Just attempting to speak French made my last trip to Paris a lot better (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
No matter where you travel in the world, simply attempting to speak the local language can go a long way — even if your pronunciation isn’t the best.
Many years ago I stayed at the very buttoned up, elegant Hotel de Crillon (currently closed and under renovation) in Paris. Though I was fearful of being a bumbling American tourist, irritating the tuxedoed staff with poorly accented attempts at speaking French, I made it a point to initiate every interaction with a few key phrases that I had memorized and practiced ahead of time. I now learn the same key phrases in the language of any country to which I’m traveling.
So, even though I knew the waiter at the hotel’s elegant restaurant spoke flawless English, I’d place my order in French: “Je voudrais un cafe au lait.” (I’d like coffee with milk.) To which he’d smile and reply in perfect English: “Would you prefer your milk cold, or steamed?”
When I jumped in a taxi for my meetings across town, the first thing I said to the driver was “Bonjour. Parlez- vous anglais?” The answer was frequently “non”, but making the effort helped break the ice.
My accent was probably awful, but as they say, it’s the thought that counts. The simple fact that I tried to speak French first seemed to endear me to the hotel staff and the many other Parisians with whom I interacted.
Below are the key words or phrases that I always try to learn in the local language before traveling (or you can carry a cheat sheet with you, like the one I used in Paris). Then, you can practice your accent with a native speaker (or with Google Translate).
• Hello — (Bonjour)
• Goodbye — (Au revoir)
• Thank you — (Merci)
• Please — (S’il vous plait)
• Sorry — (Desole)
• Yes, no, OK — (Oui, non, d’accord)
• I would like … — (Je voudrais …)
• Do you speak English? — (Parlez- vous anglais?)
• How much? — (Combien?)
Give it a try and you’ll see that a little language skill goes a long way toward mending international relations. Bonne chance!
A similar version of this post was written by TravelSkills editor Chris McGinnis and first appeared on BBC.com/travel.
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RITom says
October 26, 2016 at 10:35 amToilet:? WC?
Ole says
October 25, 2016 at 9:23 amAsante sana – as it goes in Swahili 🙂
Completely agree – to be able to just be a little polite and show some willingness to adapt just a tiny bit often does wonders.
As to the swahili, which is very much not my mother tongue – we had lunch in Stone Town, Zanzibar in January and when the waitress accepted the payment, she said “asante sana” (thank you very much) and when I answered with a “karibu” (you’re welcome), her smile was nearly endless and we got smiles and lots of happy faces from the rest of the staff, too, when we walked out. Apparently, it is not so normal for “stupid tourists” to be polite…
Go figure – but also make yourself stand just a little out in a good way. It’s not that much of an effort!