How much french do you need to know to visit Paris?

Question

What are the best phrase books and guide books out there for paris

Answer 1

dont worry about it

Answer 2

It will depend on what you want to do.  Anywhere a normal tourist would go in France, you will find people who speak English.  Airline personnel, hotel clerks, waiters, subway supervisors, attraction workers at places like the Eiffel tower or the Louvre, etc., understand and can communicate with you, and many of the nicer restaurants have menus in English if you ask.  All French people take English in school.  

My daughter and I went to France a few years ago, and had no trouble whatsoever in Paris.  Where we ran into minor problems was outside of Paris--at a gas station and the post office.  We found the French people to be friendly and helpful, unlike what we had been told to expect--we were there only a few months after the US invaded Iraq and politically, the French were opposed to what we had done.  However, they differentiated between the US government and it's citizens and we didn't run into any problems at all.  There was always someone who spoke English, even if the person we were trying to deal with did not--such as in the post office--the person in line behind us helped us out.  

Just remember that you are the one who is in their country, be respectful of that, and don't get angry or upset if you're having trouble communicating.  Smile, laugh at yourself, and stay humble.  Remember, it is you who can't speak their language--not the other way around.   It wouldn't hurt to learn a few basic words of respect, such as s'il vous plait (please) and merci (thank you).

Answer 3

You should definitely know some basics.... hello, good bye, thankyou, do you speak english?... things like that. Most of them speak english but they really appreciate when you know a little french.

You might also want to know "où est.." (pronounced "oooo ay") which means "where is..." this helped me a lot when i was in france!

Answer 4

i give you a good phrase even our president said it yesterday

casse toi pauvre con

Answer 5

hem... what i'd seen this week, nothing, in every place they speak a little bit english ....

Answer 6

ok well I'm french and I can tell you the reason why americans think Parisians are rude is because they show up not even attempting to speak a word french and therefore may not get the best service.  Whenever you travel anywhere foreign, you should at least learn the basics such as hello, thank you, good bye.  Most everywhere you travel, including Paris, the people will speak english - or enough to communicate - but I emphasize for you to at least say the basics in french, at least hello (Bonjour - during the day; Bonsoir in the evening) then just ask if they speak english: parlez vous englais? (prounouced par-lay voo anglay)

Have a great time!

Answer 7

I suggest learning a few very basic phrases before your trip.  People are much nicer if you make a small attempt to communicate in the local language!

Here are my recommendations in phonetic spellings as close as I can approximate them. The last syllable in each phrase is stressed...

"Pahr-lay voo zahn-glay?" = Do you speak English?

"Bohn-zhoor" = Good day (say this when you walk into any shop!)

"Bohn-swahr" = Good evening

"Seel voo play" = Please

"Mair-see" = Thank you

As someone else suggested, the Rick Steves phrase book is a good choice, especially because it is relatively compact (so you don't have to lug a ton of paper with you everywhere you go).

Warning, even if you make attempts to communicate, there may possibly be some people who are not receptive.  If that happens, don't take it personally, just move on to someone else.  Personally, I have never felt like anyone treated me with anything other than courtesy and respect, but it apparently does happen occasionally.

Answer 8

It is a good idea to know some French.  In Paris, they appreciate it if you try to speak their language a little and they will try to speak in English most of the time.

The best book I have found is Rick Steves' "French Phrase & Dictionary"

Answer 9

None

Answer 10

none, knowing the language is not a requirement.