Language Barriers?

[Billy Vegas]

Well, as some of you may know, I plan on traveling all around Europe (big suprise).

Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Amsterdam, Switzerland... everywhere in between.

And, it just so happens before I finish up my college career, I have some open spots for classes. I was thinking some elementary knowledge in foreign languages would be good for my trip... but which language to choose?!

Which is the most predominant all over Europe? Which would suit me best?

-Billy Vegas

[florencia9699]

Well it always depeds what culture you're more drawn to... for example, even though Chinese is really big nowadays, the culture doesn't really apeal to me... and I dont see how i could get through classes of something I'm not that much into.

[tumblezweedz]

Well, there will probably be protests and dismay over this, but probably the most universally spoken language in western Europe is...English. Not as a first language, of course, but it's a common second (or third or fourth or whatever) language.

If you had time to pick up one romance language (Spanish is easier, but French would be good too), it would at least give you a hope of working out the signs and stuff, in Spain, Italy, Belgium, France and Portugal (and even Romania, if you ventured that far).

German would be useful in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and would give you a leg up in the Netherlands, although English is so widely spoken in many of the major cities that you can quite easily get by there.

If you were traveling to eastern Europe, Russian is a mixed blessing - many older people were forced to learn it during the Soviet era, but many resent it and avoid using it if at all possible. Nowadays, young people in former Warsaw Pact and Soviet republics tend to speak English or sometimes German.

[simply_angelic]

the thing w/ europe is that there are a ton of completely different countries so close together, each very set in their own ways. I don't really think that you can say any one language is going to be incredibly predominant over a few countries because each contry speaks their own. That said, they are all latin based languages so they will be similar in some ways or another. I think you should really just pick which ever place you

a) feel you will be spending the most time

or

B ) would simply prefer to learn

or

c) seems the most different from that which you already know so if you learn the most difficult language it will prevent you from messing up too badly in that particular country

but truly, body language/made up sign language can be a god-send

[worldwidemike]

Long term, Spanish is probably the best language (other than English) to help you with travel. And though only Spain in Europe speaks that language, knowing it completely opens up Central and South America. If for some reason you'd rather not learn Spanish, my recommenation would be German or French. German will help, as said, with Austria and Switzerland, but French is spoken in parts of Africa and the Caribbean (and even...gasp! Canada!!!).

Good luck, and props to you for taking the time and effort to learn a language.

worldwidemike

[LostFarmboy]

I'd go with Spanish for the reasons WWM said, but also because it's kinda similar to Italian and French so it would help you a little in Italy and France as well as Spain. Also, i just reckon it's a good language, i like the way it's spoken. Learning another language is definately worth it, people in foreign countries really appreciate it when you at least try and communicate to them in their language.

Have fun!

[Brookers13]

id say spanish..

its helped me soooo much on my trip already and i havent even been to spain yet

its very similar to other languages i think so it helps...i speak it in portugal and get by pretty well.

plus i just really like the language

[expatben]

If it were me, I would pick German for 2 reasons:
a) I like German
b)German is spoken in both Germany, Switzerland (though they have their own dialect) and even a bit in the Netherlands-not to mention Dutch and German are similar.

[tumblezweedz]

^^ And don't forget Austria.

We just got back from the Netherlands, and the older kids, who go to German schools, were able to understand quite a lot there just by combining their knowledge of German and English. Of course, 99.9% of the Dutch people we met spoke fluent English anyway, so we had no difficulty getting around - it was just nice to be able to guess at the signs and understand snippets of conversation directed our way.

[Loman]

Everyone speaks English, seriously.

Anyone who makes any money from tourists knows enough basic english to sell you something. Virtually every young (less than 26) person in western europe can hold a simple conversation in English.

If you know nothing other than English you will be fine. If you know other languages, you will have an easier time and be treated better, but with just English you will never have insurmountable problems.

It's very nice that the language americans/brits/aussies etc. speak is learned by almost everyone else. English is the language of business and those looking to make money learns the basics.

[mojopin]

I agree about the 'everyone speaks English' part, but at least try to communicate first the native language of the country you are visiting. That little bit of effort goes a long way. Sometimes it helps to be able to speak a little more than the 'key' phrases.

If you want to 'learn' a language though, it's very important that your interaction with that language be practical and toward conversation. I can read Portuguese pretty well, but since I've only read Portuguese or listened to some tapes in learning, I can't hold a spoken conversation with someone. I'll be fine if we have to write.

With whichever language you are learning, you need to try to surround yourself in that language as much as you can. Don't think in terms of 'translating' from one language to another, you have to think in terms of expressing your thoughts or ideas.

It's helpful to go about your day saying what you're doing in the language you want to learn. Pointing out objects and saying them in the target language.

The thing about the romance languages is that their grammar is mostly the same. The differences you encounter between them is usually the changes in sound that each language took as it broke off from Latin (and also, the resulting changes in spelling). If you take on an easier romance language such as Italian or Spanish, you'll be able to transition to Portuguese and French more easily. Even though I'm pretty versed in romance languages, I still find French incredible difficult to understand. The words flow together so quickly that it's difficult for me to break them up and make sense out of them.


Well that's just some advice. I can literally go on and on, I'm currently studying Linguistics, and right now I'm on the Second Language Acquisition chapter.

Ryan
If I told you, you'd be down

[Mplsthreat]

Does anyone have any recommendations for intro to language books or software? I'm specifically looking for German and am looking for something that I could get some basics on.

[DC_Jessica]

Originally Posted by Mplsthreat

Does anyone have any recommendations for intro to language books or software? I'm specifically looking for German and am looking for something that I could get some basics on.

I don't know about learning from scratch - but this site, Before You Know It, is neat:
http://www.byki.com/fls/germ/german

And I just read over this entire thread and I would like to add that TONS of Turks speak German! I noticed more of the Southern dialect than standard German. And you can also use it in most Eastern European countries, because, again, politics and economics influenced culture, because people in East Germany couldn't travel outside the Union, so many places learned German because that was the tourist population they catered to.

I also recommend the Langenscheidt Pocket Dictionary (the one with the yellow plastic cover - durable). I have had mine for 11 years and I love it.

[c0urt]

you can do like i did, and learn to draw.

honestly after english I like to think german is one of the major business languages and I hope you have good luck with it.

[joe7f]

I have been using the Learn in your Car series for Japanese and I like the fact that they give you a booklet and focus on traveling basics, so you may want to investigate them for German (I think it is something like 20 bucks)

--Joey