[jt797]

For all the travelers out there, what are your experiences being in a foreign country where you don't speak the language? How does it differ from being in a foreign country where you have some, or total, command of the language? In my experience, not being able to speak the language, made be feel more hesitant, less likely to approach people, and unlikely to initiate conversations. Even though English is considered, by many, to be the universal language, I found that some people were reluctant to speak it with me. What were your experiences?

[thegmanifesto]

Communicating with people, is it a must?™

[RexImperator]

I'm not as well-travelled as some here, but I've always found that at least trying to speak the local language gets you off on a better foot in all your interactions.

The one exception I've found so far might be in parts of Germany where they sometimes giggle at you and reply in English, if your pronunciation is bad.

[Sp5]

(10-31-2013 09:55 AM)RexImperator Wrote:  

I'm not as well-travelled as some here, but I've always found that at least trying to speak the local language gets you off on a better foot in all your interactions.

The one exception I've found so far might be in parts of Germany where they sometimes giggle at you and reply in English, if your pronunciation is bad.

Ha, I went though that many times when I was in Germany.

Sie spricht Deutsch, they reply in English; Sie antwortet auf Deutsch, they reply in English.

Eventually you or them reaches a block where they can't express something complicated and gives up.

It made improving your German harder than in other places where they will just speak their language even if you suck at theirs. It's some kind of power test.

Being able to speak foreign languages opens up a lot of social possibilities, obviously. I have got laid using only German, Spanish and Portuguese.

[Magyarphile]

Germans generally dislike their own language and couldn't imagine why a foreigner would bother learning it, particularly an Englishman/American. Having lived in the region, there is little reason to bother learning German, Dutch or Scandinavian. The effort/reward ratio is pretty bad.

[Greek kamaki]

The Germans do not want to help you learn their language if you don't belong to the Germanic family.They do not correct you, nor they give any advice how to improve. Slavs are the opposite they want to slavicise you so they give you every chance they force you to learn quickly Russian, polish etc if you happen to be in these places.
It is matter of prestige and segregation also speaking perfect German is hardly tolerated for an Ausländer.Not that we care of course but it is how things work.You are supposed to be less intelligent than the Germans.

[Magyarphile]

Spot on, GK. The other problem with German is it isn't just one language. Most people from the German-speaking world speak dialects, some highly divergent from the standard language. The net result is you can speak perfect hochdeutsch and they will automatically know you are a foreigner. If they want to keep you out of the loop, they just switch to their native dialect. Like you say, they don't want you to learn the language. Its a strange place...

[Greek kamaki]

They also use a lot of language manipulations so they do not want the foreigner to be able to do the same or rule over the conversations.It is complicated language.They never want to use the same expressions and have a range of variations.
In Poland, Russia, CR people help you a lot.In fact I cannot imagine how it is not possible not to speak Russian after two years in this country since everyone adresses you in Russian. A great advantage with slavic languages is that you are understood no matter how bad your grammar is. You just have to say the roots of the words. Many Slavs speak with infinitives anyway.

As far as usefulness it is immense.None of Russian girls I had spoke any English, among Ukrainian it was 30%, among polish 20% and of Czech only one spoke English.

[Caligula]

Silent game: the next frontier

[Cattle Rustler]

(10-31-2013 05:30 PM)Caligula Wrote:  

Silent game: the next frontier

I looked at her, she looked at me.

We winked at each other.

We banged.

[Vacancier Permanent]

To the OP, is this even a serious question or were you just trolling with that kind of lame question?

[Cattle Rustler]

@VP: Well....he is a newbie and an 'murican. On my behalf, please forgive my countrymen.

[Architekt]

(10-31-2013 05:30 PM)Caligula Wrote:  

Silent game: the next frontier

Sounds like a fun game: Try get laid without saying a single word

[Caligula]

(11-01-2013 03:42 AM)Architekt Wrote:  

(10-31-2013 05:30 PM)Caligula Wrote:  

Silent game: the next frontier

Sounds like a fun game: Try get laid without saying a single word

Should be part of Scorpion's Scavenger Hunt under insane difficulty.

[Sargon of Akkad]

There seems to be quite a few odd statements being made about Germany.

Quote:

Germans generally dislike their own language and couldn't imagine why a foreigner would bother learning it, particularly an Englishman/American

Unless you're talking about university students, this is not true. Despite the general (educated) population having a good grasp of it, English is still a bit of a pain in the ass for many. If you're in Germany, you're typically expected to speak the language, longterm. An exception is sometimes made for Anglophones, for some reason I can't explain.

Germans generally don't 'dislike' their language either. Sure they may not be extremely proud of it, and that ties in generally with an overall distaste for nationalism, but I've never known anyone to discourage someone from learning the language.

Quote:

The other problem with German is it isn't just one language. Most people from the German-speaking world speak dialects, some highly divergent from the standard language.

A multitude of dialects is not particular to Germany, and if you're learning a language for the first time, regional dialects will always be a bit difficult to understand. It's true that you seem to have less variety among the major dialects of English, but unless they're speaking Bavarian, Swiss-German, Plattdeutsch or they're from some bumfuck town in the middle of nowhere, you should be able to communicate.

Quote:

The net result is you can speak perfect hochdeutsch and they will automatically know you are a foreigner.

They'll probably know you're a foreigner because you have an accent, not because you're speaking Hochdeutsch.

Quote:

If they want to keep you out of the loop, they just switch to their native dialect.

People switch to their native dialect because that's what they're more comfortable with, so they'll talk that way amongst eachother, while speaking Hochdeutsch to strangers. They're not doing it because they're conspiring to "keep you out of the loop". Sometimes, they're just not used to talking in standard German. This is especially the case with old folks.

Quote:

Like you say, they don't want you to learn the language. Its a strange place...

No one wants to discourage you from learning the language. Again, sometimes students will speak more English with certain foreigners, especially if you're an Anglophone and have a strong English-sounding accent. Asians will sometimes be spoken to in English because they're more easily mistaken for tourists, but outside of university campuses and tourist centers, there are plenty of people are simply not comfortable with English, and they'll make no hesitation to use German with you.

Quote:

They also use a lot of language manipulations so they do not want the foreigner to be able to do the same or rule over the conversations.It is complicated language.They never want to use the same expressions and have a range of variations.

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by 'language manipulations' and a 'range of variations'. Can you give any examples?

[Greek kamaki]

I mean while other folks are used to use the same words and expressions opportunity arises the Germans tend to use variations especially on written speech and this gives a style and makes obsolete every attempt of the foreigner to match.Also German differences in appearance and behaviour are vast according to each part of Germany but they share some common characteristics.

Where I am now it is striking how good looking the men are compared to the very mediocre looking women.It is almost scandalous as if the beautiful sex is the male one.They also groom themselves better.
Women at least look ready for everything here.
In Berlin I noticed lots of people are stoned they have crazy eyes.Though looking different from Greek stoners they must take other kinds of narcotics.

[Que enspastic]

(11-02-2013 08:47 AM)Greek kamaki Wrote:  

Where I am now it is striking how good looking the men are compared to the very mediocre looking women.It is almost scandalous as if the beautiful sex is the male one.They also groom themselves better.

This is the case too along huge swathes of the Australia coastline. Australian men are disadvantaged at home with poor quality women. The men are well above the global average in self-esteem and confidence, and on a looks measurement, because they are much, much more sporting and gym-centric (and competitive) than other male populations across the world. This is combined with good height.

Something went wrong with the female stock.

[Que enspastic]

When I visited Moscow and St. Petersburg in 2005 it blew my mind that the women were x10 better looking than the men.

[artur jedi]

Didn't even bother to learn Chinese, never picked any interest in it. All I had to do was take local friend to the place where lang was necessary (shopping, repairing my camera, etc). I learnt to greet people and names of alcohols (beer, wine, licor), rather involuntarily though(during dinners with colleagues).

[kazushu]

(11-02-2013 09:26 AM)Que enspastic Wrote:  

(11-02-2013 08:47 AM)Greek kamaki Wrote:  

Where I am now it is striking how good looking the men are compared to the very mediocre looking women.It is almost scandalous as if the beautiful sex is the male one.They also groom themselves better.

This is the case too along huge swathes of the Australia coastline. Australian men are disadvantaged at home with poor quality women. The men are well above the global average in self-esteem and confidence, and on a looks measurement, because they are much, much more sporting and gym-centric (and competitive) than other male populations across the world. This is combined with good height.

Something went wrong with the female stock.

It wasn't until I left Australia that I realized that I'd never met a woman above a 7.

[JayJuanGee]

(11-01-2013 06:05 AM)Caligula Wrote:  

(11-01-2013 03:42 AM)Architekt Wrote:  

(10-31-2013 05:30 PM)Caligula Wrote:  

Silent game: the next frontier

Sounds like a fun game: Try get laid without saying a single word

Should be part of Scorpion's Scavenger Hunt under insane difficulty.

Maybe this is where dance floor game would come into play? In dance game, a guy may only need to know a few words, such as "would you like to dance?" and after escalating, "come with me," and lead her to wherever. After further thought, may NOT really even need to know any language beyond making gestures to dance by grabbing her or holding out his hand while music is playing.

I have had some success with banging girls through dance without really talking with the girls very much; however, I believe in all of my situations that resulted in a bang, the girls have known some rudimentary English.

In any event, I cannot recall having any experience like CattleRustler.. to merely wink, wave and then bang.., but I could see how that could work in the right circumstances. .. and getting back to the fundamentals of grunt communications.

[Sargon of Akkad]

(10-31-2013 06:58 AM)jt797 Wrote:  

For all the travelers out there, what are your experiences being in a foreign country where you don't speak the language? How does it differ from being in a foreign country where you have some, or total, command of the language? In my experience, not being able to speak the language, made be feel more hesitant, less likely to approach people, and unlikely to initiate conversations. Even though English is considered, by many, to be the universal language, I found that some people were reluctant to speak it with me. What were your experiences?

To get back to the OP -- if you're visiting a given country for a few days or weeks, you should at least have the common courtesy to learn a few words and phrases. Most people will open up to you a lot more when they see you've made some effort, especially if this is a relatively obscure language or if it's considered uncommon for foreigners to speak it. You'll definitely make a better impression than those who speak nothing but English to everyone, and the reasons for this should be obvious.

Long term, meaning a couple years, you should still try to become at least conversational in the language. I always get pissed at people who live in a place for years on end and still can barely order at a restaurant because they isolate themselves in some kind of expat ghetto. Whether you can pull speaking only English depends entirely on the country.

In Germany, for instance, not speaking the language is no legitimate excuse not to get laid. In China or Japan, however, you're going to need at least some knowledge of the local tongue, otherwise you're severly limiting yourself to the tiny fraction of the female population that can converse in English beyond the basic "Hello.", "How are you?", "I'm fine, thank you". Theoretically, I'm sure you could bang a girl in a non-English-friendly country, but to do that consistently you'd need to be above average in other areas, such as looks, natural charm, body language etc. As with most other parts of everyday life, you're severely limiting yourself if you choose not to learn the language...Ceterum censeo Osakam esse delendam!

[Capitán Peligroso]

@OP, I'm going to second what Sargon said, and add to it that in the last year or so I've pulled for the first time in both Spanish and Portuguese entirely, and in both those trips I left feeling like I could have pulled more and better had I put more effort into learning the language before I went. I pulled in Japan when I went too, but it was through social circle and not with the girls I really wanted. The girls I really wanted shut me down in 2.3 seconds when they realized I knew about 5 words of Japanese (it was more like 50, but it didn't matter, I was done like a Thanksgiving turkey). This is a perfect metaphor for answering your original question: the more you're able to communicate, the better off you are. Some countries are more forgiving than others, and game will certainly help compensate for lack of language skills in some situations, but you will limit your possibilities to a small segment of the population in most countries if you aren't conversational in the native tongue.