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

I married a Hungarian and have made great effort in trying to learn some
of the language for when we visit. It is quite difficult but I can get
by with the basics, and since I have a keen ear for pronunciation, I'm
told that what I can speak is nearly accentless.

All the guidebooks say that Hungarians tend to be impressed with
tourists who speak it, owing to the fact that few attempt it. But that
hasn't been my experience. I find that people I meet tend to get
annoyed with me when I don't understand when they speak back to me.

I suspect that when I speak Hungarian with no accent I get mistaken for
a native simpleton rather than a foreign tourist. Maybe I'll work on
worstening my pronunciation and see if that makes a difference.

--
K.

Lang may your lum reek.