So who's made an effort ...
 

to learn the language of the countries they visit?

I've been to Italy almost a dozen times but haven't learned anything
beyond a few phrases.

It does seem gradually there's more and more Italians who speak English
though.


I know there are language schools and such but there are other things
I'd rather do than go to class. Definitely not a slow traveler.

Maybe typical American arrogance, to expect others to cater to them,
including learning English -- though arguably, Southern Europeans would
do well to learn English to enhance their marketability in various
professions (not limited to tourism trades).

So who's made an effort ...
 

In poldy
wrote:

Maybe typical American arrogance, to expect others to cater to them

Hmm?

What language(s) would you suggest that Americans learn for travel?

Latin-American style Spanish is the only one that makes any immediate
sense for most Americans.

International travel is a very expensive proposition for Americans, who
can't simply hop in their cars and find themselves across an
international border within a few hours, other than those of Canada or
Mexico.

I can get to Thunder Bay, Ontario in Canada in about 6 hours, and other
than adding an "eh" at the end of some sentences, can get away with
English as it's spoken here.

Driving to the nearest city in Mexico would take me 2 days.

Anything else requires air travel, which is neither cheap nor convenient
these days.

I studied French and German in school, and have had little opportunity
to use either. I was able to read signs, menus and the like when I
traveled in Austria and Germany, but neither language was of much use in
The Netherlands or Norway.

--
St. Paul, MN

So who's made an effort ...
 

On Thu, 11 Apr 2013 09:19:53 -0700, poldy wrote:

to learn the language of the countries they visit?

I've been to Italy almost a dozen times but haven't learned anything
beyond a few phrases.

It does seem gradually there's more and more Italians who speak English
though.


The teaching of English in Italian high schools became universal well
over a decade ago.

By now anyone over about 30 or 35 should have some English.

So who's made an effort ...
 

poldy wrote:
to learn the language of the countries they visit?

I learned German many years before I ever had a chance to travel there.
I've also mostly visited German- speaking countries. I've visited other
countries where they speak other languages as part of a group, so I only
learned some basic phrases of those.

Maybe typical American arrogance, to expect others to cater to them,
including learning English -- though arguably, Southern Europeans would
do well to learn English to enhance their marketability in various
professions (not limited to tourism trades).

When I don't need English, I don't use it because I've seen too much such
arrogance and don't like being considered a citizen of their version of my
country.

--
Erilar, biblioholic medievalist with iPad

So who's made an effort ...
 

poldy wrote:
to learn the language of the countries they visit?

I've been to Italy almost a dozen times but haven't learned anything
beyond a few phrases.

It does seem gradually there's more and more Italians who speak English
though.


I know there are language schools and such but there are other things
I'd rather do than go to class. Definitely not a slow traveler.

If I planned to spend any time in a country (like France) I made an
effort to learn some of the language. Of course, having sung in
several, I had a smattering of them (although my phrasing may have been
poetic and dated). I always managed at least "please", "thank you",
"good morning", "good evening", various menu items and "where are the
toilets?". (Except in Hungary - a matter of pronunciation, I guess,
since even my "thank you" drew blank stares - although "kava!" with a
desperate expression on my face DID produce coffee in a Budapest
restaurant.)

I once had an amusing experience trying to communicate with a
chambermaid in my Vienna hotel - seems she was Slavic, and spoke no more
German than I did!

So who's made an effort ...
 

Bert wrote:
In poldy
wrote:

Maybe typical American arrogance, to expect others to cater to them

Hmm?

What language(s) would you suggest that Americans learn for travel?

Latin-American style Spanish is the only one that makes any immediate
sense for most Americans.

Not unless you want to GO there! (I prefer Europe, thank you.)

I studied French and German in school, and have had little opportunity
to use either.

Of course, that's true of any language but English, here (except maybe
Spanish, in the Southwest). Other than regional accents (which can
sometimes be perplexing) the U.S. is such a large piece of real-estate
that you seldom encounter any language but English. (And "use it or
lose it" is certainly true of foreign languages - even for people who
are FROM other countries, but settle here, where English is a "must".)

So who's made an effort ...
 

Bill wrote:
On Thu, 11 Apr 2013 09:19:53 -0700, poldy wrote:

to learn the language of the countries they visit?

I've been to Italy almost a dozen times but haven't learned anything
beyond a few phrases.

It does seem gradually there's more and more Italians who speak English
though.


The teaching of English in Italian high schools became universal well
over a decade ago.

By now anyone over about 30 or 35 should have some English.

That's probably true, but I always thought it was the height of
arrogance to ASSUME everyone spoke English! It seemed only polite to
learn - in their language - enough of the foreign tongue to say "I'm
sorry, I don't speak language, does anyone speak English?" (Usually
just my obvious floundering in their language had them replying in
English, if they spoke it.)

So who's made an effort ...
 

On Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:19:24 -0700, EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) wrote in
post : om :

Bill wrote:
On Thu, 11 Apr 2013 09:19:53 -0700, poldy wrote:

to learn the language of the countries they visit?

I've been to Italy almost a dozen times but haven't learned anything
beyond a few phrases.

It does seem gradually there's more and more Italians who speak English
though.


The teaching of English in Italian high schools became universal well
over a decade ago.

By now anyone over about 30 or 35 should have some English.

That's probably true, but I always thought it was the height of
arrogance to ASSUME everyone spoke English! It seemed only polite to
learn - in their language - enough of the foreign tongue to say "I'm
sorry, I don't speak language, does anyone speak English?" (Usually
just my obvious floundering in their language had them replying in
English, if they spoke it.)

+1
That's about as far as my French and Italian takes me... then
sign-language.


--
Tim C. Linz, Austria.

So who's made an effort ...
 

poldy wrote:

to learn the language of the countries they visit?

I've been to Italy almost a dozen times but haven't learned anything
beyond a few phrases.

I'm OK at those languages I learned at school/college (e.g. French,
German, Italian) and speak Spanish with my partner, but I admit to going
to many countries where I haven't bothered to learn the most basic
phrases. I haven't encountered terrible problems so far, I have to say.

I would like to learn Arabic at the moment, as I do like to visit Arabic
speaking countries and wonder if the experience wouldn't be enhanced by
a little understanding of the language...

David

--
(*) of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
www.davidhorne.net (email address on website)
"[Do you think the world learned anything from the first
world war?] No. They never learn." -Harry Patch (1898-2009)

So who's made an effort ...
 

Am Thu, 11 Apr 2013 17:21:36 +0000 (UTC) schrieb Bert:

I studied French and German in school, and have had little opportunity
to use either. I was able to read signs, menus and the like when I
traveled in Austria and Germany, but neither language was of much use in
The Netherlands or Norway.

In the Netherlands you can get around with German, the two languages are
not so different from each other and most dutch people understand basic
German. You will also be able to read menus or roadsigns.

Norway is a different story, but most of the people there speak pretty good
english (like in most of Scandinavia).

Regards,

Frank