 What is the most useful language for a backpacker to learn? |
AfricaAntarcticaAsiaCentral America CaribbeanEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaOceaniaSouth AmericaOceans and SeasWhat is the most useful language for a backpacker to learn?North America » CanadaTopic Type: Culture | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| French? Spanish? German? Arabic? Swahili? Other than English, what language will get you the farthest in the world? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 CanadianViking Josh N Post Count: 41 Msg: #1 135 weeks ago, May 29th 2007 | Speaking from an armchair/wannabe traveller's perspective, I'd say spanish, closely followed by french and arabic, simply because of the number of speakers and the sheer geographic area those languages cover. | I'm sure there are people out there more experienced than me, so does anyone else have any opinions on this subject?  NNowack Nathan Nowack Post Count: 20 Msg: #2 135 weeks ago, May 29th 2007 | Well if you're in the Orient, Mandarin Chinese. :-) But as far as backpacking around the world, Hindi and Spanish are the next highest rated. | http://www.krysstal.com/spoken.html Or as I like to do, learn Cheers in every language. Everyone drinks, so why not say cheers or good health first. :-) Cheers, Slainte, Salud, Kompai, Saunte, Prost, Skawl, Nathan CanadianViking Josh N Post Count: 41 Msg: #3 135 weeks ago, May 31st 2007 | lol! | Well, Cheers to you too, Nathan! I can definitely see where you're coming from with Mandarin and Spanish, but as for Hindi, don't most people who speak Hindi also speak English too? It's just that, in places where you have an opportunity to speak Hindi, you also probably have the option of speaking English, so Hindi isn't really that useful, is it? a1travelconnection com A1TravelConnection.com Post Count: 5 Msg: #4 134 weeks ago, June 8th 2007 | My vote would be ... Spanish | AmherstIsland Mark Amherst Post Count: 17 Msg: #5 132 weeks ago, June 19th 2007 | I would say Spanish, but don' t discount Mandarin. Most importantly I would recommend no matter what country you go to try to learn a few words/phrases. Locals always appreciate an attempt over an assumption that they speak English. | Mark. www.privateislandsblog.com  travelingbee Deb Post Count: 73 Msg: #6 131 weeks ago, June 28th 2007 | Agree with all of the above. For the Latin-based-language countries, I would vote for Spanish first, definitely. Followed closely by French (which is of course useful in Canada as well as Europe). Can't comment on Asia as I haven't spent as much time there...yet. :) All in due time. At the moment, I'm working on Spanish personally which has come in handy in my more recent and upcoming travels to South America! |  Daisy_T D.T. Post Count: 4 Msg: #7 130 weeks ago, July 4th 2007 | spanish, definitely!!!!!! | Number of Users: 6 | Number of Posts: 7 | |||||||||||||||
