I'll do graffiti if you'll sing to me in French

[venta]

Following on from my earlier claim that you can get by in a foreign country by smiling, being enthusiastic and saying "thank you" a lot, I wondered about the possibility of compiling a bare minimum phrase book for use by people who know nothing of the language they're going to be floundering in.

My BMPB should be small enough to fit onto a piece of paper considerably smaller than most phrasebooks. It assumes general goodwill on the part of the people to whom one is speaking, and isn't intended to cover any specific circumstance.


Yes
No
Please
Thank you
Thank you very much
Hello
Goodbye
See you later
Great [*]
It doesn't matter
1-10, 100
Can you write it down, please? [mostly for numbers not covered above, or placenames]
What do you call this?
I would like... [**]
I need... [**]
I have lost... [**]
I would like to go to (here) [points to map, or points to written-down placename]
... something
... that one/this one.
... one like this.
Where are the toilets?
I don't feel well

So, what have I missed for a BMPB ? What have I included that isn't really necessary ?

[*] A range (fantastic, brilliant, etc) also useful if you're going to be asked lots of questions
[**] Obviously an extensive list of nouns would be useful here. But you can do a lot with gesturing if necessary. I managed while in Italy to mime such things as "butter knife", "lens cap", "man who plays the melodeon", and "wine bar near the mask museum" without too much trouble.

Comments

[shui-long.livejournal.com]

What about the bare essentials for negotiation -
How much is this?
That's too expensive

I used to find those rather useful in Thailand -- "tao rai [baht]" and "pheng pai" (very approximately); in China the second one should probably be the local version of "you've got to be bloody joking", given the starting price you seem to be quoted...

And I usually try to learn how to ask for the bill, even though sign language works well for that -- miming writing on your open palm seems universal, though the Thai version is to make a circular gesture over your open palm. Beware that a circular gesture over the table means "another round please" !

[venta.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Didn't think of them, because I've not yet been to any countries where bartering is particularly common. I guess if you are in that kind of situation they're pretty important.

By the way, hello... are you someone I might know ? Just curious, as your journal posts seem to suggest you live in a similar sort of area to me.

[shui-long.livejournal.com]

You can negotiate with street stalls using mime and the ubiquitous calculator, but there's often a distinct advantage to knowing even a few words of the language - once the vendor thinks you might not be a complete innocent foreigner, the price tends to come down to more reasonable levels.

Apologies for appearing without a proper introduction: I live in Reading, and visit Oxford fairly frequently, but as far as I know we've never met. I found your LJ through qatsi's friends page, and found that by looking for LJ members in this area...

[venta.livejournal.com]

No need for introductions, I'm just nosey ;) Come on in, the more the merrier. I've added you to my friends list, I hope that's OK, as your music reviews are well worth reading.

[shui-long.livejournal.com]

I've added you to my friends list, I hope that's OK, as your music reviews are well worth reading.

Good God, somebody actually reads it ?! I must get round to posting the latest, then...