Nervous about the language barrier

I don't know how long you have....but here is what you might want to consider. Download short learning tapes on each of the 5 languages onto an ipod or similar device. Listen to those tapes as much as possible before you go, but don't try to completely memorize just get familiar with the accents. Also get phrase books for all 5. On the flight over listen to the first language over and over and try to memorize the key phases for that language. Have your phrase book with you at all times. If you get stuck and can't pronounce what you are trying to say, just point to the phrase in the book. The other person can read what you are pointing at in their own language. That person can then point to the answer which you can then read, neither of you need to speak, just read and point. I have done this many many times. On the train/bus ride from country one to country two listen over and over to the second language, memorizing the key phrases. Repeat.

We had no problem using English-only in the CR last year, Prague and other towns, and even some e-mail contacts beforehand. Most everyone in the service industry in any place that has tourism there knows enough English to get by. We found by using common sense we were able to decode most informational postings that didn't have English translations posted, e.g. tram schedules. We will be in Budapest and Krakow later this month so if you don't leave until mid-July, feel free to contact us back for our experience on this. Czech and Polish are closely related and what you pick up in the one will help you in the other. Hungarian is related to virtually nothing. But keep in mind that they hear English way more than you hear their language, and they pretty much know how to communicate the necessary information. My ear is so bad at this that I feel I almost need subtitles when I watch a British movie as I hear their speech and language so little, but I've never heard of a Brit not understanding us because of their exposure to American English.

Just returned a few days ago from all except Slovenia and I do not speak anything except some broken Spanish.( edit ...and English) Somehow it all works out... learn the word for bathroom or just look pathetic and someone will figure out what you want. Menus can be figured out by pointing at someone else's plate or use common sense and you can always end up with something to eat. If you are lost have a card from your hotel or a map marked. What exact situation do you see being a huge problem? Granted, I have not had any long in depth philosophical conversations with someone who did not speak English, but I hope I was not rude while I tried to convey what I needed. I smile a lot!

Anyone who wants your money will speak english:) If those idiots on the Amazing Race can cope....... http://tinyurl.com/5sb24eu

It's certainly nice to try to learn the languages of the countries you'll be visiting, but, as others have said, in tourist areas the locals usually know at least some English. (German is also a common second language in Central/Eastern Europe, especially for older people.) But remember, at least for now, English is the lingua franca for much of Europe; it's not just arrogant Americans who rely on the locals to speak English, but many people from around the world. I've noticed groups of tourists who speak Spanish or Japanese amongst themselves, but speak English to the locals. People in Poland and Hungary, etc. know that their languages are difficult to learn and if they relied on tourists to learn their languages in order to visit, they wouldn't get many visitors. So yes, by all means, learn some basics like hello, please, thank you, excuse me, etc. it will be appreciated, but you'll be fine with English, a little miming, and some patience. As for your difficulty being understood when you tried to speak Czech, don't feel bad. I have an American friend whose parents are from Poland; she grew up speaking Polish with her parents, but when visiting Poland she is often misunderstood, sometimes with rather comical results :)

Honestly, your plan to conquer three phrases in each language will work just fine. I just got back from a trip to Hungary, BiH, Croatia, and Slovenia last week and have recently been to Prague and Krakow. With the exception of a couple of little towns in Bosnia, literally everyone we encountered spoke at least some English. Everywhere, even in BiH, menus, signs, etc. were in English and usually German. Like was said before, for better or worse, English is a current lingua franca and easy communication spells tourism dollars. I speak French and some Hungarian and my husband a little German, but other than that, I had only basic phrases. I did feel like a chump at times, but it really did work out with no trouble. . .certainly less stressful than trying to cram for so many different languages. The pleasantries were appreciated, sure, but people seemed more than willing to work in whatever language was most comfortable. Especially in these countries, even if people don't speak English, chances are your German will help you out. So certainly, hello, goodbye, thank you, ect. . .learn 'em. People do appreciate the effort. But, really, communication should be a breeze. If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me. It's not my (or your) fault, I (you) speak are native speakers of Englishand there's no need for the "arrogant American" guilt. I remind myself of when I was teaching in Hungary and had a group of students who were going to France. I asked them if they spoke any French. "Oh no," they told me, "there will be no problemswe speak English."

Well, my mind is officially at ease. I found a free phrasebook for my Kindle that has a few of the languages I need. I prefer listening to the language, but my library doesn't have CD's in those languages. Something else I've noticed in watching my travel shows is that a lot of the languages ARE similar. i.e., Prosim, or close to it, seems to be please in a few of those. Oh my! I was just looking up Prosim online and found that Wikitravel has a "Czech phrasebook" that I could easily print out and bring with. I bet they have it for a few other languages, as well! Thank you, all!

Exactly what Penny said! We are perhaps flattering ourselves if we think people still think "Arrogant American" when they hear English. Today English is what Latin was in the middle ages, only more so. I've had in-depth conversations in English with people from all over Europe. I admire how well they have learned English (and I aspire to learn at least one European language as thoroughly as they have learned English). However I also know that they learned English more-or-less out of necessity. If a native speaker of, say, Romanian does not learn English, the reality is that they will have difficulty if they wish to travel far and wide and engage with the modern world. We are indeed lucky to be native English speakers. And of course learning words/phrases in the local language is always helpful and appreciated. But I think the era when the use of English, in and of itself, translates to "arrogant American" is, thankfully, behind us. I agree with the other posters who emphasize that the language barrier really is not that big of an obstacle. One practical suggestion: Numbers are sometimes tough. In places where I don't speak the language, I try to always carry a small pad of paper and a pencil with me, and I often find it helpful to ask people to write down the price for me if it is at all unclear. Especially helpful to get the price in writing before any service is rendered.

We cannot all be expected to know every language under the sun. I always like to give the person I am trying to converse with a choice of languages even if none of them is the language they actually speak, so that I am not automatically assuming that they will speak English. So to start with I will ask if they speak English or German (which you say you have moderate proficiency in), if not then I hesitantly offer French whilst trying to ignore the panic inside me reminding me of the trouble I have got into in the past thinking I 'know' this language. I have only ever memorised two phrases in the language of the country I am visiting and that is 'excuse me' before I can then ask, 'do you speak English/German/or very bad French, and 'thank you' (even if I often have no idea what I am thanking them for) The thought of memorising many key phrases in five different languages doesn't seem to me very relaxing. Try perfecting an apologetic smile, it's universal, (although it might mean something else in Outer Mongolia).

"Most people didn't seem to understand me" Reminds me of taking my kids to Mexico. My daughter had studied Spanish in Washington state. She knew the words but the accent was so wrong, people didn't understand her. I grew up in San Diego, I knew what she was saying and would simply repeat it with the correct accent and was understood perfectly. Watch your vowels; if you use incorrect (American) vowel sounds, your words won't be understood. Yes, much harder to learn multiple languages. I suggest learning which languages the locals are most likely to understand as a second language (if they don't speak English). It may be that learning some basic Russian words will help get you through. Of course there's a chance they can't stand Russians, but if you try English first, they'll know your an American. The phrase book in multiple languages is also a really good idea. Generally any effort is appreciated. Couple that with an understanding that it's not really their job to speak English and you won't be seen as arrogant. Worst case scenario, use hand signals and smiles to get your idea across.

I don't travel with I-stuff. I do travel with a pad and pencil. It's amazing what you can sketch when you have to.

Amy, you're right that four of the five languages you have to deal with are Slavic, so there's a lot of overlap."Where is the bathroom?" is pretty close to the same in Polish, Czech, and Croatian, for example. Hungarian is the old language out; it's closer to Finnish and Turkish than to the others! The free multilanguage phrasebook on the Kindle is baed on the Wikipedia phrasebooks, which are more extensive for each language. If you download those, you'll have a great resource. It's true that lots of Eastern Europeans speak at least some English, especially in major cities. And many speak German as a second language, too. But I find that speaking a bit of the local language can be helpful, and it always is an ice-breaker. (Once, I was in a cafe in Catalunya in Spain and ordered a glass of red wine and some tapas in Catalan. The guys at the next table overheard me trying to order in Catalan and expressed their appreciate by buying my drink for me! What a hoot! And before you ask, no, there was no ulterior motive. I'm old enough to be their mother...)

Free drinks??? I'll start my self-study tomorrow!

IMHO, phrase books (as in actual books made from dead trees) are superior to something on a kindle or i-thingy. By having an actual book it makes it easier for the other person to look up what they want to say in their language and then point to it on the book. They may not know how to operate your electronic thing, and you might not be comfortable handing over your expense equipment. I think Lonely planet has a single phrase book that will handle all of the languages you need.

I wasn't inferring that I would use the Kindle as reference while out and about. I simply found it and it was free, so I thought I could use it to learn before and during my trip. I will not be carrying my Kindle around town with me... I will probably carry a small paper with the phrases in my purse.

Rather than buy phrase books, I suggest surfing the net for common phrases, with phonetic pronunciations, for each language...you really only want the basics. Print those on a sheet of paper and toss in your luggage..good to go.
Ed made an excellent suggestion...a pencil and a small notepad...I spent three hours on train from Germany to Prague in a compartment with just myself and an elderly Czech couple...I had a phrase book, but only used a few basic words....BUT having a pen and paper to sketch things actually allowed us to carry on a rudimentary conversation, and to this day I am amazed at what those two little tools can accomplish

I have Croatian friends who tell me that everyone speaks English, because no one speaks Croat. My husband does business with Eastern Europeans and they all speak English, because the Croat is not going to speak Magyar, the Hungarian is not going to speak Slovenian, etc etc. My first trip to Slovenia is this fall but my understanding is that it's the same way. In fact, in his guidebook Rick points out one very remote mountain valley and says that if you want to meet the few Slovenes who don't speak English, this is where you can do it. I'm also visiting Croatia and Bosnia and I've sent off tons of emails in English with no problems.

Christy particularly in business English is the international language. I heard a barb that went something like this. "A German businessman representing a French company meets with a Korean from a Japanese company in Italy to discuss a building a factory in Russia. So of course they discussed the deal in English" **** But it is still a good idea to learn the basic phrases: please, thank you, where is....?, etc. I find if I attempt the local language and the other person then says, "I speak English" it works better than if I ask that English be spoken. I think the primary reason for this is after I spend sometime struggling with their language they are more comfortable speaking broken English with me without fear that I will judge them for not knowing English well enough. So one basic phrase I don't bother to learn is "Do you speak English?" My butchering their language while holding a phrase book prompts them to start speaking English without me asking. I also always respond to them apologizing for less than perfect English by responding that their English is vastly better than my German/French/Italian/Spanish/etc (as the case may be.)

Yeah, I won't be buying a phrase book. I've already got a ton of Rick Steve's books for this trip, and actually, Rick's books DO have a small phrase guide as well. I was going to print off the stuff online probably as well. Even though it uses up valuable space in my backpack, I love to travel with his books! (And I know people have their opinions about traveling with entire books, but I love having all that information with me!) But all of your posts are making me feel better and better. And I never thought about how speaking in their language poorly would make them feel more at ease with their English. Because yes, all non-native speakers seem to think their English is bad!

@ ed - the one phrase you SHOULD learn is: Excuse me, do you speak English? I don't know about other countries, but in Germany, they hate it when someone just starts talking without letting them know first that it is going to be English. Do you really carry a guide book in your hand every where you go? Shopping, restaurants, flea markets, on the bus, train? Expecting people to just "know" that you are going to speak English is kind of rude. Switch it around. Someone comes up to you in a Walmart and starts talking German or Spanish or French. Would you need to look them over to see what kind of guidebook they are carrying to know where they are from or how to answer? Please do the polite thing and at least learn that one phrase in the language of the country you are visiting.

@JO I think you misunderstand my approach. I would not go up to you in Germany and start speaking English. What I would do is start by horribly mispronouncing something to the effect of "Guten Tag, Entschuldigen Sie, Wo ist ...." while searching a clearly marked German-English phrase book for the German word for whatever I am looking for. I would continue to butcher the German language, and often request, "Ich verstehe nicht. Lamgsamer bitte," when you spoke. Until YOU suggested we switch from German to English because my German so horrible you find it unbearable to converse with me in German and would rather speak English. I never ask the other person if they can speak English, I start out by assuming they can't and that I am going to need to speak the native language. The vast majority of the time the person quickly volunteers to speak in English, even folks who normally would respond "nein" to the question, "Sprechen Sie Englisch?" On at least a half dozen occasions I have witnessed someone else ask someone if they spoke English and that person said no. But then they spoke to me in English after I attempted to speak to them in their language and failed miserably. Each of them spoke English quite poorly (but better than I speak any foreign language). I firmly believe that my horrible language skills in their language made them more comfortable with their own English skills and thus willing to speak to me in English when they wouldn't with folks who started by asking if they knew English and might have unreasonable expectation if the person said yes. And yes, I don't go anywhere without my phrasebook. It easily fits in my pocket. Guidebooks, I don't always carry cause they are larger but a phrasebook fits in my pocket.

I would only add "Where is the bathroom?" to your 3 keys. I think we've done a pretty good job of easing the "arrogant American" stereotype. My daughter tells me there are several other countries that have surpassed us in the "arrogant" catagory.

A couple of years ago, I went on the RS Eastern Europe tour and wrote down my most needed basic phrases in each language (please, thank you, where, hello, good bye) and attempted to learn them. I was okay (remembering the phrase but pronouncing in no way near intelligible) in the first country but in the second country I was mixing it up with the first language and it only got worse with each new language. But I could point to my note pad. It worked and everyone was nice to me--except the cab drivers.

One other thing have business or 3x5 cards with the name & address for your accommodations. If you hand a cab driver a business card of a hotel to a cab driver, he will know what you want.