Should everyone speak English?

Plus learning French, particularly sailing French, gives you access to a vast quantity of material from some of the best sailors in the world!
 
Nostrodamus said:
..... Am I arrogant or should I have learnt some French before coming here? ....
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You may be an arrogant person but perhaps you are just a silly person today. You are going to a non English speaking country, so it would be reasonable to have some sort of language skills. Even a phrase book is better than nothing.

Nostrodamus said:
... I am going to Spain and Portugal next. What happens then? ......
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Much the same as your current experience if you maintain the status quo with regards to foreign language preparation.

Nostrodamus said:
..... Should everyone learn English so they can understand me or should I learn everyone else's language? ....
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No everyone should not speak english to understand you. I don't know if this will come as surprise to you or not, but you are likely to be quite irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, so no one is really bothered whether you can speak their language or not.

It is probably wise to learn to speak the language, in the countries you visit at least at a basic level. Some almanacs have tables of nautical terms in multiple languages to help in cases like this. Phrase books are readily available and very low priced.
 
I'm a great believer in attempting to speak the language/s of the country and when going somewhere new always make sure that I can say hello, please and thank you at the very least. My experience is that if I try they will then make more effort to communicate with me!
 
You think French is difficult, then find yourself in a Slavonic country .- it was a relief to go into Romania, their language is Latin based, surrounded as they are by Slavs - dates back to when Romania was populated by retired Roman soldiers.
 
When in Rome....Yes, of course, one should make an effort to learn the native lingo - it's common courtesy in my opinion.

When we were in France last summer, we were both fortunate enough to be able to trawl up from the depths, the French that we were taught at school many moons ago and were able to make ourselves understood, converse and make new friends.

Whilst in France, knowing we'd soon be moving on to Spain, we made an effort to learn some Spanish (book and CD course which we brought with us).

Whilst in Spain, knowing we'd soon be moving on to Portugal....see above.

And now we're back in Spain again but attempting to learn all the time. Most of those, like us, who are living the cruising lifestyle have the luxury of time on our hands that we didn't have when we were working so a few hours a week studying is time well spent.

I found Portuguese a struggle. However, the most useful phrase I found was 'pastel de nata por favor'.....'a custard tart if you please'.....that got me through good times and bad, they really are a heavenly experience :-)
 
Nostrodamus said:
Look,I am in France and I am the biggest culprit in the world. I hear the French weather forecast on the radio and I don't understand it. I hear what I presume is the coast guard but I have no idea what they are balbbering on about. I hear other boats but have no idea what they are saying. If I use my radio I speak in English and hope they can do so too.
It may be someone is in trouble nearby but if they speak in a foreign language I am as useless as a chastity belt for Katie Price.
Am I arrogant or should I have learnt some French before coming here?
I am going to Spain and Portugal next. What happens then?
Should everyone learn English so they can understand me or should I learn everyone else's language?
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The advantage of being the skipper is being able to delegate...........those foreign languages definitely a job for SWMBO.....;)
 
Sybarite said:
They also have a VHF channel dedicated to the météo now; from memory 73 where it runs continously.
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It depends where you are. I think they transmit on three channels with a limited (local) range. I think it is 68 or 69 in your (and, until the official handover of my boat tomorrow, my) area.
 
Sybarite said:
They also have a VHF channel dedicated to the météo now; from memory 73 where it runs continously.
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I like French forecasts and that is yet another example of an excellent service. In the USA we will have non-stop weather on VHF also, plus we have grib weather fed from satellite to one of our plotters and via internet when available (up to 5 days ahead and savable) to current position OpenCPN on a laptop.
 
Tradewinds said:
I spent several months in Portugal (Porto Santo/Madeira mostly). I thought I'd learn the language & bought a book.

It was extremely difficult for me to get beyond yes, no & thank you (& you didn't need a book for that!). I kept making gender errors (never mind pronunciation!) etc and in the end I gave up and went back into colonial mode. :rolleyes:
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Portuguese is a tricky language; I have some Spanish (to O Level standard) and thought that it would be a doddle to get by in Portuguese. Some words are, indeed, similar but it's a combination of Spanish and Arabic (long history of colonial conquest), and a linguist friend of mine even compares the sibilance of spoken Portuguese to Russian. You haven't got a chance :) (though if in doubt find a school aged kid - they all learn English at school nowadays, I think).

However, even a few words will get you by - "Obrigado/a", "boa dia" and dois cervejas por favor" will get you through most crises :)
 
I find it hard to believe peeps ask such questions. Usual Brits abroad ??
I have a basic self taught grounding in French. I get by and enjoy trying to communicate.
I know my pronunciation is bad but can see that they appreciate me at least trying.
I usually ask them to correct me & not only does that break the ice but can be great fun if you try.
 
Mr Nosto,If you enter Spain at Santander in say May you will have three months till you leave, and head off to Portugal in August to pick up some basic Spanish in each port.There is one little problem and that is in Galicia they speak Galician which you may find easier,it's a bit like Portugese which can sound a bit like Russian to the untrained ear. Anyway, get a phrase book and just learn about ten basic words don't worry about tenses or genders.A good few glassess of vino will help the process.But don't let the side down and be seen staggering about like a football hooligan.
 
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Ok, it has been interesting to read the replies but being hopeless at languages, even English and knowing that later in the year we will be visiting several different countries should I try and learn all the languages.

I think what would be better would be to learn Polish. At least that way I know I would be able to order a meal in any restaurant in the world:D
 
Nostrodamus said:
I think what would be better would be to learn Polish. At least that way I know I would be able to order a meal in any restaurant in the world:D
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Russian is understood by many eastern europeans, especially older ones for obvious reasons. But though they may understand it, many will object to you using it and refuse to speak it - for, again, obvious reasons.

This has been my Dad's experience (fluent-ish Russian speaker) in restaurants all over the place.

My problem with Russian is that the bit of it I've learnt tends to get mixed up with my school German.

Pete
 
I don't understand how this debate is still going on. English is the official, internationally recognised language of the sea. It doesn't matter who's waters you're in. Likewise with aviation.
 
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