17
Feb-2015

Travelling Tips: How to Manage When You Don’t Know a Foreign Language

Tips   /  

passport stampsTravelling to various locations around the world is a great way of entertainment. You can enjoy the trips and live the beauty of diverse cultures along with enjoying your visit to so many different places. Being aware of a few essentials about the place you are travelling to can actually help you double the fun. Some of the people face language barriers during travel because they are unaware of the different languages.

To help you overcome this problem, here are a few useful tips which could make it easier.

Learn a Few Phrases

There might be various languages spoken in a country but the native language will be commonly understood. Knowing a few phrases from a particular place’s native language can be quite a help. If you know basics such a hello, thank you and please, you can actually be at an advantage to gel in with the people around you. The locals will be willing to provide you assistance, appreciating your effort which could make your trip a more pleasent experience.

Phrasebook Can Help

Carrying a phrasebook can be quite handy to communicate with people around you. At times you may need help with directions or you may wish to speak to the person sitting next to you. A phrasebook can come in handy in this situation to make it easier for you to say the things you want to and communicate in a better way.

Technology Can Help Too

Most people carry a smartphone or tablet with them while travelling. It can be of great use if you download a language app to help you phrase sentences to communicate with others whilst abroad. You can use several different apps to learn and speak phrases. A good example is Word Lens. By using such technology, you can convey your messages in a better way and understand the responses well. British Voice over is another good example of using technology to get through the language barrier.

Make Use of Gestures

Using hand gestures and expressions to convey your message can also be a supportive way. Use respectful gestures and try to explain to others what you mean to say. For example, people in Italy and France welcome the gestures and respond accordingly to help, but is some places like Japan or India, it might not be a very appropriate method. Do your research before you travel.

Visual Aids

To assist travellers in dealing with language barriers, an excellent range of laminated booklets and translators are available. These are really useful and a quick way to help you communicate what you might be looking for. Visual aids allow you to draw what you need, for example a taxi, food, hotel room, etc. These come with specially designed built in options for medical and law related professionals to help them in need of emergency.

Considering the above useful tips to travel in countries where diverse languages are spoken and understood, you can feel easier and more comfortable to communicate with others. Moreover, you may find people who will be willing to help you further to guide you.

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