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Linguaholic

Learning for travel?


JessiFox

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I think it's a good thing. I tried learning Chinese when I lived in China. I at least got down plenty of basics, so I could get around my city in a taxi, and do fine in a shop or restaurant. I'm focusing on Spanish more right now, and I want to travel some within Latin America. But I'm also from the U.S. and Spanish is very useful here without leaving home too.

I agree with you on this. It's good to know the basics of a language if you're planning on traveling to a foreign country. Call it survival skills. You wouldn't want to be stuck in a place full of foreigners who can't understand your language and you have an urgent need. Say you're hungry and you want to ask for food.

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I think that it is a necessity to learn the language of the place that you are planning on traveling to.  Learning at least some of the key points of the language will allow you to communicate and get help if needed, or money, or a place to stay, things that are mandatory when on a trip.  It's okay to go with an interpreter, but it's best not to have to depend on anyone for your overall well being when travelling.

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One thing about being an American I've noticed when I've traveled to other countries is how helpful people tend to be towards Americans. You hear so much on the news about how America's image in the world is bad, but I just haven't seen that in my face to face interactions. I think the friendliness that foreigners have towards us makes a bit lazy when it comes to learning more about other countries and especially other languages. We think people will help us anyway.

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I think that it is always a good idea to at least learn a few new phrases when you are traveling to another country. This should be fine for a short trip. If you are going to be staying another country for a few months or more, I believe that it is ideal to learn the main local language so that it is easier to communicate with others.

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  • 3 weeks later...

What's your opinion on learning the language of places you plan to visit? Do you feel that it's necessary? Or at the very least polite? Does it depend on how long you're going to be there?

I think it is essential to learn the basic like words that you will usually use in asking for directions or ordering in restaurants. People in some countries do not really know how to speak English. It can be so frustrating and you'd feel helpless.

When my family and I went to France, it was not easy speaking to French people because they don't know much English. Good that my eldest who had been taking French lessons in school for 3 years at that time can carry on a fairly decent conversation in French. She asked for directions and we did not get lost. Without her, we would not have properly read signs and street names, train stations, etc.

So I highly suggest learning even just some words essential for travellers. Or bringing along a dictionary may do the trick.

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