I have been planning a largely on-foot trip across parts of Europe and Asia and have been wondering how many languages I might need to pick up and to what level of proficiency. I've heard that knowing a few essential phrases is helpful (Yes, No, Please, Thank You, Bathroom, etc.) but since my projected start date isn't until March of next year, I will have time to possibly get further than that in a few major languages.
I am planning on visiting the following countries:
- Netherlands (Hoek van Holland, Amsterdam)
- Italy (Florence, Rome, Ancona)
- Greece (Patras, Athens)
- Turkey (Istanbul)
- India (Mumbai, Kolkata)
- Thailand (Bangkok)
- Malaysia (Singapore)
- China (Hong Kong)
- Japan (Osaka, Hiroshima, Tokyo)
I am less worried about places like the Netherlands and more touristy spots like Bangkok and Hong Kong since I am given to understand that English is a workable language in those places. I'd estimate that the majority of my time walking would be in Italy, Greece, Malaysia, and Japan, so their languages would be the most helpful to know about on my trip. My primary language is English and I also know Spanish, although it is a little rusty. I imagine that acquiring Italian would probably be the most straightforward, not so sure on Greek, Malay, or Japanese. I'd like to know more about whether I would need to pick up any of those languages and to what extent I should learn them.