| Have you already had the embarrassment of travelling a country
without knowing a word of the national language? Think about the completely
new dimension of experiences that are available to a traveller when
he can talk with the locals in their own language! Although most Germans
can at make themselves clear with 'a few scraps' of a foreign language,
usually English, French or Spanish, you will still benefit from being
able to communicate in German. Here are a couple of tips for quick
orientation:
| basic
travel words and phrases | facts about
Germany | practical travel information
|
German
travel phrases and Words
- Talking Travel Dictionary on MP3 base:
- At the service of travlang.com
and its page Foreign
Languages for Travellers a quick click on your mother tongue
and then a click on the flag of the target language will take
you to a choice of foreign word lists (structure words, numbers,
shop, journeys, directions, places and times). Very easy, basic
and open.
You will also find similar lists with standard words and sentences
on the following pages:
- If you want to get in into the foreign language more deeply,
then we recommend buying a special travel dictionary/phrase book.
Word lists and simple sentences are normally categorized according
to typical tourist situations. If you already know how to speak
some sentences in the foreign language, a 'classical' dictionary
is recommended because you can finds a specific word to translate
faster there. Here are a few further tips on online
and offline ictionaries and - much more comfortable - information
on the electronic Franklin
BOOKMAN translator.
- Emergency guide: most important words
Emergency help in a foreign country. Nervous that you may not
be able to express yourself adequately? With these one page documents
you will have the most important words and sentences at hand in
case of an emergency (Acrobat pdf format)
Facts about
Germany
Besides the classical travel literature a few online services are
offering quick overviews about Germany. The information is thus
often more up to date. Here are the most important sources in various
languages:
- The independent and non-commercial site www.deutschland.de
is organized by the German government and offers a collection
of essential references to German information in 5 languages.
- www.germany-tourism.de:
The German National Tourist Board (Deutsche Zentrale für
Tourismus e.V. / DZT) with its portal for tourism in Germany
- On the website of the Federal
Foreign Office there is not only information about entry into
Germany, consular services and customs, but also an event diary
and Facts
about Germany with information on The
country and the people, History, The State, the Legal System and
the Citizens, Foreign policy, The Economy, Education, Science,
& Research and Society
and Culture available in 5 languages.
- · Here are some of the best of the other references written
in English:
Practical
travel information
Here we have listed some overviews - mostly with German comments
only:
Travel magazine
- Gemut.com : Gemütlichkeit:
The Travel Letter for Germany, Austria & Switzerland,
is published 10 times a year, the only English-language
publication devoted solely to travel in these
three countries.
A lot of new interesting information appears on the Internet every
day. Searches with (e.g.) yahoo.com
can help you find these. Suggested search words include:
"travel languages"- - - "German
for travellers" - - - "Reisewörterbuch" - -
- "Reise Sprache" - - -
"Fremdsprache Reisen" - - - "foreign language"
- - - "travel dictionary"... |
