Languages

[Nocturnal]

Hello! I've been browsing through the boards to get some ideas about where I might want to go next summer,and it sounds like many of you are experienced travellers! (and I'm very jealous).

I have a question- what is your native tongue (first language), and what has language barrier posed any serious problems in your experience?

Do you guys speak any European languages other than English?

Is it enough to carry a phrasebook to get me by? I think I want to go to Italy, Prague, Amsterdam, Bruges, Brussels and possibly Berlin. I speak French pretty decently, but don't know if that helps. Wonder if I should attempt to learn Spanish before next summer...

[LHR02]

Welcome! English is my language. I lived in Germany for 6 years and can still get by with the basics, but lack of use has long ago erased my German from my old memory. I have traveled all over the place in Europe and never had a problem in truth. I made a point to know the most basic polite phrases and as a very general rule, if you made even the smallest of attmepts to use the 'local' language, then the locals would quickly switch to English for you. (Always amazed at the fluency of languages nearly all Europeans have!) The one place I was at a loss was in Poland...that cyrillic (sp) language just baffled me. Can I buy a vowell? Nothing in any language familiar to me worked, Germanic, Romantic, English....no similarities to be found. ;D Generally speaking in most countries with a little intuition you can figure out some words at least....they are all based on similar roots....but once into Eastern Europe/Russia....well, that's a whole 'nuther story indeed. ;D

ammended to say English is my language but please don't judge me on my typo/spelling output! ;D

[Tracie]

I hardly remember any major problems with language barriers. My native language is English and I am fluent in French. A phrasebook should be enough, and make sure you know how to say hello, thank you, and 'do you speak english'. Some places I thought would be hard weren't (everyone in Krakow, Poland seemed to speak English) and others I thought would be easy weren't (in Madrid I realized how many words of Spanish I knew when I seemed to always pick the Spanish only lineups). I found it handy to carry a pen and a small notepad so that I could write down destinations and show it to people instead of trying to say it with improper pronunciation.

[Kim]

It's also very helpful if you have something important to ask a native speaker (that speaks good English so there is no confusion!) to write it down for you.

We did this alot as at the time I was a vegetarian and it really helped. I'd try it on my own and if it wasn't going over well, I'd haul out my little piece of paper!

We only speak English but tried to learn the basics (hello, goodbye, please, thank you, excuse me etc.) of each to be polite. Even if you totally mess it up, it will go over way better. People enjoying helping out too so if you don't know how to say something, I would ask how to say it and they would help out with the pronounciation. I would do say "In Spanish" and point at the object and they would tell us. Although pretty soon, you might find everything in the room being pointed out and pronounced! LOL

Kim

Kim

[jennifer]

Hi!


Well, I think it's better off to pronounce something all crooked in their language than to not even try to respect their culture. It's surprinsing how much people are helpful when they see you actually try to not be such a KodakTourist (my expression for sandals with socks, camera and backpack and the head up in the air with a map bumping into people! heheh)

[MuvverRussia]

In my opinion it's all about making an effort, people do appreciate it. Also, a basic understanding of the local language can come in handy when you're approached by beggars, or even people trying to hassle you.

Then again, I can only think of a couple of places where there has been a real language barrier (one when I was in Latvia- luckily one of my friends is fluent in Russian, so he managed to help, the other a small Spanish fishing port that I go to). Even so, it's still worth learning a couple of phrases, even if all you do is flick through the Berlitz guide before you go.

[dougj]

I speak english and can read french (learned to speak it in school but in canada you don't get to practice speaking it unless you live in quebec).
I got a long fine using simple phrases and words. know the basics and you should be fine.

[Eagle]

I agree with the suggestions in the previous Posts, to at least know some of the common phrases and words, and make some attempt to use these. My native language is English, but I've been working on Italian for a couple of years as I plan on spending a lot of time there on my next trip.

I doubt you'll have much difficutly in Amsterdam, as English is widely spoken. I suspect Berlin will be much the same. Italy might depend on which part or which city you're in -- I know a girl in this area who speaks Italian fluently, however when she's visiting relatives who speak one of the dialects, she can't understand a word they're saying (unless they switch to "normal" Italian)! Not sure about the other locations?

I plan on familiarizing myself with the other languages (French, Spanish, German) prior to my next trip, and also carrying a Phrase book. The grammar of Spanish and French is somewhat similar to Italian, so that will probably help? Hopefully the Phrase book will suffice.

Cheers!!!

[me]

English is my 1st language, German is my 2nd, and Spanish is on it's way (off & on) to being my 3rd.

- d

[Tracie]

I have a funny language story.
I was in Naples returning to my hostel after visiting Pompei. I was walking down the street and this Italina guy behind me starting calling me in English trying to get my attention. I ignored him. He caught up to me and was asking me why I was ignoring him, and, feeling very uncomfortable, told him in French that I didn't understand English. Well, it just so happened that this guy was also fluent in French and so I spent the next 10 mins elaborating my lie. The guy turned out to be harmless and left me alone without freaking me out. So my new name is Josee and I live in Montreal in case you were wondering.
Not sure how this fits in with this thread, but all this language talk reminded me of it.

[Faby]

my first language is spanish but as i lived in england for 7 years I am fluent in english. In school i did french and was pretty fluent, but you know how it works with languages, you need to practice otherwise you forget all you've learned!!! I can understand italian and portuguese, but i need to work on these more!!!

[me]

May i ask: where did you grow up, Faby?

faby said:

my first language is spanish but as i lived in england for 7 years I am fluent in english.

[CuriousToronto]

I speak English, French, and Spanish fluently. And a little bit of Italian.

Everywhere I've traveled in Europe I could get along. And then we went to Munich and tried to take the metro by ourselves. I was with a friend who had taken one year of German.

Anywayz, that was the first and only time I felt what it must be like to be the average North American traveler in Europe that only speaks English.

It was pretty frustrating. The schedules were only in German. And of course in German they also said that the schedules did not operate on the weekends. We didn't know that. Took a terribly long time to get back to the hostel that night.

I have to say though that even in Austria where I didn't speak the language I got along just fine. Ditto for the Bavarian country side. Really that problem in Munich was the only time.

So yeah -- don't fret too much. Most people speak a bit of English. And the rest can be accomplished with signs and arrows.

Cheers!

[dumbdiety]

oooohhhhh I feel inadequate. I speak English. Uh...and enough Spanish to find a bathroom (hey, I'm 10 miles from Miami). Do programming languages count? ;D
Really though, as many hear have said, just try to learn basic, polite phrases.

[paint]

If I had unlimited amounts of money I would spent most of my life in school learning languages (then of course I'd have to travel to try them out and practice...). I have a minor in Spanish but it's pretty useless because I don't practice.

I think I've learned more Czech than I realized I had... I was taking a tally of the phrases I can recall from memory and pronounce correctly (my coworkers were quizzing me in the breakroom). I can say: Where is/are the... (toilets, bus stop, train station, metro, baggage claim area, customs, passport control, public telephone, park, theatre, restaurant), I'm lost, a map of the city please, thank you, good day, good morning, good afternoon, good night, see you later, I don't speak Czech, I don't speak Czech very well, I speak English, Do you speak English?, speak slower please, repeat please, I'll have a beer please, cheers!, a glass of water, a cup of tea, I'll pay now please, Is there a pool?, I'm American, I'm travelling alone, Where do you live? I'm glad that I am here in Prague, welcome, Where are you from originally?, Your country is very beautiful, still asleep, take me to this address please, is this seat taken, check-out time is, yesterday, I have a sore throat, it hurts here, help!, police!, write that please, I'd like to buy batteries & film, this is my friend... and I can count to two thousand.

I might be able to remember more if I'm out away from Prague where English is scarce and I have to think. That doesn't seem like many phrases for 9 months of study and $100 worth of course materials....