Travel Advice - Language help for travelers

Many travelers neither speak nor understand the language spoken in the countries they visit. Most travelers know a few phrases and this limited vocabulary is, often, enough to get by.  If you plan to travel outside of the major cities, you may need a larger repertoire of phrases. We recommend that you carry a dictionary or phrasebook to help you communicate in these situations.

A number of publishers provide compact, concise travel dictionaries containing vocabularies useful to travelers.

•  APA publishes Insight Travel Dictionaries the size of a deck of cards. Although the print is small, these dictionaries provide a good resource when you need to describe a specific need.

If you feel that purchasing a dictionary is overkill, consider buying a phrase book. These compact publications include phrases that the traveler will commonly hear or need to use. There are a number of excellent phrasebooks.

• We find the Berlitz line of travel phrasebooks, published by Langenscheidt, to be excellent references.
• Visit your local bookstore or travel store and find the phrasebook that works for you.

Alternatively, you can find numerous Web sites that provide travel phrases in printable form for various languages. Use Google to search for the name of the language and include the term “phrase book” or “phrases for travelers”. The Fodor Publishing site provides excellent language resources.

Ordering food while abroad is a source of constant difficulty for many Americans. Several online sites provide excellent resources that you can print and carry with you.  If you are serious about restaurants and good eating, we recommend that you purchase a copy of the Marling Menu Master country series phrasebooks.

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