Can you really get around everywhere with only speaking English?

Question

I had a discussion with a friend on how many language one should learn to be able to be understood worldwide? My estimate would be with around 4-5 languages, but this is a gut feeling which I cannot verify. My friend was really firm in his statement, that you only need to speak English. It is the global language. According to him, there will be always someone around being sufficient in English. Is he correct, or are there regions where you need to speak another language then English, to travel around.

Answer 1

This year I travelled from London to Mongolia overland. There was a period from leaving Saint Petersburg, Russia to reaching Khiva, Uzbekistan - where for 10 days, I did not hear any native English. Two people had broken English, that was it.

So no, it will NOT get you by wherever you are in the world. However, you can still get by - with hand signals, learning a few key words, and even resorting to drawing pictures to make yourself understood.

Generally in big cities in most countries there will be someone around who speaks a few words of English, at the least. Not always. Even at embassies in some Central Asian countries, I had no English spoken to me. Going to the hospital at Iguazu Falls - arguably one of the top tourist spots in South America, and there was zero English - that was lots of fun with my limited dictionary and wild gesticulating!

So to answer your question about whether you can get around with just English - no, English will not get you everywhere, but there are other forms of expression/communication that will.

As for languages, Spanish (South America), French (lots of the world and Africa), Russian for all ex-Soviet states, and Mandarin, and you've got a ton of the world covered.

Answer 2

English is a global language, and it is definitely the most widely used language, but to say that knowing will get around everywhere without a problem is entirely wrong.

Hotels will generally have someone who speaks English. However, government officials (police, conductors, even customs and those who sell train tickets, aren't as likely.

I've been stopped in Germany where the policeman had to go find someone who spoke English. I've been in places in Bulgaria and Czech Republic where I communicated by waving my hands or by using very common English words that they may recognize.

Knowing German, Spanish, or French definitely helps in being able to communicate.

Answer 3

Really depends on where you go. In Europe, Australia/Pacific region and big cities with a lot of international visitors you will always find someone who speaks (at least some) English.

In eastern Europe you should rather know Russian, or Czech, or wherever the local language is. Russian will even be useful in Mongolia and the northern towns of china.

South and central america is different, even at the US/Mexican border some people did not understand English.

German is only useful in central Europe, terrible grammar-wise and has some things in it that doesn't really make sense - for example the last 2 digits are spelled out reverse if you count (23 -> drei und zwanzig -> 3+20; always confuses the heck out of me if someone tells me a price or street address), and the Swiss and Austrian spoken german is even hard to understand for Germans.

I would go with English, Spanish and Mandarin, those are the most spoken languages in the world.

Answer 4

You said EVERYWHERE so the answer is no. Try getting around in rural Thailand with just English. I would say there's a lot of places you can't get by with just English. But within Thailand, only Bangkok and the big tourist destinations are the only places English will get you by. Even in Chiangmai, there will be times when you will need a translator or assistance of some sort.

Answer 5

I think the problem you would face is not being able to read the local language rather than having problems with spoken communication.

Most European "Romance" languages are fairly similar so you would perhaps work out which sign was pointing to the train station if you couldn't find someone who speaks English nearby but when visiting somewhere where all of the road signs are in Kanji for example you would find it impossible to distinguish anything.

Answer 6

While some people have mentioned that you sometimes get a translation in English on signs, I've found that especially in ex-Soviet states, this often isn't the case.

That doesn't mean you can't get by. Sometimes a picture with the words is worth a thousand words:

(landmine warning on the Tajikistan border with Afghanistan)

Answer 7

Mandarin is high-ranked in number of speakers, but that is because China is so huge, so that its use is mostly restricted to China. It won't help you much in Japan, or Korea, for example. The same is true with Hindi, whose high number of speakers is limited to India.

English, Spanish and French, on the other hand, have a much wider reach in terms of countries. With those 3 you can get by very well in most of America, Africa and Europe, except Eastern Europe, where knowing some Russian would be useful.

Answer 8

Was it a native English speaker who said this to you Andra, by any chance? Have a feeling it was. Yes English is the global language, but you will not get by with it everywhere in the world. This is largely an American viewpoint, as they are largely isolated from the world in a huge country and don't travel much outside it, partly understand this, but it is not the correct viewpoint. Yes, you will largely get by with English in many places today in Europe, Asia, and without any doubt in North America and Oceania. However Africa and Latin America are different stories. You will get by in English in Africa in former British colonies.However, in most other countries, you will need some French, in 3 or 4 Portugeuse. French is still a significant lingua franca in Africa. In Latin America, you generally need some Spanish, or Portugeuse perhaps in Brazil, but I've heard from some sources you can get by in Brazil with Spanish as its quite similar. So your friend is only partly correct, you can get by with English on certain continents, but not all, the evidence is there. Even if you can get by mainly with English, it never hurts to know a few words in the host language, it can make a difference to your trip.