When traveling around the world, which is the best language to know?

Question

In the next year I plan to get a job on a cruise boat and I was wondering what language would be most useful?

Answer 1

Considering the entire planet and only one language: English.

If you're travelling only around China, Chinese.

If you're travelling only around Japan, Japanese.

If you're travelling only around Germany, German.

If you're travelling only around Spain, Spanish.

And so on, and so forth.

• I would think either English or Spanish, because spanish is a pretty popular language, and so is english. Maybe a little Chinese, just enough to get around. - LS_RMS 26 de Ago, 2009

Answer 2

Apparently, according to a world atlas that I have at home published in 2007, the language most spoken world wide is Mandarin Chinese, next is English and third is Spanish.

• Hi Lise-Laroche -- in the future, if you make a mistake, you can just edit your original anwser using the "Edit" button right below the post. I've done that for you here. :) - Toph 25 de Ago, 2009
• This is most likely referring to native speakers. I agree with Lazarus. - Nathaniel 25 de Ago, 2009
• Muchas gracias. - Lise-Laroche 25 de Ago, 2009

Answer 3

You'll probably be just fine knowing just English. However, if you wish to impress the select few that don't know English or show the other foreign passengers that you cared enough about their culture to learn their language, then learn whatever language is most relevant to the area where you will be traveling.

Answer 4

There are several considerations. For example while Mandarin has the largest number of native speakers, unless you´re actually going to China, most of the Chinese that you are likely to encounter will have a second language. When I went around the world (by plane) the entire route was in the northern hemisphere (no African languages, (as it turned out) no Spanish speaking countries, no Arabic speaking countries. What you should be asking is, given the counties that you expect to visit, what are the countries of origin of most of the tourists that they encounter. My suggestion would be French or German. French still has some status as an "international" language (although not what it once was) and the Germans seem to get around a lot. Another advantage of these languages is that (assuming that your native language is English) they will be somewhat easier to learn (English is a Germanic language and has borrowed a huge number of words from French [in addition to a large number of words that both languages have inherited from Latin]).

Other considerations: How much time do you expect to be spending in each country? (If you're only going to be there for the afternoon, you're not going to have much opportunity to speak anything.) With whom do you expect to be talking? As mentioned above, if you'll mostly be talking to shopkeepers and people catering to the tourist trade, then the origin of their tourists is more important than their local language. Is there an official "second" language for the country (one which many students may have studied in school)?.

Answer 5

This sounds ethnocentric, but English is clearly the most widely spoken language in the business, academic, scientific and tourist communities worldwide. I've been in more than 20 countries and found myself ill-at-ease with language issues only in France and French-speaking areas of Switzerland.

Answer 6

English is the world wide language...most of the countries speak that language. I think if u r near america or europe or africa or asia the best language for u is english. then other languages!!!

Answer 7

prefiero el "language of love", everyone understands that

• Yes, but speaking the language of love as a cruise ship employee might lose our questioner the job:'-( - Janice 26 de Ago, 2009
• lol, true, unless he's speaking it with the boss of course... ;) - cheeseisyumm 26 de Ago, 2009