Asia and Australia most popular destinations for backpackers

Recent research announced this week has discovered that well-known backpacker’s haven Asia, is the most popular destination on the gap travellers’ hot list closely followed by Australia as an ideal choice to combine work with adventure.  But what is interesting is the complete diversity of these two destinations. Both provide the warmth and tropical climate that so many travellers hanker after, but comparing Sydney (the most common location in Oz for the gap year adventure to begin), with Bangkok (a hugely popular destination amongst Brit gap year travellers) is like comparing chalk and cheese.

Of course, travelling along the coastline of Australia as you stop-off at numerous locations brings with it a certain home-from-home comfort (aside from the legendary snakes and creepy crawlies) – after all, English is the spoken language so most travellers won’t lose any sleep over whether they’ll be able to communicate with the locals or not – you get lost, you ask someone, simple.  Now consider Thailand and you have a different situation entirely.  A buzzing city, a brand new culture, a whole set of new traditions, rules and regulations; and a completely new way of life which is unlike anything you’ve been used to back home, even when London’s at its busiest.  Communicating with locals in these kinds of locations is a different ball game altogether.  So being prepared is a must.

If you are considering heading off on an adventure towards the Asian shores, it’s worth doing your research beforehand.  Check out those areas where English-speaking locals are more common, avoid areas which are deemed unsafe or where there is a greater chance of misunderstanding the local laws.  Stick to well-lit areas and try to stay in a group and avoid going out at night alone.  These are all logical rules to follow but you’d be amazed how easy it is to get into trouble in a city where you don’t understand the language and are unable to communicate should a difficult situation arise.  It’s always best to err on the side of caution and minimise the risk of causing an offence or putting yourself in danger.

Gap year travel is becoming increasing popular year on year and for the most part it should be an exciting journey of discovery, but sometimes the boring bit (the planning in advance) is overlooked as people would rather spend time looking for a pair of new sunglasses for their impending trip than get bogged down in the detail of language barriers and safety tips – but spending even half an hour on this important aspect could really make all the difference to your experience.

It’s never too late to see the world…

According to this week’s headlines from a major travel site, not travelling enough has been cited as a top regret for the over 50s.  This is in contrast to our blog two weeks ago in which a new survey indicated a rise in over 50s looking for more adventurous holidays.  But perhaps the truth is, not enough people are actually making their travel adventure dreams come true?  Or at least, they are possibly waiting until retirement before they make further plans to visit more exotic destinations?

In fact 64% of over 50s said that they travel abroad less than once a year but 63% said they planned to see more of the world once they had retired.  The real message here is, it’s never too late to see the world and you don’t need to spend hours and hours on long flights to experience new and exciting cultures; there are plenty of destinations within a five-hour flight which have an abundance of beautiful sights and historical artefacts to explore – such as Jordan, Morocco and mainland Greece to name a few.

Interestingly the US, Australia and South Africa were highlighted as the top destinations that over 50s Brits had wished they had gotten around to visiting.  Funny that Brits seem to warm towards countries which speak their own language – could this be a deciding factor when choosing a destination?  Are the more mature generation more comfortable going to a country where they know the lingo – and indeed, does travelling to a country with an unfamiliar language deter people from visiting?  It’s a good question and one that we may never know the answer to.  If the language barrier is a deciding factor for some, it does mean that people are missing out on experiencing the true wonder of the world.

Travelling abroad is far more accessible than it was 30/40 years ago, and sometimes people need to travel a little further out of their comfort zone to see the world in all of its glory.

‘Five of the best’ – ideas for speaking the language of ‘’love’

 

The season of hearts and flowers is upon us, and personal telephone interpreting service i-interpret4u, has some great suggestions for wooing your loved one in the language of love this Valentine’s Day:

Five of the most romantic languages to say ‘I love you’:

1.    Te Amo (Spanish)

2.    Ti Amo (Italian)

3.    Je t’aime (French)

4.    Eu Te Amo (Portuguese)

5.    Te iubesc (Romanian)

 

Five of the most romantic destinations

1.    Paris

2.    Venice

3.    Rome

4.    Hawaii

5.    Fiji

 

Five of the best, language-related gifts

1.    A romantic language course for two.

2.    An Italian, French or Spanish cookery course.

3.    An old French or Spanish romantic movie with subtitles

4.    An iTunes voucher for useful travel apps, or a subscription to a personal interpreter service, or a phrase book/pocket translator.

5.    A book on a romantic destination.

 

Five of the best ways to bring the language of love to your doorstep (without having to leave the country!)

1.    Choose one of the best ‘languages of love’ and theme your Valentine date around it.

2.    Cook a romantic meal at home – and theme it around your chosen language (choose French, Spanish, Italian recipes).

3.    Do some research and choose wine or soft drinks to compliment your theme.

4.    Learn a poem or a romantic phrase in another language to impress your date (you could even announce/explain each course you have cooked in the chosen language).

5.    Choose some French, Italian or Spanish music to set the scene.

 

Adventurous over 50’s want more from their holiday abroad

Did you know that last year, a 73-year-old Japanese woman became the oldest female to climb to the summit of Everest, the world's tallest peak?  Pretty impressive stuff – but apparently it’s all the rage!

A new survey from a major UK travel company has revealed this week, that Brits over the age of 50 have a growing taste for adventure travel.  Forget laying towels on the pool-side sun-beds at 6am, never mind lazing on golden sands in your sandals and socks or paddling in the shallows, todays over 50’s Brits are looking for something much more exotic.

Such adventure travel usually means visiting places further afield, whether it’s coming face to face with dangerous wildlife on a safari in Kenya, mountaineering in Nepal, a colourful rainforest trek in Malaysia or a visit to an under-developed country; the chances of meeting locals who don’t speak English is magnified.  Being able to communicate in those native languages would certainly add a little more colour to the whole traveller experience; but for most of us laid-back Brits content with muddling along, phrase book in hand, we could find ourselves in a difficult situation should we fall ill during a trek, have an accident or get bitten by a poisonous snake for example.  Flicking through a phrase book just might not be an option.

It’s encouraging to hear that more people want to experience new cultures and destinations in later life, but engaging in daring experiences in a bid to get the most out of trips abroad can also be dangerous if travellers are not adequately prepared.  There is a tendency to be so fixated on the excursion or holiday itself that the serious side of travelling half way across the world is overlooked – even though travellers are venturing further afield to unfamiliar countries and climates.  It pays to do some research and also to recognise that when it comes to language barriers, UK travellers will increasingly find themselves in scenarios where they simply don’t understand what is being said to them.  In most cases that won’t be the end of the world, but in some it might be just that.

Most people wouldn’t go on an adventure holiday without travel insurance (they may even take out a better policy so that they are covered for other instances), so using a service like i-interpret4u to make sure you can communicate in over 85 languages if you need to, would give extra peace of mind as an inexpensive but much-needed addition to the comfort of good insurance cover.

Record numbers of Brits holidaying in Jordan – but Middle Eastern languages could present challenges for tourists…

News this week from an online flight operator in the UK, announced that the number of British tourists visiting Jordan in 2012 had hit new record highs of 69,845; revealing that some UK travellers are indeed getting more adventurous when choosing a holiday destination.  Of course, certain historic events may have had something to do with the sudden rise in popularity of the location - 2012 marked the 200^th anniversary of the rediscovery of the ancient city of Petra and the 50^th anniversary of the release of the classic film Lawrence of Arabia (shot for the most part in Jordan’s Wadi Rum desert).

It’s encouraging to see more Brits venturing away from the comfort zone of the Mediterranean and dipping their toes into the waters of the Dead Sea instead.  The appeal of new cultures, epic landscapes, ancient lands steeped in history, not to mention the guarantee of plenty of sunshine, are all likely to be contributing factors to the recent flourish of UK visitors.  But travelling in a region where there are so many unique languages and dialects spoken could present some very real challenges for British travellers.

The most common languages in the Middle East are Arabic, Farsi and Turkish.  For Jordan itself, Arabic is the official language, but the spoken language is Jordanian Arabic.  Modern Standard Arabic is learnt at public and most private schools, but Caucasian languages such as Circassian and Chechen are also understood and spoken by some small communities residing in Jordan – add to that the fact that in many areas of the Middle East the local dialect is mixed up with one or more foreign languages.  For example in Lebanon, French and English are often mixed with the local Arabic dialect so when it comes to language barriers, you may find you’re spoilt for choice!

Aside from the language barriers, visiting the Middle East can also be a real culture-shock for many people with new laws, traditions and customs to consider.  Thankfully, affordable, personal telephone interpreting services like i-interpret4u mean that British travellers can continue to explore these ancient sites and enjoy the rich, historic tapestry that countries like Jordan have to offer, safe in the knowledge that if they do need to communicate, choices of relevant, Middle Eastern language options are available in real-time via a live, experienced interpreter..

It’s Groundhog Day for Brits on holiday – and the language barrier might be to blame…

Recent news from an online flight company has found that after polling 1,000 British holidaymakers a high proportion (40%), admitted they go back to the same holiday resort or hotel every year rather than attempting to explore somewhere new.  It’s actually quite extraordinary that so many of us would prefer to play it safe when going abroad even though there is a big wide world out there full of wonder and new adventures.

The main reasons for this were cited as the ‘price’ and ‘good weather’; but interestingly, ‘ease of travel’ and ‘peace of mind’ were also a close second.  To add to this, the most popular destinations aside from the UK seemed to be USA and Spain – now, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together here.  Taking these factors into account it wouldn’t be at all flippant to assume that a fear of the ‘language barrier’ or the issues associated with communicating in an unfamiliar country are part and parcel of this attempt to achieve ‘travel self-preservation’ for want of a better phrase.

Spain is typically a popular destination for those wanting a good beach, some sunshine but a slice of British life on the side.  With many Spanish locals having a decent understanding of the English language, no shortage of British-style pubs and cuisine, the Mediterranean coastline is an obvious choice for many.  Similarly with the USA, you know what you’re getting – the type of food, the location and also there’s only a slight change in accent to deal with rather than a whole new language. But sadly, this leaves much of the rest of the world untouched (or inexperienced) by many UK travellers.

It begs the question, regardless of the destination if it were possible to put the power of multiple languages into the hands’ of UK travellers would it be a different story?  If we could comfortably travel to any destination in the world and know that help is at our fingertips should we stumble into the language barrier, would it make a difference?  Food for thought indeed.  Certainly having access to a live interpreter ‘in your pocket’ at the very moment you need it, might change your opinion of travelling further afield – and it may even open up new opportunities of adventure and exploration for many of us that we otherwise wouldn’t have had the courage to embark upon.

Perhaps it’s time to re-set your alarm clock and hopefully you won’t hear that familiar tune ringing out the next time you book your holiday…”Then put your little hand in mine, there ain’t no hill or mountain we can’t climb…” too true.

Lost in translation – voice recognition software still has a long way to go…

An article published by BT last week talks about a new translation app, which claims to allow the user to speak in 23 languages then interprets this across 63 languages (and all for 69p) - this has really sparked some debate here at i-interpret4u.  It all sounds great on paper until you dig a bit deeper into the many issues these kinds of translation tools tend to face.

Yes, Brits are notoriously bad at learning other languages, and yes, we could all do with a bit of a helping hand when it comes to communicating overseas, but in most cases we also need the security and peace of mind that if we simply HAVE to communicate in another language that we absolutely get it right and we absolutely understand what is being said to us.  After all, this could be a make or break emergency situation or something really serious which could put us in danger should we get it wrong.

But BT’s article hits the nail on the head (in the final paragraph) where it admits that this software cannot yet offer perfect interpretations.  What does this mean? Quite simply, it means that the capability of voice recognition technology still has a long way to go before it is truly usable and 100% reliable; it’s a nice thought and a growing technology for sure, but currently it’s far from perfect. 

The problem voice recognition technology faces is that it will never be able to cope with different accents/dialects, if you consider Scots, Welsh, Brummies and Geordie’s alone, you have a whole host of varying accents; but add to that the fact that there are around 45 different Arabic variations and several different Spanish and Portuguese dialects, not to mention speech impediments – then you are looking at technological advancements that are way beyond our years.

To add to the complexity of this, we also have homonyms (words with multiple meanings) to consider: 

·         bow – a long wooden stick with horse hair that is used to play certain string instruments     such as the violin

·         bow – to bend forward at the waist in respect (e.g. "bow down")

·         bow – the front of the ship (e.g. "bow and stern")

·         bow – the weapon which shoots arrows (e.g. "bow and arrow")

·         bow – a kind of tied ribbon (e.g. bow on a present, a bowtie)

·         bow – to bend outward at the sides (e.g. a "bow-legged" cowboy)

·         bough – a branch on a tree. (e.g. "when the bough breaks...")

·         bō – a long staff, usually made of tapered hard wood or bamboo

·         beau – a male paramour

So, after all that we might end up with something completely off track like:

‘The conductor took a tied ribbon after the performance’

Background noise is also another consideration.  Many of these kinds of apps stipulate that for best results you must make sure there are no extraneous noises around you and that your internet connect is stable during voice translations, two important elements that are very much out of your control and certainly aren’t much use if you happen to be in a restaurant, at a hospital, in a taxi or at the airport (many of the places where you might have the need for such a service).

Using apps like this might seem like a cheap, quick hit but if you can’t realistically use it, you’re no better off that you were with your local phrase book.  Voice recognition software is no match for a ‘live’ interpreter where you are guaranteed of the correct interpretation regardless of noise, accent or wi-fi connection.