Non-Native Language Experiences
8 February, 2001

Languages are great. They help you communicate with people that you wouldn’t normally be able to. I am a big proponent of people learning as many languages as they can. I have used different languages in different countries as "lingua francas" with others whose native tongue was in something other than what was spoken in that country. This page will list my experiences communicating with people in a language that is native to neither of us.

As of today, I speak fluent English and Spanish as well as some French and Polish (I hope to improve my Polish to the level of fluency). I can understand Italian because it is similar to Spanish. I can also read some Portuguese and Romanian, as they are romance languages and are similar to Spanish, Italian and French.

Spanish in Poland Part III – 10 February 2001 – I went to Olsztyn to do a few things, including looking for what I need to fix and/or replace the floppy drive in my computer. I went into a computer shop and asked a salesperson if he spoke English. He said that he spoke very little. So, between my Polish and his English, we were able to communicate (luckily many computer words are the same in Polish and English). He called the person from the service department who came up and started speaking Polish to me. The salesman told him that I spoke English and the serviceman said that he didn’t speak English. He then asked me, in English, if I spoke Spanish. I responded, in Spanish, that I did and we were able to communicate well. It turns out that he spent 5 years in Madrid.

Spanish in Lithuania – January 2001 – This surprised me. I was in Vilnius and touring an old house of a (deceased) prominent Lithuanian. The curator of the museum only spoke Lithuanian (and probably Russian), so she left me to wander around by myself (or so I thought). Then, a young lady, who also worked there, came up and asked, in English, if I would like an explanation of the different displays (they were in Lithuanian). I told her that that would be great. She spoke decent English, but didn’t know how to say a few things..She apologized for her English and said to me, out of the blue, "Do you speak Spanish?" I gave her a surprised look and responded, in Spanish, that I do. She looked shocked and then we continued the tour in Spanish. It turns out that she had been an exchange student in San Sebastian (Spain) for three years.

Polish in Lithuania – January 2001 – When I arrived in Vilnius, I went to the information desk to ask about busses and trolleybusses to where I was going. I asked the lady if she spoke English, and she shook her head. I remembered that someone had told me that many people in Lithuania speak Polish, so I asked her, in Polish, if she spoke Polish. She did and I was able to get the information I needed. After my second day in Lithuania, I stopped asking people if the spoke English and asked them if they spoke Polish. I ended up speaking Polish the entire time I was there.

French in Sweden – August 2000 – An older gentleman said something to me in Swedish in the Malmö Library and I responded, in English, "I’m sorry, I don’t speak Swedish." He then said to me, "Parlez vous Francais?" (French for "Do you speak French?"). I responded in French that I speak a little, and we then we had a brief conversation.

French in Poland – 26 June 2000 – I took a night train from Warsaw to Krakow. There were quite a few people on it, but in my compartment were only myself and two Polish girls, about 18 years old. They said a few words in Polish to me and I responded, in Polish, that I only speak a little Polish, but speak very good English. One of them said, in English, that she speaks a little English, so we talked a bit. However, she spoke very little English. She then asked, "Parlez vous Francais?" which is French for, "Do you speak French?" I responded, in French, that I speak some (my French is better than my Polish, and also better than her English) and we were able to speak for a lot of the trip. She had studied French in school for five years.

Spanish in Poland Part II – January 2000 – Long time readers of my website also know about this…It was midday and I was in Poznan waiting for an event at the town hall to happen, with my camera in hand. A distinguished looking gentleman of about 65 years old with a moustache, gray hat and coat, and cigarette in his hand, began talking to me in Polish. He asked if I was Canadian, and I told him that I was American. He then said something I didn’t understand in Polish, but ended it with the word "Italiano", which is not a Polish word. I asked him, in Italian (of which I speak about 5 words), if he spoke Italian. He did. I told him, in Spanish, that I speak Spanish. We both knew that the two languages were close enough to have a conversation, so we did.

Spanish in Poland Part I – December 1999 – Long time readers of my website know about this.. Just after I moved to Poland, I went to a small market near to my flat to pick up a few items. At the check out, the lady (she was about my age) asked me something in "traveller’s sign language" (basically trying to get me to understand something using hand signals as she knew I didn’t speak Polish) and I said "Si", which is "Yes" in Spanish, then corrected myself and said "Tak" which is Polish for "Yes". She then said "Si es espanol" ("Si is Spanish"), so I asked her (in Spanish) if she spoke Spanish, and she did. She was Polish, but had lived and worked in Madrid for 3 years!!!

Spanish in Greece – November 1998 – A lady came up to me and asked me something in a language I didn’t understand. I told her, in English, that I didn’t speak her language. She then asked me, in Italian, if I spoke Italian. I responded, in Spanish, "No, but I speak Spanish," at which time we knew we could communicate. It turns out that she was Albanian, but in Albania, most people speak Italian as a second language, as much of their media (TV and newspapers) are in Italian.

Spanish in Bulgaria – June 1998 – I was having dinner at an outdoor café in Sventi Konstantine and having a conversation with the waiter, who spoke good English, as business was slow. We were talking about languages and I found out that he spoke Bulgarian, Russian, English and German. I told him that I spoke English, Spanish and some French. We continued our conversation and a couple of his friends came in. He went over and spoke with them for a while. After that, he came back over to me and said that one of the young ladies at the other table speaks Spanish. It turns out that her father was a diplomat in Buenos Aries, Argentina and she lived there for five years. I asked them to join me, and she and I spoke Spanish for a few hours.