Watch your language

“Don’t worry; everyone there speaks English.”

If you’re traveling to a country outside the U.S., you’ll probably hear this reassurance. I’m going to tell you what other people won’t; if you don’t know the language, your travel experience will undoubtedly be poorer.

While many people worldwide do speak some English, your conversations will be richer when you understand some of their language, for a few reasons:

• Wayfinding

• Everyday interactions

• Integrity of experiences

• Social connections
  

Wayfinding

You will find your way around your destination easier if you don't need to rely on WiFi access and Google Translate every place you go.

Translation apps also have their limits, the big one being time. As one quick example, you don't want to stop in front of a door to learn whether a word means "push" or "pull." But if you push (or pull) a door the wrong way during rush hour, you might get smushed against the door or shoved to the side. Remember, you're in the way of people who need to get to work on time or who want to see their family at the end of the day.

Knowing your right from your left is another big help in way finding, along with the name for street, church, building, hotel and train station - the landmarks people use when they give directions.

Everyday interactions

It's surprising how much you rely on language to get through your day, as we learned a few years ago during our first trip to Paris.

We had some problems at a Metro buying tickets from the vending machine, so we approached the service window for more help. In very hesitant French, we asked our questions (ignore what you hear about Parisians being rude; they're wonderful). The clerk smiled, sold us our tickets, and then helped us with our French so that the next time we needed help we'd sound more “local.” He also cautioned us to watch out for thieves who targeted their victims by listening for foreigners’ accents.

Integrity of experiences

Two trips - one bad experience and one good - showed us the difference between knowing only a couple words of a foreign language, and knowing maybe 20 words but paying attention to the conversation around us to learn more.

First, the bad experiences.

Our family of four was on the Eurostar from London to Paris. In the weeks before the trip, we were supposed to learn “travel” French, but it was an unusual summer and that hadn’t happened. I knew it would be a problem, but the rest of the family brushed off my concerns with, “Everyone there speaks English.”

Then our daughters decided to order a snack on the train.

They returned from the café car with shocked looks. The clerk had not spoken any English at all. They had resorted to gestures and pointing, and the snacks they had gotten were completely different from what they’d wanted.

Our second example - also in Paris - was at the Louvre. My husband was the most enthused of our family to explore the museum, while the rest of us were just tired. As the day continued, he powered on but we were exhausted. One daughter and I said we'd wait for him near the stairs. Our legs were too weak to hold us up anymore, and we slid down the wall to collapse on the floor.

A woman appeared and started talking to us in French. We had no idea what she was saying, but from her tone and expression we figured we were doing something wrong. Our "helpless American" gesture did nothing to help the situation. She tapped a nearby sign that must have explained some rules, but we couldn't read the sign, either. After a minute or so of her tirade, we had no choice but to slink away, still confused by what we'd done wrong. Even today, it's a mystery.

By contrast, a few years later we checked into our hotel in Florence, Italy. We greeted the hotel clerk with, “Buongiorno!” which means hello. It was pretty obvious that we weren’t Italian, and his face lit up. He replied, “Buongiorno!” and switched to English, asking us what we wanted to see in Florence and recommending an additional site we hadn’t thought of.

Every time we came through the lobby after that, he smiled and gave us quick, kind lessons in Italian. Other Americans who were there didn't get this treatment. They also expected him to know English, relying on the horrible habit of talking louder when he didn't understand them right away. I still cringe when I remember that.

Contrary to what you read about rude Europeans - most of which I attribute to rude Americans - speaking even a little of the local language improves the integrity of your experiences. You are more likely to get the food you ordered, the right directions to your destination and the correct change from your purchases.

Social connections

Even if your vocabulary is limited and your grammar has mistakes, locals are likely to respond more warmly to you if you try to communicate in their language.

On a train journey from Wiesbaden to Bacharach, we had great conversations with a fellow passenger, although our German was halting at first. He was thrilled that we were trying, and he helped with pronunciation of the words I stumbled through.

When another passenger overheard us, she joined the conversation and started talking in English that was just as halting as our German. She liked our "try," and she wanted to show us how much English she knew (which was about as much as our German).

Even though that was a slow regional train, it was one of the fastest rail trips I ever took.

How much is enough?

The good news is that you don't need to know a lot of a foreign language to get by. A few classes at your local community college, combined with a language CD or download that you listen to on your commutes, will be a big help. Key phrases include:

• Hello (in person as well as on the phone)

• Good morning / evening

• Please / thank you

• Push / pull

• Entrance / exit

• Out of service / closed

• Open / operating hours

• Do you speak English, please?

• Please help

• How do I get to...

• Train station

• Airport

• Hotel

• Right / left

Here's one of my favorite tips: watch informal YouTube videos of people walking around the city or area you're visiting (there is a lot of these, especially of trains). Take note of the words you see along the way, and look them up on Google Translate, because these may be terms you didn't learn in that college language class. For example, you might learn that Abfall means waste (receptacle) in German, and Eisenbahn means railway.

The bottom line: you are a guest in this country. You ought to learn at least a smidgeon of the language.