness, and a scarcity of lycra perhaps, too ??

 

[Grant Fondo]

I was just chatting to one of my friends back in Galicia, who is quite into cycling, he reckons that there are more cyclists that don't greet. As to the greeting, a wave, maybe accompanied by an olá from the ones that bother.

Depends who it is. I thought most tourers/racers tended to say hello or nod at least. The old guys with half an allotment on their bikes, not so much.
I found Asturias and Galicia pretty friendly, San Sebastian region, not so much

 

[mudsticks]

Depends who it is. I thought most tourers/racers tended to say hello or nod at least. The old guys with half an allotment on their bikes, not so much.
I found Asturias and Galicia pretty friendly, San Sebastian region, not so much

Oh you're reminding me of the somewhat elderly, diminutive pepperpot peoples who often seemed to be pushing barrows of produce along the back roads in Galicia.

Long buttoned up coats, tall wellies, bucket hats, and weatherbeaten faces.


But still cheery.