Do you want to hear some bad news? English speakers are
among the least popular tourists anywhere in the world. And if you're reading
this and go on holiday it means you fall into that category. It's not that
people in other countries don't appreciate the boost to their economy from
tourist spending. It's just that English speakers often seem to expect that
everyone else speaks English.
It's not easy to learn another tongue. Some of us pick
them up a little easier than others - it's often called "having an ear for
languages". But you should ideally always have a few words of the language
of the place you're going to - even if it's just "Parlez-vous
Anglais?".
That's the other thing - most of us have done some
language learning at school. French, Spanish, maybe German or Italian, often
it's enough to allow us to order a coffee or get a taxi to the train station.
The more esoteric our destination, the less likely that is. You probably don't
know the Croatian for "I would like a medium-rare steak,
please." So there are some survival tips it helps to know.
Be Polite. It Helps.
The locals in any place you go to on holiday are people
just like you. Yes, there is a trope that French people are rude. But one has
to wonder how much of that is from their reaction to English speakers asking
them "Where is the toilet, s'il vous plait?". Usually
at a very high volume, too. People will be more
patient if you are obviously apologetic and grateful when appropriate.
Gestures Can Get You Everywhere
Imagine that someone - we'll say they're Belgian, to pick
a nationality at random - walked up to you, said "Balloons?" and
looked expectantly at you. You'd be right to feel a little perplexed. If you
don't know how to ask a question, don't just take one word out of context and
repeat it. Instead, realize how useful gestures can be. If in India, you can
get from Delhi
to Manali by train just by knowing where to
point on a map.
Key Words Can Help You Out
As noted, learning a full language in preparation for a
holiday is nearly impossible. Especially if it’s Chinese or one with a similarly unfamiliar alphabet. A few
essential sentences for emergencies will be useful. Also useful is learning
single key words. If you know how to say "thank you," people will be
more receptive. "Sorry" is also helpful, as is "excuse me."
If you're eating in a restaurant, "delicious" is also worth knowing.
Technology Is Your Friend
If you take an entire
article from an Icelandic newspaper and feed it
through Google Translate, it will read like gibberish. However, for single
words and key phrases, it is a very useful tool. For times when you have no
network connection, you can download target language dictionaries, too. So you
may not be able to analyze the finer points of a play you just watched, but you
can find out how to say "pharmacy" - which is much more useful.
The bottom line is that no-one will expect fluency from you if
you're just in the country on holiday. They can, however, reasonably expect you
to try and to be polite. People are used to English-speaking tourists expecting
them to understand English. Taking the effort to speak to them in their
language will see them responding much more warmly.
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