Comments on: Why Learning the Local Language is the Most Important Trip Preparation You’ll Ever Do

By: Milton Wongso

Milton Wongso — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:10:47 +0000

Thank you so much for posting the article. One tough challenge is to learn a language with different characters than your own like Chinese Kanji characters.

My mother tongue is Indonesian. I can easily pick up English due to its similar alphabetic nature with Indonesian – we use A-Z English alphabets.

Chinese characters have its own language characters. I think the best way to learn is to get immersed in the society. The more often you practice is, the better chance you’ll master it.

By: Claudia

Claudia — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:20:05 +0000

This is a great article!!!! I couldnt have said it better myself! I speak English and Spanish. When people visit my country, Mexico, they expect us to speak English, the idea many people have abot Mexico is not what it really is….It is a shame that people canT really enjoy such a rich country, culture, people only beacuse of the language… GREAT ARTICLE!!!!!!!

By: Beijinger

Beijinger — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 08:16:35 +0000

It is a good point,learning a local langauge is a easy way to improve the mutual understanding with local people when you are traveling and get better experience from the trip.

By: Stuart at Travelfish

Stuart at Travelfish — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:21:30 +0000

I thought this was a great read until I got up to the bit telling the reader that:

“We all have a responsibility to be representatives of the countries where we were born.”

Really? Why?

By: soultravelers3

soultravelers3 — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 21:05:03 +0000

I agree with you wholeheartedly Julie! It is true one can not learn every language, but when you know a language well, it makes a TOTALLY different experience than when you do not know the language.

Even in many parts of Europe, we fine MANY places where locals speak NO ENGLISH. Often the people who do speak English are people connected with the tourism or housing industry, so it keeps one from connecting to the real local culture.

I so agree with you too about going slower and immersing deeper and language is a part of that and it WILL get better just by doing that.

We experience this very clearly, because we see how much deeper we can connect with the authentic native culture in Spain ( where we speak the language) and say France or Germany where we do not.

Even Italy and Portugal are easier for us and we can connect more deeply, because our Spanish helps.

The better you know the language, the better you can know the culture and local people. We see that clearly too because my Spanish is the weakest, I can see how I am left out, compared to my daughter and husband.

Tim Ferriss has some cool ideas on how to learn a language quickly and I know people here who have become fluent in Spanish in 5 months.

By: Harry

Harry — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:47:25 +0000

I have generally been pretty lazy in the past. I am out in the Philippines at the moment and making an effort to learn Tagalog. It really does make a difference and leads to a lot of laughs – and I think a little respect. Only problem is that as soon as I get out of Manila into the provinces, every province speaks a different language!

By: Steven Roll

Steven Roll — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 02:33:58 +0000

Agreed. I studied Spanish like crazy before my trip to Costa Rica only to find that most people in Costa Rica speak English. But at one point the owner of the B&B we stayed at sent us to this restaurant that was very far outside of the city. Wherever we were, no one spoke English. I’m happy to say that it was my Spanish (as poor as it may be) got us back home.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:01:03 +0000

Great post! I can certainly relate to your Costa Rica experience. As a Spanish speaker I was surprised by the differences between my own Spanish and the local language in rural (and urban) parts of Costa Rica. During my two years in Costa Rica I wrote a dictionary of Costa Rican Spanish terms and still blog about Costa Rican language and culture (almost) on a daily basis.

My experience also inspired me to create CityDictionary.com, which captures local language in the US.

Needless to say, I am on board with your argument. Thanks for the great post. I particularly like your latest comment, which is spot-on. You’ll never be able to learn all languages, but that shouldn’t prevent you from trying to make connections between how people communicate and the broader culture. While no one is equipped to make those connections after a few days of travel, it can be enriching to seek out proper sources beforehand and try to make the most of your adventures.

By: Julie

Julie — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 15:56:02 +0000

Thanks for your feedback, everyone.

Clearly, when you’re traveling to many countries, you won’t be able to learn all the languages. But what I’m advocating (albeit subtly) here is not just learning other languages, but taking a slower, more engaged approach to travel rather than just rushing from one place to another.

By: Huckleberry

Huckleberry — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 17:53:14 +0000

Bravo! I couldn’t have said it better myself. Helpful too. I never knew that there were free language websites out there.

happy travels – Huck