Will English take over? (General discussion) Language Learning Forum

Will English take over?
Tags: Lingua franca \| Endangered Language
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Language Learning Forum : General discussion

37 messages over 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5

boon
Diglot
Groupie
Ireland
Joined 5970 days ago
91 posts - 177 votes

Speaks: English*, Spanish
Studies: German, Mandarin, Latin

Message 33 of 37

06 March 2010 at 7:06pm | IP Logged

ruskivyetr wrote:

People tell me that they get really bad treatement from the French people
when they are in France. It is because they are rude and disrespectful enough to
address French people IN English from the start.

That's a bit simplistic. Years ago I spent about a week in Paris. I spoke some poor French to the natives. Some people were fine, particularly French people who couldn't speak English. With others the reaction was basically "No no no no no. Your French is crap. Let's speak English, but make it quick."

Probably the most annoying thing was when I was queuing ("forming a line" if you're American). Queues move very slowly there. Often customers chat away to the cashier inanely. When it was my turn to be served, I'd get the rude reaction, as if I was wasting everyone's time.

A year or two later I travelled in Spain for a couple of weeks. I used some really rubbish Spanish and every encounter was delightful.
3 persons have voted this message useful

cordelia0507
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 5649 days ago
1473 posts - 2176 votes

Speaks: Swedish*
Studies: German, Russian

Message 34 of 37

07 March 2010 at 12:54pm | IP Logged

For the last time: French people are not rude! This is an English myth propagated by the fact that anything English has the potential of spreading across the globe, due to the prevalence of English.

I had not even heard about the alleged rudeness of French people until I moved to England. There is not quite the same amount of phony politeness as in England, that's all! As for tourists who are being a nuisance to locals, they have only themselves to blame if people are less than charmed about their presence.

-A French guy saved me from a pretty serious assault, when I was stupid enough enough to go for a walk alone in an area I didn't know. For all he knew, the hooligans who attacked me could have been armed and killed him.
-A French woman was one of the nicest and most helpful business contacts I dealt with in my last job. Nothing was too much trouble for her. Her staff was equally helpful.
-Shopping in Paris is allround much nicer than shopping in London.
-Contrary to popular belief it is fully possible to get directions if you get lost in France. I have had it many times.

And for the record, my French is totally rubbish!
I am definitely not able to hold down a serious conversation. So I have no advantage over anyone in that respect.

But lets not propagate this false rumour anymore!
Vive la France! :-)
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ruskivyetr
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5292 days ago
769 posts - 962 votes

Speaks: English*, German
Studies: Spanish, Russian, Polish, Modern Hebrew

Message 35 of 37

07 March 2010 at 6:28pm | IP Logged

cordelia0507 wrote:

For the last time: French people are not rude! This is an English
myth propagated by the fact that anything English has the potential of spreading
across the globe, due to the prevalence of English.

I had not even heard about the alleged rudeness of French people until I moved to
England. There is not quite the same amount of phony politeness as in England, that's
all! As for tourists who are being a nuisance to locals, they have only themselves to
blame if people are less than charmed about their presence.

-A French guy saved me from a pretty serious assault, when I was stupid enough
enough to go for a walk alone in an area I didn't know. For all he knew, the hooligans
who attacked me could have been armed and killed him.
-A French woman was one of the nicest and most helpful business contacts I dealt with
in my last job. Nothing was too much trouble for her. Her staff was equally helpful.
-Shopping in Paris is allround much nicer than shopping in London.
-Contrary to popular belief it is fully possible to get directions if you get lost in France.
I have had it many times.

And for the record, my French is totally rubbish!
I am definitely not able to hold down a serious conversation. So I have no advantage
over anyone in that respect.

But lets not propagate this false rumour anymore!
Vive la France! :-)

I don't think they are at all rude. I was just saying how many Americans have bad
experiences and it is because they do not recognize how their behavior can irritate
some French people. I find that French people are actually really nice, my best friend is
even French.
1 person has voted this message useful

boon
Diglot
Groupie
Ireland
Joined 5970 days ago
91 posts - 177 votes

Speaks: English*, Spanish
Studies: German, Mandarin, Latin

Message 36 of 37

07 March 2010 at 10:54pm | IP Logged

Yeah, I've met loads of nice French people. I don't think they're ruder than average. But I think if someone has bad experiences, they deserve to be listened to and maybe given the benefit of the doubt.

I was in a bank here in Ireland the other day. There was a Polish man in front of me trying to exchange some money. The Irish woman serving him was very rude and impatient.

I think if people are being rude, laugh at them. And if they're really rude, give them the finger.
1 person has voted this message useful

ruskivyetr
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5292 days ago
769 posts - 962 votes

Speaks: English*, German
Studies: Spanish, Russian, Polish, Modern Hebrew

Message 37 of 37

07 March 2010 at 11:07pm | IP Logged

boon wrote:

Yeah, I've met loads of nice French people. I don't think they're ruder
than average. But I think if someone has bad experiences, they deserve to be listened
to and maybe given the benefit of the doubt.

I was in a bank here in Ireland the other day. There was a Polish man in front of me
trying to exchange some money. The Irish woman serving him was very rude and
impatient.

I think if people are being rude, laugh at them. And if they're really rude, give them the
finger.

I think it's just that when someone attempts to speak your native language, you see
them as inferior if their skills are not quite so good. Of course us language learners
understand the feeling of trying to speak someone else's native tongue and we are
patient with less than good speakers. However, people who don't understand that may
feel that they have the right to be impatient and may think of the person as inferior
because their skills are not as good.

1 person has voted this message useful

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