Speaking German

I all depends on where you want to go.

About half of all Germans can speak some English (EU survey), and they are concentrated in international business and tourism. If you only want to go to touristy places, you can usually find people who can speak English.

I am a student of German, and I enjoy getting into less traveled areas, because few people there speak English, and I can practice my German. Sometimes I get my wish and sometimes I'm frustrated because everyone wants to speak English.

However, if you took a beginner German course and learned some of the basic, I think it would make your trip more rewarding.

It is always good advice to try and learn important phrases in the language of countries you are going to visit. Please, Thank-you, Excuse me, Do you speak English, How much does this cost? Where are the toilets/WC, I would like to have .....

Numbers are helpful to learn, perhaps food - especially the words for pork, beef, fish, etc.

English is a required class in school here, but for some schools, only 2-4 years. I don't know about you, but most of the Spanish I learned 40 years ago has departed my brain, and so it goes here too with many people. Professional people will mostly have had 6-8 years of English and so will speak more. Places where lots of English speaking tourists are, will of course be more fluent. It is considered polite to ask in the language "excuse me, do you speak English". It really throws some people off if you just start speaking in another language than what they are expecting. Sort of like they have to prepare themselves, oh yeah, lets talk English. Then they are fine.

When speaking English though, speak slowly and clearly, and drop whatever slang you usually use. This helps the other person.

At least get a phrase book and practice phrases you will need to ask for a room, order a meal, etc. Learn to say please and thank you. Counting comes in handy.

I have studied German; but I visited some countries in Europe with only a phrase book and goodwill. It turned out okay. We once got cheese in France when my wife thought fromage meant dessert. Those things make for a good laugh afterward.

Regards, Gary

The quick answer is not necessarily, but you'll have a much more rewarding holiday if you can at least use some of the common phrases: Guten Tag, bitte, danke, auf Wiedersehen etc. Bring along a good phrase book, and try to paste enough German together to do even more. I have found that many of the Germans you'll meet while traveling as a tourist will speak and understand some English...others seem nearly fluent. An exception might be someone like a taxi driver...he may understand no English. Regardless of where I am, I always try to use the local language to the extent that my knowledge and skills will allow. Wouldn't it be neat if 50% of Americans spoke a second language?

It really does vary. Some Germans speak English fluently, others don't, and more you get "off the beaten tourist track" the more likely you will need to know a little German.

I studied German a long time ago, but on a recent trip to Berlin, it became obvious that I had forgotten a lot!

At the little hotel where I stayed, the owner did not speak much English, so I had some trouble communicating certain things. But, we worked it out. (The most ironic thing was that, at the end of the trip, I found out by accident (some French tourists came in) that he spoke French -- he was from France! My French is pretty good. We could have communicated in French much more easily, had I known. Oh, well. Next time...)

In general, however, I had few problems with English, but knowing some German will definitely make your trip more fun.

The German phrase for "do you speak English" is great to learn because most Germans will reply "a little bit" and then proceed to speak practically perfect English. It is a good sign of respect that usually facilitates a good conversation. Also, bring the Rick Steve's German phrase book.

I think that I got more out of my trip to Germany in May because of knowing just enough German to be dangerous. I found free podcasts on iTunes - try One Minute German from Radio Lingua Network as a starting point. I also read German Survival Guide 2nd Edition by Elizabeth Bingham. Germans really appreciated the effort and once I got over my initial fear of starting an international incident I really enjoyed speaking German.

Like Mike, I know just enough German to be dangerous--to myself. I studied German in college--much-water-over-the-dam years ago--so I had to do a little brushing up before going to Germany. What I knew made my trips all the more pleasurable patching together my English and meager German for a conversation with someone patching together their German and meager English. Besides, knowing a little German often eased my way in non-English speaking areas. I've always tried to learn a little of a language before heading to a European country. Right now I'm working on Italian for my next trip. I wouldn't say that knowing at least a little German is necessary--other than greetings and social transactions. But it will definitely enrich your experiences.

My husband and I both speak enough German to get by while we're there. But, as said before, most people you'll run into will speak English. The only time we've been in places where it was hard to find any English-speakers was in the former East Germany, including Berlin. If you have a phrase book and can point, you'll probably be fine.

The more you can learn before your trip, the more you will understand signage, menus, etc.

It's never a bad idea to start conversations with polite German words. The person you are talking to will most likely switch to English immediately.

For a free basic course check out BBC languages online.

The turn of this thread reminded me of a time when knowing how to communicate in German was sort of critical, and, thank goodness, my wife is nearly fluent. We were driving from Trier to Sankt Goar late at night (around 11 pm) when I exited the A61 a bit too early. We ended up in a little village from a secondary highway west of our destination but had no idea where we were or how to get pointed in the right direction. In fact, we were totally lost…could have used a compass or GPS. Anyway, the village was very small…nothing but a church and a few houses. For some reason, there were four retired-age guys in the church parking lot (at night). We pulled in, and my wife explained our plight auf Deutsch, of course. Their kindness was almost unbelievable. They offered to drive and lead the way to our hotel in Sankt Goar, while we followed in our car…I’m talking several miles. It was getting close to midnight, but Frau Velich of Hotel Hauser answered the door when we arrived and allowed us to grab some cake and a couple of beers in her restaurant before retiring for the night. Again, unbelievable kindness…she was in her bathrobe! We actually ran into these helpful gentlemen in town the next day, which was a Saturday, and were again able to thank them for the assistance they provided the night before. Talk about a back door experience! I’ll never forget it…I love the German people.

I think iots always polite to learn some basic phrases of the language and the locals usually appreciate it although in germany, its easy enough without the language.

Alan, I speak a little German, and I actually found it much more useful when traveling in Hungary and Slovenia. As Germany is their neighbor, and such a large trading partner, more people spoke some basic German, than basic English. It was kind of funny to be ordering food in quasi-German, from a Hungarian, but it worked! So, if you're taking any side trips.... :)

As the old advice says, you really do get much better help/service, and much better helps if you try to ask in German first, rather than asking if they speak English. :)