How did the Europeans communicated with Native Americans when they first arrived in the Americas?

by oldholborn2

How two completely different cultures found a way to communicate (if they did)? Were there Native Americans or Incas/Mayans/Aztec who taught Europeans their language?

Searocksandtrees

hi! there's always room for more input on this, but meanwhile, get started on this section of the FAQ* - it has a subsection "How did colonialists talk with indigenous people?" that's right on topic, but some of the other subsections have relevant general info too...

Cross-cultural communication and lingua francas

*see the link on the sidebar or the wiki tab