Language, and how much you actually need

Translation technology has made travel possible without any local language, which has not removed the value of learning a small amount.

Why a little matters

The practical benefit is modest; the social benefit is substantial.

Attempting the local language, however badly, changes how people respond in a way that is consistent across countries.

It signals that you regard the place as somewhere with its own life rather than as a service environment, which is the distinction people notice.

It also changes your own position from passive to participating, which is most of what separates feeling like a tourist from feeling like a visitor.

The twenty words

What to learn, in priority order.

Hello, goodbye, please, thank you, excuse me, sorry.

Yes, no.

Numbers to ten, and the words for hundred and thousand.

How much.

Where is.

Do you speak English — asked in the local language, which is the polite form.

I do not understand.

Water, the bill, and the name of the local staple.

This is an hour's work and it covers a surprising proportion of daily interaction.

The pronunciation point

More important than vocabulary.

A word pronounced badly enough is not understood, which is more frustrating for both parties than not attempting it.

Which argues for learning fewer words properly rather than more words badly, and for listening to audio rather than reading a phrasebook.

In tonal languages the issue is more acute, since a wrong tone produces a different word entirely.

Translation tools

Genuinely transformative and worth using well.

Download offline language packs before travelling, since connectivity is not guaranteed.

Camera translation of menus, signs and documents works well and is the single most useful feature for travellers.

Conversation mode works for simple exchanges and poorly for anything nuanced.

The limitations worth knowing: idiom translates badly, formality levels are frequently wrong, and machine translation of anything medical or legal should not be relied upon.

For anything important — a medical condition, a dietary allergy, an address — a written translation checked by a person is worth arranging in advance.

Communicating without shared language

The practical techniques.

Speaking slowly rather than loudly, which is the most common error.

Using simple constructions and avoiding idiom, since a non-native speaker will understand plain sentences and not colloquialisms.

Writing numbers down, which removes most confusion about prices and times.

Pointing at things, including at a map or a menu.

Photographs, which resolve a great deal.

And patience, which is the actual variable.

Where English is not the fallback

Worth planning for.

English proficiency varies enormously by country, by region within a country, and by generation.

In much of rural Europe, Latin America, Central Asia and East Asia, assuming English will be available is not reasonable.

In these situations, the twenty words matter considerably more, and a written card with key information — accommodation address, dietary requirements, a medical condition — is worth having.

Learning more

For anyone staying longer.

Language exchanges, which exist in most cities and which provide both practice and social contact.

Short intensive courses, which are inexpensive in many countries and which produce a foundation quickly.

And using the language badly in ordinary situations, which is uncomfortable and is how it is actually acquired.

The consistent report from people who have done this is that the discomfort of the first two weeks is the entire barrier, and that it passes.

Reading the script

An additional consideration where the alphabet differs.

Learning to read the local script, even slowly, is a substantially larger benefit than learning more vocabulary in transliteration.

It makes signs, menus, station names and prices legible, which changes navigation entirely.

For most alphabetic and syllabic scripts this is a few hours of work, and it repays that immediately.

The numbers

Worth learning specifically, since several regions use numerals other than the ones most Western travellers know.

Prices, addresses, platform numbers and times all become readable, which is disproportionate value for a short exercise.