Language Tools for Travellers

Phrasebooks

These language methods have proven their worth over the years among travellers. However, beyond English, Spanish, and a few other common languages, it’s not always easy to find lexicons or methods suited to travel. What’s more, these are increasingly being challenged by the famous smartphone "apps."

To be useful, these phrasebooks must be pocket-sized and offer ready-made word and phrase series for the various situations you may encounter while travelling. Pronunciation rules and/or phonetic descriptions of words and expressions are, of course, important and should be included. Some basic grammar and conjugation notes can also be a helpful addition.

However, keep in mind that these phrasebooks only allow for basic communication—sufficient in many cases—but not the complete learning of a language, which requires other methods. Conversely, those who only want to know a few common words or phrases can often make do with what’s offered in their travel guides.

Some Publishers

All their collections are available in bookshops or online at generally low prices.

• Assimil: While the publisher isn’t travel-focused, it offers a vast selection with around a hundred languages of all kinds.

• Berlitz: "For Travel" collection, including all Scandinavian languages. A reference in the field, with each book also featuring descriptions of local customs and culture.

• Chantecler: A collection more or less discontinued, with around a dozen titles for fairly common languages.

• Harrap's: "Speak While Travelling" collection for around twenty titles, mainly Eastern or Northern European languages. Good if you only need the basics.

• Kailash: In English, for learning around a dozen Indian languages.

• Languages for All: Around thirty languages available in quick-learning methods (the collection is called "Right Away"). Just for the basics.

• Le Guide du Routard: The "Conversation Guide" collection from GDR for a few titles on the most common languages.

• Lonely Planet: The famous "Conversation Guides" and "Phrasebooks" from the Australian publisher, with a few titles in French and many more in English. You’ll find everything from Burmese, Tibetan, and Quechua to more common languages.

• Omnivox: The "What to Say While Travelling" collection for European languages, Arabic, Chinese, and Japanese.

Smartphone Apps

They’ve exploded with the growth of the web, now displacing other formats and positioning themselves as "essential" in the world of travel, just as elsewhere.

Online Translations

To translate a web page, a word, or a text from one language to another, there are many online tools available. Here, we offer all the options we’ve found for French-to-other-language translations.

Since these automatic translation systems are still in their early stages, don’t expect flawless translations—especially for texts—without grammar errors or mistranslations. They essentially provide a literal adaptation from one language to another, which can help clear the ground to get a general idea of the content (already a good thing given the little effort required!).

So, it’s almost a word-for-word translation, with terms not understood remaining in their original language. Moreover, proper nouns are also translated, which can sometimes yield surprising results. Finally, these translators don’t handle overly technical or complex terms well, nor do they like lengthy texts (some may only translate part of an overly dense page).

Translation to/from

• French - English

• French - Spanish

• French - German

also...

Dictionaries

For languages without online translation systems, you can always turn to dictionaries (though you can only translate one word at a time).

Nowadays, there are online dictionaries for almost every language in the world. Check out Lexilogos, with online dictionaries for over 130 languages and much more. A reference!

Glossaries

Travelling means communicating—and, of course, understanding. The latter isn’t always easy, given that each country or culture has its own specific vocabulary or expressions that travellers regularly encounter during their journeys. Not to mention a few "universal" or thematic terms more or less unique to the world of travellers.

Glossaries by Geographic Zones

• North American Glossary

• Latin American Glossary

• Caribbean Glossary

• Arabic Countries Glossary

• Asian Glossary

• African Glossary

• European Glossary

Thematic Glossaries

• Air Travel Glossary

• Culinary Glossary

• Travel Photography Glossary

• Medical Travel Terms Glossary

• Glossary of Package Travel