Spanish in the Bay Islands

[bikefox]

I looking for a place to dive and practice Spanish. I know they speak Spanish in Honduras but I have read the Bay Islands each have their own unique culture. I'm not looking for a class or anything like that, just wanting to have some conversation. Do they speak much Spanish on the Islands?

 

[Scuba-Bill]

You will find plenty of opportunity to practice your spanish. Also, with the variety of travelers to the island I was able to practice some German and Italian. Go to the Twisted Toucan, it has a good mix of people.

Enjoy - Roatan is a great place.

 

[hopefulist]

I'm sure you can find people to speak Spanish, but most people speak English, so it's not an immersion environment like other parts of Honduras would be (and Copán Ruinas was for me). In case you want some one-on-one tutoring while you're there, the Central American Spanish School has bases on Utila and Roatán. I'm heading to Honduras again next summer and will be studying with the school in LaCeiba and on Utila (and also visiting Roatán) - I'd like to hear more about your experience there with Spanish practice if you go. Happy trails...

 

[bikefox]

I'm sure you can find people to speak Spanish, but most people speak English, so it's not an immersion environment like other parts of Honduras would be (and Copán Ruinas was for me). In case you want some one-on-one tutoring while you're there, the Central American Spanish School has bases on Utila and Roatán. I'm heading to Honduras again next summer and will be studying with the school in LaCeiba and on Utila (and also visiting Roatán) - I'd like to hear more about your experience there with Spanish practice if you go. Happy trails...

I did a month long class in Costa Rica this summer and loved it. The only problem was class time cut into my diving. I think next summer I will skip the class, hang with the locals and dive, dive, dive. I found my time speaking with taxi drivers, hotel staff and other locals more valuable than the class anyway. Thanks for the info!!

 

[mjnansen]

You will find plenty of places to use Spanish on Roatan. The official language of Honduras is Spanish, and all legal documents are written in spanish, however Roatan used to be an English speaking island, with very little Spanish due to it's having been under British influence- many people have English names, and the islander culture is unique. Now you will find that there are a lot of Spanish speaking Hondurans from the mainland who took the inexpensive ferry over to find work on the island- and have made it their home. Taxi drivers are usually from this group. Spanish is being heard more and more on the island these days, and in the future Roatan may evolve into a Spanish speaking island.
If you stay at a resort, you probably won't get much of a chance to use Spanish, if you stay in West End you can practice all kinds of languages, and the rest of the island uses Spanish or English (the east end of the island- past French Harbour is still mostly English or the local dialect which doesn't sound like English (unless slowed down enough)but it is, West of French Harbour is Mt Pleasant, also known as Spanishtown by the islanders, where it is mostly mainlanders who speak Spanish. The rest of the island is pretty mixed, and it is pretty easy to get some SPanish practice in! Good luck and have fun!

 

[Doc]

You may speak Spanish to them, guys like the dive crew and all, they might humor you by joking about with you.

Trust me, if you hear them talking in Spanish to anyone except you, you just are not going to understand them.

They will certainly engage you in Spanish, but when y'all are done- they'll go back to speaking normally!

Have fun with it!

"Yo! Soy day loss Estee dose Unni dose, Jolla ustuds!

Vamoose ah la Club Campestre dondy esta la playa. Tango un lapiz, mi lapiz es armadillo.

Dondy esta la biblioteca, Jaime?"

 

[shadowdiver]

There is Spanish spoken on all of the islands, but I think you will find that more so on Roatan than the others, whilst English is the first language of the islanders, Spanish is the language required for all legal and official matters. Most of the islanders are very proud of their heritage, prefer to speak English and will usually only speak Spanish if they have to. You are unlikely to be speaking much Spanish staying at the big resorts. There is a really good Spanish school close to West End, where the teachers will actually come to your accomodation and practise/teach Spanish. contact Sylvia Ortez at cass-roatan@ca-spanish.com for pricing and details.