Quote:
Originally Posted by cassidym
Not really. I picked up a bit from Poles living in West Berlin in the 70's. I can get by pretty well in German as I worked at Daimler Benz in Sindlefingen for a while and also having lived in Berlin. I studied Spanish for two years in high school and again in college and I expect it would come back pretty quickly.
Whenever, I get the opportunity to visit France, I study and practice French as hard as I can and, although, I get the basics okay (Je veux boire du vin), I'm not pronouncing it correctly. Fortunately, the French are very gracious if you just try and don't get upset if you make a real pig's ear of it.
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nice ! my german is pretty erratic since i only learned from friends / while travelling. most of my vocabulary is about food or asking directions.
my french is pretty good
but i agree, i don't expect all tourists to speak perfectly, if i see they are at least making an effort i will help them and not be offended (on the other hand, the rude tourists who yell at you in english in the street and don't even try to say "bonjour" or "s'il vous plaît", i pretend i don't understand them). i always try to know a few basic words in the language whenever i'm travelling, like "hello", "please" and "thank you" and "where is", i think it's a basic politeness. after all i am going to someone else's country, i shouldn't expect them to speak my own language. i used to know a bit of polish from my grandfather ; but since he died i've forgotten it, now i only remember "papa", "good night" and "cat". (clearly, the three most important and versatile words in any language, right ?
well, i can say "hi" also.)