Mind you, I'm teaching myself Spanish and Japanese and eventually hope to be fluent in at least a half dozen languages or so, plus I plan on traveling and living all over the world, so I am absolutely in favor of people learning lots of different languages.

However, if you had to pick the most useful language for the traveler (presuming they don't have a specific area of the world in mind that they want to travel to) it would unquestionably be English. It's easily the most universally “useful” language in existence today.

Cheers,
Andrew

A local friend recommended and took my Cali group to this amazing bar. He said that mostly locals came here so I didn't really know what to expect ambiance wise… but screw it, the view at this bar was absolutely breathtaking! No joke. I felt like a celebrity w/ superstar treatment as the staff are friendly and amazing to say the very least.

I don't know who the house DJ was but he definitely was playing music right up my alley. It would've been my dream for people to start dancing, but it's all good.

It's a bit sceney for my taste, but it really didn't bother me much. the bartenders knew their stuff, although their 1st cocktail was a little weak, when he saw i understood cocktails the next 2 were stronger. I also liked that even though the place was really hopping the bartender remembered what i was drinking when i came to order another. (he also understood how good a gin hendricks is, and not to overpower it with the mixer). It was amazing to see their “das boot” which is shaped like a boot filled with beer. Don’t get me wrong, I am not drunk…it’s an actual boot shaped beer container ready to be emptied..try it ..you will love it!! Oh..how can I forget, they even have a wheel o' shots where you just have to spin it and have to drink whatever shot it lands on!! Now call that bar creativity at its best!!!

We ordered the Veal and Fish Tacos. They were delicious. Mm! We ended up asking for spoons to polish off whatever remained in the platter. (Faux pas? Who cares as long as it gets in my tummy.) The fries were crispy, but not overcooked, just the way that I like them.

So take in this scene: You walk in to what seems like an overly crowded place, but soon fine an empty table. Time seems to stop and the only indicator of the night moving on is the moon and your brain cells slowly going to bed forever. The music is not to loud and the people around look good, the only thing left for you to do is to enjoy that drink you paid ridiculously low for and laugh at the joke your co-worker just told.

The vibe of the place just never seems to die out and if you happen to spot some NYC socialite, sports player, or star, don't let it get to you… because for that moment, this night they are no long more important than then you. In fact go up to them and introduce yourself!

All in all just a great place to meet new people, or just have drinks with people you already know. I've been to numerous bars in the city but i would say this place is just great. Very welcoming staff, very laid back ambiance. I’ve been here twice after my first visit with my Cali group . I would say its worth the every penny you spend!!

This is actually quite a common experience in continental Europe & I have even seen young children do this. They don't speak English in Spain or Germany or France etc if they are fluent in those languages as well. That IS different than the vast majority of native English speakers traveling or living as expats.

Every week I go to my Dr (From Holland) & watch her & My Physical Therapist (from Denmark) speak perfect Dutch, German, English, Spanish and Danish to the appropriate patient. This is a VERY common sight in Europe, but very rare in the US. They can read, write & do extensive reading and writing in each language as well, including complex medical literature.

It IS true that smaller nations surrounded by other countries with more dominate languages have much more motivation to learn languages, but some are better than others if the school system & culture values & supports language learning.

No one can (or probably should) learn every language, but even having a 2nd dominant language when traveling makes a HUGE difference & advantage as a traveler. We see that with our Spanish constantly as it helps us with Portuguese, Italian & some French plus with people in many countries that speak Spanish as a 2nd language better than English.

On a whole we have seen the Dutch & Scandinavians have great advantages in traveling as they DO speak the language well of other countries besides English, thus that gives them an advantage over almost all native English speakers (who almost never have even a 2nd language).

Soooo true that that has “Little influence on your actual comprehension and speaking-level”. I've known some who have had A's in language in both high school and University that can not speak that language!

“Nevertheless, there is something common among most English-speakers that you can see in my frustration in this post.”

Exactly and I agree. We spend most of our travels in more rural, non-English, so see this regularly AND how much better the Scandinavians & those from the Netherlands tend to be in comparison!

The Spaniards do learn English in school too, but alas it does them no better than their English speaking counter parts. Most in Spain and South America do not speak a 2nd language.

Even in most of continental Europe, outside of cities and tourist hotels and related business, few are fluent in a 2nd language. Like the USA & UK, they just do not make it a priority like they do in Scandinavia and Netherlands.

This year, I spent much time in a hospital in Melk, Austria and was amazed that my surgeon (who had worked in Vienna) & almost 100& of the doctors, nurses & staff, spoke 0% or very, very little English!!

They all took it in school, but almost none could have even the most simple, child-like conversation.

Continental Europe is still probably the best place on the planet to see the value of having several languages, but alas, even here, things are not that different.

It's not just English speakers, but perhaps a human quality that makes most forgo truly learning another language unless they have to, have a natural inclination thus learn easily or are extremely motivated.

Those that get deeply immersed in other languages in childhood have the greatest advantage as it's easiest then when the brain is geared toward language acquisition and each language mastered, makes the next one easier.

I think all schools, starting with preschools, should be duo immersion (ie Spanish/English in USA and French/English in Canada ) so at least they would start out being fluently bilingual in 2 major languages & knowing a language well teaches a culture.

Thanks for the 'Engrish.com' link, by the way. That's hilarious!

That said, there are some points on which I disagree:

1. It's ok not to be a social person. People travel for many reasons: nature, architecture, history, food… I have a friend who actively avoids social contact, yet loves history, nature, and architecture and travels for the love of these things. Nothing wrong with that.

2. Some English speakers feel guilty that they only speak one language. That's just silly. Most people learn a foreign language because it yields a tangible benefit. I learned Portuguese because I love Brazilians. Others learn English because it provides them with a better livelihood.

The world is assymetric. There is less incentive for English speakers to study foreign languages than vice-versa. It is clearly easier for people to learn at most 2 languages (their own and a common language) than for everyone to learn all languages. For some people those two languages happen to coincide. Currently, English is the common language in many areas such as science and business.

3. Learning a language is not trivial. As you pointed out in your last post, it shares many characteristics with learning an instrument. And while learning a few chords may takes a couple of days of practice, mastery can take decades. Some people enjoy the process, others not so much.

On the other hand I agree with many of your points:

* English is a horribly inconsistent language. Does it seem to you, however, that most languages have some painful feature? English: lexicon size, Portuguese: conjugation, Chinese: tones. Oh, maybe Hawaiian is all good?

* Less “attitude” when foreigners dont' speak English would be a good start.