How international are we? How well would it work to have postings in other languages as well?
 

Since this is an internet site accessible anywhere in the world, I wonder why some people struggle to post questions in English about non-English-speaking countries, even though the questions might potentially be answered by Europeans who'd prefer to answer in their own language (which is not English). <BR> <BR>I'm happy that English is an ("the") international language, and it certainly makes things easier for me, but shouldn't some people feel free to post in French and some other widely known languages as well if that's easier for them?

Cmt; Je ne comprends pas,,,,my vast expanse of French....is awesome(not). <BR>Judy ;-) But go to it, linguists...I could always try to translate(thank God for Latin)....

Or, people could ASK the Q in their preferred language, and we could ANSWER in ours, assuming we can understand but don't want to take the time to write carefully.

...Might be good practice for those of us who don't have much chance at home (U.S.) to use our other language(s).

I like the suggestion that people post in their preferred language, if they're not comfortable enough in English. At worst people won't understand it, but it's worth a shot, and it would be a nice way to make the forum more globally inclusive. <BR> <BR>I think it's quite common for people to have moderate comprehension of a language without being confident enough to speak or write it. If someone posted in German, say, I could probably get the gist of it and respond in English, but I'd be worried that my tenuous grasp of genders, tenses, and cases would make a German response almost incomprehensible. <BR> <BR>How would we let people know that non-English contributions were welcome? <BR> <BR>By the way, in Canada it's not uncommon for a "Quebecois" and an "Anglo" to have an entire conversation this way. They will both speak their native tongue, but they understand each other fine. <BR> <BR>And, hey, we can always use babelfish.altavista.com, right?

One might guess most of us would have no big concern about questions or answers posted in languages other than English. <BR> <BR>One might want to bear in mind, though, that over 70% of web denizens have English as a primary language. Moreover English is spoken by somewhere near a billion persons. Questions in other than English may limit the number of potential respondents. Answers in other than English may help only a limited number of future travelers. <BR> <BR>Ed

Or it may EXPAND the number of potential respondents, if word gets out that the site is multilingual. Most people who like to travel have a least reading ability in several languages. Why oppose trying? Big question is how to invite postings in various languages.

Who has opposed it? <BR> <BR>Let's give it a try! <BR> <BR>Why not ask Fodor's to place a notice somewhere on their site inviting use of the Forum in languages appropriate to the destinations? <BR> <BR>Ed

I think multi-language posting would be a step in the wrong direction. If there's really a demand for this, Fodors should set up separate boards. I'd hate to have big hunks of threads in languages I can't read at all. It would push down the English threads and make the board less useful for me. <BR> <BR>I only speak English. But I wouldn't dare go to a German board or French board and demand that English be included.

interesting suggestion

I for one would welcome multilingual postings. Often in Tunisia, since my French is fairly limited, I found myself asking what other language(s) the other person spoke. Since there are many German tourists in Tunisia, frequently they also spoke German--so we'd end up chatting in a mixture of French and German and a bit of English. In the medina, I was literally speaking "SpanFrenGermEnglish" in order to have a more complex conversation with a vendor who wants to visit a friend in Meeker, Colorado, and had all kinds of questions about how to get there. <BR> <BR>Language is for expanding our horizons--I definitely wouldn't object to more languages here, so long as people didn't get upset either a) when they were used, or b) if there weren't a lot of people capable of replying in their chosen language.

I think Emily knows pig latin

Like it or not, English (esp. American) is widely spoken and is probably the most widely understood lang. for people who have the income and time to travel. Once you get beyond English, it is really fractured as to who speaks what. I would think for an international board, we should stick to English, but of course, if someone doesn't know English, they can always give it a try here (and I'm sure SOMEONE will understand, but it will be limited). Ciao.

Instead of shouting, like most people do when they are trying to be understood in a foreign country, maybe we could POST IN CAPS LIKE THIS. (By the way, did you hear I am now the most pompous ass on the board. Guess I get to join the club, now.)

Post in any language you choose, there are plenty enough of us PA's to translate for all of the other "little" mono-lingual people. <BR> <BR>As Mae West said, <BR> <BR>"Un homme de deux langues, c'est bon a trouver". <BR> <BR>

well, there's always <BR>http://babelfish.altavista.digital.com/translate.dyn <BR> <BR>when in doubt... <BR> <BR>personally, I only speak engish and spanish, with a whippit of portuguese french and italian

yikes! I speak'um ENGLISH too!

Is anything happening with this?

Well, I'll say it: It's a stupid, albeit a well-intended and idealistic, suggestion. It would dilute the pleasure and utility of the site for the majority and provide little gain. The most amazing thing is the number of respondents that take what they probably perceive as the PC path of "endorsing" the suggestion.

It seems to me that we could go with the flow. If someone posts in a language otehr than English, then hopefully someone can respond. I just used baelfish.com to translate something into French. It wasn't half bad. Not idiomatic, but certainly acceptable. So. somone posts in french/german/spanish -- head for babelfish and we'll do our best. <BR> <BR>Yes English is the majority language on this forum and I think we need to be helpful when we can when another language shows up.