I found this the other day and thought I would share: a simple phrasebook for 25 languages for Mobipocket - only $9.99. I think it's a bargain for this price. It also include language and grammar origins/intros. Since I visiting 9 countries, I was looking for the basic phrases. This covers almost all of my countries.
http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/eBookDetails.asp?BookID=33304
This appears to be an ebook. Is there a print version or will you be taking a laptop/pda?
no, i am taking my phone, which is a treo 800w. if you have any kind of handheld device that runs palm or windows mobile (and i think symbian) this will work for you. i'm also taking 10 other ebooks to read while i'm there.
But, Lisa, it's all very well to use a phrase book, and actually very admirable, but how does that help with the response from the Croat or Greek to your attempt at his/her language? What then?
i just posted this to be helpful. i didn't say i wanted to read, write and understand 25 languages. it was only $10. i got it just in case i got stuck and needed something and was not able to communicate any other way.
take it for what its worth.
Here's another suggestion for an even better price--free!! Wikitravel.org has a whole set of online phrasebooks. Some are more comprehensive than others, but you can get some languages that are hard to find phrasebooks for, like Catalan, for instance.
And you can't beat the price.
This reply is for Norma responding to what good a phrase book is if you don't understand what is being said. (Ironically, I'm in Croatia as I type this, with my handy Croatian phrase book in my pocket.)
Lots of times, you aren't really looking for a reply--ordering in a restaurant or bar, for example. And plenty of times a "yes" or "no" is what you want in a response--like when you go into a shop and ask if they have what you need. So as long as you recognize a negative answer--and honestly, sometimes the tone alone carries the message--it was worth learning to ask for what you wanted.
Asking for directions usually ends up with a fair bit of pointing and pantomiming--but it does require that the asker start by asking a specific question. (I'm pretty directionally challenged, so one phrase I always try to learn is "Can you show me on this map?" Another handy one is "Can you write it down for me? I plan to use that tonight when I try out my Croatian "Can you recommend a good restaurant in this area?")
But I think the best reason to use a phrase book is that you are showing that you care about engaging with the culture of the place you're visiting. Order a glass of wine in Barcelona in English and you'll get the wine almost always. Order in Spanish, and you'll get a friendly smile and the wine. Order in Catalan, and you might get your wine comped, you'll be a sensation in the bar, and you'll have made a connection with the locals.
I do recommend that you spend a good bit of time working with your phrasebook before the trip, to familiarize yourself with as much of the sounds and structure of the language as possible. In my opinion, part of the fun of travel is preparing, and part of the fun of preparing is getting the rudiments of a language down.
i forgot to mention: this ebook comes with a "trial version" that is free. it includes the basic phrases, which are probably sufficient for most people.
This is great, Lisa, especially if you are visiting so many countries. I'll be visiting only two, shortly, and already the space for 2 phrasebooks will be more than you're spending for 9.
And JER, you're absolutely right -- it only takes a tiny bit of trying to melt the ice and make a connection.
