Help for when you don’t know the language
Download a language app and consider a local tour guide
François Thibault, the cellar master and a founder of Grey Goose, speaks only French, yet his job requires constant travel around the world.
“Over the years, I’ve learned how to navigate foreign countries with limited verbal communication,” he said.
Thibault has a number of tips to help travelers manage in a destination when they don’t speak the native tongue, based on his own experience. Here are a few of them.
• Download a language translation app. Travelling in other countries has become much easier in the past few years thanks to the many foreign language apps which translate words on the spot. Thibault tends to rely on Google Translate and suggests that travelers find an app that works for them. Ideally, find one that specializes in the language you need to translate especially if the language uses a character set you’re not familiar with, or have difficulty pronouncing.
But take note: in Thibault’s experience, these apps work best when you’re trying to decipher something in writing, like a restaurant menu or a street sign, rather than in the midst of a conversation.
• Speak with your hands and head. Pointing with your hands and nodding or shaking your head, Thibault said, are an easy way to communicate with locals in the country you’re in.
There are exceptions, however. A quick web search for the country you’re visiting and “gestures” or “body language” will turn up anything you need to be aware of before you go.
• Learn a few key words. Showing that you care enough to learn some of the language before you went, and at least enough to acknowledge that you don’t know more, is a form of respect and will go a long way to endear you to locals. He suggested going on YouTube to find a tutorial on how to spell and say basic words and phrases.
• Work with local travel agents. If you feel particularly uncomfortable in the country you’re headed to, and you have to go anyway, relying on local travel agents who know both your and your destination’s language can be incredibly useful.
They can help translate over the phone should any major issues arise. Many agents also offer services 24 hours a day, so help is just a quick call away no matter what the problem may be.
• Hire a local tour guide. A tour guide can help you get a better grasp of the local language and is a good person to practise words and phrases with. Whenever Thibault visits a new country, he books a sightseeing tour with a guide on the first day of his trip.
“I use this day to learn about my destination and get familiar with the language,” he said. You can always search the web for local tour guides and fixers before you go, or find a guide through your hotel’s concierge or a travel agent or by calling the local tourist office.