Phrase books... Nicety or necessity?

If you have a "smart phone" like Iphone or an Ipod, you can language phrase apps. Check into these and other just language specific devices- they might be worth the cost.

I wished I had one when I went to Germany last year to help me order in restaurants. My son speaks pretty good German, but he didn't know a lot of the stuff on a menu.

I took one when we were in France this year. I didn't need it because my husband and I knew enough French to get by (just barely). But it was nice to have to look up words that I was curious about. I took Rick's, and it seemed good. I've never used any other, so I can't say it's the best.

Sherri,

I always pack a Phrase Book along for the area I'll be visiting. I don't use it frequently, but it's nice for reference if needed. I like the format of Rick's Phrase Books, so that's what I use.

My opinion of phrase book is that all they do it tell you how to ask a question, the answer for which you will not understand. Unfortunately, the natives in the language you are using will not know the "specific answers" from you phrase book. There is no substitute for knowing some of the language where you are going.

I took one my first trip (Rick's German-French-Italian) and it was very helpful for menu items and looking up words, as someone else mentioned. When we went to France for New Years last year I didn't bother to take it, as I had taken a French class. Not that I am fluent or anything close to it, but it helped. Lee is correct that it is better to have knowledge of the language where you are visiting. Of course it is impossible for most people to know many languages. I want to see too many places for that to be possible. I think it can't hurt to take a phrase book or have an app on your IPod/Itouch. I plan to learn some Italian before my upcoming trip. I like to hear the language to have an idea how to pronounce words. If you look at a word in French you still have no clue how to say it. Spanish is easier.

In the cities you are going to you can find menus in English if necessary.

Have a great time!

Phrase are not necessary if you will only be in major cities like Paris and Madrid. You are most likely to need it when you are in small villages that have few American tourist. If you plan to go to true "back door" locations, I would recommend Rick's French and Spanish phrase books. Also, I have used the Berlitz phrase book which includes most european languages and torn out the one or two countries that I will be visiting to take with me.

"nicety or necessity"..

I beleive it is very rude to go to any foriegn country without the ability to say, "please, thank you, good bye , hello", and "sorry or excuse me, I do not speak ( insert language of country) ".

That is a necessity to me.

Being able to speak more then that becomes more of a nicety then,, it is nice to know what you are eating, or when the train is coming, LOL

Now, how one accomplishes the nicety or necessity is up to them, either learn some French and Spanish before you go,, or bring a phrase book, or you blackberry or whatever electric gadget or guide book you would prefer .

I personally still take a menu translator to Paris,, and I've been there quite a few times, and speak a little french,, LOL it really helps when you eat in places where the waiters do not speak english ( or do not speak it well enough,, remember,, they may say the meat is "a beef",, but that could still mean it could be something I would hate,,like calf brains,, LOL) My menu translator is very small , about 3 x 6 inches.

Unless you are going to spend some time learning a few of the rudiments of the language, you will probably not find phrase books handy as far as actually speaking to non-English speakers. If studied before hand, they can help a lot with the common Where is the bathroom/ Waiter, the check, please/Another glass of red wine sort of phrases. I think their best use is menu decoding and teaching you the basic numbers for prices.

That said, I never travel without one. They're fun to flip through on the plane over, and in a pinch, you can point to the question you are trying to ask someone.

I found it very useful to have one for my Germany and Austria trip. I did have some German from a long time ago and it helped me to remember it. I wish I had had one in France. I was arrogant for that trip and thought I would remember enough. Certainly, you don't always understand the answers, but it helps with questions and key words. Pam

More nicety than necessity, especially in the large cities where most people, as least in the service/tourist industry, speak english. Still, I usually carry one with me when I travel because I think it's important - and fun - to try to speak the local language. Study it before you need it. Pulling out a phrase book when in the middle of ordering at a restaurant is not very convenient.

A better option is to take a couple-few language classes before you go, so you can actually hear the pronunciation and learn some basic phrases. I did this with both French and Irish, in addition to listening to Italian language CDs. Although phrase books often include a phonetic guide,I've never seen a good one. Rick Steves' are particularly bad in my humble opinion (sorry Rick).

Give it your best shot, and don't expect to understand responses to your questions. And don't be surprised if you ask a question in French or Spanish and get an English response. They know where you're from as soon as you ask a question (if not before).

I have 3 books called "Just Enough Turkish" "Just Enough Spanish" and "Just Enough German", which I found to be quite helpful. The phonetic pronunciation is pretty good and I like that where they have the questions, they also have the answers, so you can show this to someone and they can point to the right answer. Great if you are lost and need directions.

My little brother is going over to EU to study for 5 months and tour Europe [lucky] and i bought him pocket phrase books.

he has an iphone however, it can only be used if you are in an area that has wifi. The programs are not 100% downloaded on the phone. so you might need it in areas of no wifi.

I might be banned from this site, but i did not like rick's french phrase book; some of the words were not pronounced correctly, but then again the german phrase book for DK Eyewhiteness Travel Guides has the book in a southern german accent like Austria and southern germany.

But in my personal opinion i think they might come in handy as all you have to do is whip it out, go to a page, and get your question answered...

A good many folks won't have anything to do with phrasebooks and, instead carry a small cross-language dictionary. (Langenscheidt is one series.)

The logic being that there are a lot more words in a full dictionary. And, that by pointing to a subject and a verb, the other fellow can get an idea of what you're about and, using the other half of the dictionary, give you a pretty good answer.

On a recent 21 day visit to Paris, I only encountered 2 people who could not speak any English at all, and even with my botched pronunciation, ability to only understand about 30% of what they said (I took French, but the conversation speed and regional accents of real life are very different from classroom French) and lots of pointing, I was still able to extract what I needed without pulling out a phrasebook or dictionary. It does help immensely if you can memorize a handful of polite words and the apologetic "Sorry, I don't speak your language. Do you speak English?". Don't worry if your pronunciation is lousy. Parisians very much appreciate that you made the effort and they invariably launch into English to help you. I have seen several Parisians (in shops and other service-related businesses) flat out pretend to not know any English when some tourists made zero effort to be polite and start off speaking 1 or 2 words of French. This was particularly amusing to me because when I approached these same people in a polite manner with limited French, they spoke flawless English and were more than happy to use it because I made an attempt.

Friends of mine who speak no Spanish did not have any trouble in the large cities (Madrid, Barcelona, Seville), but they took the same approach of memorizing a simple greeting and a handful of words to show they had manners.

Once you leave the city, a phrasebook with a dictionary can help a little.

I've learned that I'm simply not going to be able to converse in a foreign language no matter how many phrase books I take along on my trips. What I do like to have are the food sections of the RS phrase book, so I tear the book apart and rebind just the food sections, plus the survival phrases. The books are tiny, they fit in my purse and I do use them a lot.

I like phrasebooks. I take one when I go somewhere I don't expect people to speak English. If you get stuck (at a ticket booth, with a train conductor/taxi driver, restaurant, grocery store, pharmacy, etc.) where no one speaks passable English, the phrasebook can be a lifesaver.

Usually before I travel I cram on the language to learn the equivalent of a small phrasebook - how to buy a ticket, how to rent a room, menu items, etc. so I don't need to pull a book out often.

I think I'll try the ones Jo recommended.

I agree nicety. I generally make space for a small one in my suitcase because it's nice to be able to look up a word or phrase to jog my memory (I speak some Italian), but I don't carry it around with me while sight-seeing.

If you have food issues, you might want a menu translator, but otherwise I agree with earlier posters who say knowing a few basic polite phrases is enough, and you can probably memorize those or write them on a piece of paper.

While perhaps not a nescessity, I always bring a phrasebook. They are compact, light and can ususally fit into a jacket pocket when you not using them. Plus, as others have mentioned, I simply feel it's polite to learn at a few of the basic greetings etc. People are more open and receptive if you do.

Ricks books work well though any phrase book will probably suffice (I have both Ricks phrasebooks and Lonely Planet phrase books).

Of course, if your feeling a bit more adventurous, you may want to go to the local library and borrow a fee tapes/CD's of the local language and practice for about a month.

I agree with everyone who said a phrase book is a "nearly necessity". You absolutely should speak at least 15 to 20 words of someone's language before you become a guest in their home country.

When I advise friends, I tell them to commit to memory the following phrases in the local language -- and carry a phrasebook for anything further --

Yes
No
Please
Thank You
Excuse me
Where is the toilet?
Good
How much does it cost?
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
I’d like…
…tap water
…sparkling water
…bottled water, no gas
…I am sorry
I don’t speak XXXXX.
Do you speak English?

I generally take a dictionary rather than a phrasebook. I find them more useful. They are much simpler when you want to look up a specific word or an item on a menu. I like the Langensheidt dictionaries.

I always learn a few basic phrases in the language regardless (find internet / Ipod apps often have basic phrases with pronunciation). Phrases and words that I typically learn are Do you speak English?, Yes, No, Please, Thank you, one, two, three, ticket(s), etc.