10 Expressions You Should Know in a Foreign Language
As Chris mentioned in a blog a few days ago, learning a few words of a foreign language before you visit or do business with a country can make your trip more enjoyable and demonstrate to your host that you care.
Of course, learning a new language is a major undertaking and it takes years of study to get anywhere close to being fluent. There are a number of books out there which focus on helping you learn your “first 1000 words” or “first 100 words” in a language. Even learning just 100 words can be a challenge if you are juggling a full-time job with travel, family commitments, and all of the other things you cram into a 24-hour day.
So let’s start small - here is my list of 10 expressions you should know in a foreign language:
- Yes
- No
- Hello
- Good-Bye
- Nice to meet you
- Thank you
- Please
- You’re welcome
- Enjoy your meal
- Cheers
Tiscali offers on-line phrasebooks for French, German, Italian and Spanish.
Image from www.barnesandnoble.com
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POSTED IN: Customs and Culture, Resources and Links
2 opinions for 10 Expressions You Should Know in a Foreign Language
Kelly
Jan 9, 2008 at 8:52 pm
When I traveled to Prague, I realized that I couldn’t possibly master enough meaningful phrases in a day or so. So I did the opposite. I learned words that I wanted to avoid - things that I didn’t eat, for example. It turned out to be a great thing as I didn’t walk into any men’s loos or end up eating rabbit!
Ali
Jan 13, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Good tips, greeting people properly can make all the difference in the world. Europe String pointed out a great free, online language resource called Mango Languages which covers lots of basics in several languages.
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