Being spoken to in your native language

[Dtox333]

This has been something I'v wondered about for quite a while now.

Does anyone here, whose primary language isn't English, ever feel offended, or annoyed, when an English speaking person attempts to speak to you using your native language?

on another note, has someone ever spoken to you in a language that you didn't fully know, thinking that you were of a race or ethnicity that would know it? If so, did this ever offend or annoy you?

The reason why I ask is because sometimes, when operating amongst other people socially, I get this urge to say something to them in a language I think they know.

For example, I purchase things at a cashier, and the cashier has the look and accent of someone who would know Spanish, and for whatever reason I want to say something to them like "gracias," even though we both quite clearly know English. But I get the feeling that I might offend or irk some people wanting to do that, can't exactly explain why. I also feel like I'm being judgmental, assuming the person understands another language based on their looks and demeanor.

I learned Spanish, and I sometimes want to make use of it, but does it seem inappropriate to use it out of the blue like that? If so, why do you think that?

 

[manic_depressive13]

If it's someone who is trying to learn the language I would be very happy to speak with them. People screaming "YASOO OPA OPA." at me, on the other hand, are annoying as fuck. But I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to strike up a conversation with someone in another language if you have studied it.

Obviously it's better to ask them first than to start spouting things in a foreign language just because you assumed they would know it. At best it's confusing and at worst it's slightly racist.

 

[DoPo]

Does anyone here, whose primary language isn't English, ever feel offended, or annoyed, when an English speaking person attempts to speak to you using your native language?

No, not really. It may come out surprising, though. And depending on how the person pronounces the words, I may not understand what they say, the first time. But I can't see that problem with "gracias".

on another note, has someone ever spoken to you in a language that you didn't fully know, thinking that you were of a race or ethnicity that would know it? If so, did this ever offend or annoy you?

Well, yes, I have been spoken in another language. I have also been mistaken for another ethnicity (so the people just didn't know that language). Usually, I wouldn't feel offended but it really depends on how much of a jerk the other person is. Imagine you shouted at somebody "All you Spanish are the same" and he turns out to be Italian. That is a dick move in my book.

The reason why I ask is because sometimes, when operating amongst other people socially, I get this urge to say something to them in a language I think they know.

I'd say try to be sure, they know it, or at least ask first. Some foreigners may feel ashamed - they may take it that you don't think they know English well enough or something. It would also help clear misunderstanding if you though they knew a language but they didn't.

I learned Spanish, and I sometimes want to make use of it, but does it seem inappropriate to use it out of the blue like that? If so, why do you think that?

As I said, if you suspect somebody speaks Spanish just start off with "I'm sorry if that sounds strange but do you speak Spanish?" and if they say "yes" just say "I wanted to practice my Spanish, do you mind." or something along those lines in Spanish.

 

[Nimcha]

I would like that, actually. After I'm done laughing at how terrible they are at it, I will complement them on trying.

I'm like the Japanese in that regard, some of them practically wanted to kiss my feet when I uttered some pre-learned phrase.

 

[Jonluw]

No, it doesn't offend me.
However, I'm very poor at understanding people with accents, so I find it is almost without fail extremely awkward because I find myself saying "what?" all the time.

When it's someone just giving a passing comment like "takk", I know it shouldn't bother me, but it does ever so slightly for some reason.

 

[A Raging Emo]

I walked into a shop once (I live in North Wales) and I grabbed what I wanted to buy and went to the cashier, who appeared to be of Middle Eastern decent. He asked me if I spoke any Arabic. When I said that I didn't, he proceeded to scan my items and converse with me in English.

As far as I can tell, he seemed a bit irked to not be speaking his own language, and having to speak mine, in North Wales. Of course, if I did speak Arabic, I'd have been fine with using the language to converse, but his English wasn't even particularly bad.

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On Topic: I wouldn't want to travel to a foreign country and expect the people there to speak my language, so I'd try to learn theirs, and I'd only use English when I honestly had no other choice/speaking to other people whose first language is English.

If I offend someone by trying to learn a language, then so be it, but there is no reason to be offended in the first place, in my opinion.

 

[awesomeClaw]

No, I don´t see the need to be offended. If someone wants to learn my language and wants my help, I´d be happy to help. Thou I don´t really see why, besides the fact that it(swedish) is the largest of the nordic languages.

 

[DoPo]

On Topic: I wouldn't want to travel to a foreign country and expect the people there to speak my language,

To be fair, you can expect a reasonable portion of the people in other countries to know English. In fact, some of them would even want to use English.

If I offend someone by trying to learn a language, then so be it, but there is no reason to be offended in the first place, in my opinion.

I don't think anybody will be offended if you wanted to learn their language. Unless they were jerks, in which case don't mind them.

Thou I don´t really see why, besides the fact that it(swedish) is the largest of the nordic languages.

Well, Swedish sounds cool - that is a good reason

 

[Aris Khandr]

My rule is to speak the language of the country I am in. If I'm in the US, I speak English. When I went to France, I spoke French. Not well, but they appreciated the effort, and it made the trip far more enjoyable. Don't look at someone and say "Oh, you probably speak German, I'll practice on you." That's rude. Just speak the most prevalent language in the country. Obviously, the rule applies less with friends, but it is a good rule of thumb for strangers.

 

[darth.pixie]

It's English. I sort of expect people to defer to it as the language almost everyone knows so I hardly get offended by it.

Being spoken to by someone who knows my ethnicity, no. Being confused for a different one, somewhat.

If, by using your example, the cashier doesn't speak Spanish, they may be annoyed at the fact that you expected them to know. I know a Japanese dude who is really annoyed at always being asked about Anime, Japan and stuff like that despite the fact that he lived in the US all his life.
Using a different language out of the blue works best if you actually that person. Some people might be offended, others not so much. It also depends on how many people before you tried the same thing.

 

[IamQ]

The people who get offended by things like that, deserve to get offended. It's just so silly. I'm swedish, and if you'd try to say hi to me in, perhaps Danish, or Norweigan, I wouldn't mind. I'd probably just laugh and correct your misstake, no harm done.

 

[awesomeClaw]

Thou I don´t really see why, besides the fact that it(swedish) is the largest of the nordic languages.

Well, Swedish sounds cool - that is a good reason

Tack för att du förärar mitt språk, främling! (BTW, to save you from running this through google translate, it means: "Thank you for honoring my language, stranger!")

 

[SckizoBoy]

Nnnnnn... there are so few non-Chinese people I'd trust to say anything remotely coherently in Cantonese. However, I hardly care, because I'll just laugh it off and just say that I don't understand pidgin Chinese.

If you want to learn a Chinese dialect (or even speak it for shits), do it properly: TONES, people, TONES! We've got a shitload of 'em.

 

[Total LOLige]

It shouldn't offend people when someone tries speaking their native language, they should be flattered that someone is making the effort to speak their language rather than going the easy route and speaking in english.

 

[DoPo]

It shouldn't offend people when someone tries speaking their native language, they should be flattered that someone is making the effort to speak their language rather than going the easy route and speaking in english.

Well, I agree - it shouldn't. I myself have absolutely no problem with it. As several other people have said they'd do, I'll probably laugh (assuming the other person doesn't know it properly) at most but nothing more. I would be more impressed than anything else.

However that's not the case for everybody. Some people don't take it well. Reasons vary but for some it is really shameful - some take it as a sign they were doing something wrong. Again, the reasons vary, but at the very least consider that they have left their country with their friends, family and native language and even small things you didn't consider before going somewhere else (mannerisms, common knowledge, acceptable behaviour, weather, even as little as the licence plates of the cars, etc.) to go somewhere else where they have none of that. It's hard to try to get accepted as a full member of other society. There are things that remind you every day that you are an outsider, an alien. You have to work extra hard to overcome the differences. If somebody managed to pick you out from everybody else, it means that in some way you failed to fit in. It means that the people in the country don't yet accept you as one of them - you're still not equal.

And that knowledge can be painful.

Of course not all of the foreigners operate that way. Some couldn't care less. Some, however don't want to be associated with their home country/culture/nationality/whatever. Could be for a wide range of reasons but the fact remains that they hate, or at least, dislike it. They may even refuse to communicate with their fellow countrymen. In their case, take the above and amplify it - they are pariahs amongst the pariahs. Also, some (maybe most) of them are damn pricks but whatever the case it's not easy for them. Rubbing it in can do more harm than...actually it wouldn't do good at all.

 

[s0p0g]

no-one has tried to speak german to/with me (as the pretty much only commonly known words are sauerkraut, kindergarten, über, und gesundheit), so i cannot say, but why would i?

i think it's far more offensive when people switch to something different than english and (try to) insult you in their own-but-not-your language. happens quite often with french, at least in LoL; then again, MOBA "communities" are per definitionem a conglomerate of first-class [censored], so i guess that doesn't mean much

although it's quite interesting to tell them, after a couple of minutes, in french that you actually do understand them. maybe insult them in turn, just to prove you can (if you're in the mood), and just for fun

 

[lettucethesallad]

When movies cast obviously non-Scandinavian actors to play Scandinavians in movies, it ticks me off. Fake Swedish accents are just horrible, and hey, there are quite a few real Scandinavians over in the states, why not just pick one of them?

Also, because of my dark hair and light olive skin, people tend to peg me anywhere from Iranian to Spanish to Scandinavian. Doesn't bother me one bit, never really understood why it would bother anyone else.

One time a tourist who obviously spoke no Swedish came up to me and asked me, in a very tentative tourist-y Swedish, for directions, and I was just so surprised that someone would make that kind of effort.