No matter how badly I manage to mangle a language, and I do a really good job of mangling them often, I've never had any local become upset with my mistakes. I think most find it a combination of humorous and polite. Even in France armed with only my high school French (and a bit of Quebecois,) people were more than happy to help with directions, shopping, hotels, and restaurants. Stopping and asking someone who is obviously in a hurry is not a good thing to do in this case.
When I first moved to Japan, sightseeing I'd say; "That's a beautiful
toilet" instead of "That's a beautiful
Shinto Entry gate." (Those big gates that look somewhat like a bird perch called a
torii) Sounded almost the same to me...
For almost six months not a single one of my Japanese friends corrected me. This is a VERY polite society!
As an American I always enjoyed this sad-but-true comment;
Q. What do you call someone who speaks two languages?
A. Bi-lingual.
Q. What do you call someone who speaks three languages?
A. Tri-lingual.
Q. What do you call someone who speaks only one language?
A. American.
Stitchawl