Not knowing the language can be one of the biggest deterrents to visiting a new country. But it really should not in this day and age! Technology is at our fingertip and even without data, there are some ways to navigate our way around a country when we don’t know the language.
Disclaimer: All of this comes from my perspective and I do have to disclose that I am a native English and French speaker. I am proficient in Spanish and I have studied Italian. With that being said, I have had the pleasure of traveling to a few countries with languages that I do not know and alphabets that were completely new to me. And, while traveling in South America, I continue to use these tools every day!
I see two levels of challenges when it comes to language. The first one is when the alphabet is the same as yours but you cannot understand anything. Because the alphabet is the same as your own, you may be able to sound out words and even see words similar to ones in your own language. This happens especially with Latin languages (French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, etc.) or Germanic languages (English, German, Flemish, Dutch, etc.). (Note: English, while a Germanic language, has a lot of Latin roots.) If you know the root of a language, it can help immensely to recognize roots within words.
The second level of challenge comes when the alphabet is not the same as your own or words are written as characters, such as Mandarin, Japanese, or Greek. In these cases, trying to decipher the written language may be incredibly challenging. However, there are some tools that can help you overcome those challenges.
Before Visiting a Country
Guidebooks
Language and culture go hand in hand when it comes to being a visitor in another country. Guidebooks are a great starting point to understanding a culture. Often, these books have a section around culture and customs. In addition, many have some preliminary phrases that are important to know. This is typically our starting point into learning about the places we want to visit.
You don’t need to buy a guidebook for every new country you are visiting (although we love to collect them in our bookshelves). You can typically find them at your local library.
Language Phone Applications
To learn more vocabulary, use a language app to learn the words and phrases that you might need while traveling. There are a number of applications out there that range from free to paid that can help you.
A note about Duolingo – I know that Duolingo is the most popular language app out there but it may not be the best one to learn phrases quickly for travel. It takes an approach of teaching language from the very beginning which is great when you want to really learn a whole language. It may not be as beneficial when learning phrases to support your travels and get through common situations.
A few that are popular online include Babbel (I haven’t tried this one since it does not have a free trial but it looks incredibly comprehensive with writing, reading, and listening), Mondly Language (has a 7 day free trial), and Memrise (has a free option). I found that these applications have specific lessons for travel and culture to help you be targeted with your learning.
Learning Phrases
The internet can also help you find and learn the specific phrases that you might need when traveling:
- Greetings: Hello, good morning, good afternoon, good evening – It is also good to know how to greet people when entering a restaurant or shop. For example, in France, you must greet the shopkeeper when entering a store or they find you rude.
- Ordering at a restaurant: how to order drinks and food, asking for the check, etc.. Also try to find out dining etiquette. For example, in Buenos Aires, people eat at 10 in the evening.
- Basic needs: finding the bathroom, please, thank you, how much does something cost?, excuse me, “I’m sorry. I don’t speak ___. Do you speak ____?”
Let’s talk about the phrase “I’m sorry. I don’t speak ___. Do you speak ____?”. Learning this phrase in another language goes such a long way. People are appreciative of you trying to connect to their culture by learning that phrase and it often softens the awkwardness of the inability to communicate. Often, they won’t speak your language and that’s ok! There are other tools that you can use to have a conversation. And definitely don’t get upset or frustrated. It is not their responsibility to know your language when you are visiting their country.
While Visiting a Country
Apps We Use
Google Translate
This is my most used application and it truly is a powerful app. You can download the vocabulary of common languages, such as Spanish, French and English, so you do not need to have a data plan to use it. You can speak into it and have the application pick up your language and conversation, although you have to speak slowly. Another option is typing in what you are trying to say, and share that. Finally, and the feature I love to use, is the camera function. You can take a photo of something (such as a menu) and it will overlay the image with the translation. You need to use data to use this feature. If you don’t have data, you can still type in the words that you need translated. Make sure you download the app and the necessary languages (including your own language) prior to traveling.
Uber
Uber is now available all over the world. I have found that Uber’s are often less stressful for me when I don’t know how to pronounce a destination, especially when the alphabet is foreign to me. It ensures that the driver knows exactly where I’m going without getting lost in translation and gives me a sense of security, especially when I am traveling alone without Kevin.
If Ubers are not available, I often pull up the destination name on my phone and show it to a taxi driver. Showing the destination name with the map can be very helpful for communicating. I also put in a nearby restaurant, store, or intersection as my destination, especially if I am staying in a short-term rental and do not want to share my address. (This is a good tip anywhere! Not just a foreign country!)
Google Maps
Finally, Google Maps is helpful for determining directions. You can download an area on Google Maps to your device so you can use it without data. This will give you predictive driving directions (it won’t be able to detect traffic without using a data plan), which you can follow to walk to a destination. It will not be as helpful for public transportation. To get around that, plan your routes in advance and determine the bus/train lines you need to take. You can screenshot these directions and follow them throughout your day in the city if you don’t have an international data plan or an e-sim. (There are other bloggers that are much more adept at explaining the data piece of travel. One day, I’ll be able to help!)
Options to Make Things Easier (Especially When You Can’t Read the Alphabet)
Guided Group or Private Tours
Guided tours in your language are extremely helpful with touring a place. We used tours when we were in Beijing and Shanghai a few years ago and it made the experience more enriching because we were able to get a deeper understanding of what we were seeing and the culture of the areas.
Examples of these tours include visiting a site, touring a whole neighborhood, visiting a site outside of the city, food tours, organized pub crawls, etc. You can truly pick tours based on your interests or the gaps in your trips where you think a tour guide would help you the most. We will always list the ones we love in our blogs. (For China, since there probably won’t be any posts about that trip, we loved the Untour Food tours of Beijing and Shanghai!)
You can really use tours to design your whole trip if you want. Although, I will always recommend just wandering through a city to get to people-watch and take in your environment.
AirBnb Experiences is another way to get an additional layer to your experience in a new location. These are done by locals who present services they can offer, such as taking you to a soccer game, a private yoga class, an art class, a food tour, etc. You can sort based on your interest, see where the experience would be located in your area, and evaluate how others have rated the experience
Ultimately, not knowing the language is nothing to be afraid of. It’s part of travel and in today’s day and age, it’s a lot easier to communicate and navigate new countries today than it ever was!
