Albuquerque poses the usual urban safety issues, with the areas around the University of New Mexico and Kirtland Air Force Base and the southwestern part of town having relatively high crime rates. Most crime in these areas involves property rather than violence, and is of less concern to the visitor than to residents. Violent crime is generally not an unusual problem in the rural areas of the region. As in too much of New Mexico, however, drunk driving is widespread, and motorists, cyclists and pedestrians on the roads should be alert, particularly at night.
The environmental safety issues of the area are also fairly conventional: in the mountains, watch the weather and check for signs of altitude sickness although it's less of an issue than in the higher mountains to the north, while in the lowlands, carry plenty of water when hiking. Water in the few springs and streams should be considered not potable. Sun screen is always a good idea when outdoors here.
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English, but if you happen to be a speaker of Tewa or Keresan, you'll have opportunities to practice at the American Indian pueblos of the region. Of course, if you're a speaker of those languages, chances are you're a member of one of the pueblos already! There are many native speakers of Spanish, although the fraction is lower than in some other parts of the state. With several universities in the region with international faculties and student bodies, speakers of other major languages can be found to help the traveler who is not fluent in English or Spanish.
As in the north central region, it's recommended that, if you see a place name apparently of Spanish origin, you try to pronounce it as Spanish. "Anglicized" pronunciation of Spanish words and, particularly, surnames may be normal in some parts of the United States, but it's not here. It runs a real risk of antagonizing the person you're talking to, who may speak Spanish at home as his/her ancestors have for 400 years, and may consider failure to make an attempt at Spanish pronunciation discourteous. Pronunciation tips in the WikiTravel Spanish phrasebook are useful here; the most common things to watch for are words with "ñ" e.g. the popular Garduño's restaurant chain, double "l" e.g. the very common Gallegos surname, and double "r" e.g. Rio Arriba County, which incidentally is a particularly good place in which to have your Spanish pronunciations in shape.