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Friendliness of the natives | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| FuroraCeltica Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 6867 days ago 1187 posts - 1427 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish, French | Message 18 of 32 21 May 2009 at 11:27pm | IP Logged | ||
I think the issue here is not the languages in question. It is the fact that they are big cities. People in big cities trust strangers less, and are often very busy, so are not going to have much patience for someone stumbling through their language. Edited by FuroraCeltica on 21 May 2009 at 11:27pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| sprachefin Triglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5748 days ago 300 posts - 317 votes Speaks: German*, English, Spanish Studies: French, Turkish, Mandarin, Bulgarian, Persian, Dutch | Message 20 of 32 22 May 2009 at 2:06am | IP Logged | ||
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What the average learner must understand is that people are not your practice tools. They are not your objects that you can use on whim. I think that it's great people come to Germany in order to learn German. But think of this: You're having a bad day, you're having personal problems, you have to get home from work, eat dinner, and then do some learning. All of a sudden, someone comes up to you and introduces himself. He explains in broken German "I am sorry if my German is not perfect, but would you mind me asking you a few questions about this area. I'm thinking of moving here but I want a locals viewpoint." Of course replace this situation with any other and you will probably have a million different outcomes. The point is, be considerate, and look to converse with people that you meet by chance, such as a at a bar or in a store, who do not seem worried, rushed, or preoccupied. It is pretty easy to distinguish these things. Think of yourself in the persons shoes before you start a conversation.
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| pmiller Account terminated Groupie Canada Joined 5676 days ago 99 posts - 104 votes Speaks: English* | Message 21 of 32 24 May 2009 at 4:15pm | IP Logged | ||
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People have made some good points here - it's certainly true that big cities in any country are more fast-paced, stressful, more impersonal, etc., and are therefore less friendly than smaller, more laid-back cities, towns, or villages.
It also goes without saying, I think, that you should not act like a "complete douche" and it's best not to approach people who are busy or distressed, or expect anyone you approach to be a willing and cheerful language partner. But I still think some countries and cultures are more open and friendly towards outsiders. Others are much less so, perhaps due to racism, or cultural chauvinism, or religious fanaticism, or the natural introversion/shyness of the people, or whatever. I know it's politically incorrect to notice that people and cultures have differences, but I can't help noticing, so please forgive me. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| crackpot Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 6303 days ago 144 posts - 178 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: Italian | Message 22 of 32 24 May 2009 at 4:17pm | IP Logged | ||
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Have to throw in my two cents and vouch for Koreans. There are no nicer people. I lived in Seoul for 1.5 years and was NEVER treated poorly. I experienced some things that some would have thought to be unfriendly as well, such as getting bumped into when there is plenty of room, etc, etc but that's just culture. Koreans are great. As for Parisians there no worse or no better than anyone else in a Western country. The place where I was treated the best was in England. They went out of there way to help.
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| Splog Diglot Senior Member Czech Republic anthonylauder.c Joined 5671 days ago 1062 posts - 3263 votes Speaks: English*, Czech Studies: Mandarin | Message 23 of 32 24 May 2009 at 6:43pm | IP Logged | ||
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I and many other foreigners I have met in the Czech republic have found two very common reactions to foreigners trying to speak Czech:
(1) From people under the age of about 30, an encouraging smile followed by "oh, you speak really well, but can I practice speaking English with you" (2) From many Czechs over the age of about 40, a lot of eye rolling and tutting, often pointing out your mistakes in a rather demeaning and sarcastic way. My understanding is that not speaking perfect Czech is considered by this group a sign of mental impairment. Perhaps this is because the schools here used to place so much emphasis on grammar drill. In response I have learned to ask the first group if we can talk in Czech for a while first, and then switch to English. For the second group, I have learned to think of them as unworldly and try to not let their stinging words affect me. Alas, several people I know have given up trying to learn Czech due to the unpleasant reactions of this second group. Edited by Splog on 24 May 2009 at 6:44pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Rout Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5714 days ago 326 posts - 417 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Spanish Studies: Hindi | Message 24 of 32 25 May 2009 at 2:42am | IP Logged | ||
You sound vehemently anti-American to me. If there is a reason to believe that Septentrional, Meridional, or Oriental countries have brazened feelings toward the Occidental, it's because of statements like this. Edited by Rout on 25 May 2009 at 2:54am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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