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As mentioned above, the Comunidades are not only administrative districts; many of the regions have their own culture, language and some even are reluctant about considering themselves as a part of Spain. For example the dominating language in [[Catalonia]] is Catalan, so be aware of that. Nevertheless, everyone speaks ''castellano'' (Spanish).
Aside from Spanish, other recongised recognised spoken languages are Galician, Basque, Catalan, Aranese, Astur-leonese and Aragonese. Only the first three are legally oficial and have a considerable number of speakers. But don't panic! Everybody speaks perfect Spanish and won't feel unconfortable uncomfortable talking to you. Younger Spaniards will easily understand you in English as well. Obviously big co-oficial official languages like Basque, Catalan and Galician are widely used in their respective regions, and learning a handful of words or at least showing your interest in local languages may make the driver loosen up.
Also, you will find that some Catalan, Basque and Galician cities can appear in signs and maps with two names: one in its local language form and the other in Spanish. For instance: Donostia (in Basque) is also known as San Sebastián (in Spanish), Lleida (in Catalan) is Lérida (in Spanish), Rianxo (in Galician) is Rianjo (in Spanish) etc. Whatever your map says and whichever language you are speaking —even if you are speaking in Spanish— , hitchwiki encourages you to use the local language form better than the Spanish one if possible, also in your sign, in order to not to mess with politics. Spaniards all across Spain understand both forms.
Note: Although the signs on the road and other kinds of key information (i.e: restaurant menus) are translated into Spanish in blingual bilingual territories, you will defenetely definitely need help in small towns and non-touristy places in the Basque Country and Catalonia, especially because Basque is an isolated language that does not resemble anything you have heard before. In case of doubt, ask the locals. In Spanish ''Disculpe, ¿qué signfica..."(Excuse me, what does ... mean?)'' works fine everywhere. [[User:Mariam|Mariam]] , who does not speak Basque, walked from a small town following a sign in Basque that she thought would guide her to the next town and ended up in a reciclyng recycling plant.
=== Spanish for the Hitchhiker ===
The Spanish phrase ''¡Hola! Vas a... ?'' (Hello, are you going to... ?) with a wide smile is an excellent starting point. Remember most Spaniards actually meet the stereotype of being loud and friendly, but aren't used to see hitchhikers on the road. Therefore, you'd better be extra framiliar familiar and polite by saying things like "¡Gracias, buen viaje!" (Thank you, have a nice trip!) after your driver drops you off or when they make excuses to not pick you up (this way they will think twice the next time they bump into a hitchhiker). Check the Spanish section in the [[Western Europe phrasebook|phrasebook]] for more basic words.
In Spanish there are only five vowel sounds and, conversely to French or English, you should pronounce all the letters that you read as an independent sound. So say phonetically with a clear distinction of each sound "autopista" [ aw to 'pis ta ] (motorway), not ''ottopista'', or ''otpist'' . Other difficulties that foreigners usually face:
The letter ''Ñ'' as in ''España'' and "mañana" (''morning'' or ''tomorrow''), which is the equivalent of the Portuguese digraph ''NH'' and Catalan ''NY''. If you struggle with it just pronounce it as an ''N'' and an ''I'' like when you say "Esto[[ni]]a" — it is not the actual sound, but it will work for a tourist. The digraph "LL" as in "calle" (¨street) and "valle" (valley) is pronounced in most places as a strong "y". Therfore, you You would say "ka-yeh" and "ba-yeh". The digraph "CH" is always pronounced as in ''church'' in English.
There are other tricky sounds like the ''Z'' and ''C'', the double ''RR''... but you can get away with these brief tips pretty well. Spanish is easy!
