Thursday, April 19, 2012

Can you really get around only speaking english?

My only concern is that i will be lost by not understanding or speaking their language. I hope someone can confirm that i can get by speaking only english. thanks!




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no problem in prague city, there is always someone who will understand you. however if you go well outside the city you may have a problem but i am sure peb will fill you in on this



dave




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Well, there is no translation in the transport system, and people working there also don%26#39;t speak english. You have to guess or buy a english map/guide book.





Also people don%26#39;t speak english, hey even in the Castle.





We were surprised since some 10.000.000 tourist pass from Prague each year.




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I got round most of the country speaking very very little Czech.





You%26#39;ll manage fine.




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When we were there my husband tried to learn Czech and would ask questions. People just laughed at him. At the train station and on the trains people generally didn%26#39;t speak english, but there was ALWAYS someone who knew enough to help. Don%26#39;t worry. It isn%26#39;t like Paris where you have to speak a little french to be treated like a human being. The Czechs are really nice and VERY patient.




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I was there for five days in December and didn%26#39;t speak any Czech. I had tried to learn a few words but I found it unnecessary. The people at the hotel spoke very good English and I%26#39;d ask them all my questions before I went out. I had no problems on the transit system, taxicabs (I would show them my hotel card with the address on it) stores or restaurants. We%26#39;d make ourselves understood somehow. Next to my hotel was a food market. When I checked out I was uncertain of how much money to give the cashier. She started speaking to me in Czech and seeing my confusion switched to German. I smiled and said American and she switched to almost perfect English. Like the poster before me said, the Czech are very patient and I found them extremely kind as well.




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Should be no problem at all. In Prague everyone we spoke to at hotels, restaurants, and so on spoke English and were very helpful. I did use a little German I know in Ceske Budejovice at the bus station....but that was the exception. Go there !!!! You will love it. We will be taking our second trip to Prague and the Czech Republic in March.




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Hi



The only trouble we had was with the guys who sell hot dogs at Malostranska Namesti, when they short changed us they suddenly couldn%26#39;t understand us when we asked for the rest of our money. Apparantly they could only speak Czech and German, but luckily we had a reasonably fluent German speaker with us and we got our money back.



Tip there, watch your change especially at this hot dog stand.



Jackie




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You can get round with just speaking English - I know people who have lived here for 10 years and still don%26#39;t speak any Czech and still get by. Most of the restaurants have English menus and yes The photographer, there are signs in English on the metros and trams (unless of course you want Karlovo Namesti to be translated as Charles Square) and the transport tickets even say in English how long they are valid for.





mrolfes is also right - if you try to speak Czech, it is so complicated that you are bound to be incomprehensible to the locals - even the locals don%26#39;t pronounce dekuji like the phrasebooks suggest

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