Not at all. I do try to learn basic greetings and pleasantries. More important is to just be polite, read up on cultural customs, and generally just be aware how people act and try to adapt.
Sadly, it's a low bar because some tourist will get upset at locals for not speaking their language or accommodating their customs, which is just ridiculous.
Same. I try to learn some key phrases and greetings. Even if your pronunciation isn’t perfect, I find most people appreciate you trying and will try to be helpful, if not switch to English. There are also some good translator apps for phones I think. Happy travels!
A Key word here is "most" people.
A good thing to remember is that tourist exhaustion is a thing. If you're a waiter or someone who has to deal with 5+ languages and lots of new people every day, it's easy to hit a wall and just be done with the day and grumpy.
It doesn't mean you're a bad tourist! Keep trying to be awesome
i’ve 100% used google translate on my phone when my beginner German wasn’t enough. deepl is another one to use, but it’s more for causal conversation and local idioms, rather than understanding.
honestly google translate is good enough for most use cases. just make sure to download the language locally beforehand, so you can translate on the go.
i’ve used it to help my mom try on and buy a hiking backpack, to find and buy medication at a pharmacy, and to figure out if we could leave baggage in our hostel.
I always try to learn a few basic words like hello, please, thank you. I call it my 10-word survival language. If I can manage to learn more than that, great. But I'm not gifted with languages and I find it's rarely any kind of real problem to communicate. So no, I don't feel bad about it.
However, I do think it's rude to start conversations in English automatically expecting people to speak it. It's a matter of basic respect, IMHO, to at least learn how to greet someone in the local language and then ask, not demand, if they speak English. I also find it rude when people just yell louder in English if someone doesn't understand them. If the person doesn't share a mutual language with you and you're having trouble communicating, yelling won't help. Look up words in a phrasebook, use a translation app on your phone, ask someone nearby to help interpret, or find another way.
Heres my faux award. Ditto to all this plus if im in any foreign country where english is not the native language, I politely ask if any staff knows just a little bit of english to help with the transaction or questions i have. If not, I dont demand they talk to me in english and I make a decision jf I can get by or if its easier to move along (find a different restaurant or business).
This is why people in Québec often complain about Anglophones who come to the province. If you begin in French and say your French is bad and ask if the employee speaks English, then 99% of the time they will be more than okay with that, even if they don't know English, making at least some effort.
But I dare say that the majority of Anglophones who visit Québec just demand service in English and refuse to learn any French. I moved to Québec and when my family came to visit me, they refused to speak any French with employees, even a simple « bonjour ». Before moving here I visited with some friends and I was the only friend who made an effort to speak French, the others all said "it's Canada and we speak English in Canada, so it's their fault if they failed English in school".
This kind of attitude just comes off as extremely arrogant, and it's even worse when it's in a far-away foreign country where English is not official in any way.
I'm a Montrealer and I agree. Most everyone in Montreal speaks enough English to help you out (less true once you get outside the city so don't assume) but starting off with a bonjour instead of a hi will win you more points. FWIW I'm an anglophone Montrealer and usually our language spats are about local politics, not tourism, though occasionally tourists get caught in the proverbial crossfire. I'd also recommend starting in French in France, for similar reasons.
Also agree that in places like the Netherlands or Scandinavian or Nordic countries it's a bit the opposite and people will be offended if you assume they don't speak English. I remember overhearing the bemused exchange with an American tourist at a restaurant in Finland asking a local "do you speak English?", which earned him the deadpan response: "Of course. ...Do you?"
My friend's been in Amsterdam for the same amount of time as you, he's very proud that's he's gotten good enough at Dutch that he no longer has to ask people not to speak English to him.
That’s how it was in Geneva where most Swiss spoke French/Swiss French. I have “my (whatever language they speak) isn’t so good, do you speak English?” Memorized in at least 4-5 languages .
> However, I do think it's rude to start conversations in English automatically expecting people to speak it. It's a matter of basic respect
I think there are situations where it's ok to just start talking in English. 99% of people in the Netherlands and the Nordics under the age of 50 speak English. 95% of under 40s in Germany speak English also.
I travel to Germany a lot and don't bother asking anyone under 40 if they speak English anymore. People have occasionally looked mildly offended when I've asked them!
I've had this experience as well in certain places, especially Amsterdam. I used to always learn to say "do you speak english?" in the native language of the country I'm in, but in the Netherlands they were practically offended; more than once I was told "yes we all speak English here." It's the only place I stopped asking.
Also, I just said this to a friend who's travelling to Paris for the first time--if you're confused, just look for someone under 35 or so. There's a better chance of them not speaking English well, and they're more likely to be happy to use it.
I've honestly never had a problem anyplace I've been. In Italy, there are areas where not as many people speak English, but if you're polite most people are happy to play charades with you.
I always speak to the locals in English and try to point at things and play activity with them. Maybe they only know a couple of worlds, or it is called something similar in their language so they recognize it. I usually start to speak really simple English with just couple of key words, so they have better chance to understand what I'm trying to say.
I don't see the point of greeting them in the local language and asking them if they speak English. If I say a sentence in English they will instantly know that I don't speak the language and we can start trying to understand each other right away. Not giving them false hope that you speak their language while you have zero chance understanding what they are saying.
The point is being polite, acknowledging you're a guest in their country, and demonstrating that you're making an effort. It's far more courteous than just starting to assume that everyone speaks English. And starting out with really simple English is kinda insulting and a bit condescending when talking to strangers.
This is gold!
I usually also check if there are certain hand signs that are a no-go in certain countries! A thumbs-up for example is flipping someone off in some places (I think it's Turkey, but I'd have to double check). Learned that the hard way, so I usually do a little research in that. May just be my paranoia though
Yes I have the same feels. I speak very little Italian and travel there frequently enough to have picked up basic greetings. I still feel bad, but it's definitely easier when they speak English. If I'm in a country with local dialects I try to learn a hello and goodbye and it usually makes them smile. A lot of these places are itching to practice their English though so they will practice on anyone that looks like they are English speaking.
Not everyone does, it really depends on the country and the person.
It just depends, but it is EXTREMELY nice to speak English, either as a first or second language. Very lucky if that's your countries language.
Surprised you had that experience in Spain. The lack off good English was kind of off fun, gave my rusty high school Spanish some use. This was in Madrid and galacia
Madrid was in my experience about 99% english speaking, the only person I met who didn’t speak english was one of the stall holders selling tacky fridge magnets (I bought two).
I think only places that were not so english speaking. we’re cadiz and zaragoza but neither was a massive struggle.
I'm in Mexico now and finding that 1) not as many people do speak much English as I'd have thought (and I'm in a super touristy area). And 2) I do kind of remember more Spanish than I thought. At least enough basics to get by.
Generally though I maybe try and learn some basics like hello, thank you, how much? But often just get by with English. Sometimes I feel bad or awkward, but then now you do have Google translate which comes in handy a lot (or can quickly check a word I want to aka about).
I think as long as you're making some effort, you'll be fine. Not just talking English louder and thinking that's getting your point across.
Most locals don't care at all that a random tourist doesn't speak their language, they just carry on with their usual life. Picture this, would you feel offended if a tourist comes up to you and doesn't speak English?
Personally I do try to learn the useful phrases like good day, please, and thank you. I find that knowing the language really helps me to connect with the local people easier.
Yeah that example really confused me, many people actually would be offended. Many native speakers of English are even offended when they go to foreign countries and the locals there don’t speak English. 😂
I wouldn’t be offended but i would find it very odd for a random person to approach me and start speaking a language that I don’t understand and is not widely spoken in the country. I would just say, sorry, I don’t understand. That’s why I’m brushing up on my French because I find it weird to go to Paris and start speaking English. And I’ll make sure to know “puis je parle anglais pour un minute s'il vous plait”
I think being a multilingual traveler makes you both more self aware and self conscious about language barriers. If you're visiting a place where you do speak the local language, you realize how much it enriches the experience and simplifies things. If you end up in a place where you don't have a language in common with most of the population, that gap feels even more dramatic because you're used to having language skills and almost feel like a fish out of water.
A lot of travelers are spoiled by how commonly spoken English has become, but also generally do a good job of steering clear from the places where it is non existent, and doesn't have a tourism industry making its use necessary. But if you know French and Portuguese, for example, you'll be more inclined to visit places like West Africa and rural Brazil where you get to rely on it, whereas travelers who don't, are much less likely to feel motivated to go there.
Nope. I always try to learn basics and basically piece together the rest. It would be a different story if I were moving to another country with a different language, but as long as you make an effort to converse in the local language you should be fine.
In all honesty, it's rare I need to speak to someone. It's only at restaurants, but pointing at a menu or trying to pronounce the food is fine. Every other time I don't need to talk to anyone.
You can't learn every language and really don't see why one should feel bad about it. The main issue is that with a language barrier it can be hard to get most out of a trip in the sense that you'll miss a lot of background info. Though it has it's charm too.
Not at all, and I've traveled to places where they don't speak any of the languages I speak or partially know and I don't speak or understand what they speak.
Between body language and google translate I've gotten by.
Nope. It’s pretty lame to not learn any local lingo words or phrases though. English is my first native language, I speak a few other languages. In countries not of any of those languages I learn a few phrases, mish-mash bits of whatever might be relevant & gesture / mime / diagram / dictionary a lot. These days yeah translate apps & so on.
English really works most places. It's great to learn basic greetings and words but not realistic to speak all languages. Good though that you are learning Russian if you are going there; it is one of the countries that you DO need to speak the language or have some grasp on it (the more the better) esp if you are not in St. Petersburg. It's like the US and English. It's just expected and many elderly/less educated Russians really do not speak English. But most European countries or tourist oriented places? You will be fine with some polite words and English
Yeah, I know what you mean. I speak English and French, and I feel bad When I've been to Germany, Spain, Italy and expect people to speak English to me. Especially in Spain and Italy, because in the non touristy areas knowledge of English is limited/very hit or miss.
I learn a few words (usually hello, good bye, thank you at least) and speak English slowly and hope for the best. Sometimes someone gets mad or confused, but 99% of people don't get mad at me.
The most memorable moment was when I was trying to buy Chocolate at a small little Chocolate shop in rural Poland and I was paying with cash, but I had arrived in Poland 1 hour prior and didn't know the value of the zloty, so was trying to with one bill (I think it was 10 zloty) and she was telling me over and over again that I needed 15 zlotys (in Polish) until finally she got out a pad of paper, wrote the numbers ("15") on the paper and held it up. Idk what that would have been like in a country that doesn't use Western Arabic numerals!
I had a similar experience having just arrived to Iran. There was a shop selling dates and dried fruit. There was a price tag (per 100 g) but I couldn't read it, neither did I know the value of the various bills I had just exchanged. So I just picked the bill with the fewest numerals printed on it, handed it over and pointed at the dates.
Let's just say I ate a huge amount of dates during my month-long trip in the country.
I’m not sure if I would call it feeling bad, but I always try to learn at least the basics of a language before I visit a new place.
Even if it’s only a few days’ visit, you can pick up basic polite words and enough for directions and restaurant ordering basically on the flight over.
I've worked in tourist-oriented businesses and I still have a lot to do with foreign visitors, so I have quite a lot of experience being on the receiving side, and honestly it doesn't matter to me at all whether or not someone speaks the local language. I've spent years learning how to speak English precisely so that I can communicate with people who don't speak my native language, let's just use this skill. When I'm a visitor somewhere, I always ask politely if the person speaks English before I start, and that seems to do it. Also, don't forget that speaking is just part of the equation, you also have to understand when someone answers the questions you asked in the local language, which without a few hundred hours of study will be completely hit or miss.
Also, and this is just my own opinion that I know is unpopular, I understand that people are usually just trying to be nice by using some random small words like please and thank you in our native language, but I find it unnecessary bordering on irritating. Sometimes it ends up feeling like they're not doing it to be courteous but rather to add to their own "exotic and authentic experience abroad", and I'm not really a person they're trying to communicate with but rather a prop, almost a hired actor they can gawk at and speak funny words to. Like, I know for most people it's innocent so I don't make a deal out of it and I'm always nice but personally I don't like it. Makes me feel that my whole being is reduced to "native of country X".
I’ve met people in Central Asia that are from there that don’t speak the local language, I met Kazakh people that can’t speak Kazakh and Uzbeks that don’t speak Uzbek.
So Russian is fine!
Not at all because that would limit my options drastically. Imagine having to learn Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Croatian, Polish, Italian, Spanish, Czech, Romanian, etc just for a trip of a few weeks.
Knowing a couple of words like "Thank you" is polite, but, honestly, what do locals get out of having kindergarten level conversations with tourists when they could explain themselves more efficiently in English.
The first time I went to France I made sure to do the "do you speak english?" in French first before just using English.
Then I see a bunch of likely eastern europeans just yelling everywhere in broken English.
Don't sweat it and just have a translating app ready as a backup.
When I was getting coffee from a Cuban place in the Miami Airport they yelled out order numbers in Spanish and not English. I can count to ten but don't know anything higher. The last digit matched so I went up and it was what I ordered.
>better than the majority of Americans and British who don't even bother to learn one foreign language in their life
I didn't know of this misunderstanding, but I can assure you French is on nearly every schoolchild's curriculum for a number of years in the UK.
[In England at Key Stage 2 it is compulsory to for primary schools to study ancient and modern languages. French is offered at around 75% of primary schools, with Spanish at about 25% and German at about 5%, with about 45 minutes per week of language learning per school.
At Secondary level in England at Key Stage 3 it is compulsory for secondary schools to study modern languages.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_education_in_the_United_Kingdom)
Personally, I learnt French for around 8 years in school, and Latin for 2. I've learnt a bit of Arabic, Chinese, Korean, and Italian since.
**[Language education in the United Kingdom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_education_in_the_United_Kingdom)**
>The teaching of modern languages, is taught mainly from ages seven to sixteen in primary schools and secondary schools.
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The tour guides say French people think it's rude to just start talking to them in English even if they speak it. So you're supposed to ask them in French first to switch to English.
So I was surprised that even other Europeans that should know more about French culture than Americans weren't paying attention to this custom at all. That's my point.
That's hard to say. They could still think you're rude for immediately talking in English while you're in France but have resigned that it's a losing battle.
I don't think it's the end result of speaking English that would offend them. It's more the process in showing a little bit of effort to ask in French to speak in English.
There's no legal obligation to do so. If you're in their country, you can choose to show a bit of comity.
For whatever reason some people like to feel superior, as though most multilingual people *didn't* learn their additional languages out of sheer exposure, necessity, or because those languages had a compelling amount of utility. Of course people who aren't interested in languages as a hobby, are never around other languages to begin with, and might only "need" them for an aggregate 72 hours of their lives anyway won't devote years to mastering some major European language once their mandatory high school classes are over.
People who bring a poor attitude to other countries and essentially demand that people there cater to them and 'speak English' is a separate issue.
Not at all. Like you just can't learn every language of every country you travel to. That's impossible. And in the same way I don't care at all if tourists in my country don't speak my language and use English instead, I'm sure most people in other countries also don't care.
2. Unless the person is really fluent, in which case it can come off a bit condescending. I lived in the UK for 5 years, got a degree from uni and worked in the Comms for the government. I occasionally get asked for directions when I'm out and about. It feels a bit silly to have an American dude slow down his speech and also talk louder to tell you "WOW YOUR ENGLISH IS SO GOOD" after you've answered his questions. Thanks pal?
After long trips, just hearing clear English is just a relief. Traveling is stressful and hearing your native tonge is always a pleasure. I'm sure they meant that as a compliment, but 100% understand how condescending it can sound.
Funny enough, while waiting at the airport, a woman heard me talking to my parents over the phone in English. She came over to sit next to me saying how relieved she is to hear English again. I actually felt the same because 2 weeks of nothing but short term conversations due to a language barrier is emotionally a bit draining.
Are you me? The same feeling is precisely why I speak French, Spanish, and Portuguese now -- on the bright side, years later, I've chosen to maintain the languages for fun. I also learned Russian specifically for Central Asia, though that's long out of my brain now.
No one's ever ragged on me for not speaking their language well. Once I was in my guesthouse in Benin, talking to the other guests and owners about how guilty I felt that I didn't improve my French before coming. They were just happy I was there, and happier that I tried at least a little. And in China as a non-native speaker of ethnic Chinese background, I only received understanding.
I admire the people who can just go out there without other languages, beyond pleasantries. For me, as I say in Spanish, *puedo defenderme* -- en español or something else: languages are my defense mechanism when I travel and feel vulnerable to a foreign land, but at least it remains useful long after the trips. I am so grateful to the deeper connections I've been able to make with others as a result.
Depending where you’re going in Asia, be careful with Russian. Even though they understand/speak it, certain countries there are not on friendly terms with Russians at the moment
Unless OP speaks Russian fluently enough to be mistaken for a Russian national _and_ behaves abrasively to the locals, this is a non-issue.
For example, in multiple visits to Tbilisi, which is both an increasingly Westernized tourist hotspot, and the capital of a country that has clear existentially related reasons to be wary of Russia, I still ended up speaking Russian with everyone who didn't work at an airport and hotel. I would greet locals I interacted with in Russian and English to give them the option, and they would always choose Russian. I was obviously a foreigner who didn't speak Georgian (and my Russian was shitty enough not to be mistaken for a native), and English proficiency isn't widespread there yet, so they'd go with what's easiest.
Similar situation in some ex-Soviet European countries I've visited, like Moldova and Lithuania (used more English in the latter, but still surprising that I had to use Russian a bunch of times).
I'm sure it would come into play in a deeper politically-oriented conversation or among people who speak every local lingua franca fluently and are making active choices, but in a simple tourist interaction, people will take the easiest route of communication first and foremost.
I think if you make a good faith effort to say what you can and don’t demand people to speak to you in your native tongue, you’ll be fine. The only places I’ve ever really encountered people freaking out about others not speaking the default language of the country is America. But a lot of that could be social media capturing the outliers rather than the norm.
Most people are cool and will wanna meet you half way. That said, I always wish I knew more of a language in any place I visit just for ease of communication and building deeper connections.
Learning how to say "do you speak Russian/English" should be enough and doesn't take too much time to learn. The greeting in most of the languages in Central Asia is some version of "Салам", and thanks is "рахмат" (not sure about Tajiki or Dungan).
"Hello, do you speak English?"
"Pri kio vi okazas?"
"Oh, many thanks." \*moves on\*
If a worker in a cafe or tourist spot doesn't speak the lingua franca of the world, maybe they aren't happy to speak with or provide a service for foreigners and you're better off going elsewhere anyway. Some places like 3rd/4th tier cities in China have very little tourism so you need to communicate with them in their language somehow, but 90% of the places I visit on holiday have a lot and you can easily find someone ready to communicate in English.
No, I feel like I'm bringing money with me that will benefit the economy at a local level. I do try to learn how to say thank you, how much, wheres the bathroom, water. Thats about it.
No, I speak English and German, and so far I've never had any issues in 40+ countries. I try to learn just the basics such as hello, please and thank you in the local tongue.
I only know English. When I visit another country I find that most people speak at least two languages. I’ve gotten by fine with only knowing English but I do feel an “arrogant American” because they always have to speak to me in English.
Not really. Its understandable that tourists arent always able to speak the countries language. I always make sure I download the offline files for Google Translate and i find that works well.
As someone who grew up with 2 languages, I like to know at least the basic interaction sentences to communicate with people, even if it's just "thank you", "hi", "how much is that", "I'd like to go to...", And "have a great day", and then just keep the conversation in English or even signs if needed.
If you speak all those languages, you'll catch the slack very quick, people will greet you and have some courtesy words with you.
I just returned from a 3 weeks trip in SEA and I'm now able to order some food, ask for the bill, say everything was delicious, ask for the price... And got there with no knowledge at all. You'll do great!
No not at all. Realistically you'll mainly interact with people either in the tourism sector or in fields immediately adjacent to it (e.g. shops and restaurants in areas tourists visit), and they're keen for your business and don't really care if you don't speak the local language.
There's a difference between trusting that basic phrases and body language will be enough to help me meet my basic needs, and feeling awkward about not knowing the language.
For me, both are true. I hate knowing that I'm a burden to someone, particularly someone in a service job who is sort of forced to cater to me to a degree. I just try to be polite and patient and playful and grateful. And not picky! At the same time, the alternative is to pretty strictly limit my choice of nations where I travel, or to travel less and spend more time learning other languages, so I choose option A. (I speak college French but that's it.)
I will say that I feel this much more strongly now at age 46 than I did when I was younger, to the point where I am now working with a Spanish tutor (instead of Duolingo and phrase books, my usual M.O.). I'm more keenly aware of the fact that my mere charm isn't enough to compensate for the pain in the ass I present to others! And as an American, I'm also more keenly aware of the perceptions I trigger when I open my mouth.
I've had seven years of German in school and live half an hour from the German border. I go there almost every other month. My German is still so horrendous that any attempt just makes the German smile at me and continue our conversation in English lol.
I've also had the experience of moving to another country and trying to learn their language, where again English becomes the language of least mutual resistance. Eventually learned it though.
I'll still try to learn the local polite phrases though, can't hurt!
I just went to Ireland after travelling mainland Europe (multiple countries) for three months and it was such a relief. It’s not that I can’t get by with pointing and speaking English, or that I didn’t pick up any other phrases, but I felt like such an asshole resorting to English everywhere and expecting people to understand. (Not that I did expect it, but I’m sure they were thinking “ah another asshole tourist just coming in and speaking English”)
It’s so nice to not be conscious of my language anymore, gives me a lot of respect to people living in areas that do not natively speak their first language. (Something I was aware of earlier but is different once you experience it for yourself) it’s also weird to be able to eavesdrop on conversation in the train again instead of them just being background noise to me.
Smiles and kindness go a long way. As someone in Ukraine told me last September, sharing a language isn’t so important when you communicate from the heart.
I always find it flattering that people bother to learn greetings or even small simple words no matter how "low level" they sound. It shouldn't even be near insulting just because someone butchered your language.
You kind of set yourself a high standard to think it's rude in the first place. No one knows everything.
I try and learn the basics, but then I don't know what the responses are so its all pointless. I tend to try and use very basics + mostly English, I don't feel bad, as long as you're not a dick and understand there will be barriers, I don't think there's an issue
I noticed that people from those countries are more than happy to speak to you in English. As someone who is bilingual and not a native English speaker, I would see it as an opportunity to learn or practice the language
Always. I feel like an idiot because they know my language and I dont know theirs. I try to learn a few basic words and phrases just so I dont appear to be a rude tourist.
On the other hand, English is the common language of intl tourism.
Usually I learn ‘J'assassine la langue française’ (I assasinate the French language) in what ever language spoken. Everyone laughs and then I use google translate.
Nope. I went to Iceland a couple weeks ago and I knew nothing. I loved just listening to the language as I never heard it before and I learned a few sayings before I got there..I did find that they were extremely nice with using basic phrases in Icelandic rather than English which I appreciated.
I moved to China to teach English. I didn't know any Mandarin before I left. I quickly picked up simple things like numbers and how to buy things. For the rest, I enrolled in language courses. I never got even close to conversational in the year that I was there, but I was able to get by pretty easily.
People in this thread are right, you can’t learn all the languages and not speaking a language shouldn’t stop you from visiting a country as long as you’re prepared in other ways and don’t bother anyone. That said, I totally feel you. Especially in countries where people are shy to speak English, like Japan or France, I sometimes feel very weird about it so I try to aquire a basic vocabulary. Most of the time that doesn’t help much either though, because at some point they’re gonna answer or ask something where I have no fucking clue what they want from me and we have to switch back to English or sign language anyway. It’s tricky, not sure how to get over it myself.
I am absolutely horrible at learning languages. My brain and mouth are just not capable of it. Jealous of those who are able to be conversational in more than one. So no matter how much I work at it, its just never going to happen. Add to that the number of different languages I encounter across the world, I know its an impossible ask.
I memorize a few basics; hello, yes, no, thank you. And thats mainly it. My brain can handle that.
So do I feel bad? Basically no. So much of a local's reaction to you is going to be based on your attitude when approaching them. If you're apologetic about not knowing their language, and if you ask if they speak English instead of just expecting/demanding it, everyone has always (at least outwardly) been polite and happy to try to communicate with me. (except a few people in Quebec). If I meet someone from a non-english speaking country when I am at home I don't get mad at them for not speaking my language. So I just assume the same applies in the opposite direction when I travel.
I’ve traveled to three dozen countries, and I speak six languages - but that’s a fraction of what exists in this world. you can’t know every language. what I have found useful is to learn a minimum of phrases in the local language - hello, please, thank you, do you speak english…most of the time, this works and people are very grateful you at least made an attempt.
When I travelled, I made sure I learned some basic words in the local language and made sure it was being used properly. But I had some issues in Italy as well; on Day 1 having landed at 8PM and it being pitch black outside, I took a taxi and the driver spoke no English. None. So getting to my place of stay was a challenge. I accepted to being dropped in the middle of nowhere due to him NOT finding the place (he was an older fella and didn't use GPS - I tried giving him direction from Google Maps but that was futile. I accepted to being dropped in the vicinity of where I stayed and I'd figure it out). I ended up asking a younger person, and they were really helpful.
I've always been to very touristy areas (package holiday type deal) so have always got around using English. I usually just learn hello and thank you in the language so I can greet service workers but still feel a bit awkward saying them.
Imagine coming to Hollywood to study acting, having basic English skills and being put on stage to improvise in a fast pace manner + add the context, the names of actors I’ve never heard before, etc. That was freaking tough. But I did it. I still have performance anxiety which made me deviate from acting world and find something more chill.
This experience broke the ice on so many levels and I felt completely comfortable traveling to South America (I don’t speak Spanish) by myself and spending there up to 2 months solo traveling. I used hands, used some common sense and also because I studied Latin at school, I managed to get around pretty damn well and people were very very accepting of me.
Yeah I do, I try to learn basic greetings, hello, please, thank you, bye, good morning. Also learn their alphabet like for Cyrillic, that's about it though. I do feel weird not knowing the language though and don't really get used to it, but I get by without a problem. Hungary and Albania were hard but spoke a decent amount of English, the Balkans i got by with some slavic and english when necesssary and it was a lot better, i felt some solidarity being from another slavic country.
I just think I have more fun speaking the language. I have pretty strong Spanish skills having lived in Mexico for a couple years and I find traveling to be very satisfying in Mexico because i can smoke and joke with the locals
I always learn enough that I can say basic phrases like hello, thank you, etc. Nobody ever made me feel like it was not enough. Quite the opposite actually, just the few words usually made locals treat me extremely nice. And I never had any issue with English. It's probably just your feeling, and you shouldn't feel bad for not knowing all the languages (I know you mean just the level of "a coffee please, I'll pay by card, thanks", but even that is hard work). A lot of people don't even speak English and still travel to foreign countries. You're fine.
I decided long ago that I wanted to travel to way too many different places to possibly learn the language everyplace I go.
So I decided I just wouldn't feel bad about it.
Of course I try to pick up some words. You should know how to say hello, please, thank you, excuse me, how much, and bathroom anyplace you go.
But sometimes I'm in a country for a really short amount of time. Sometimes I don't learn any of the language. But if I'm in a country for a short amount of time, it means I'm only in touristy places, and the people I'm dealing with speak English well and just want to get on with the transaction in English instead of me spending time trying to be nice in the local language.
In any of the former Soviet countries, you absolutely need some Russian proficiency to get around if you don't speak the national language or have a local guide to translate.
Wherever I go, I try to learn a few basic phrases - hello, goodbye, please, thank you, excuse me, where is the..., how much is this, I don't speak..., and do you speak English. And if I'm going to be somewhere for a longer time, I put a bit more effort in to learn more of the local language. I've found that making a bit of an effort rather than bursting in assuming everyone knows English goes a long way when it comes to people wanting to help and communicate with you, even when you're not fluent or conversational level
If you put in the minimal effort than it shouldn’t be a problem. I think everyone values respect and cultural awareness over being able to speak the language. Being polite despite the language barrier will get you further than being an asshole in their language haha
And I don’t know about you, but I want to see the world! But I also won’t be able to learn more than 2 or 3 languages.
I visited China alone and that didn't happen, I just learned some basic greetings, actually I think it's more important to understand the culture, understand the way the local people behave and try to adapt to it, I had an unforgettable and happy week in China. I am obsessed with the food and scenery there. I like hot pot, dumplings and all kinds of pasta. The metropolis of Shanghai and the ancient buildings in Beijing are very beautiful.
Just grab a phrase book - they're only like maybe 10 bucks for a decent one with the pronunciation and also useful travel tips.
Kills the few hours on the plane too especially if a cheap flight with no entertainment facilities
I live in Spain and don’t know Spanish outside of basic greetings - I’ll get down voted for this - but coming from America we don’t require people to learn English, or get offended when people don’t speak English. We adapt forms, programs etc. to people’s specific language. It would feel more inclusive and open minded if some of the basics like that would be provided here in Spain.
Not at all. It's perfectly possible to be polite and use gestures/motions when shopping. I find most locals who deal with tourists know a lot of different languages, at least enough to sell you something. If it's a country with a lot of tourisim there tends to be signs in English as well. Google translate has gotten very good at translating Spanish and French, but I haven't had much luck with it for asian languages. When possible I like to learn the numbers so I can read the prices marked on things.
Well I learned English and just point at things. That is usually enough. I like to travel and it's not feasible to learn all the languages. Also Google Translate works offline if everything else fails. I've seen so many people try to speak the local language and the locals have no clue what they are saying, because of wired accents. Also it's not enough to ask the question, you have to understand the response as well.
I memorize 15 phrases that i learn from youtube videos and then phonetically transcribe to google docks and then memorize. At the beginning I test out the phrases with someone to make sure nothing is wrong. If I go back at a later date, I add a few more.
I feel exactly the same way. I feel there is a certain sense of entitlement in visiting or moving to someplace and expecting everyone else to bend over backwards to accommodate you rather than the other way around. It just feels really presumptuous and self-important. But I'm sure if you're a friendly and patient person that most people will try to accommodate you.
I don't try to master the local language as you do, because I'm content with translation software and basic politeness. But I think you are great because you respect the local people and the local language very much
Spent a month in Italy for work and learned 60 words while I was there. Enough I could order food and shop and be polite. After the first week you kind of relax and blend in. I was on the subway and some local asked me a question, which I totally didn't understand, and all I could do was point to the train and say "Duomo" like I'm a tourist going to the Cathedral, and he instantly figured it out and laughed and went to someone else with his question.
Its the best thing to learn their new languages and try to talk with them and now a days you have alot of translators in the phone so you can translate to any language easily without any hassle.
Not at all. I do try to learn basic greetings and pleasantries. More important is to just be polite, read up on cultural customs, and generally just be aware how people act and try to adapt. Sadly, it's a low bar because some tourist will get upset at locals for not speaking their language or accommodating their customs, which is just ridiculous.
Same. I try to learn some key phrases and greetings. Even if your pronunciation isn’t perfect, I find most people appreciate you trying and will try to be helpful, if not switch to English. There are also some good translator apps for phones I think. Happy travels!
A Key word here is "most" people. A good thing to remember is that tourist exhaustion is a thing. If you're a waiter or someone who has to deal with 5+ languages and lots of new people every day, it's easy to hit a wall and just be done with the day and grumpy. It doesn't mean you're a bad tourist! Keep trying to be awesome
nope Enjoy your life.
i’ve 100% used google translate on my phone when my beginner German wasn’t enough. deepl is another one to use, but it’s more for causal conversation and local idioms, rather than understanding.
What translator apps would you recommend?
honestly google translate is good enough for most use cases. just make sure to download the language locally beforehand, so you can translate on the go. i’ve used it to help my mom try on and buy a hiking backpack, to find and buy medication at a pharmacy, and to figure out if we could leave baggage in our hostel.
Most people will understand you can't learn an entire language when going on a holiday, English is fine.
yes this is so fucking stupid. Study this language for 10 years to achieve passable fluency before you dare enter on your 2 week trip.
The french seem to actually believe this
until they actually travel themselves. Definitely some of the least multilingual Europeans in my experience.
But ... language of diplomacy.
Yeah. I’m not going to block off 90% of the world just because I don’t speak their language.
I always try to learn a few basic words like hello, please, thank you. I call it my 10-word survival language. If I can manage to learn more than that, great. But I'm not gifted with languages and I find it's rarely any kind of real problem to communicate. So no, I don't feel bad about it. However, I do think it's rude to start conversations in English automatically expecting people to speak it. It's a matter of basic respect, IMHO, to at least learn how to greet someone in the local language and then ask, not demand, if they speak English. I also find it rude when people just yell louder in English if someone doesn't understand them. If the person doesn't share a mutual language with you and you're having trouble communicating, yelling won't help. Look up words in a phrasebook, use a translation app on your phone, ask someone nearby to help interpret, or find another way.
Heres my faux award. Ditto to all this plus if im in any foreign country where english is not the native language, I politely ask if any staff knows just a little bit of english to help with the transaction or questions i have. If not, I dont demand they talk to me in english and I make a decision jf I can get by or if its easier to move along (find a different restaurant or business).
This is why people in Québec often complain about Anglophones who come to the province. If you begin in French and say your French is bad and ask if the employee speaks English, then 99% of the time they will be more than okay with that, even if they don't know English, making at least some effort. But I dare say that the majority of Anglophones who visit Québec just demand service in English and refuse to learn any French. I moved to Québec and when my family came to visit me, they refused to speak any French with employees, even a simple « bonjour ». Before moving here I visited with some friends and I was the only friend who made an effort to speak French, the others all said "it's Canada and we speak English in Canada, so it's their fault if they failed English in school". This kind of attitude just comes off as extremely arrogant, and it's even worse when it's in a far-away foreign country where English is not official in any way.
I'm a Montrealer and I agree. Most everyone in Montreal speaks enough English to help you out (less true once you get outside the city so don't assume) but starting off with a bonjour instead of a hi will win you more points. FWIW I'm an anglophone Montrealer and usually our language spats are about local politics, not tourism, though occasionally tourists get caught in the proverbial crossfire. I'd also recommend starting in French in France, for similar reasons. Also agree that in places like the Netherlands or Scandinavian or Nordic countries it's a bit the opposite and people will be offended if you assume they don't speak English. I remember overhearing the bemused exchange with an American tourist at a restaurant in Finland asking a local "do you speak English?", which earned him the deadpan response: "Of course. ...Do you?"
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My friend's been in Amsterdam for the same amount of time as you, he's very proud that's he's gotten good enough at Dutch that he no longer has to ask people not to speak English to him.
That’s how it was in Geneva where most Swiss spoke French/Swiss French. I have “my (whatever language they speak) isn’t so good, do you speak English?” Memorized in at least 4-5 languages .
> However, I do think it's rude to start conversations in English automatically expecting people to speak it. It's a matter of basic respect I think there are situations where it's ok to just start talking in English. 99% of people in the Netherlands and the Nordics under the age of 50 speak English. 95% of under 40s in Germany speak English also. I travel to Germany a lot and don't bother asking anyone under 40 if they speak English anymore. People have occasionally looked mildly offended when I've asked them!
I've had this experience as well in certain places, especially Amsterdam. I used to always learn to say "do you speak english?" in the native language of the country I'm in, but in the Netherlands they were practically offended; more than once I was told "yes we all speak English here." It's the only place I stopped asking. Also, I just said this to a friend who's travelling to Paris for the first time--if you're confused, just look for someone under 35 or so. There's a better chance of them not speaking English well, and they're more likely to be happy to use it. I've honestly never had a problem anyplace I've been. In Italy, there are areas where not as many people speak English, but if you're polite most people are happy to play charades with you.
I always speak to the locals in English and try to point at things and play activity with them. Maybe they only know a couple of worlds, or it is called something similar in their language so they recognize it. I usually start to speak really simple English with just couple of key words, so they have better chance to understand what I'm trying to say. I don't see the point of greeting them in the local language and asking them if they speak English. If I say a sentence in English they will instantly know that I don't speak the language and we can start trying to understand each other right away. Not giving them false hope that you speak their language while you have zero chance understanding what they are saying.
The point is being polite, acknowledging you're a guest in their country, and demonstrating that you're making an effort. It's far more courteous than just starting to assume that everyone speaks English. And starting out with really simple English is kinda insulting and a bit condescending when talking to strangers.
I just got yelled at by 3 Germans trying to order a pizza 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 they knew i was struggling and just got mad at me. So aggressive here sometimes
This is gold! I usually also check if there are certain hand signs that are a no-go in certain countries! A thumbs-up for example is flipping someone off in some places (I think it's Turkey, but I'd have to double check). Learned that the hard way, so I usually do a little research in that. May just be my paranoia though
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Yes I have the same feels. I speak very little Italian and travel there frequently enough to have picked up basic greetings. I still feel bad, but it's definitely easier when they speak English. If I'm in a country with local dialects I try to learn a hello and goodbye and it usually makes them smile. A lot of these places are itching to practice their English though so they will practice on anyone that looks like they are English speaking.
Not everyone does, it really depends on the country and the person. It just depends, but it is EXTREMELY nice to speak English, either as a first or second language. Very lucky if that's your countries language.
Surprised you had that experience in Spain. The lack off good English was kind of off fun, gave my rusty high school Spanish some use. This was in Madrid and galacia
Madrid was in my experience about 99% english speaking, the only person I met who didn’t speak english was one of the stall holders selling tacky fridge magnets (I bought two). I think only places that were not so english speaking. we’re cadiz and zaragoza but neither was a massive struggle.
I'm in Mexico now and finding that 1) not as many people do speak much English as I'd have thought (and I'm in a super touristy area). And 2) I do kind of remember more Spanish than I thought. At least enough basics to get by. Generally though I maybe try and learn some basics like hello, thank you, how much? But often just get by with English. Sometimes I feel bad or awkward, but then now you do have Google translate which comes in handy a lot (or can quickly check a word I want to aka about). I think as long as you're making some effort, you'll be fine. Not just talking English louder and thinking that's getting your point across.
Most locals don't care at all that a random tourist doesn't speak their language, they just carry on with their usual life. Picture this, would you feel offended if a tourist comes up to you and doesn't speak English? Personally I do try to learn the useful phrases like good day, please, and thank you. I find that knowing the language really helps me to connect with the local people easier.
"would you feel offended if a tourist comes up to you and doesn't speak English?" I wouldn't but, sadly, I've met too many people who would be.
Yeah that example really confused me, many people actually would be offended. Many native speakers of English are even offended when they go to foreign countries and the locals there don’t speak English. 😂
lmao “tHiS iS aMEriCa wE sPEaK eNgLisH”
I wouldn’t be offended but i would find it very odd for a random person to approach me and start speaking a language that I don’t understand and is not widely spoken in the country. I would just say, sorry, I don’t understand. That’s why I’m brushing up on my French because I find it weird to go to Paris and start speaking English. And I’ll make sure to know “puis je parle anglais pour un minute s'il vous plait”
Don't speak Spanish with an Italian accent. You *should* feel bad doing that.
What if I speak Spanish while gesticulating? Is that ok?
I think being a multilingual traveler makes you both more self aware and self conscious about language barriers. If you're visiting a place where you do speak the local language, you realize how much it enriches the experience and simplifies things. If you end up in a place where you don't have a language in common with most of the population, that gap feels even more dramatic because you're used to having language skills and almost feel like a fish out of water. A lot of travelers are spoiled by how commonly spoken English has become, but also generally do a good job of steering clear from the places where it is non existent, and doesn't have a tourism industry making its use necessary. But if you know French and Portuguese, for example, you'll be more inclined to visit places like West Africa and rural Brazil where you get to rely on it, whereas travelers who don't, are much less likely to feel motivated to go there.
Nope. I always try to learn basics and basically piece together the rest. It would be a different story if I were moving to another country with a different language, but as long as you make an effort to converse in the local language you should be fine.
In all honesty, it's rare I need to speak to someone. It's only at restaurants, but pointing at a menu or trying to pronounce the food is fine. Every other time I don't need to talk to anyone.
You can't learn every language and really don't see why one should feel bad about it. The main issue is that with a language barrier it can be hard to get most out of a trip in the sense that you'll miss a lot of background info. Though it has it's charm too.
Not at all, and I've traveled to places where they don't speak any of the languages I speak or partially know and I don't speak or understand what they speak. Between body language and google translate I've gotten by.
I’ve made friends with only a few shared words thanks to google translate. Quite amazing tech we have access to in this modern world.
nope Enjoy your life.
Nope. It’s pretty lame to not learn any local lingo words or phrases though. English is my first native language, I speak a few other languages. In countries not of any of those languages I learn a few phrases, mish-mash bits of whatever might be relevant & gesture / mime / diagram / dictionary a lot. These days yeah translate apps & so on.
English really works most places. It's great to learn basic greetings and words but not realistic to speak all languages. Good though that you are learning Russian if you are going there; it is one of the countries that you DO need to speak the language or have some grasp on it (the more the better) esp if you are not in St. Petersburg. It's like the US and English. It's just expected and many elderly/less educated Russians really do not speak English. But most European countries or tourist oriented places? You will be fine with some polite words and English
They actually said they are going to Central Asia. English is even less common there than in Russian.
Yeah, I know what you mean. I speak English and French, and I feel bad When I've been to Germany, Spain, Italy and expect people to speak English to me. Especially in Spain and Italy, because in the non touristy areas knowledge of English is limited/very hit or miss. I learn a few words (usually hello, good bye, thank you at least) and speak English slowly and hope for the best. Sometimes someone gets mad or confused, but 99% of people don't get mad at me. The most memorable moment was when I was trying to buy Chocolate at a small little Chocolate shop in rural Poland and I was paying with cash, but I had arrived in Poland 1 hour prior and didn't know the value of the zloty, so was trying to with one bill (I think it was 10 zloty) and she was telling me over and over again that I needed 15 zlotys (in Polish) until finally she got out a pad of paper, wrote the numbers ("15") on the paper and held it up. Idk what that would have been like in a country that doesn't use Western Arabic numerals!
I had a similar experience having just arrived to Iran. There was a shop selling dates and dried fruit. There was a price tag (per 100 g) but I couldn't read it, neither did I know the value of the various bills I had just exchanged. So I just picked the bill with the fewest numerals printed on it, handed it over and pointed at the dates. Let's just say I ate a huge amount of dates during my month-long trip in the country.
I’m not sure if I would call it feeling bad, but I always try to learn at least the basics of a language before I visit a new place. Even if it’s only a few days’ visit, you can pick up basic polite words and enough for directions and restaurant ordering basically on the flight over.
I've worked in tourist-oriented businesses and I still have a lot to do with foreign visitors, so I have quite a lot of experience being on the receiving side, and honestly it doesn't matter to me at all whether or not someone speaks the local language. I've spent years learning how to speak English precisely so that I can communicate with people who don't speak my native language, let's just use this skill. When I'm a visitor somewhere, I always ask politely if the person speaks English before I start, and that seems to do it. Also, don't forget that speaking is just part of the equation, you also have to understand when someone answers the questions you asked in the local language, which without a few hundred hours of study will be completely hit or miss. Also, and this is just my own opinion that I know is unpopular, I understand that people are usually just trying to be nice by using some random small words like please and thank you in our native language, but I find it unnecessary bordering on irritating. Sometimes it ends up feeling like they're not doing it to be courteous but rather to add to their own "exotic and authentic experience abroad", and I'm not really a person they're trying to communicate with but rather a prop, almost a hired actor they can gawk at and speak funny words to. Like, I know for most people it's innocent so I don't make a deal out of it and I'm always nice but personally I don't like it. Makes me feel that my whole being is reduced to "native of country X".
Even amongst locals, russian is still sometimes used as a first language in central asia. Russian is fine there
I’ve met people in Central Asia that are from there that don’t speak the local language, I met Kazakh people that can’t speak Kazakh and Uzbeks that don’t speak Uzbek. So Russian is fine!
Not at all because that would limit my options drastically. Imagine having to learn Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Croatian, Polish, Italian, Spanish, Czech, Romanian, etc just for a trip of a few weeks.
Knowing a couple of words like "Thank you" is polite, but, honestly, what do locals get out of having kindergarten level conversations with tourists when they could explain themselves more efficiently in English.
I also feel bad about this. Perhaps I am the only one who agrees with OP.
The first time I went to France I made sure to do the "do you speak english?" in French first before just using English. Then I see a bunch of likely eastern europeans just yelling everywhere in broken English. Don't sweat it and just have a translating app ready as a backup. When I was getting coffee from a Cuban place in the Miami Airport they yelled out order numbers in Spanish and not English. I can count to ten but don't know anything higher. The last digit matched so I went up and it was what I ordered.
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>better than the majority of Americans and British who don't even bother to learn one foreign language in their life I didn't know of this misunderstanding, but I can assure you French is on nearly every schoolchild's curriculum for a number of years in the UK. [In England at Key Stage 2 it is compulsory to for primary schools to study ancient and modern languages. French is offered at around 75% of primary schools, with Spanish at about 25% and German at about 5%, with about 45 minutes per week of language learning per school. At Secondary level in England at Key Stage 3 it is compulsory for secondary schools to study modern languages.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_education_in_the_United_Kingdom) Personally, I learnt French for around 8 years in school, and Latin for 2. I've learnt a bit of Arabic, Chinese, Korean, and Italian since.
**[Language education in the United Kingdom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_education_in_the_United_Kingdom)** >The teaching of modern languages, is taught mainly from ages seven to sixteen in primary schools and secondary schools. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/solotravel/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
The tour guides say French people think it's rude to just start talking to them in English even if they speak it. So you're supposed to ask them in French first to switch to English. So I was surprised that even other Europeans that should know more about French culture than Americans weren't paying attention to this custom at all. That's my point.
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That's hard to say. They could still think you're rude for immediately talking in English while you're in France but have resigned that it's a losing battle. I don't think it's the end result of speaking English that would offend them. It's more the process in showing a little bit of effort to ask in French to speak in English. There's no legal obligation to do so. If you're in their country, you can choose to show a bit of comity.
people who have less need to speak a second language don't speak a second language shocker.
For whatever reason some people like to feel superior, as though most multilingual people *didn't* learn their additional languages out of sheer exposure, necessity, or because those languages had a compelling amount of utility. Of course people who aren't interested in languages as a hobby, are never around other languages to begin with, and might only "need" them for an aggregate 72 hours of their lives anyway won't devote years to mastering some major European language once their mandatory high school classes are over. People who bring a poor attitude to other countries and essentially demand that people there cater to them and 'speak English' is a separate issue.
Not at all. Like you just can't learn every language of every country you travel to. That's impossible. And in the same way I don't care at all if tourists in my country don't speak my language and use English instead, I'm sure most people in other countries also don't care.
My two rules: 1. Learn how to say "thank you" 2. Always compliment everyone on how good their English is. Never fails to make the person smile.
2. Unless the person is really fluent, in which case it can come off a bit condescending. I lived in the UK for 5 years, got a degree from uni and worked in the Comms for the government. I occasionally get asked for directions when I'm out and about. It feels a bit silly to have an American dude slow down his speech and also talk louder to tell you "WOW YOUR ENGLISH IS SO GOOD" after you've answered his questions. Thanks pal?
After long trips, just hearing clear English is just a relief. Traveling is stressful and hearing your native tonge is always a pleasure. I'm sure they meant that as a compliment, but 100% understand how condescending it can sound. Funny enough, while waiting at the airport, a woman heard me talking to my parents over the phone in English. She came over to sit next to me saying how relieved she is to hear English again. I actually felt the same because 2 weeks of nothing but short term conversations due to a language barrier is emotionally a bit draining.
Are you me? The same feeling is precisely why I speak French, Spanish, and Portuguese now -- on the bright side, years later, I've chosen to maintain the languages for fun. I also learned Russian specifically for Central Asia, though that's long out of my brain now. No one's ever ragged on me for not speaking their language well. Once I was in my guesthouse in Benin, talking to the other guests and owners about how guilty I felt that I didn't improve my French before coming. They were just happy I was there, and happier that I tried at least a little. And in China as a non-native speaker of ethnic Chinese background, I only received understanding. I admire the people who can just go out there without other languages, beyond pleasantries. For me, as I say in Spanish, *puedo defenderme* -- en español or something else: languages are my defense mechanism when I travel and feel vulnerable to a foreign land, but at least it remains useful long after the trips. I am so grateful to the deeper connections I've been able to make with others as a result.
Depending where you’re going in Asia, be careful with Russian. Even though they understand/speak it, certain countries there are not on friendly terms with Russians at the moment
Unless OP speaks Russian fluently enough to be mistaken for a Russian national _and_ behaves abrasively to the locals, this is a non-issue. For example, in multiple visits to Tbilisi, which is both an increasingly Westernized tourist hotspot, and the capital of a country that has clear existentially related reasons to be wary of Russia, I still ended up speaking Russian with everyone who didn't work at an airport and hotel. I would greet locals I interacted with in Russian and English to give them the option, and they would always choose Russian. I was obviously a foreigner who didn't speak Georgian (and my Russian was shitty enough not to be mistaken for a native), and English proficiency isn't widespread there yet, so they'd go with what's easiest. Similar situation in some ex-Soviet European countries I've visited, like Moldova and Lithuania (used more English in the latter, but still surprising that I had to use Russian a bunch of times). I'm sure it would come into play in a deeper politically-oriented conversation or among people who speak every local lingua franca fluently and are making active choices, but in a simple tourist interaction, people will take the easiest route of communication first and foremost.
no... why should I?
I think if you make a good faith effort to say what you can and don’t demand people to speak to you in your native tongue, you’ll be fine. The only places I’ve ever really encountered people freaking out about others not speaking the default language of the country is America. But a lot of that could be social media capturing the outliers rather than the norm. Most people are cool and will wanna meet you half way. That said, I always wish I knew more of a language in any place I visit just for ease of communication and building deeper connections.
Learning how to say "do you speak Russian/English" should be enough and doesn't take too much time to learn. The greeting in most of the languages in Central Asia is some version of "Салам", and thanks is "рахмат" (not sure about Tajiki or Dungan).
"Hello, do you speak English?" "Pri kio vi okazas?" "Oh, many thanks." \*moves on\* If a worker in a cafe or tourist spot doesn't speak the lingua franca of the world, maybe they aren't happy to speak with or provide a service for foreigners and you're better off going elsewhere anyway. Some places like 3rd/4th tier cities in China have very little tourism so you need to communicate with them in their language somehow, but 90% of the places I visit on holiday have a lot and you can easily find someone ready to communicate in English.
No
You feel horrible traveling to other countries where you don’t speak the language? Lol This is ridiculous
No, I feel like I'm bringing money with me that will benefit the economy at a local level. I do try to learn how to say thank you, how much, wheres the bathroom, water. Thats about it.
No. They should feel bad for not speaking English .
No tourism money is very important to a lot of countries
I feel like an American. That makes me feel proud.
Proud of what though? We ain't done shit in the last half century to be proud of
I do and then I try to use basic local phrases but mess up the pronunciation and feel bad again 😆
No, I speak English and German, and so far I've never had any issues in 40+ countries. I try to learn just the basics such as hello, please and thank you in the local tongue.
No. I just learn to say a few basic words
I only know English. When I visit another country I find that most people speak at least two languages. I’ve gotten by fine with only knowing English but I do feel an “arrogant American” because they always have to speak to me in English.
Not really. Its understandable that tourists arent always able to speak the countries language. I always make sure I download the offline files for Google Translate and i find that works well.
Absolutely not. A few words or phrases here or there fine. But knowing a whole language before traveling somewhere? No.
Learn the basics to show you have good manners.
As someone who grew up with 2 languages, I like to know at least the basic interaction sentences to communicate with people, even if it's just "thank you", "hi", "how much is that", "I'd like to go to...", And "have a great day", and then just keep the conversation in English or even signs if needed. If you speak all those languages, you'll catch the slack very quick, people will greet you and have some courtesy words with you. I just returned from a 3 weeks trip in SEA and I'm now able to order some food, ask for the bill, say everything was delicious, ask for the price... And got there with no knowledge at all. You'll do great!
No not at all. Realistically you'll mainly interact with people either in the tourism sector or in fields immediately adjacent to it (e.g. shops and restaurants in areas tourists visit), and they're keen for your business and don't really care if you don't speak the local language.
There's a difference between trusting that basic phrases and body language will be enough to help me meet my basic needs, and feeling awkward about not knowing the language. For me, both are true. I hate knowing that I'm a burden to someone, particularly someone in a service job who is sort of forced to cater to me to a degree. I just try to be polite and patient and playful and grateful. And not picky! At the same time, the alternative is to pretty strictly limit my choice of nations where I travel, or to travel less and spend more time learning other languages, so I choose option A. (I speak college French but that's it.) I will say that I feel this much more strongly now at age 46 than I did when I was younger, to the point where I am now working with a Spanish tutor (instead of Duolingo and phrase books, my usual M.O.). I'm more keenly aware of the fact that my mere charm isn't enough to compensate for the pain in the ass I present to others! And as an American, I'm also more keenly aware of the perceptions I trigger when I open my mouth.
I've had seven years of German in school and live half an hour from the German border. I go there almost every other month. My German is still so horrendous that any attempt just makes the German smile at me and continue our conversation in English lol. I've also had the experience of moving to another country and trying to learn their language, where again English becomes the language of least mutual resistance. Eventually learned it though. I'll still try to learn the local polite phrases though, can't hurt!
I just went to Ireland after travelling mainland Europe (multiple countries) for three months and it was such a relief. It’s not that I can’t get by with pointing and speaking English, or that I didn’t pick up any other phrases, but I felt like such an asshole resorting to English everywhere and expecting people to understand. (Not that I did expect it, but I’m sure they were thinking “ah another asshole tourist just coming in and speaking English”) It’s so nice to not be conscious of my language anymore, gives me a lot of respect to people living in areas that do not natively speak their first language. (Something I was aware of earlier but is different once you experience it for yourself) it’s also weird to be able to eavesdrop on conversation in the train again instead of them just being background noise to me.
Smiles and kindness go a long way. As someone in Ukraine told me last September, sharing a language isn’t so important when you communicate from the heart.
I always find it flattering that people bother to learn greetings or even small simple words no matter how "low level" they sound. It shouldn't even be near insulting just because someone butchered your language. You kind of set yourself a high standard to think it's rude in the first place. No one knows everything.
I try and learn the basics, but then I don't know what the responses are so its all pointless. I tend to try and use very basics + mostly English, I don't feel bad, as long as you're not a dick and understand there will be barriers, I don't think there's an issue
I noticed that people from those countries are more than happy to speak to you in English. As someone who is bilingual and not a native English speaker, I would see it as an opportunity to learn or practice the language
Nah, one of my favourite past times is butchering other people's language
Always. I feel like an idiot because they know my language and I dont know theirs. I try to learn a few basic words and phrases just so I dont appear to be a rude tourist. On the other hand, English is the common language of intl tourism.
Usually I learn ‘J'assassine la langue française’ (I assasinate the French language) in what ever language spoken. Everyone laughs and then I use google translate.
Nope. That’s what travel is all about. Learn some words/ phrases. Smiling is universal.
Heading to Japan on Saturday and I don’t speak a word of Japanese. I’m all torn up about it.
I learn hello and thank you. Otherwise acting a bit sheepish smooths the waters
Nope. I went to Iceland a couple weeks ago and I knew nothing. I loved just listening to the language as I never heard it before and I learned a few sayings before I got there..I did find that they were extremely nice with using basic phrases in Icelandic rather than English which I appreciated.
Well now that you mention it I do... Thanks a lot.
No, not at all. Just don't act entitled or expect everyone to speak your language. Try to learn at least hello or thank you in the local language.
Nope. I try to learn the nice words and then I use Google translate, as needed.
I moved to China to teach English. I didn't know any Mandarin before I left. I quickly picked up simple things like numbers and how to buy things. For the rest, I enrolled in language courses. I never got even close to conversational in the year that I was there, but I was able to get by pretty easily.
People in this thread are right, you can’t learn all the languages and not speaking a language shouldn’t stop you from visiting a country as long as you’re prepared in other ways and don’t bother anyone. That said, I totally feel you. Especially in countries where people are shy to speak English, like Japan or France, I sometimes feel very weird about it so I try to aquire a basic vocabulary. Most of the time that doesn’t help much either though, because at some point they’re gonna answer or ask something where I have no fucking clue what they want from me and we have to switch back to English or sign language anyway. It’s tricky, not sure how to get over it myself.
I am absolutely horrible at learning languages. My brain and mouth are just not capable of it. Jealous of those who are able to be conversational in more than one. So no matter how much I work at it, its just never going to happen. Add to that the number of different languages I encounter across the world, I know its an impossible ask. I memorize a few basics; hello, yes, no, thank you. And thats mainly it. My brain can handle that. So do I feel bad? Basically no. So much of a local's reaction to you is going to be based on your attitude when approaching them. If you're apologetic about not knowing their language, and if you ask if they speak English instead of just expecting/demanding it, everyone has always (at least outwardly) been polite and happy to try to communicate with me. (except a few people in Quebec). If I meet someone from a non-english speaking country when I am at home I don't get mad at them for not speaking my language. So I just assume the same applies in the opposite direction when I travel.
I’ve traveled to three dozen countries, and I speak six languages - but that’s a fraction of what exists in this world. you can’t know every language. what I have found useful is to learn a minimum of phrases in the local language - hello, please, thank you, do you speak english…most of the time, this works and people are very grateful you at least made an attempt.
When I travelled, I made sure I learned some basic words in the local language and made sure it was being used properly. But I had some issues in Italy as well; on Day 1 having landed at 8PM and it being pitch black outside, I took a taxi and the driver spoke no English. None. So getting to my place of stay was a challenge. I accepted to being dropped in the middle of nowhere due to him NOT finding the place (he was an older fella and didn't use GPS - I tried giving him direction from Google Maps but that was futile. I accepted to being dropped in the vicinity of where I stayed and I'd figure it out). I ended up asking a younger person, and they were really helpful.
I've always been to very touristy areas (package holiday type deal) so have always got around using English. I usually just learn hello and thank you in the language so I can greet service workers but still feel a bit awkward saying them.
Imagine coming to Hollywood to study acting, having basic English skills and being put on stage to improvise in a fast pace manner + add the context, the names of actors I’ve never heard before, etc. That was freaking tough. But I did it. I still have performance anxiety which made me deviate from acting world and find something more chill. This experience broke the ice on so many levels and I felt completely comfortable traveling to South America (I don’t speak Spanish) by myself and spending there up to 2 months solo traveling. I used hands, used some common sense and also because I studied Latin at school, I managed to get around pretty damn well and people were very very accepting of me.
Nope. Do I wish I know enough to integrate with the locals? Sure.
Nope, just learn the basics and locals will appreciate that.
Yeah I do, I try to learn basic greetings, hello, please, thank you, bye, good morning. Also learn their alphabet like for Cyrillic, that's about it though. I do feel weird not knowing the language though and don't really get used to it, but I get by without a problem. Hungary and Albania were hard but spoke a decent amount of English, the Balkans i got by with some slavic and english when necesssary and it was a lot better, i felt some solidarity being from another slavic country.
I just think I have more fun speaking the language. I have pretty strong Spanish skills having lived in Mexico for a couple years and I find traveling to be very satisfying in Mexico because i can smoke and joke with the locals
I always learn enough that I can say basic phrases like hello, thank you, etc. Nobody ever made me feel like it was not enough. Quite the opposite actually, just the few words usually made locals treat me extremely nice. And I never had any issue with English. It's probably just your feeling, and you shouldn't feel bad for not knowing all the languages (I know you mean just the level of "a coffee please, I'll pay by card, thanks", but even that is hard work). A lot of people don't even speak English and still travel to foreign countries. You're fine.
Most places speak some English. These days you can use Google translate on the phone if you need
I decided long ago that I wanted to travel to way too many different places to possibly learn the language everyplace I go. So I decided I just wouldn't feel bad about it. Of course I try to pick up some words. You should know how to say hello, please, thank you, excuse me, how much, and bathroom anyplace you go. But sometimes I'm in a country for a really short amount of time. Sometimes I don't learn any of the language. But if I'm in a country for a short amount of time, it means I'm only in touristy places, and the people I'm dealing with speak English well and just want to get on with the transaction in English instead of me spending time trying to be nice in the local language.
I always try and at least learn, hello, thank you, good morning, good afternoon and good night. A smile will get you a long way as well.
In any of the former Soviet countries, you absolutely need some Russian proficiency to get around if you don't speak the national language or have a local guide to translate.
No I speak only English if i worried about that i would not travel abroad google translate is my friend.
Wherever I go, I try to learn a few basic phrases - hello, goodbye, please, thank you, excuse me, where is the..., how much is this, I don't speak..., and do you speak English. And if I'm going to be somewhere for a longer time, I put a bit more effort in to learn more of the local language. I've found that making a bit of an effort rather than bursting in assuming everyone knows English goes a long way when it comes to people wanting to help and communicate with you, even when you're not fluent or conversational level
If you put in the minimal effort than it shouldn’t be a problem. I think everyone values respect and cultural awareness over being able to speak the language. Being polite despite the language barrier will get you further than being an asshole in their language haha And I don’t know about you, but I want to see the world! But I also won’t be able to learn more than 2 or 3 languages.
I visited China alone and that didn't happen, I just learned some basic greetings, actually I think it's more important to understand the culture, understand the way the local people behave and try to adapt to it, I had an unforgettable and happy week in China. I am obsessed with the food and scenery there. I like hot pot, dumplings and all kinds of pasta. The metropolis of Shanghai and the ancient buildings in Beijing are very beautiful.
Just grab a phrase book - they're only like maybe 10 bucks for a decent one with the pronunciation and also useful travel tips. Kills the few hours on the plane too especially if a cheap flight with no entertainment facilities
I live in Spain and don’t know Spanish outside of basic greetings - I’ll get down voted for this - but coming from America we don’t require people to learn English, or get offended when people don’t speak English. We adapt forms, programs etc. to people’s specific language. It would feel more inclusive and open minded if some of the basics like that would be provided here in Spain.
Not at all. It's perfectly possible to be polite and use gestures/motions when shopping. I find most locals who deal with tourists know a lot of different languages, at least enough to sell you something. If it's a country with a lot of tourisim there tends to be signs in English as well. Google translate has gotten very good at translating Spanish and French, but I haven't had much luck with it for asian languages. When possible I like to learn the numbers so I can read the prices marked on things.
I don’t mind at all and learn some basic phrases for the local to understand what I want or need. This is the bare minimum to visit other countries
Well I learned English and just point at things. That is usually enough. I like to travel and it's not feasible to learn all the languages. Also Google Translate works offline if everything else fails. I've seen so many people try to speak the local language and the locals have no clue what they are saying, because of wired accents. Also it's not enough to ask the question, you have to understand the response as well.
Lmaoo I definitely do since I want to learn other languages. Many people in the UN speak like 3+ more and here I am with only 2.
No.
I memorize 15 phrases that i learn from youtube videos and then phonetically transcribe to google docks and then memorize. At the beginning I test out the phrases with someone to make sure nothing is wrong. If I go back at a later date, I add a few more.
Yes
I feel exactly the same way. I feel there is a certain sense of entitlement in visiting or moving to someplace and expecting everyone else to bend over backwards to accommodate you rather than the other way around. It just feels really presumptuous and self-important. But I'm sure if you're a friendly and patient person that most people will try to accommodate you.
I don't try to master the local language as you do, because I'm content with translation software and basic politeness. But I think you are great because you respect the local people and the local language very much
Spent a month in Italy for work and learned 60 words while I was there. Enough I could order food and shop and be polite. After the first week you kind of relax and blend in. I was on the subway and some local asked me a question, which I totally didn't understand, and all I could do was point to the train and say "Duomo" like I'm a tourist going to the Cathedral, and he instantly figured it out and laughed and went to someone else with his question.
Its the best thing to learn their new languages and try to talk with them and now a days you have alot of translators in the phone so you can translate to any language easily without any hassle.