Languages for the Islands

How do you ask ‘how much for each of these’?

I need the Can Opener to be able to successfully communicate while shopping in island markets for my breakfast treats…

What languages are spoken in some of the most popular cruising destinations – the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands?

While English can take you a long way in larger cities, the real magic of sailing is that you can visit the tiny, out of the way villages and islands rarely visited by regular tourists.

Being able to communicate in the language of whatever customs/port official you are standing in front of can go a long way towards making life smoother and more carefree too. 

Mediterranean

Official languages of islands in and around the Mediterranean include: French, Spanish, Greek, Italian, Croatian and Turkish, as well as Maltese, Corsican, Sardinian and Arabic. The first four are spoken on the largest of the Mediterranean islands.

Caribbean

According to wiki, only 14% of West Indians are English speakers. Less than 25% speak French. On the other hand, 64% of West Indians speak Spanish. (Although Dutch is still an official language in Aruba, Curaçao and St Martin, less than 0.7% of islanders speak it these these days.)*

Sounds like Spanish in your pocket would be a great help. Especially if you decide to sail around South America before heading over to the… 

Pacific Islands

Almost every island has English as at least one of the official languages (and Australia and New Zealand are not too far away too). The exceptions are French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Vanuatu where French is an official language. There are also 100s of indigenous languages spoken.**

Language Training

Fortunately the Can Opener has a few years of French study behind him and a bit of Italian. But no Spanish. And for the first 3 major legs of our long term passage plan, it looks like English and Spanish will give the best coverage.

So. I have put the Can Opener on a new program of intensive Spanish study for 30 minutes/day, 5 days a week. Starting now. He can learn the other 17 languages I have planned for him while we’re on the boat.

Since his Spanish consists of a few words like ‘burrito’ and ‘tequila’, he can’t get any worse. The only way to go is up.

Cost of Language Study

• Can Opener’s old university textbooks from a Spanish course he dropped years ago – free!
• Library study materials – free!
• University introductory language lessons on podcasts (if you search carefully) – free!
• Bookmarking and reading articles and news sites in Spanish online – free!
• Emailing good friends who are native Spanish speakers – free!
• Pronunciation lessons from Captain Cat – free! (Repeat after me: Soy un gato guapo!)
  

The real challenge is not cost. It’s the discipline to put in the 30 minutes of study time per day, every day.

Fortunately I am very disciplined about the Can Opener’s discipline. I find he absorbs the most early mornings, right after preparing my 6am first breakfast.

Any other recommendations on good low cost ways to study languages?

–Captain Cat

(transcribed by the Can Opener)


Next: What Happened to ‘Spanish for Sailing’ Studies??
Previously: Plan to Get Trained

* Languages of the Caribbean, Wikipedia

** Official and Spoken Languages of Australia and the Pacifics, Nations Online