Can you speak another language?

[Morticia]

Just curious. In the past 10 minutes I have been asked on the phone if I can speak French and then Spanish. I can't speak either so anyone would understand. I try really hard to get a few words in because everyone wants to know the same thing...do you have rooms? How much?

 

[toddburme]

I speak Portuguese but it helps as I live in Rio. But it is absolutely no help with the BnB.

 

[Copperhead]

Very little French and a little Spanish. Usually enough to get by if I am standing talking but not as good on the phone. - If they are as bad at English as I am with their language, we are sunk.

 

[Samster]

Some French, and a little Spanish.

 

[egoodell]

I speak Portuguese but it helps as I live in Rio. But it is absolutely no help with the BnB..

I can get around in German and French. But not grammatically correctly.
RIki

 

[wendydk]

I speak Portuguese but it helps as I live in Rio. But it is absolutely no help with the BnB..

I can get around in German and French. But not grammatically correctly.
RIki
.

I can get around in German and French. But not grammatically correctly.
RIki

Same for me in Spanish...and I can even follow Cockney more or less!

 

[sonatainn]

My mother tongue is Spanish, but I also speak French, and a bit of Japanese (We are located in Prince Edward Island, the Japanese love it here!) I took the time to learn the basic greetings in German, Italian, and Chinese, as those are my most frequent customers (outside the English and French community.)
Language is a complete game changer when it comes to service. There have been many circumstances where just being able to speak the language of an irate customer has turned the whole situation positive. Even at check in time, I've had cranky guests suddenly perk up just when I say "Guten Tag!" They understand that I don't speak the language fully, but they appreciate that I took the time to learn a few phrases.
If Innkeeping is something you want to do for the rest of your career, I really suggest picking up a least another language. I'm in the process now of ameliorating my Japanese and German (Italian and Chinese can take a backburner for now.)
I find Rosetta Stone to be an AMAZING tool to learn a language fast and efficiently, but the best way to learn a language is to do it with a friend, or spouse, so that you can practice conversation. It's also more fun that way!!

 

[Morticia]

My mother tongue is Spanish, but I also speak French, and a bit of Japanese (We are located in Prince Edward Island, the Japanese love it here!) I took the time to learn the basic greetings in German, Italian, and Chinese, as those are my most frequent customers (outside the English and French community.)
Language is a complete game changer when it comes to service. There have been many circumstances where just being able to speak the language of an irate customer has turned the whole situation positive. Even at check in time, I've had cranky guests suddenly perk up just when I say "Guten Tag!" They understand that I don't speak the language fully, but they appreciate that I took the time to learn a few phrases.
If Innkeeping is something you want to do for the rest of your career, I really suggest picking up a least another language. I'm in the process now of ameliorating my Japanese and German (Italian and Chinese can take a backburner for now.)
I find Rosetta Stone to be an AMAZING tool to learn a language fast and efficiently, but the best way to learn a language is to do it with a friend, or spouse, so that you can practice conversation. It's also more fun that way!!.

Me too with the basic greetings in multiple languages. Please, thank you, goodbye and 'come again' are good ones. And here it helps to be able to say 'lobster'!
I got the Rosetta Stone Level 1 Italian last year and have had fun with it. But I still don't know enough verbs. But I CAN tell them the price of the rooms (for the walk-ins).

 

[birdwatcher]

I am fluent in Spanish as I was born in SA. Was fluent in German before imigrating to the US but i think I subtituted the German with English they are similar in so many words. I was thinking of getting Rosetta to get my german back, I am sure that I can get it back quite easily.

 

[gillumhouse]

I remember some of my high school French can read it better than understand it or speak it and know a few phrases in German - once I get beyond please, thank you, good mornng - afternoon - evening, yes and no, I am pretty much done. Oh, I can also count to ten in both. Whee!!!

 

[Country Girl]

A little Spanish, a little French, a little German, and a very little Mandarin, though that is the language I would love to learn. We get a lot of foreign guests here and they love it if we can say hello, good-bye, thank-you and a few other words in their native tongue. I would love to be fluent in all of the above. My DIL is fluent in 6 languages, mostly slavic and it is amazing how often she meets people she can converse with. Very impressive.

 

[Paradise]

I speak Spanish & a Melanesian language from PNG in the S. Pacific. I also know a bit of Japanese & Samoan-but wish I knew more. I really do love languages & would like to improve my language skills! Good question

 

[Happy Harpie]

My wife and I are fluent in French and German. It is indeed a blessing, as we get many European visitors based on our language profile. With a good knowledge of French, we can also get by (barely) in Spanish.

 

[greyswan]

DH grew up in CA so he can get around Spanish okay and he can speak a little Marshallese from a 2 yr stint in Peace Corp. Me... English and Profane

 

[Morticia]

My wife and I are fluent in French and German. It is indeed a blessing, as we get many European visitors based on our language profile. With a good knowledge of French, we can also get by (barely) in Spanish..

I was just talking to my daughter about this and she said, 'If you know one Romance Language, you can fake the rest!' She has a friend who just started posting on FB in Portugeuse and she can read it (French & Latin in school).
I grab up all of the foreign mags that guests leave because they mostly bring 'People-like' mags and the stories are basically the same, just different characters. That makes it easier to learn the written language.

 

[JBloggs]

Grew up in Mexifornia so you know what I can speak and read.

 

[rpwiki]

One misspent year as a high school exchange student in Austria means I can usually surprise the occasional German tourist - no one expects a thick Austrian-german accent from a 6' 4" kiwi living in Northern California; quite the party trick.

 

[JBloggs]

Hey Klamath, you never said you were a Kiwi, which island? DH was born in Howick near Auckland. So add a touch of Maori to that as well!

 

[YellowSocks]

My wife and I are fluent in French and German. It is indeed a blessing, as we get many European visitors based on our language profile. With a good knowledge of French, we can also get by (barely) in Spanish..

I was just talking to my daughter about this and she said, 'If you know one Romance Language, you can fake the rest!' She has a friend who just started posting on FB in Portugeuse and she can read it (French & Latin in school).
I grab up all of the foreign mags that guests leave because they mostly bring 'People-like' mags and the stories are basically the same, just different characters. That makes it easier to learn the written language.
.

I was just talking to my daughter about this and she said, 'If you know one Romance Language, you can fake the rest!' She has a friend who just started posting on FB in Portugeuse and she can read it (French & Latin in school).

Yes, if it's written... not so easy to speak it!
I speak Spanish, not fluently, but enough to hold a conversation. And because of that, I can decifer writing in most of the romance languages.
I know basic greetings in a bunch of languages.
Oh, and I have a smattering of German... which, unlike the romance languages, I find difficult to read but I can [almost] follow a conversation that someone is having.
=)
Kk.

 

[Samster]

My wife and I are fluent in French and German. It is indeed a blessing, as we get many European visitors based on our language profile. With a good knowledge of French, we can also get by (barely) in Spanish..

I was just talking to my daughter about this and she said, 'If you know one Romance Language, you can fake the rest!' She has a friend who just started posting on FB in Portugeuse and she can read it (French & Latin in school).
I grab up all of the foreign mags that guests leave because they mostly bring 'People-like' mags and the stories are basically the same, just different characters. That makes it easier to learn the written language.
.

Absolutely...I can make out a lot of Italian when written. I'm much better with reading languages. Verb conjugations and idiomatic language are always my downfalls when conversing....