I love your comments!

[Xosé Manuel Alvariño]

> My language question is this: I speak Brazilian Portuguese, and some 
> Spanish, also good French. Will all that help me get along in Gallego? What 
> is Gallego, anyway?  And, how do 
> >> you keep your languages separate? 
> 
> Wow, that's a lot to tackle....

   Yeah, you should do very well. Just by speaking "Brazilian" Portuguese u  
got a 
> doctorate in "portoñol," easily understood by Spanish speakers. Matter of 
> fact, I believe Portoñol will be understood all over the peninsula, as it 
> is in Spanish speaking America.
Portuguese (from Portugal), is easier for galegos to understand than 
> Brazilian Port, because it's mais parecido. 
See, there was once a linguistic connection, Galego-Portugues, which was one 
of 
> the sources of what eventually came to be known as Spanish. There is lit in 
> G-P, Alfonso, el sabio, in his cantigas, is an ex.
Galego is a language in its own right: has its own grammar, authoctonous 
lit., et al. As far as keeping languages apart...hmm...knowing them 
help....With me it's been some of that, as well as developing  an auditory 
perception which aids me in distinguishing, for example, Portuguese, 
Portoñol, Galego &Spanish.Don't worry. Most everyone  is literate in Spanish. 
Galego was suppresed under Franco and there's still a great, great, great 
stigma in different sectors about speaking it (my friend José Luis, from El 
Ferrol, has told me that he doesn't want to "galleguizar" his name (to 
"Xosé") because he doesn't want to upset his parents!). The Galego 
monolingual speakers live mostly in the countryside (hmm...which we may find 
in the Camino!). I don't know folks..Yes, knowing the languages of the 
countries through which we travel definitely help and there's no discussion 
there. On the other hand...when you don't know the language, folks find ways 
in which to communicate. And there's originality and fun in that. I do not 
speak one word of Chinese. Yet, when I spent a couple of months there 
sometime ago, I got by, no probs. 

It's "the language of the heart," right, the one that matters.

  But listen,  what do I know? 

  Xosé Manuel




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