Missy

I know almost nothing when it comes to speaking French. This scares me because I'll be in Paris for several days and I'm thinking it'll be very, very hard getting around.<BR><BR>Has anybody been to France without knowing a word of French?

elaine

Missy,<BR>all the time, every day, people visit Paris and France without speaking any French.<BR>I'm not sure why you would think that would be unusual.<BR>If you'd like to practice a few words just for courtesy (hello, goodbye, please and thank you) then<BR>go elsewhere on this Fodor's website where you can listen and practice a few words, or buy some cassettes or a CD in your local bookstore.<BR>Almost everyone you encounter in Paris in restaurants, shops, hotels, agencies, etc will speak some English, or quite a lot.

xxx

I know basic French and have been to Paris. It has been my observation, however, that even without my knowledge of French, I would have been just fine. You might want to learn the typical "please", "thank you", "you're welcome".

Patrick

I think on my first trip I could almost say, merci, but I'm sure it just came out Mur-see. I still didn't have a single problem, but then I'm great at charades. Since then my French has expanded to a vocabulary of about 10 to 20 words -- sorry, I'm just not good at it. But the last trip I was there, I checked into a hotel, saying, "bon jour, madame", and the woman began spouting French at me a mile a minute. When I asked, "Anglais?", she was embarrassed and said she thought I was French. It was the happiest day I've ever spent in Paris.<BR>They will love you for trying to say a few words, and to be perfectly honest, I think they often are happiest when you really aren't very good at it. A nice apologetic smile will count for a whole lot more than a major French vocabulary.

Myer

The French get a bad rap when it comes to treating outsiders. <BR><BR>While we speak French, I can tell you what I have learnt about Italy which most likely holds true in Paris.<BR><BR>'Hello', 'Goodbye', 'Thank You' and 'Your Welcome' go a long way.<BR>

Kris

My wife and I returned last Monday from Paris after staying a week. We both practiced basic greetings and farwells along with basic pronunciaton(so as not to completely embarass ourselves when ordering meals). This took little time and went a long way. Everyone was polite and helpful. The guide books are correct-start with simple courteous greetings then be prepared to asked "parlez vous Anglais?", or you will stand there dumbfounded after being asked two or three questions in French. In every instance each Parisian did their best to help us. Don't worry about the language barrier or the dress-couldn't believe how many concerns there were on sites about what to wear in Paris-you will see every form. Have Fun!

Cindy

I guess my experience was a little different...I learned just a few basic phrases for the trip to France and found that it was very difficult at times. Maybe it depends somewhat on where you go: nice hotels and restaurants or budget pensions and cafes. I found that people would try to take advantage of us at times and we had to be very cautious about it.

Missy

Thanks everyone! I'm going to Paris in late April and just recently my sister has been forcing me study quickie French booktapes. We have been stressing out about the language barrier for quite a while. I hope this info helps her relax somewhat! I really appreciate it

DearMissy

One day walking dow nthe Blvd St Germain, I noticed some posters in the store windows.I loved these posters! So we tracked down the gallery that was selling them, in a little side street on the Left Bank.The lady came over to me and I said "Bonjour",then in English,pointing at the poster," For Sale?" She said" Yes "in English then apologized for not speaking better English !! So do not worry, the French are very nice and happy to help you.

Melissa

I don't speak French....just hello, goodbye, please and thank you. I have no problems whatsoever in France, no matter how big or small the town is! Parisans are really great about speaking English now.

Beverly

I was in France last month and only remembered a few words from my high school lessons. Even though I bought a few french books to study before the trip, I found that the words would not stick. What helped tremendously once in Paris was to have a french language book that has phrases to use in certain situations: hotel check in, transportation, restaurants, touring, shopping, even dating! The words had phonetic pronunciation instead of the standard dictionary symbols which I can never remember, i.e. merci was "mairsee" phonetically so you can take a quick peek and know how to pronounce the french word/phrase. A friend gave me a great tip which helped my pronunciation: keep your tongue flat at the back of your mouth. <BR>Bon Chance! (Good luck!).

Nancy

Every place I plan to go, I log onto travlang.com, read the basic words, listen to pronunciation and then copy into Word a bunch of word groups I particularly want to know. I then narrow it down to basics and paste these words onto an index card so I can pull it out of my purse easily and not thumb thru a book. I also do this with exchange rates from oanda.com. This has been one of my better travel ideas!

rand

I do not want to sound 'trite' but please clear the mindset of 'language barrier'.<BR>The only barriers we have are those we set for ourselves.<BR>The rest are challenges we can surmount.<BR>Sorry. Off my soapbox now.

gary

Other than learning about a dozen basic words, please, thank you, good morning/evening, entry/exit, toilet, etc., you don't need to do anything other than smile and be polite, and you will survive. <BR><BR>Of course the more effort you put into learning more words, the more you will get in return. <BR><BR>And in spite of what many people post here, I have not had any bad experiences about tourists who do not speak French. The key is mutual respect.

Gayle

We have been to Paris twice and absolutely loved it both times. Our limited ability to speak the language was never a problem as there always seemed to be somebody around who spoke at least a modicum of english. Almost everyone we ran into seemed to really go out of their way to help us. Our only bad encounter was with a very rude woman in the information booth at the train station in Versailles. You know who saved us? A French couple passing by who overheard the conversation. Between their limited english and our limited french, we found out exactly what we needed to know. As everyone else has said, learn some basic phrases and it will take you a long way. The other thing you want to do is find out the french words for various foods. While waiters seem very willing to help, its a whole lot easier If you know what it is that you are looking at on the menu.

Susan

Missy, don't worry about it at all. I had some basic knowledge of French from<BR>school (many years ago!), but nevertheless madly listened to tapes, etc. before my trip to Paris last October. I was disappointed not to get much practice in French while there, because so many people speak excellent English, especially in hotels and places where tourists go. If you learn just a few basic words, and use them, the French seem so appreciative, and I didn't find people rude at all, just the opposite. In fact, I loved Paris so much I'm going back in May for another 2 weeks.<BR>

Kathy

I speak very, very, very basic French -- just what I know from one year of French in High School (MANY years ago), a couple of adult ed courses and some French tapes. I stuck to the basics and got along very well in Paris and elsewhere. The French are quite gracious and helpful when you are trying to speak their language. I was thrilled when, in a restaurant, a waitress told me I spoke very good French! On the other hand, my husband, who had studied French for 4 years in High School and 4 years in college (again, many years ago) was quite disappointed with his ability to communicate. I think he expected too much of himself! If you stick to the basics you'll be fine! (And most of the French I encountered knew at least a little bit of English, even when they said they didn't "speak" English!