Hi everyone,

I spent 4 years (1 year 4 times) in Europe when I was growing up, and enjoyed it very much, for the most part. At one point, I had a modest command of French, and could survive in Italian. Alas, those days are long gone and my foreign language skills have eroded into nothingness.

At some point, I'd like to hunt in Europe. What language is most useful for hunting on the Continent? French? German? Maybe Spanish? I'll endeavor to learn the language basics of my host country, but there are obvious time and effort limitations, so I'd prefer to focus my efforts on the most universal language.

Thanks

Since you already speak English, which is the only widely spoken European language, your choice should be related to where you are going to hunt most. If you are going to hunt everywhere then I would suggest you learn the language of the country least likely to speak English.

All of the above is pure nonsense of course. Learn the language of the country where you think the women are the most beautiful.

Be practical, like our President. Recently, when Queen Elizabeth visited, Bush learned a few words of English so he could speak with her.

(Acknowledgements to Jay Leno)

That's some bold talk for a one eyed fat man.

German might be the most useful for someone planning to travel and hunt in Europe.

If you plan to hunt in center-eastern Europe, where opportunities are better, you could decide to learn some German.

English is the international language.When I was on temporary duty in Combollo , French Morocco the french residents of a small town played like they spoke no english until one of the airman overheard a phone conversation by one of the residents speaking in perfect english.

For hunting and historical reasons German is often better known and spoken in eastern countries, but by my opinion and experience it is better to have a local translator, who can help you in any condition.
If you find and pay directly the translator it is better, she/he will be with you all the time, hunting or not (do not beegin to have any kind of strange fantasies ).
This means also that if you can contract directly with the local hunter something different by the agreement that you have taken having a direct witness.
No misunderstands, no possibilities to be cheated playing on misunderstands.

Learn €

I'm with 1894mk2 on this!

If you speak £$€ you will do just fine.

Pair that with a book of common phrases for the country you are hunting and you are set!

Like Malinverni and wildboar say, German is the best option for central and eastern Europe. If on the other hand you are planning to go to the iberic peninsula, the only things that work there are the local language (most spaniards are language impaired or something, even french speak more english). Some parts of Italy may also be problematic if you dont speak Italian. But for the rest of Europe English and German would do fine. I have been to Poland a couple of times and most young people speak a little English, and the same is true of some of the countries around