Thank you! Gracias! Hvala! Khawp khun! благодарам! Merci! for Jennifer's Language Blog!

It's amazing what "Thank you" can do in the local language.  We yearn for it in our everyday lives and feel gratified when we hear it.  Over and over again, we teach our children to say it. It may be the two most important words in the English language.  It is no different in the rest of the world.  When you say, "Thank you," in the local language it can mean so many things: "Thank you for your patience (when you pantomimed a bee to find honey), for your honesty (as they count out the foreign change in your hand), for your help (when a fellow patron translates for you), or for your welcoming smile.

Jennifer's Language Page shows you how to say, "thank you" in over 2,000 languages!  It also includes "please," greetings, and how to ask a person's name, the phrases that open the door to a relationship ripe with opportunities to learn about each other's countries.  Write the phrases on an index card and keep it in your pocket when you venture into the city.  Don't be shy to pull it out and read the phrases.  Believe me, your efforts will be appreciated!  You don't want to be seen as the, "Ugly American," slowly and loudly enunciating each English word, cramming them down a local's ear.  Even though many people around the world do speak English, saying even a few words in the local language will enrich your sojourn and take you places you never dreamed you could go.

Click here to go to Jennifer's Language Page to learn how to say many phrases in pretty much every language!