Speak the language
do I need to be able to speak the language when I go to France or Spain? I'm worried that I'm not that great!!
Comments
-
I have been traveling to mainland Europe for quite a few years now. I don't speak any of the languages fluently but can get by in French and German.
What I have found over the years is that if you try to speak the language, most people will help you and some will even speak to you in beeter English than you here on some British streets.
Just try, you will be amazed
0 -
If you're camping, then you really just using need enough of the language to ask for a pitch for a certain number of days, with electricity. Ten to one, they will then reply to you in English! If you have real worries then check what language is spoken
at reception on the Camping France website.I think the larger sites in both countries will probably have an English speaker, but smaller, rural campsites may not.
For shopping, you can use a supermarket where all you really need to know is how to pay at the end! Usually payments are displayed electronically, so you can see how much you owe, and if you're not sure you can always 'sign' for them to write it down for
you!It's possible to manage with very little language, but much more fun (and appreciated by all) if you have at least the basics.
0 -
Take a phrasebook and make the effort. Don't be like the typical Brit abroad who expects everyone else to speak EEnglish and who's idea of speaking a forwign language is to shout. I'm lucky I speak French well enough but I have been able to manage a bit
in \spanish and German. Just imagine how you may feel when people come here from other countries and make no effort at all with English.0 -
Couldn't agree more with Mitzi. A few words for fruit & veg, meats, & quantity will allow you to shop at the markets which can be a much better experience than the supermarket which tend to be the same all over.
Also, it's only courtesy to be able to make the effort to speak a bit and once you start your confidence will grow. We can understand more than we can speak, which isn't a lot, but enough to get by on. And the locals really appreciate the effort and try
to help you out.If you go to some of the more rural sites and villages there may be no one who speaks any English. Enjoy, and don't be afraid to try.
0 -
Either a phrasebook or bi-lingual dictionary. If they don't understand your pronunciation, you can show them the words. Moi, I can point fluently in 14 languages.
0 -
Being able to understand what you're ordering to eat is useful, you don't want just a plateful of spinach.
Same in shops, suddenly the packets and tins can be a bit of a mystery. Is it really sugar you are looking at or salt....and in France dont forget to be polite, they like a Bonjour Madame, or a Merci Madame.
Have fun.0 -
In order to avoid Bestboys dilemma the first phrase you should learn is.." I'm sorry but I can only speak and understand a little...." This takes away the possibility that like BB you end up comparing the local to a goat or something equally horrendous.
We've always found that if you really try then most people will warm to you and help you out.
0 -
Would very much agree that it adds to your holiday if you can speak some essentials and definitely common courtesy. On our first visit to Italy I tried to be clever and ask for the half pound of mushrooms my wife wanted in Italian and metric. I thought I
said quarto kilo but must have said quattro and, even after trying to stop the guy serving us,we were eating them for quite a while!0 -
,, NUMBERS !! A very important qualification.Even if your language skills are a bit lacking ,numbers helps you not getting
ripped off !!0 -
This thread has just reminded me to download some language apps for the kids in preparation to our summer tour. I know from previous visits to Spain that a single well timed 'Gracias' from a child is worth a million attempts from an adult!
0 -
Look for a young person. I guarantee he/she will speak English!
0 -
Once in Spain I needed to get the bus from Alicante to Valencia. I successfuly purchased my ticket for the 1 o'clock departure but when I got on the bus there was obviously something wrong.... The bus driver rattled something off to me, so I replied with
my customary "I'm sorry I dont speak Spanish" (in Spanish). He repeated it louder and slower and louder and slower until he was shouting at me in single words. It turns out some things really are universal.
(Eventually
someone who spoke English informed me that I needed to vaildate my ticket in the 'kerching' machine).My advice is try your best, don't forget to smile and stay calm in the face of loud, slow shouting. Polite hand getsures and a phrase boook go a long way. Making your way in other countries is great fun, but can be slow going.
0 -
We have no plans to go abroad so I'll just stick to speaking English. Having said that, I did learn French and German in school but a bit out of practice now!
0 -
I get by in France with my schoolgirl French learned fifty plus years ago but was really apprehensive about going to Germany and Austria. I did some preparation with a language app on my Ipod and had a list of basic phrases written out on a sheet of paper
that I could point to. In the event, as others have said, as soon as I tried I was responded to in English. I was told that the Germans love to practice their English and I understand that as I get a little bit annoyed that I am not allowed to use my French
in France0 -
,, NUMBERS !! A very important qualification.Even if your language skills are a bit lacking ,numbers helps you not getting
ripped off !!A few years ago in Italy ( nr Venice) bingo was all the rage. I wonder if it still is... Playing bingo in a foreign language certainly sharpens up those numbers.
0 -
When on the Continent, why is it that whenever we sit down in a restaurant for a meal, the waiter walks up and says "would you like a menu in English sir?. This is before we have even opened our mouths!
0 -
Disconcerting, isn't it?
0 -
When on the Continent, why is it that whenever we sit down in a restaurant for a meal, the waiter walks up and says "would you like a menu in English sir?. This is before we have even opened our mouths!
Could it be the socks and sandals, and the knotted hanky on the head gives something away.
0 -
My French isn't very good but I was registering at the municipal site in Annecy and speaking to the warden in French. An English couple were in the queue behind me. As we left the office they asked me if I spoke English. I was thrilled.
In 2014 in a restaurant in Paris an attractive English lady at the adjacent table congratulated me on my French accent. We had a very pleasant chat. When we left my wife asked me if I recognised the person I was speaking too. I didn't. It was Leslie Ash.
0 -
When some friends of ours bought a house in a village in Brittany they spent months doing a language course ,but then had the problem that all the locals wanted them to teach them the international language of english
,we have found that if you are polite and attempt the Lingo then normally "locals" will help,but if you do not even attempt it then "some" will be "awkward?"
0 -
Last year we had our first holiday in France...I don't speak any French apart from 'Bonjour'.
If we were buying the seller spoke English....if we were asking advice a shrug and a 'go away gesture' was the response.
Found some people, particularly males (bus drivers the worst), quite unpleasant.
Will be back again this year to see all the scruffy falling down houses.But the scenery is on a par with most European countries.
PS. Lived in Germany for nearly 20 years and since then we have crossed the channel once or twice a year for the last 30 years.....Obviously we speak fairly good German!
0 -
When on the Continent, why is it that whenever we sit down in a restaurant for a meal, the waiter walks up and says "would you like a menu in English sir?. This is before we have even opened our mouths!
He brought us the menu in English too. It said "Rifleman's net in her worked in the crystallised lemons". So we asked for the menu in French. It was fish in sauce.
0
