What language(s) are the most common?

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

What a hoot.

LOL!

But could have been worse......they could have known (and been mortified) that your female teacher was a peasant from the boonies whose lingo teaching services were something of a sideline - like in one of your northern neighbours renowned for it's temples

My vote is to stick to English, loudly and with hand waving for the slower foreigners

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

My vote is to stick to English, loudly and with hand waving for the slower foreigners

Yes - English - or should I say "American" works everywhere. And when them dag gum furenurs caint unerstan all ya gotta do is talk louder.

"I SAID. WHICH WAY TO THE MCDONALD'S PARTNER?"

[hellosailor]

Joe, I get a good laugh when someone says they need a Chinese interpreter. Being a hairy wide-eye barbarian myself, for years I thought there was such a thing. Now I'm told there is no language called "Chinese", you would be more successful at learning Cantonese or Mandarin which is the official language in Taiwan and China.

French used to be the language of international diplomacy and is still spoken in a variety of odd places, but depending on where you are going...Spanish (or, again, some dialect of it) may be the most helpful.

Unless you can translate "Is there any problem with putting the torch and faggots in the bonnet?" you only speak US-Engish, not real English. <G> Not to worry, most of the world appreciates any effort you make at it, and if you have some type of computer or laptop onboard, there are translation softwares out there which mangle all tongues equally. (Translate that, I dare them!<G>)

[gipsy541]

When I left the UK I could get by in French and Spanish (just), but have hardly used either. In the French Polynesians they wanted to speak English and if you spoke French, they answered in English. I did not find anyone who spoke Spanish to me in the Philippines etc. So, except for the occasional French yachtsman, I have not used the languages and so my ability has decreased, or should I say, got even worse!

[boatman61]

Better brush up on your French then.. seems Brussels (after Brexit) will be getting rid of English and all buisness will be conducted in French.. their fantasy continues..

[Factor]

Originally Posted by JB_in_Fla

I'm an American and speak English (duh!).
- Joe

Nope, you speak seppo. But in answer to your question, Spanish and French

Originally Posted by boatman61

Better brush up on your French then.. seems Brussels (after Brexit) will be getting rid of English and all buisness will be conducted in French.. their fantasy continues..

How dare the people of the UK exercise their own mind, do they not know that Europe is perfect.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Factor

Nope, you speak seppo. But in answer to your question, Spanish and French

How dare the people of the UK exercise their own mind, do they not know that Europe is perfect.

This year maybe.. but next year it falls apart..

[Pelagic]

I thought we all spoke 'merican'
[emoji3]

[AiniA]

Just for the record there are two wonderful books by Kathy Parsons, French for Cruisers and Spanish for Cruisers. They are much better than ordinary cruise books since they included sections with translations you might need when you talk to a diesel mechanic, butcher, or doctor. I loved one of her suggestions about what to do if you really get stuck, say what you want to say in English but try to use a French (or Spanish) accent.

When we went off we agreed that my wife would learn some Spanish and I would brush up on high school French from 40 years before (and I was not very good then). It worked out pretty well and my wife got pretty good at speaking Spanish although you was not very good at understanding what people said in answer to her questions. We often ended up with her talking, someone responding, and me explaining what the person said. Where there is no common language, in remote Indonesia, you do pretty well with pointing and smiling.

i know the OP is long gone, but cruising China remains a dream only. We were at a marina on Hainan Island last year and had a nice talk with one of the managers who had worked in the US. She said if we wanted to bring our boat in she could arrange it but it would cost about US$3000. Also we could only stay in the marina (very ritzy and a bit pricey), no cruising along the coast or anchoring anywhere. We could go to another marina up the coast but it would be another $3000. There are races to China where there exemptions from these fees and Hong Kong is different. Viet Nam would also be nice to cruise but only about 100 miles of coast are open.

If you speak Mandarin (my wife does) there are Chinese people basically everywhere (Pitcairn was a key exception) who are very pleased to get to speak to a new Chinese speaker. This can helpful since a great many Chinese are running stores all over the place.