Is not knowing the language a problem when traveling in France, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany?

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speenth

No, you can always shout at the stupid people who don't speak English.

The Foosaaaah

Nope.

Cyndie

I can't help you with the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany but it was a huge problem when I was in France two years ago. I was staying near Versailles about 30 minutes outside of Paris and not many of the French knew English. Or if they did, they pretended not to when they heard my American accent (this was very close to the time of the U.S. Freedom Fries backlash against the French).

And for the record, I did make every attempt to start every conversation with Bon Jour and said thank you, please, yes and no in French (unfortunately, the only French I knew). Although I did learn how to ask if they spoke English in French. Most said "No".

Steve

yup, how are you going to communicate with people (not everyone speaks english)

jurisdiction107

YES it can be a huge problem because u probley won`t be able to eat because you can`t speak french !!!!!

miss_jojo

Not knowing the language is not an issue in the Benelux and Germany. The majority speak English, or will help you find someone who does.

Let's get some things straight about France:
The French don't hate Americans. Come on, they even took Jerry Lewis off your hands, provided Johny Depp with a gorgeous wife and an excuse for minimum personal hygiene, and gave poor Sharon Stone a cultural award ;-)

Also, Paris is not France - the rest of France think Parisians are bloody rude and uppity too. Kind of like, oooh, I don't know, London and Northern England...?

What the French don't like is the assumption that everyone speaks English, because a lot of French don't. France is a big, varied country, and it's only been recent generations who have spent their holidays abroad, or had a need to learn English to do their job.
Secondly, greetings are very important in France. It's considered impolite to start a conversation without saying 'bonjour madame/monsieur'.

So, try practising a couple of phrases before you go, remember to be polite, and above all: have fun!

Edit: hec's right, mothers with limited language skills have an uncanny ability to blether to all sorts of people - my mother speaks no French, besides Bonjour, Au revoir, merci - and a bit of English and German, but she knows more about the public transport system in Strasbourg than I do, AND she has a homing device for markets in Paris.

And yes, English is more widely spoken in larger cities - but I've found there's always someone to help you - in Bilbao a lovely man took a 2 km detour just to show us how to get to our hotel, all through pointing and limited French....

bloemkool

Of course, you will have some big troubles. Try at least to know a few words or buy a few Assimil-guides.
But, thanks God, the majority of the people living in Europe can speak English, especially the young ones.

hec

It depends on two things: 1) whether you stick to major tourist destinations or deviate and 2) how empathic you are.

1) at major tourist places you'll easily manage it. Yes, you might get into some people who can't or aren't willing to help, but you'll find somebody who'll help. In more remote places it'll require more effort, but nothing terrible will happen!

2) from my personal experience - my mom does not speak ANY French (except for "Bonjour", "Merci". By the way, it's not polite to say just "bonjour" it should be "bonjour, madame" - see the answer above) and very Basic English. Somehow, she managed to get into conversation with many French people on the train, on the streets at museums etc. It's still a mystery for me how. So, it depends, what kind of person you are.

People assume that you can always handle it without problems in Netherlands/Germany and more or less easily in Belgium and only France might pose a problem. Well, to some extent it's true, but even in Germany (in a Bavarian village) I found myself in a situation where I had to use my very basic German. And in Brugge (quite a touristic place) I was quite helpless once at a store among Flemish people who didn't speak neither English nor French.

A couple more words of advice about French: 1) they LOVE when people ask them for help and 2) they HATE when somebody demands something. So, try to sound like you are asking and not demanding (it can be just a linguistic thing - when speaking foreign language, people sometimes sound less polite and more demanding).

lina

Netherlands and Belgium (aka Benelux) learn english in school and they all speak it. I had a bit of trouble in Germany though being understood. In France some people speak english some don't but in the tourist areas most of them have a general idea of how to speak english.

scotsman

They will probably just think you are American and be sympathetic.
Germany and Benelux speak English routinely. The French have a jingoistic dislike of speaking English even when they can. make a bit of effort and you will get further.

joelnbeck

you can always find help from someone friendly that knows a little english

silv2078

Most everyone in western europe speaks a little to fluent english. Now I do suggest you at least learn the niceties...please, thank you, excuse me etc. If you're travelling to smaller, lesser known towns then bring along a phrase book cause you'll be less likely to find an english speaker.

ataglance007

No, not really. Most Europeans can speak English well, although they would appreciate if you try to communicate with them in their own language even if it's just key phrases like hello or thank you. But the French, well.......good luck on that one!

Xkiller214

actually, most of them speak english. if u go to asia then u have to learn the language. i was just infrance and belgium 2 weeks ago and got along well with english. have fun on your trip!!!

rap21253 alfie noakes

yes very much ,but at least be polite ,and try not to look English and loud and smile,try not to shout at every one like your out of Eastenders.

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