Being spoken to in your native language

[Necroid_Neko]

Mae neb yn gwybod fod i'n Cymro, bydda i'n hapus os roedd rhywyn i siarad i mi yn Cymraeg un tro

'No one can tell I'm Welsh, it would make me happy if someone would talk to me in Welsh once in a while'

I don't get offended when people speak to me in English, since I feel a little insulted when people speak in other languages because I worry they may be talking about me I think it would be a bit rude of me to insist on speaking my own language :L

Also, I'm second-language Welsh but whatever

 

[Sonicron]

Nah, I'm not offended. In fact, in most cases hilarity ensues - watching English folk fumble about with a few snippets of German is quite entertaining!

Oh yes, whenever I hear that I think it's rather droll, really ^^

Though I have to say... I'm not completely innocent concerning this topic, when you hear me speak in English you'll hear a case of (relatively) heavy German Axe-Ent and eternal struggle with the th

I was told my English is understandable, though I really hope I'll find a way to improve my vocal skills in this regards, it's quite embarrassing for me.

Don't sweat it. Unless you're being graded or paid for your English skills, the one and only function of language is communication; as long as people understand you, the fact that you have an accent and a few pronunciation issues doesn't mean diddly.

 

[Lalo Lomeli]

Spanish speaker. It does't bother me, in fact if they are learning the language I try to help out, being in that situation is difficult.

What is really frustrating is people feeling smug about you because they speak their native language ( In most cases that this has happened, english) better than you.

 

[HenrySugar]

I did a couple of Italian cruises in the past where the crew is supposed to speak up to five languages (Italian, English, Spanish, German, French). They can never place our native language (a Flemish dialect of Dutch) so they always just start speaking German to us because it kinda sounds similar.

Yeeah, I tried learning German but I failed epically. I remember meeting someone online who asked me what language I spoke and I told them. They asked why not German, I said it was hard. They turned around and mentioned for me to say the American/English number between eight and ten, it's only spelled differently.

Was the cruise worth it? I would like to go on a French cruise, as I'm learning French right now.

 

[s0p0g]

blahdeeblah

Try working with Indian and Pakistani people whose idea of a joke is something in an entirely different language and laughing between themselves after knowing I'd be fired for racism if I said anything back relating to it being extremely rude.

yeah i get what you're saying; guess that's protection of minorities gone rogue, or somesuch xD

but i actually meant talking back in their language - what comes around goes around ^^

 

[OniaPL]

Finland is officially a bilingual country, but whenever a swede demands that people speak swedish to him in the store, bar or any other place, I want to punch the dude/slap the gal.

There are even people who know finnish but refuse to speak it because it is their "right" to have people speak swedish to them.

 

[Fredvdp]

I did a couple of Italian cruises in the past where the crew is supposed to speak up to five languages (Italian, English, Spanish, German, French). They can never place our native language (a Flemish dialect of Dutch) so they always just start speaking German to us because it kinda sounds similar.

Yeeah, I tried learning German but I failed epically. I remember meeting someone online who asked me what language I spoke and I told them. They asked why not German, I said it was hard. They turned around and mentioned for me to say the American/English number between eight and ten, it's only spelled differently.

Was the cruise worth it? I would like to go on a French cruise, as I'm learning French right now.

Cruises can be very fun. I did three cruises with MSC Cruises, the ships being Monterey (no longer exists), Lyrica and Orchestra. I have a feeling that small ships are more fun but they don't use them very often because they waste more fuel per passenger.

German is indeed a complex language. In English you only have three articles (a, an, the) and German takes it a step further by having different articles depending on whether it's used as a nominative, accusative, and so on. I speak Dutch, of which the complexity lies between English and German but I think it tends more to the simplicity of English. For instance, we also only have three articles (een, de, het).

 

[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.

What if I were to walk up to you and start yelling "Bork bork bork!" like The Muppets' Swedish Chef? That's definitely real Swedish, right?



Being an American, I of course assume all non-Americans know English and just make up gibberish to piss off tourists.

I'd first assume that you're on the lower end of the intellect spectrum, and afterwards, I'd probably just laugh and correct you. Once again, it's really silly to get offended by small things like that.

And by the way: I love the Swedish Chef!

 

[minimacker]

Englishman trying to pronounce in Swedish?

It's hilarious. I don't feel insulted in any way.

 

[MorganL4]

I had quite the opposite experience. When I was about 12 I went to France with my mother, and I didn't speak a lick of french. other than please thank you and toilet. And I guess I could count to 10. But the point is I felt like crap being in a foreign country and forcing people to speak MY language in order to communicate. I felt rude and obnoxious for doing it. So I decided I wanted to go to Spain after high school ( which I did and it was awesome) BUT I wanted to be able to get around okay, So I spent 9th-12th grade studying Spanish. And avoided a repeat that mess entirely..... ( except one situation where I accidentally ordered a pitcher of beer when I wanted a glass.... boy howdy were my buddy and I drunk that night.... but hey thats the fun of vacation)

Any way more to the OP's question, here in the states when I come across someone who I can tell speaks Spanish I tend to stick to English unless they either can't speak English or their English is not strong enough to hold a conversation, and I have yet to find anyone who wasn't either delighted to find that I was making an effort to speak to them in their native tongue or at least gave me some positive acknowledgement of the fact. I have yet to receive ANY negative reaction, just grammatical corrections, which I do actually appreciate.

 

[Martijn Nijkeuter]

Dutch is my native language and it is a bit complicated

I do generally like to be spoken to in dutch, but if their English is better they should stick to that.
And i had several people that could just not pronounce my name cause of the "tijn" part. which does get annoying if they insist on trying nonstop till they get it right...

and i do dislike Germans that conclude that every Dutchy knows German perfectly without even asking..

 

[Sirron Kcuch]

I was told in MW2 that I "run like a chicken pollo".
I laughed out loud

 

[Muspelheim]

Englishman trying to pronounce in Swedish?

It's hilarious. I don't feel insulted in any way.

Aye, it's really rather adorable sometimes, when they struggle with our weird Å's, Ä's and Ö's. I can understand that they'd be rather tricky to learn if you're not used to them. Also, there's the issue of pronounciation. Many words spell exactly the same, but mean different things depending on how you say them.

My favorite example is the Christian trinity: "Fadern, Sonen och den Helige Anden", The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. However, if you put the emphasis on the E in anden, it becomes "And the Holy Duck". Pitfalls like that is just fun. :3

Of course, we've always got English to fall back on. Although most Swedes got a -horriphic- accent, so I'm sure the entertainment value is going to be rather even for both. "O, hay! I dident fiil agein yoo! Hao arr yoo doyng?"

I remember something similar, actually. There's a rather large amounts of Russians staying in Stockholm for some reason, and one time I was there, drunk, out and about, we passed a carfire, and I said the nadsat-word "Horrorshow" (which stems from Khorosho, meaning very good), and a nearby Russian heard that and tried to converce with me. He was very patient with me mangling his language for a few minutes.
"Your Russian is dreadful, but keep learning!"

And not completly unrelated: I do hope Notch and Mojäng actually do go ahead and name that project of theirs Skrölls.

 

[Nickolai77]

When non-English speakers speak to me in English i'm usually impressed by how well they can speak it. For me languages are rather difficult even though i find them fascinating, so i have a lot of respect for people who can speak another tongue fluently. Especially the Chinese students who i often see at my uni, how on earth they can pick up even conversational English is pretty damn impressive.

 

[trollnystan]

*gasps* How could you say something so hurtful? Actually I've worn shirts similar to the top half of those (are they dresses? Cause that's what they look like) And I don't look TOO bad in them. I can badly pronounce a few derogatory words and a funny phrase or two in Mandarin but that's the extent of my knowledge. OH! And one of my mates from Sweden agreed to help me learn to at least have a basic conversation in Swedish! *claps hands and dances around excitedly* I'd rather learn to speak it first honestly. And then learn to read it. Still. you should teach me. And talk to me more.

Hey, I could help you with Swedish too! *hops up and down and waves*

I wish I could wear qipao-styles btw. but I'm a bit too "big" (if you know what I mean) for it to look good on me, le sigh.

 

[6unn3r]

Personaly i speak to people in the national language of the country im in and i dont see any reason why i should change that.
When i go abroad i make the best effort to learn simple phrases or sayings to get me by i resturants, pubs, shops etc. I also take a phrase book to aid me. If the person im talking to says "I speak english" then i'll switch to save on any translation issues and it simplfies things greatly.

Similarly when im here in the UK i will converse in English because its the national language. I dont mind people talking to each other in their own tounge's if they so wish but in formal settings it's not really pertinant or polite.

If i can make the effort to learn your national language even for a weeks holiday then i see no reason why, if you move to my country, you cant do the same.

 

[Blow_Pop]

*gasps* How could you say something so hurtful? Actually I've worn shirts similar to the top half of those (are they dresses? Cause that's what they look like) And I don't look TOO bad in them. I can badly pronounce a few derogatory words and a funny phrase or two in Mandarin but that's the extent of my knowledge. OH! And one of my mates from Sweden agreed to help me learn to at least have a basic conversation in Swedish! *claps hands and dances around excitedly* I'd rather learn to speak it first honestly. And then learn to read it. Still. you should teach me. And talk to me more.

Hey, I could help you with Swedish too! *hops up and down and waves*

I wish I could wear qipao-styles btw. but I'm a bit too "big" (if you know what I mean) for it to look good on me, le sigh.

well if you would like to feel free to add me on skype or steam or whatever and we'll discuss it. And as for the style I'm just a bit too pale for them to really look good on me.

 

[esliang]

My issue with this is twofold:

1) I'm Taiwanese, and I've been spoken to in Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, and I Vietnamese at one point. I appreciate that the person speaking to me is trying to be respectful to some degree, but at least ask if you're not sure what my ethnic heritage is.

2) I'm American, born and raised, and it irks me that someone (probably an elderly Caucasian fellow) presumes that I'm not from this country just from the way I look. I know that intentions are usually good--acceptance and all that--but it's almost a subtle form of racism at times. It just comes down to assuming things about a person based on their appearance.

I personally never speak to someone in a foreign language unless they themselves make it clear they are immigrants who prefer their native tongue, and only then if I have some mastery of said language.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

Frankly i find it funny when other people speak another language because you cannot stop comparing accents, and it gets cute-er if it's with a girl...

 

[game-lover]

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

It's comments like this that make people like me take so damn long trying to learn languages. The last thing I want is to embarrass myself and causing someone to laugh at me is obviously an embarrassing action.