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Viewing The Language of Travel: Learn a Little and Gain a LotThe Language of Travel: Learn a Little and Gain a Lot
By Nora Zavalczki
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Are you planning a trip to a foreign country? By taking the time to understand a little of the local language, your travel can be a far more rewarding experience than it otherwise would be; and you might just broaden your mind too ... The late, great American humorist Mark Twain once said, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness". Put a little more succinctly, travel does indeed broaden the mind. While affordable international travel has helped unlock the wonders of the world for everyone to enjoy, it pays to learn at least a little of the local lingo before arriving at your destination - you will find that you are received all the more warmly by the locals. It will also make many of the day-to-day practicalities much easier, such as checking into hotels, ordering food, and finding your way to all the top tourist attractions. Of course, becoming fluent in a foreign tongue takes years to master, but learning some key phrases before you leave home is certainly a good starting point. So what should you learn? Well, if you learn nothing else, you should memorize the following words/phrases in the language of your destination country: • Hello • Goodbye • Thank you The problem with memorizing questions in a language is that you probably will not understand the answers when they respond, which is why you are best concentrating your efforts on statements that will get you what you want, such as: • I would like: • A double room for the night, please • A table for two, please • A bottle of red wine, please (or whatever your favorite tipple is ...) • Two tickets to ... (enter attraction here) These are just some examples of the key phrases you should focus on at first. If you have any special requirements, such as if you are a vegetarian or allergic to something, you will want to take extra special care to learn the correct phrases for these. Alternatively, use a free online translation tool to identify the phrases you want, and write them down on a card to present to the waiter in a restaurant. If you are a little more confident in your language capabilities, then you might want to learn some key questions ... but remember, you will need to be prepared for the answer. One of the questions you will use most is, "How much is ...?" While it is easy enough to memorize this question, you will also have to swat up on the potential answers, so it is a good idea to learn numbers up to a thousand. This may sound daunting, but it is not as bad as first seems. Essentially, all you need to learn is 1-19, then concentrate on 20, 30, 40, etc. up to 100, and then 200, 300, 400, etc. Your pre-travel homework will pay dividends when you arrive at your destination. You will, of course, want to have a pocket phrase book with you at all times. Alternatively, many mobile phones - such as the iPhone - come equipped with free translators installed, which can be extremely useful. By taking the time to understand a little of the local language, your travel can be a far more rewarding experience than it otherwise would be; and you might just broaden your mind too ... About the Author: Lingo24 is a global translation services provider, with over 100 employees working across four continents. Article source: 111 Travel Directory: Triple1.com (triple one dot com) |
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