French in Paris..advice needed!
 

Our family (2 adults and two girls 10 and 14) are traveling to the UK and Paris in June and July for 3 weeks. We end in Paris for a short stay of 3 nights.

I've been to Paris with a family member who speaks the language fluently. The more I think about it, I'm now getting worried as no one in my family speaks any French. I don't want to be rude by not being capable of the French.

Advice please.... Did I make a mistake adding this to our trip??

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

What kind of guidance are you looking for? You're going to a place where you don't speak the language, is that the issue? You have 5 months to learn some French, so do it.

No, you certainly didn't make a mistake adding Paris to your trip! It's a wonderful city.

My suggestion: learn basic phrases in French. The french are big on basic politeness. When walking into a shop, you always say "bonjour" and "au revoir" upon leaving. Learn "s'il vous plait" and "merci" and use them often. You won't become fluent in French before June, and you don't need to. But learning basic phrases plays a big role in how you are treated (and this really goes for most places in the world). Always ask "parlez-vous Anglais?" (Do you speak English?) before you start speaking in English. Most people do speak some English, those who don't will be more patient with trying to figure out what you need (you will use sign language a lot!) if you are polite.

And definitely invest the $6.95 it costs for a phrase book--very, very helpful, especially for menus.

Enjoy Paris!

If your family can learn a few words and phrases, it will make a good opening for when you address a local. Any guidebook should cover some useful terms..always apply a polite greeting and 'title', such as "Bonjour Madame" before you ask for anything. You can always ask "parlez-vous anglais, s'il vous plait?".. and say "s'il vous plait" and "merci" to people, just like you should at home.

Your French-speaking family member can help you with the pronunciation.

I should have been more specific. I know there is no way to become fluent in 3 months. Focusing on phrases to broker transactions, get pointed in the correct direction, read and order from a menu sounds like a good place to start. Fortunately, I do understand the the use of basic greetings, etc..and do at least know some of them (from when I was in France before).

Guidance on general etiquette (such as asking in French if someone speaks English first) etc, would be helpful. Can you point me in the direction of some helpful resources?

In all locations frequented by tourists in Paris, you will find people who speak English. They are almost never highly fluent, but they speak well enough for the types of interactions you'll be likely to have with them (standard questions, purchases, etc.).

In locations not frequented by tourists, such as hypermarkets or home-improvement stores, insurance brokers, etc., you may find people who speak only French. But since these <i>are</i> places rarely frequented by tourists, you're unlikely to find yourself in this type of situation.

You cannot learn any useful level of French by June or July without full-time, intensive study. The best you can do is learn a few polite phrases. Some locals consider the few phrases to be a courtesy, others may question why you bother with a few phrases when they are essentially useless for communication and seem a bit like a token, non-serious effort (whereas many of them must study for years to learn English).

If you go this latter route, I'd limit the French phrases to courtesy greetings and the like. Don't ask where the pharmacy is in French unless you can understand the response in French as well.

I strongly recommend the &quot;Just Enough&quot; series phrasebooks. I have used French, Spanish, Portugese, Italian, and Croatian with success.

They are cheap and require a bit of interpretation since they are written for British audience, but they cover most basic travel needs phonetically.

They have good sections on disasters (explaining what hurts to a doctor or pharmacist) and lots of possible responses to your questions, some of them negative: &quot;Not my problem&quot;

You did not make a mistake in adding Paris to your trip. I don't speak French but learned the basic phrases to interact in tourist situations and to be polite. I have found that all Parisians have been very helpful in speaking English when they realize I don't speak French but only after a polite greeting and a polite inquiry as to whether they speak English. If they didn't speak English we laughinly managed through &quot;sign language&quot;. My experience has been that French perople are very friendly and helpful if you present yourself in a respectful manner. I think the rumor of the ugly Parisian comes from people who are loud and rude and don't practice basic politeness. They get what they give and the same thing would happen at home. Have fun in Paris, I am so envious.

Nelcarp
Though it is nice to be able to communicate with locals in the language of the country you are visiting, it is not &quot;must&quot;. Here is a list of countries I have visited without speaking the national idiom:
- Germany
- Czech Republic
- Switzerland (German speaking regions)
- Thailand
- Egypt
- Greece
- Netherlands

I also will be visiting France in June &amp; found a helpful language program that can be downloaded free. It is really quite good. Here's the site: http://www.byki.com/ Hope this helps.

Hi

I went to Paris last year with my wife and we don't speak much French...just a few basic phrases. We didn't have that much trouble due to this...yes, there were a couple of misunderstandings but nothing serious. So I'm sure you will have a wonderful trip :d

Here is my trip report with pictures, links and maps http://gardkarlsen.com/Paris_France.htm . Hope you can find some useful info there.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Hi N,

You'll only be there for 3 days, and you will be visiting the tourists spots.

All you need is

Bonjour, Bon soir, au revoir, s'il vous plait, merci, oui, non

ou est......
le toilette
le metro
le autobus

Quelle est le prix?

It helps to have pencil and paper for the answer to the last one.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

We have been to France before and got by with just a few phrases, and a good phrase book. This time though, I wanted a better grasp of it so found a short course at the local community college, called &quot;French for Travelers&quot;. You might want to look into something like this.

Ditto MissZiegeld's response.

Don't forget to say &quot;bonjour&quot; when you enter a shop, and &quot;au revoir&quot; when you leave.

The French equivalent of &quot;to take French leave&quot; i.e. to leave without saying goodbye is &quot;filer &agrave; l'anglais&quot; &quot;to leave like an Englishman&quot;, and is the height of bad manners.

While it would be nice to be fluent in another language, I am not, and had no problems visiting Paris for a week as a tourist.

A phrase book with restaurant translations is helpful. And also should outline general greetings and such, in order to be polite, like you're looking for.

Also works well if you are organized and have a map, to get where you want to go, so you don't need to be trying to ask assistance from strangers on the streets.

I agree with posters above that you at least learn the key phrases Bonjour, Au Revoir, S'il vous plait, and Merci.

It's especially important that you greet someone with Bonjour, before asking them something. I was rudely lectured by a train station guard when I approached him and asked &quot;les toilettes?&quot; without first saying Bonjour. He immediately turned his back on me to help other people. When we turned back to me, he very sternly (and loudly) made it clear I should have greeted him properly.

Yes, I knew better-- but I'd just gotten off a one-hour train ride that was so packed I couldn't get to the bathroom. I had been counting on using it. So, I was in desperate need of directions to the restroom. He actually gave me the wrong directions, too!
:)&gt;-

PS,

Je suis d&eacute;sol&eacute;, &quot;I am sorry&quot; is also helpful.

It would be sad to skip Paris because you can't speak French. I didn't travel to Paris for that reason for many years.
DUMB!!
When my daughter (who is fluent in French) lived there for awhile I finally went.
I have wandered by myself all over Paris not speaking French and I 've never had a problem.
Many have recommended knowing a few phrases. That is good advice and will serve you well.
Paris is the prettiest city in the world - you can't miss out.

My partner, who speaks no French, caused a lot of smiles and helpful responses when he said: &quot;Je suis desole (I am sorry). Je ne parle pas Francais (I don't speak French).&quot; It even rhymes and they love it. Sorry, I don't know how to put the accent marks on desole, but you pronounce it: des-soul-lay.

It doesn't really matter if you don't speak French, just don't be rude about it. I lived in Paris for a while and I saw many people (usually British and American) just approaching people and speaking English without asking first if they spoke English. I mean, common sense tells you not to do that - imagine if you were working in your hometown and someone came up to you and started speaking French. You wouldn't be too pleased. Just put yourself in their position - greet them properly, ask if they speak English in French and don't forget to thank them. They may still be rude - no big deal, don't let it ruin your day. They deal with thousands of tourists every day, it gets irritating so don't take it personally. Just do your best to be polite and nobody can fault you!

&gt;You wouldn't be too pleased.
Well I would be rather pleased and try to start a longer conversation and I believe most people here would do the same. In no way would I find it rude. On the contrary, people would try to find out how they could help. Rude would be standing on the left side of the stairs in the train station or sitting on them, forcing people to walk around you like many tourists do. Language isn't an issue.

FWIW, d&eacute;sol&eacute; and fran&ccedil;ais don't rhyme.

D&eacute;sol&eacute; and fran&ccedil;ais can rhyme if you don't speak French.

the common language of the EU is english. most parisians are cosmopolitan enough to speak at least some english. there are some who refuse to speak english or who can't speak it (you wonder how they can get by outside of france - perhaps they don't or they just go on group tours). for the most part, you won't find very many people like this in paris.

that said, learning some french will make your trip much more fun and easier.

&gt;the common language of the EU is english
Definitively not! :D

&lt;&lt;d&eacute;sol&eacute; and fran&ccedil;ais don't rhyme.&gt;&gt;

hmmm... interesting

&quot;&gt;the common language of the EU is english
Definitively not! &quot;

However, I've read more than twice that &quot;more people in the EU speak English than any other single language.&quot; Is this NOT true?

I do beleive that more Germans can speak English than they can French or Italian, and more Italians can speak English than German, etc. Add in all the people in the UK and Ireland who speak English only, and I'd think the above statement is probably true.

Come to the continent and see for yourself.

logos, I've spent over a year total on the continent in the past 10 years. And yes, I think that's true. Rarely do I run into anyone in France, Italy, or Spain who doesn't speak at least a little English. Germany is the country where I find the fewest English speakers. Of course, my experiences are more with professionals and those in tourist related industry, but even in smaller towns and off the beaten path, I often find a lot of people who speak some English -- certainly a lot more than I'd find in similar places in the US who speak anything other than English.

&gt;more with professionals and those in tourist related industry,
That's the point. You need at least a little knowledge in French, German, Spanish, Italian and Russian to get around (almost) everywhere. English is only a common language as it's used in advertisement where they make up funny new words that sound &quot;cool&quot;. However most people have no idea what they might mean. They speak their local language. You havn't got the slightest chance on a decent job without the local language, however.
I remenber translating to a Portugese girl from an Italian. The Italian only spoke her own language, while the Portugese was able to understand my French. Well, we managed to communicate. Sometimes English works, in most cases, it doesn't and you need a third person.

I agree with the strategy of getting a good phrase book and learning as much as possible in advance with tapes, etc. I can still get by reasonably well with my high school French and in german and sometimes those languages help in other European countries.

Our family spent a week in Rome in early march, and I was glad to have an Italian phrase book for the basics and ordering in restaurants and stores. Our 16 year old son made a point of learning Italian phrases, too. He was rewarded by having several people complement him on his efforts.

Let me restate my point. I don't speak more than a smattering of phrases in any language (hello, thank you, etc.). In my 12 + months of European travel in the past 10 years (not counting the UK) I could list on one hand the number of times I've had any serious problem &quot;communicating&quot;.

When we stayed in a small hotel in Germany and the owners didn't speak A WORD of English, we managed to select our room, order our breakfast, pay our bill, and wish each other well with no difficulty.

When we traveled by car in the very south east of Italy well &quot;off the beaten track&quot;, we never had an issue with being able to have a great time and &quot;communicating&quot;, even when we encountered people who don't speak English. Pointing to a map and looking inquisitively to a person can get you a response as to which way you need to go. Smile, say &quot;Grazie&quot; and you're on your way.

I'm an expert at charades and there are many ways to communicate without having a full fledged verbal conversation.

So I would disagree that &quot;Sometimes English works, in most cases, it doesn't and you need a third person.&quot;

That has NOT been my experience.

Don't get me wrong. Speaking a language would get you further and could add greatly to your appreciation of a place, but it is NOT necessary. And frankly, I don't believe I could learn enough of a language in a couple months to fully comprehend either what I'm saying or more importantly what I'm hearing.

&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;
You havn't got the slightest chance on a decent job without the local language, however
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;

to get a good job in europe, you need to speak english (in addition to the local language-but increasingly even this is less of an absolute requirement). having worked for many years all over europe, i have sadly seen many people who have had their careers shut down because they would not or could not learn english...mostly middle aged people.

almost all real business in europe crosses national boundaries within the EU and commonly outside of it. this business will almost always be conducted in english. just look at logos' hometown...to get a good, real job with siemens, bmw, munich re, hvb, allianz, etc, you need to speak english. these are multi-nationals that have little use for insular local types that can't work at a global level. if you want to get an mba in munich you also need to speak english.

to say that english is only used in munich for novelty 'cool words' (that nobody can understand) is so far from reality, it's disturbing. it's also very insulting and fails to recognise that munich is not an insular city.

only jim thompson of germany steadfastly refuses to see any of this. most real germans are happy to get on with participating in the global economy...and this means speaking english.

You're correct, there isn't any foreign language needed to &quot;communicate&quot; anywhere. I loved China where travelling without them understanding me, or me understanding them was easy! All the basic things very easy to get across. However the flaw in the argumentation that many people understand or speak English in Europe ist that when people are approached in English, they'll try to answer in that language, even if they only know very litte. If they tried i.e. French in Italy they would be amazed that it generally works better than English.

Well, walkingaround, we are on different levels. I'm not coming down to yours :D

&lt;&lt;Speaking a language would get you further and could add greatly to your appreciation of a place, but it is NOT necessary.&gt;&gt;
Certainly that sums it up nicely and addresses the OP's quandry.

A common 'mistake' I see people makingn is to freak out when they are somewhere they don't speak the language.

Instead just stay calm and observe how things are being done around you. How people line up, how the person in front of you does it at the grocery store (in Switzerland you bag your own, for example).

My friend who has lived in Europe for quite some time reminds me, they are a shop (restaurant, whatever) and want to sell you, what you want to buy... you'll figure it out together.

With just a review of the basic French phrases and words in my guidebook, a foggy remembrance of conversational pleasantries from elementary school, the occasional glance at a list of foods to make sure the entree wasn't pork, and many humble looks and &quot;sil vous plait's&quot; and &quot;merci's&quot; - we functioned very well for a week in Paris. Most everyone we met spoke English (when recognizing that our French was limited to Bonjour, Bonsoir, L'eau, deux, Merci, etc.) because we were in tourist areas, and they did so happily. We were always humble and appreciative, and there were no worries.

You'll be fine!