Thread: Panama Languages

Spanish , the official language of Panama, is spoken by over 90% of the people. But English? How many people speak English? I fear that English is spoken by just Panamanian professionals and businesspeople and not by normal people (such as in a supermarket). is it true?

No, not true. Panamanians from all walks of life speak English. Old and young, rich and poor. Not everyone of course, but you never know who you will bump into that does.

I am interested to know - how much Spanish do you need to get by - buying grocery, sending kids to school, etc.
Of course, I would really like to go where locals go - local open air markets (as opposed to supermarkets), streetside foodstalls, etc.
I have about 5 months before the move. I am starting from scratch, 2 days ago on LiveMocha! Hope I'll be able to make it.

You'll be fine. The first time I was stationed in Panama my 1'st wife and I knew little to no Spanish at all. We went into the interior almost every other weekend and we were always able to communicate basic info every place we stopped. There were/are a lot of locals that have a basic knowledge of English. You need to at least try to speak Spanish every chance you get. Even if your Spanish is terrible (like ours was) everyone will appreciate the effort!

I found that english was not widely spoken. I had read everywhere that it was prior to my arrival. Front desk at hotel, casino, eating out same thing. If they knew english they chose not to use it. The exceptions were the Hotel Nacionel in David and places in Boquete. My spanish is enough to get by on so I did OK. I am refreshing up on it in advance for this trip. I understand I am in their country and that it is incumbent upon me to learn their languages. It would be nice to have a latin travel companion that could communicate and get you the locals price instead of the gringo price. I want to visit Bocas this trip but don't know how that community is doing after all the Holbert and Reese horror. anyone have any tips on unsafe towns or neighborhoods that I should avoid ? Thanks for sharing all your experiences.