Leaping the Language Barrier: 2004
English is now be Europe's universal second language and that pesky language barrier is little more than a road turtle. But it survives and rudimentary communication skills in the local language is both fun and helpful. Any favorite language tapes or classes, or tricks for communicating abroad?
Everyone else here seems to say that learning a few lines in the language is the best thing to do and I agree. But, you should also know the physical language of the people. It is different from the united states.
Katrina
USA Wed 12/08/2004
Speaking the language
Terese...The trouble with phrase books, tapes, etc is they teach you a lot of questions, but not all the answers. There is no easy solution. I actually studied the language (of course, it has taken over 15 years - but I am old and it is hard for me to remember). When I ask a question, I will probably understand the answer.
By the way, the German verb "suchen" means to search or look for. I just think of it as "seek". The first person singular conjugation is "Ich suche" (no r).
USA Sun 10/24/2004
Speaking the language
I listened to "German on the Go" for 2 months before leaving for Austria. Learning a few key phrases helped me immensely. One of the most helpful was "Ich sucher.." I'm looking for... I was determined to use public transportation. I arrived in a little city on the train, went to one of the city buses parked near the station and said above phrase and the street the pension was on. The bus driver shook his head yes. But it was a older passenger that overheard my German (he spoke little English). He motioned to me when to get off and even walked me the 1/4 mile to the pension - which I was very grateful for as it was after 7pm and getting dark.
Terese
Savannah, GA USA Sun 10/24/2004
Leaping the Language Barrier - Can Be Hazardous to Your Health
But really the point I was making is based on actual travel experience throughout Europe over the course of a decade and a half. Language is very important and you can get annoyed (and annoy the natives), at best and put your life in jepordy at worst. This is a true statement. I don't consider myself an authority but I know the truth when I see it. If you only speak English it may be best to go to England, Ireland, Netherlands, Flanders Belgium and Switzerland for your first visit.
Robert
Miami, FL USA Wed 10/20/2004
RE: Learn some basics
Although I entirely agree with Gary about the necessity to learn some basic language skills before traveling to a foreign country, I think that his statement that "most Europeans speak English" is misleading. There are several surveys available on the EU's official website (www.europa.eu.int), and they make it very clear that the American myth about European language skill is exagerated.
According to the latest survey, 57% of Europeans can speak English, at least at an "elementary" level. However, this includes 16% who speak it as a native language. They are all on a couple of islands off the coast of Europe.
Of the population of the European continent itself, then, less than 50% speak English. This survey also shows that only 26% of Europeans speak two languages other than their mother tongue, so the myth that "all Europeans speak lots of languages" is also false. Only a little over half (53%) of all Europeans speak any languages other than their native tongue.
I have spent time in the Black Forest, where no one spoke English to me for a week. On the other hand, I spent a week on the middle Rhine, where I had to tell waitresses that I did not want to speak English.It varies widely by location, but most Europeans do not speak English.
Larry
CO USA Wed 10/13/2004
Learn some basics
Take the time to learn the basics. The locals really appreciate the effort. Most Europeans speak English, but there are always times when you'll run into someone who doesn't. It makes it so much easier if you can count, say please, thank you, how much is this, and where's the toilet. I recently used Rick's Italian Phrase Book and found it very helpful and pertinent.
Gary
Seattle, WA USA Mon 10/11/2004
Clalre Z:Russian is not that difficult to learn:) I taught it to myself and also audited a Russian class(once you understand the difference between the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets, Russian is more logical than English:))Of course, every two weeks, I call my friend in Sofia, Bulgaria(he is native-born Bulgarian); he speaks to me in English(better than many of US born native speakers) and I, to him, in Russian:)
Also, when two Russian UMC churchwomen visited(one a translator), I wpoke to the non-English speaking woman and she UNDERSTOOD me(I think she understood English better than speaking it)!!As foor for thought, my Bulgarian friend(he speaks English, Russian, Bulgarian(mother tongue--similar to Russian), German, some French and even a little Spanish,and his spouse(Bulgarian(her native language), Russian, English, French and some German)are(obviously) multilingual and Bulgaria is much poorer(financially) than the US. Yet, in some respects, their educational and cultural systems could teach us a few things:)
James W.
USA Sat 09/18/2004
re The most difficult language question
Oooops, and I meant to add, I have learned all of these languages via Pimsleur CDs. THey are pretty good with accent help, which can work against you :>. In a French post office and a restaurant what I did say must have sounded like I knew my stuff b/c the people involved began a conversation that I really could not keep up with. Haven't ventured to Moscow yet, but don't expect to fool anyone there.
Clare Z
Escondido, CA USA Sun 09/12/2004
re The most difficult language question
I have found Russian to be very difficult because the logic of it is so different from English. I have only tried to learn French, Spanish and Russian so far.
Clare Z
Escondido, CA USA Sun 09/12/2004
Leaping Language Barriers
Having just returned from my thirty seventh trip to Europe, I feel that I can say with some degree of knowledge that knowing the languages of the countries one travels is very helpful, but not crucial. However, if you can't be bothered to even learn the international road signs - don't drive. And, if you can't tell the difference between a cooked sausage and a raw sausage you really are too stupid to leave your own back yard.I find, as mentioned many times on this site, that learning the rudimentary pleasantries goes a long way in any language!
Pat
Winter Haven, FL USA Sun 09/05/2004
Limited Language Skills Can be a Problem
Before you decide to travel to a country where you don't speak the language and the natives don't speak yours, you should understand the potential for annoyance at best and putting your life in jeporady at worst. It's true. Just things like a traffic sign that says in another "cars from the right have the right away" can be big trouble. There's lots of other situations where problems can occur. The British Isles, Netherlands, Flanders (northern) Belgium and Switzerland are ok for English only speakers.
Robert
Miami, Fl USA Fri 08/27/2004
Limited language skills not a problem
We visited Brussels and Paris in July, 2004. Although my wife knew a little high school French, we began to learn a little about 4 months in advance using a course on CD while commuting to work.
We had no language problems at all. In Brussels, the locals broke out their English before I finished a sentence in my poor French. And in Paris I usually began with a smile, a few words or phrases (please & thank you carry a lot of weight)and the locals would help me through it in a combination of French & English. Hand signals always worked as a last resort. We never met anyone - waiters, store clerks, etc.) who wasn't friendly and patient. They appreciate an effort on your part; and you'll have the opportunity to connect.
Mac
Montgomery Village, MD USA Wed 08/25/2004
Trams and Tourists
Regarding tourists getting hit by trams: I walked all around Amsterdam and Paris with my sister for 10 days last summer, and although there is a lot of tram traffic (especially in Amsterdam), you certainly don't need to speak the language to avoid getting hit. All you have to do is keep your eyes open! The most important thing to remember about foreign travel is to be observant of your surroundings - whether you want to avoid pickpockets, traffic that won't stop for pedestrians, or trams. Please, don't be afraid of foriegn travel because you think you might get hit by a train! The risk of dying in a car accident 2 miles from your home in the U.S. is MUCH higher. (And I'd like to know how Robert would deal with the absolutely CRAZY traffic in India. Again, I survived unscathed.)
Edie
Sacramento, CA USA Tue 08/17/2004
Please Leave This Post For All To See
Dear Bruce and Others who share his view,
Please think through what you read and what you write. Have you traveled in countries where you didn't speak the language and no one spoke your language? Well, I have and I don't say this to boast in anyway but I can tell you from my experiences that you can (I say can, not will) become annoyed at best (unless you like playing charades) and your life can be in jepordy at worst. One example in the middle of this spectrum was when I was in Germany. I picked up a sasauge and was ready to eat it. A Germman man shouted at me and I couldn't figure out why. I was ready to bite into the sasauge when another german man saw what was happening said to me in broken English "It's not cooked". I was fortunate that he spoke some English. But if he didn't I would have eaten raw sasuage. Then I would have been at real risk for getting really sick and it would have ruined my vacation. So please use this example to see all the other potential problems that may arise when you don't speak the language. Everyone who only speaks English should think carefully about visiting non-English speaking countries. Language is way more important than you can imagine.
Robert
Miami, FL USA Fri 08/13/2004
There are certainly and unfortunately some tourists that die during their travels, but I bet none of them did so because they didn´t understand the local lingo. Knowing French is valuable, but if you´ve got a massive heart attack while on vacation in Paris and die from it in a couple of minutes, it doesn´t help that much. And about being run over by a train - come on, Robert, how realistic is that? You might not understand what the people are shouting at you, but you can always HEAR a train!
Bruce
CA USA Fri 08/13/2004
Irresponsible Editor - Language Barrier Can Be Dangerous
Whoever edited out my recent post was irresponsible. I've been all over Europe several times and let me tell you if you don't speak the language of the country you're in (and the people don't speak you language) you could get in serious trouble. Please let travelers know that venturing into a foreign country isn't like going to Minneapolis!. Picture this scenario and put it in a variety of situations: You're in a foreign city. You want to cross the street. You look both ways and there's nothing in sight. You decide to cross the street. You hear people shouting at you but you don't know what they're saying (because you don't speak the language and you don't have time for a guide book in this situation). Then all of sudden something that looks like a train comes buzzing out of nowhere and guess what? You're right in it's path! So you can see my post was very important for travelers. You hear about all the tourists that fly to Europe. What you may not be aware of is that a significant number (although small - but who cares when it's you or your friend or family) that come back in the cargo hold. Just a word of warning about the language barrier.
Robert
Miami, FL USA Tue 08/10/2004
Leaping the Language Barrier
We found that it's always helpful to learn how to apologize in whatever language of any country you're visiting. We always start off with our best manners and a smile. We attempt to use some phrases and then we apologize for ruining their beautiful language with our version. It's a great ice breaker and we've learned a great deal from people who are pleased that we recognize them as teachers.
Nancy
Sunnyvale, CA USA Sat 07/10/2004
Way around language barrier in taxis
I spent a week in Paris, and while I know just enough French to be dangerous, one foolproof way to deal with taxi drivers is to get one of those "do it yourself" business card kits and print the address of your hotel/apartment on several these. That way, when you get into a cab, you can hand the card to the driver and be assured that they know exactly where you want to go.
Tom Key
Wichita Falls, TX USA Thu 07/01/2004
A few tips from an experienced traveler
I travel to Europe an average of once per month. Here are a few tips:
1. In most big European cities, nearly everyone speaks English. But this is NO excuse for not trying to learn the basics of the country's language. If you learn the local equivalent of "yes", "no", "please", "thank you", "good morning", and "good evening" ... and you SMILE, you can't get just about anything!
2. Since I've been to Italy the most (12 trips in 5 years), I've started to pick up a little of the language. I always try my Italian first, explaining that I only speak "un po Italiano" (a little Italian). Within a few minutes, the shopkeeper, waiter, etc finally confess that they know a little English. This is the perfect opportunity for BOTH of you to learn - so I converse in Italian (with help from the other party) and they converse in English (with help from me). It has always been a pleasant experience!
3. If you find yourself in a situation where you MUST find someone who speaks English -- look around for the nearest teenager. English is a very popular subject in school with that age group in nearly every European country.
Dolores
Norfolk, VA USA Mon 06/28/2004
Prefer dictionaries over phrase books
We just returned from a trip to countries with a combined 3 different languages. We took phrase books but wish we had taken dictionaries instead. We needed to communicate in other languages most when we were trying to make friends with locals. Being able to look up a single word would have been very useful. Phrase books are most useful for shopping, eating and hotels where proprietors are likely to know most important phrases they need in English.
Noel Gouldin
Plano, TX USA Mon 06/14/2004
The most difficult language question
Best of all is to live for at least three months in the country of the language you study or learn.
By the way, which language do you think is the most difficult to learn???
Rona
Kiev, UA Thu 06/10/2004
Watch movies for language practice
Most American movies on DVD have a languages option - it's great practice to watch movies in French (or other languages which might be an option) with the French subtitles because you can hear the pronunciation as well as read the words in the language along with it. I wish more movies had an Italian language option though - seems like most are French and Spanish! I personally enjoyed Shrek in French....my family thought I was nuts!
Renee
CO USA Wed 06/09/2004
Brit Speak
Some on this page said,
'For my WORST language faux pas, I let fly a "bloody awful" on the Tube in London and people actually gasped. "Bloody" is evidently more heinous than the "F-word." '
If people gasped it must have been for another reason. "Bloody" is considered very mild. There are a lot people who would say "bloody" in the presence of children but wouldn't say the F-word. I'd be surpirsed if people on the tube would even gasp if someone said the F-word.
Dave Halsall
Yeovil, UK Fri 06/04/2004
Dutch recommendation
I used the "Teach Yourself" - Dutch book and CD. I thought I was making progress (I could have put much more effort) and was disappointed that I had a very hard time with conversation. Although I'm very satisfied in my ability to read Dutch.
mike
Naperville, IL
USA Sat 05/22/2004
Thoughts on language learning
Sitting on a beach in Lanzarote recently I came the following realizations. First, it's a miracle that people don't get very angry indeed when English-speakers wander into their country and *expect* them to speak English. How would we react to an Italian who wondered into our place of work and looked aghast and uncomfortable that our knowledge of Italian was less than perfect? When I did this is a bar recently though, the friendly Spaniard involved was apologetic. Not nearly as apologetic as me of course. Second, learning a language is very rewarding from the off so long as you put it to use. Learning in an artificial environment saps all the life and fun out of it. Use the opportunity of trips abroad, or contact with foreign friends to make the experience more real and rewarding. Third, all the european lanauges share a lot of etymology. There's more Latin in there than you will ever know. Therefore, with each new language you attempt, the easier it becomes. The person who speaks French, Spanish and Portugeese, for example, will almost be able to guess the words for things in Catalan.
Lee Williams
Wrexham, UK Wed 05/19/2004
Phrase Books and Photo Albums
I have had a blast with phrase books. I recall sitting on a stone fence in a village in Romania with a phrase book while our translator was busy handling a problem. To pass the time, I tried out a phrase on a group of boys standing nearby. I would try a phrase, they would look puzzled, and eventually one would understand it and correct my pronunciation. They rapidly concluded that the American's pronunciation was terrible because he was deaf. They (helpfully) began shouting directly into my ear. It was hilarious.
I have also learned to pick up a copy not only the English to Portuguese phrase book, say, but also the Portuguese to English version. I have only seen these in airports. I have encountered serveral folks like the brother-in-law of our host who were absolutely fascinated by the phrase books but needed the phonetic helps for their own language.
For a conversation-starter, I have friends who make a photo album of family, pets, themselves at work, regional postcards from home, a small map, etc. to carry with them. It helps to label the photos. Keep it short, though.
bill
Florence, AL USA Sat 05/08/2004
Make an effort--have fun
Trying a little really helps--we got great smiles from a shopkeeper in Assisi just by knowing enough to refer to her cat as "gatto".
On this last trip however, I was dismayed to meet an American complaining that Italy doesn't make signage which is easier for Tourists (ie English)and a seemingly sophisticated group of wine afficionados in a restaurant who made no attempt to even say thank you in the native language. But it is their loss--if you try at all you will not match the efforts of the Italians--We had a memorable detailed exchange regarding wine with a waiter in Siena and I will forever use his pantomime of a weightlifter to describe Montepulciano Nobile (a fairly heavy red).
Joy Olsen
Vancouver, WA USA Fri 05/07/2004
Speak some Italian, its fun!
When in Rome...
Fortunately, I speak some Italian so this helped. It really does pay to try to speak as much of Italian as you can while in Italy. First, they really appreciate it.
Second, they find it cute or charming.
Third, it takes away any thoughts that you expect them to only speak English.
Last, it opens doors to a wonderful time with heartfilled people.
Ricks book with basic phrases is great.. and somewhat amusing to read on the train.
At least try..and dont be shy.
Dave
Lincoln, CA USA Thu 04/22/2004
learn the language
We are frequent travelers to Italy and found the best way to fit in is to speak the language. We attended a language school in a remote village in the Marches region to learn the basics. Now we enjoy the REAL Italy!
Jodi
Victorville, CA USA Mon 04/12/2004
French & BritSpeak
We just got back from 2 weeks in UK and a weekend trip to Paris. I have about 6 years of "school" French, it was amazing how quickly it came back. I too used the smiling "J'excuse, ma francais est tres mal" as the second thing I said after a cheery "Bonjour!" Everyone was absolutely wonderful - kind, helpful and gracious. Even the cranky overworked Mo ticket agent brightened when I apologized for murdering her language and resorted to handing her a 10 Euro note and holding up 10 fingers (she couldn't understand my "carte orange" pronunciation). I even finished buying camera batteries before the shopkeeper realized I'm American - my crowning achievement. So a smile, a greeting, an apology, and just being polite go a long way.
For my WORST language faux pas, I let fly a "bloody awful" on the Tube in London and people actually gasped. "Bloody" is evidently more heinous than the "F-word." Oops. I apologized immediately!
Jan
Roseville, CA USA Wed 04/07/2004
Another story about BritSpeak....
My brother went over to England for a semester of college on exchange. He knew that his name would be made fun of. You see, hiss name is Randy, and that means horny in English. So he was prepared ... or so he thought. The first day of class the professor was calling roll. "Randy Bird?" Slowly my brother raised his hands, while the rest of the class was doubled-over in laughter. You see, as it turns out, Bird is the word they use like we use the word chicks to describe girls. So my brother, Randy Bird, was actually Horny Chick.
Connie
Minneapolis, MN USA Mon 03/08/2004
If you really want to learn...
If you're trying to learn a foreign language, a useful way to augment your studies is to listen to music with lyrics in that language. Most people don't sing as fast as they talk, so it's a casual, enjoyable way to learn. These days, many "undiscovered" bands post their music free on the internet. Download the lyrics too if possible. You can also order a lot of foreign music on the net as well. Granted, phrases like "You stole my heart" or "I love your pretty eyes" won't come up in everyday conversation. But listening to songs is good in addition to your regular studies.
(If you're trying to study German, and you like hard-rock, check out the group ?Rammstein?. They are commercially available in US record stores.)
Who knows, you might make some new friends, or impress someone by knowing local songs.
Jason
Reno, NV USA Sat 02/21/2004
Free Seattle Language Groups
There are year round weekly meetings in the U District where people come together to practice any of five European languages and meet others who are interested in the language and culture. Native speakers are always in attendance! Although the conversation tables are too advanced for all but the most determined beginner, they are an excellent way for people with some foreign language experience to improve their skills. The groups work, they're free and they're fun. Check out the following URL for more information.
http://students.washington.edu/paul/groups.html
Paul Smith
Seattle, WA USA Sat 02/07/2004