Languages

[adi]

Following on from the tourists thread, what are your views on foreign languages, especially amongst tourists.  Do you think you should make an effort to learn the language of your destination or do you assume English will be spoken?

[Snorkelling Delights]

Hi Adi

Personally I think you should always make the effort, even if you can only master the likes of hello and thankyou.

Tracey

[adi]

I agree.  It's funny how some people simply speak English in a foreign sounding accent and think they're doing well 

[✈ Elle ☀]

... or worse - they shout it, and think it makes them better understood. 

We're still learning Spanish. However, we come a cropper when we speak in Spanish and then people assume we're further along with it that we are. 

But to answer your question - yes, it is only manners to have the basics. Hello, goodbye, please and thankyou are absolute musts... wherever you visit.

(As is "I'd like a very large glass of dry white wine please!")

[Madstock]

I agree with you all, and as Elle says, hello, goodbye, please and thank you are essential.
I find that if you try and make a bit of an effort instead of expecting that everyone speaks English then the locals really appreciate this.
I also have encouraged my children to 'have a go' when abroad and they just love it because they always get a good response.
Changing the subject slightly, nothing infuriates me more than receiving any letters etc off our local council. We have everything copied into several languages. FGS how do they expect people to integrate when they are not encouraging them to learn the English language. And how much is this costing the tax payer (me) Grrh, rant over.

Keith.

[AlexTLF]

One of the reasons I have difficulty learning Spanish:

A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

"House" for instance, is feminine, "la casa". "Pencil," however, is masculine, "el lapiz".

A student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?".
Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether "computer" should be a masculine or a feminine noun.

Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender "la computadora" because:
no one but their creator understands their internal logic.
the native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else.
even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval.
as soon as you make a commitment to one you find yourself spending half your pay check on accessories for it.

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine "el computador" because:

in order to do anything with them you have to turn them on.
they have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves.
they are supposed to help you solve problems but half the time they ARE the problem.
as soon as you commit to one you realise that if you had waited a little longer you could have gotten a better model.

The women won.

[✈ Elle ☀]

Ha ha ha ha Alex... nice one!!!

Why is beer feminine in Spain (Cerveza), yet wine is masculine (vino). Always puzzles me!

[Alan]

I've worked all over the world and have always got by with a few words in the local language - just basic good manners, and body language. It'll work in most places. But try just body language and the same words in English and you'll get nowhere. If you show yourself to be making an effort most people will do their best to halp.

However, if you intend to live overseas, it's plain rude at best not to put some serious effort in....

[Madstock]

I couldn't agree more Bart.

Keith.

[Celtygirl]

Absolutely - I can do nearly all food and drink (shows where my priorities are) and Mr C is much better having done night school classes for a bit, but like Flooey, we often end up being overwhelmed and confused as the locals think we are fluent - must find the phrase to explain that I am only fluent in alcohol lol

[✈ Elle ☀]

Lol,CG..

Perdon... mi hablo pocito Espanol... pero... mmm... perdon... mmmm... uno muy grande vino blanco por favor?
Aprendo amigo.

Okay... the response I first typed was perhaps over familiar and not particularly friendly to someone you've just met ... and something I would only use with the lovely guys that put up with our struggles on the beach front... but hey - we get along just fine!

Like you say CG... Food and wine baby... food and wine...

[Snorkelling Delights]

And,

If you make the effort and make a pratt of yourself at the same time (speaking from plenty of experience) you often get a better price!

Tracey

[Madstock]

I had a bunch of Canadian dollars I needed to exchange, so I went to the currency exchange window at the local bank.
 
Short line, just one lady in front of me ... an Asian lady who was trying to exchange yen for dollars and she was a little irritated.
 
She asked the teller, "Why it change?? Yesterday, I get two hunat dolla fo yen. Today I get hunat eighty?? Why it change?"
 
The teller shrugged his shoulders and said, "Fluctuations".
 
The Asian lady says, "Fluc you white people, too!"


Keith.

[✈ Elle ☀]

Ha ha Very good Keith!

Tracey - we tend to make a prat of ourselves anyway hon... without a language barrier added to the equation. 

Flooey xx