And then continue in English with the worst French accent possible for the rest of the transaction while reverting to telling them you don't know English any time they try switching to English
I believe they actually researched which French words English speakers frequently mess up, translated those into English, and found a funny and fitting mistake in the English dialogue
All dialogue in the show is supposed to be not English, though there was definitely space for a joke where that guy would speak English and thus speak properly in dialogue
People in Québec who visit France have to say this but more "en français tabarnac!"
Québec french and Paris french sound completely different despite being the same words, I know some people from Québec who only speak french, but still had to argue with shop/hotel workers to converse in french
One particular rude person she had run into, was saying stuff like "i dont speak English" in response to questions in french, from someone who doesnt speak English either
my colleague who is from German part of Switzerland but speak French fluently also got response in English when she spoke French in France. This is weird to me as I always got response in French and people I met were adamant not to speak English despite my very limited French when i lived there for 6 months.
That's the crux, French people refuse to speak French to foreign French speakers, but refuse to speak anything but French to foreigners who don't speak French. It's not a miscommunication, it's a lifestyle
Yeah I'd be relieved if people would respond to me in English. Without fail someone will go off the script I have set up in my head, and I'm immediately lost.
Me: Bonjour...eh..une table pour un, s'il vous plaît
Me to myself: Damn you nailed that, you're practically French
Expected response: Très bien, suivez-moi
Actual response: Avez-vous une préférence quant à l'emplacement, près de la fenêtre ou plutôt au calme?
Me: Uh...oui? silently prays that's the right answer
Canadians don’t actually consume maple syrup, they just hoard it in secret underground bunkers. Then they roll around in it like Scrooge MCduck or Smaug, eventually emerging like a sticky crunchy dragon snack
I'm just an American but said on a conference call that a software system supported standard and quebecoise French dialects that set off a 15 minute rant from the French Canadian about how it is standard French so intense that his director at this giant multinational company started our next call with a formal apology
Definitely crossed something off the bucket list for me
Don't worry, the Parisians are really a minority when you get other French speakers together.
Back in my NGO days we once had a sort of "la Francophonie" situation with people from Canada, Belgium, French Guyana, Algeria, Côté d'Ivoire, Gabon, Djibouti, Cameroon, Congo, and France all trying to discuss a situation in French... but nobody could understand the French officer because he came from Paris, so the other French guy from Normandy had to translate Parisian for him lol
I go to France at least once or twice each year, and I've never had that experience in Paris or France, a lot of Parisians are quite used to Quebec French - it's an accent, not Martian, and as long as you use standard "Radio Canada" French and not Billy-bob lumberjack expressions and words from the deep woods you're fine.
I was on a European cruise from Barcelona last summer, and I think half the boat was made up of Brits, and I swear I couldn't understand what the hell most were talking about (I have zero issues with various English accents), the mostly Indian and Filipino staff spoke more intelligible English.
I remember a Mexican contractor looking at me with some confusion when I said, "No hablo espanol," lol. But seriously, just because I can say that and "?De donde esta el bano?" doesn't mean I "know Spanish".
El bano is toilet , in Spain a Spanish woman started talking to me in a bar and I ended up saying to her hablo anglais , which must have been so rude as it's like telling a native to talk your language rather than saying no hablo Espanol which is what I meant to say
Also "salut, j'ai une reservation" isn't a "natural way" of speaking in French.
Like when you're checking into a hotel, do you say "What's up? I have a reservation." Or do you interact with the desk person a bit - "Hey, how are you? I'm exhausted, it was a long trip! My name is Sarah Johnson, staying for 3 nights."
Edit: holy hell, the second part is just one side of a conversation with the desk person. I didn't realise I needed to write an entire skit but I forgot this IS Reddit...
Am Irish, would say "Hello, I've a reservation, the name is ______" before getting into any small talk. And the small talk would be about the weather, not myself/the trip. The second version sounds very odd to me
Right? I don't need to know any of this shit, it's actually making it harder than just being direct with what you need.
I'd even say that in Europe it's almost a bit rude to provide way too much personal information without being asked, but maybe that's just me. It can definitely be uncomfortable.
Nope, the second one is equally psychotic over here. The receptionist doesn’t give a shit about you— there really isn’t a lot of small talk, even in the South.
Have a cousin in France he studied French in Uni for his degree, when the Frenchies hit him with English, which he knows perfectly well, he turns it around on them and hit them with Spanish forcing them to switch back to French "que? Wey, no mames no hablo inglés"
However a good amount of French people speak Spanish too. But not as much as English. So he could end up in a Spanish convo which is funny to me.
My brain did this even when I was learning Japanese after having learned French for years, and those are nothing alike.
I think when learning new languages after a certain age our brains just tend to categorize things as “English”, and “not English” (or whatever your native language happens to be) by default until we learn a bit more and get more comfortable with separating them out.
At the beginning of spanish classes, lots of high-schooler tries the trick of writing french but with a/o at the end and a few spanish words in between. (it doesn't work)
I will say though when you already know a latin based language the others are not super different. They are but some of the basic rules are similar which helps you start out. I took French in high school and Spanish helped me out with innately knowing what certainly words meant, etc. Or how sentences are structured. But the closest to Spanish has to be Portuguese tho. I can kinda sorta read it without formal training. But not speak or understand it when spoken, those are different beasts.
I used this trick when I studied in France. I pretended I was Italian. The issue was I can't speak Italian. I got away with it until one day in a shop the cashier started to speak Italian at me and I had to come clean. Suffice to say there was an awkward silence
When I moved to Germany, I already spoke B2ish German. It still took about 6 months for people to not just automatically switch to English with me. I think it doesn’t have as much to do with you sounding foreign but knowing the cadence of the conversation.
I think a lot of native English speakers under-estimate the value of cadence and tone in both their own and other languages. That is, I agree cadence is big but I wouldn't separate it from the rest of language learning.
This is strange. I’ve lived in Germany for 3 years now, don’t speak German, but can say every day words to get by and people will reply back in German and I have no idea what they’re saying, having to ask “English please?”
There are also times however, before I even say anything, they’re already speaking to me in English.
I’ve lived in Japan for nearly 20 years and I know people who’ve lived here for over 10 years who can’t speak Japanese to save their lives. Boggles my mind.
Uh well as someone who's got a B1 in German, I've got to say it's not that easy either. I can barely link English to German when it comes to vocabulary equivalent. As both a French and Italian speaker though, holy hell it's easy.
Nevertheless, when you've spent THREE damn years living in a country you better TRY to get a B2 level, plus your whole ENVIRONMENT is there for you to practice. If you don't you're just lazy. I'm Vietnamese and remember when my French teachers came to my country, they'd go on to marry Viet women (yeah I know the usual...) and would actually try to speak my language despite struggling, but holy hell did they try.
This is what remote job does to a mf. 2.5 years in Poland, A2 at most. When you aren’t planning to keep living here and you don’t even really need the language on daily basis, that’s what happens.
Even if it were China, you should still make a serious attempt at learning the language of the place you're living long-term. I'm sure most people could become conversational in Chinese in three years, with enough studying and being surrounded by native speakers.
Also, I speak English, German and understand Swedish (I'm Danish). German pronunciation has nothing at all to do with Swedish, even though they are both Germanic languages :P
I'd say German is closest to Dutch, both in pronunciation and grammar.
I’ve had it go both ways in Germany. Either they immediately switch to English or they reply like I’m already fluent, nothing in the middle. Tbf I can understand a lot but my family is Bavarian and other accents are harder for me to understand, I’m just not used to them.
In Dresden I could barely understand anyone. At one point a bus driver just let me on for free because I couldn’t understand him and he couldn’t understand me and we both just ended up laughing with him waving me aboard.
I’ve had the same experience! I’ve learned very basic German out of respect because I don’t want to be That Person who just assumes everyone speaks English lol, and I think I’m terrible but every single time they respond back to me in complex German as if expecting me to understand. Total opposite of the French
When I was in stuttgart, I had to use my broken German almost everywhere because nobody bothered to switch to English for me. I think it’s super area dependant
This is what i was going to say. In Quebec, I rarely hear anyone use vous and nous. It wouldn't be strange for someone performing customer service to still use the informal tu and on.
It just doesn't work like that. This person will have to reply "bonjour", generally, if there is a minimal sense of professionalism in their hotel, so there's a sort of asymmetry here. They say bonjour, you say bonjour.
That is funny!! I wonder if it's because in Quebec, we speak both English and French and we tend to speak the language that we THINK the other one is most comfortable with.
When I talk to my Montreal friends, they complain about how snooty France French people are and how they hate it when they go there and the locals speak English to them.
When I talk to my bilingual friends from Ottawa, they complain about how snooty Quebec French people are and how they hate it when they go there and the locals speak English to them.
When I speak French with my Ottawa friends, they speak English to me.
I really think it all has to do with context and people find the narratives and trends they expect to be there regardless. My French isn't great, I'm definitely not fluent. I could totally see a Parisien hearing it and thinking "thanks for trying!" Where a Quebecois might think "Ugh, another square head tourist" or "I'll speak English to this Anglo because it will make them more comfortable" but who knows really?
I’m an American in Paris right now, and I can’t decide if I seem like a bigger asshole if I try to speak French or if I don’t even bother. You say it’s the former?
Once I wanted to thank a French woman for giving me directions so I put a toaster strudel in her purse. She was really bothered by it. They’re just very difficult people to please.
Went with my high school French class 20 years ago. We got off the plane, went to the first store all excited to speak French, walked in and said "Bonjour!" and they said "Can I help you?"
If I’ve learned anything from movies and shows where non-native French speakers attempt to speak French in France, it’s that it’s unwelcome, and that the earnest attempt is met with contempt more than it is met with appreciation of effort applied, no matter how well it is spoken with a non-native tongue. This is, of course, viewed through the lens of stereotype, but those typically contain some truth regarding the context in which they are derived.
Have never had anything but positivity testing the (minor) limits of my GCSE French in France. I either muddle through or they take mercy and fall back to English, but I've always felt appreciated for giving it a go.
No - just don't be a dick and you'll be fine. I speak French fluently and when I'm with friends who speak English and wait staff hear us speaking in English, they'll ask me what language they should speak in, to make it easier for everyone.
Usually if you try a few words in French people will appreciate it, but the reason they reply in English is because they know you aren't fluent and it's just easier for everyone, lol.
I’m going to Paris for work in February and know zero French. My plan is to always open with “bonjour” as smoothly as possible and hope they immediately switch to English. And I’ll always say “merci.” Hoping this is as polite and respectful as possible with my compete lack of French speaking skills.
It absolutely is polite and they will appreciate the effort! "Politesse" is a super important concept that this small interaction is a key part of.
I've seen so many Americans that don't even try and just sit down / walk into a store and start rapid firing in English - that's just rude, and that's when people might be rude in return.
You have until February to learn some basics. I recommend enough to order a coffee and some basic foods. Other pleasantries like I'm sorry and I dont speak French will go a long way too. I think because of these things I've never gotten any rudeness from the French.
I love it over there actually. Would love to retire there one day. Make sure to get around and see some stuff while your there if you can.
You'll be fine in France, but you have to greet people with "bonjour." Then you can ask if they speak English in French. A lot of Americans and tourists in general never properly greet people in France. The French take that as a personal insult, and will be 100% okay with treating you like dirt if you don't. Not saying "bonjour" (or "bonsoir," depending on the time of day) is basically refusing to acknowledge someone's presence. Especially in restaurants, you greet them first.
Despite speaking French regularly since I was a kid, my brain is wired to speak in an overly familiar way with people where it should be formal, and vice versa. It’s very annoying.
I got u fam… next time a French person speaks to me in English (in America), I’ll respond to them in French even though I’ll be able to understand their English just fine.
That's when you switch to German and apologize that your French isn't up to their standard and perhaps they'd feel more comfortable continuing the conversation in German.
Unless you're in the middle of the countryside, that's just untrue. In any slightly touristy city, a service worker will default to English if they think that's the best way for the customer to get information. Their work hours are for doing their job, not help a foreigner practice linguistics. On a calm day, some might humor you if you make it fairly clear you wanna try, but don't EXPECT it of them.
In my experience (years ago) if you start in English, shop workers (not waiters bc they don't have time to f around) act like they can't understand. But if you start in French, they'll immediately switch to English
Well, I'm happy to report that has mostly changed over the years. In touristy areas, it's now a job requirement to speak English for service workers. You might get some old guys giving you the eye, but young people will not act that way anymore.
I’m an American. Multiple immigrants and tourists have introduced themselves with “what’s up, bro” or something similar when asking for directions. I don’t get out of shape because I’m not a giant cocksucker like it sounds like the French are.
I’m all for clowning on the Fr*nch but to be fair, if you were a receptionist at a hotel in America you probably would find it a little strange if someone came up to the desk and started off with “what’s up, bro” too. I doubt anyone would actually be offended or care too much but it would at least sound a little weird.
I've asked for a pot of warm margarine and 4 frozen cucumbers like 5 minutes ago and I still haven't got them, and now I know why. Get out of Reddit and get me my me time foods!
Certain people have the energy to pull it off. They’re either the nicest people you’ll ever meet, who want to break down formality and talk like friends ASAP, or they’re really fucking irritating and overbearing.
Not a receptionist, but a mental health professional in the States. I love it when people I've never met before hit me with the "sup dude" because it makes me feel more like a person and less like a clinician. Idgaf who does it, I just appreciate people speaking my language 😭
It’s lose lose. If you start off English you get the “stupid tourist” attitude, if you start speaking French you get “yeah whatever you need English obviously”
Reminds me of my mom in Brazil. She went there for work, and during her free time she wanted to buy some shoes, but knew that she could be charged more if the seller knew she was a foreigner. We’re Latinamerican so at least looks wise she didn’t stand out, but we’re Colombians so language wise no luck. So she spent the whole morning practicing “quanto custa?” (How much is it?) to be able to say it as naturally as possible.
She goes into the shoe store, points to the shoes she wants to the employee and in her best Brazilian accent goes “quanto custa?”. The employee looks at her with a huge smile and asks “Are you Colombian?!”. Turns out the employee was also Colombian, and was very happy to see a fellow Colombian.
Just say you don’t understand their English or accent in English. French ppl swear they are the linguist of the world but they butcher the English language like no other.
In French, one doesn't start this type of sentence with "salut". Immediately gives away a feeling of incomplete proficiency, hence the switch to English
Well, to be fair… Parisiens hate anyone who doesn’t speak French. They hate anyone who doesn’t have a Parisienne accent… they just hate everyone. Oh, and the French think the Quebequois speak a dialect of French from the 1600s. Which they kinda do. So if you were to walk into a London Pub and started speaking Shakespearean English you’d probably get a few weird looks too.
This is when you say sorry I dont speak English
In the worst French accent ever 😂
in English
And then continue in English with the worst French accent possible for the rest of the transaction while reverting to telling them you don't know English any time they try switching to English
Good moaning, I waz pissing by ze window when I eard a shit.
I believe they actually researched which French words English speakers frequently mess up, translated those into English, and found a funny and fitting mistake in the English dialogue
All dialogue in the show is supposed to be not English, though there was definitely space for a joke where that guy would speak English and thus speak properly in dialogue
What show? I was just speaking French. I am an Englishman who can speak French.
Oh look, the Madonna with the big boobies.
They're not that big, honestly.
Did we ever see the painting of The Fallen Madonna With The Big Boobies? It was always rolled up around a sausage or stuffed down Renee’s trousers.
FTFY
The fallen Madonna with the big boobies
Was she eating the gateau from the chateau?
Good moaning, Officer Crabtree.
If you really commit, at a certain point they might think you have a speech impediment.
And then when you finally give them your last name it turns out to be Johnson
Or when they finally give you everything, say ‘thanks awfully, darling’ in the most RP accent ever and walk off laughing.
“Hon hon hon oui oui omelette du fromage, I only speak French”
“Baguette, baguette. Macaron, coq a vin. Merci.”
Non Monsieur, c'est une omelette AU fromage.
Oui oui.
That’s what I get for learning French from a 25 year old cartoon
Hey man, some people learn French from Dexter's laboratory, some from a pineapple with a pink umbrella like Telefrancais
just say no hablo anglais in half french accent
People in Québec who visit France have to say this but more "en français tabarnac!"
Québec french and Paris french sound completely different despite being the same words, I know some people from Québec who only speak french, but still had to argue with shop/hotel workers to converse in french
One particular rude person she had run into, was saying stuff like "i dont speak English" in response to questions in french, from someone who doesnt speak English either
my colleague who is from German part of Switzerland but speak French fluently also got response in English when she spoke French in France. This is weird to me as I always got response in French and people I met were adamant not to speak English despite my very limited French when i lived there for 6 months.
That's the crux, French people refuse to speak French to foreign French speakers, but refuse to speak anything but French to foreigners who don't speak French. It's not a miscommunication, it's a lifestyle
In other words, they are assholes?
synonymous with being french
Are you new on Earth?
Yeah I'd be relieved if people would respond to me in English. Without fail someone will go off the script I have set up in my head, and I'm immediately lost.
Me: Bonjour...eh..une table pour un, s'il vous plaît
Me to myself: Damn you nailed that, you're practically French
Expected response: Très bien, suivez-moi
Actual response: Avez-vous une préférence quant à l'emplacement, près de la fenêtre ou plutôt au calme?
Me: Uh...oui? silently prays that's the right answer
By the window so you can sit and question your life choices, obviously
I was once asked if I was French (I am not), but in my head I was wondering if that was a compliment or an insult.
I can imagine getting to mess with a Quebecois in that manner is like winning a prize from scratch-off lottery to the average Parisian service worker
I'm putting my money on the Quebecois over the Parisian in a fight lol.
Every Quebecois I have ever met is like a thoroughly soaked and pissed off feral tomcat.
This is actually a line in the French version of the Canadian national anthem.
It’s the line that just sounds like hissing, innit?
As opposed to all the other Quebecois French, which sounds like someone is beating a hissing animal with sticks on a snare drum.
But when they're away from home they won't have a steady supply of maple syrup and poutine and Dieu du Ciel. It's what gives them their powers.
Canadians don’t actually consume maple syrup, they just hoard it in secret underground bunkers. Then they roll around in it like Scrooge MCduck or Smaug, eventually emerging like a sticky crunchy dragon snack
stop giving away our secrets, buddy!!!
He’s not your buddy, guy
In my experience it's mostly Labatt Blue and res smokes.
I'm just an American but said on a conference call that a software system supported standard and quebecoise French dialects that set off a 15 minute rant from the French Canadian about how it is standard French so intense that his director at this giant multinational company started our next call with a formal apology
Definitely crossed something off the bucket list for me
Don't worry, the Parisians are really a minority when you get other French speakers together.
Back in my NGO days we once had a sort of "la Francophonie" situation with people from Canada, Belgium, French Guyana, Algeria, Côté d'Ivoire, Gabon, Djibouti, Cameroon, Congo, and France all trying to discuss a situation in French... but nobody could understand the French officer because he came from Paris, so the other French guy from Normandy had to translate Parisian for him lol
I go to France at least once or twice each year, and I've never had that experience in Paris or France, a lot of Parisians are quite used to Quebec French - it's an accent, not Martian, and as long as you use standard "Radio Canada" French and not Billy-bob lumberjack expressions and words from the deep woods you're fine.
I was on a European cruise from Barcelona last summer, and I think half the boat was made up of Brits, and I swear I couldn't understand what the hell most were talking about (I have zero issues with various English accents), the mostly Indian and Filipino staff spoke more intelligible English.
Were they from Scotland? I was on a train and couldn't understand some Scottish folks. Then again they may have been speaking Welsh for all I know.
Scottish accents are beautiful, by the way.
Nope, Scottish accents are easy to recognize, it was a lot of mumbling and shortened words.
Yep. I live in Japan and have literally had to do this when bellends have the "urr durr, see foreigner, must speak English" brain fail reaction.
he says in english. not much of a fail is it then?
Say it with an extremely strong French accent and intentionally incorrect grammar
I remember a Mexican contractor looking at me with some confusion when I said, "No hablo espanol," lol. But seriously, just because I can say that and "?De donde esta el bano?" doesn't mean I "know Spanish".
I learned my Spanish from Cuban dock workers so the only thing it's good for is get my ass kicked.
El bano is toilet , in Spain a Spanish woman started talking to me in a bar and I ended up saying to her hablo anglais , which must have been so rude as it's like telling a native to talk your language rather than saying no hablo Espanol which is what I meant to say
Perhaps they speak Japanese as well (or worse) than they speak English. Either way it’s true for someone out there.
Not really. I have very average intelligence and I can say "I don't speak X language" in 4 or 5 different languages. It's not hard.
Yep. Works even better if you hit them with a 3rd language.
The receptionist was pissed off because you used salut instead of bonjour.
Ouais, c'est vrai
Totally. I feel like this story is bullshit because of this detail alone.
Also "salut, j'ai une reservation" isn't a "natural way" of speaking in French.
Like when you're checking into a hotel, do you say "What's up? I have a reservation." Or do you interact with the desk person a bit - "Hey, how are you? I'm exhausted, it was a long trip! My name is Sarah Johnson, staying for 3 nights."
Edit: holy hell, the second part is just one side of a conversation with the desk person. I didn't realise I needed to write an entire skit but I forgot this IS Reddit...
Am Irish, would say "Hello, I've a reservation, the name is ______" before getting into any small talk. And the small talk would be about the weather, not myself/the trip. The second version sounds very odd to me
Maybe because I’m Dutch, but I would definitely always say the first thing
Spaniard here and the same why the fuck the receptionist would care about my life
American - first thing is more words than I would say.
“Checking in”
Yeah me too and I'm Danish haha
The second version sounds insane to me.
Right? I don't need to know any of this shit, it's actually making it harder than just being direct with what you need.
I'd even say that in Europe it's almost a bit rude to provide way too much personal information without being asked, but maybe that's just me. It can definitely be uncomfortable.
They both sound weird. I'd say 'Hi there, I've got a reservation'
I wouldn't say 'Wazzap!?' Or 'I'm exhausted and staying for 3 nights!'
That's what I literally say in English: What's up? I have a reservation.
I live in California and we definitely say “what’s up I have a reservation” :p some of us anyway
I think only Americans would ever even consider talking like the second one.
Nope, the second one is equally psychotic over here. The receptionist doesn’t give a shit about you— there really isn’t a lot of small talk, even in the South.
As a french Canadian, I would absolutely say <<Salut, j'ai une réservation!>>
Have a cousin in France he studied French in Uni for his degree, when the Frenchies hit him with English, which he knows perfectly well, he turns it around on them and hit them with Spanish forcing them to switch back to French "que? Wey, no mames no hablo inglés"
However a good amount of French people speak Spanish too. But not as much as English. So he could end up in a Spanish convo which is funny to me.
I'm not saying Spanish is basically French with extra vowels, but I mean it kinda is sometimes
My ex who was fluent in french couldn’t speak spanish for the life of her, always put a french accent on it and everyone was like que?
I speak in French with my friend who speaks Spanish, and with some hand gestures and vague noises it's actually pretty easy to understand each other
When I was learning Spanish my brain would autofull unknown words with their French equivalents whenever I tried to speak
My brain did this even when I was learning Japanese after having learned French for years, and those are nothing alike.
I think when learning new languages after a certain age our brains just tend to categorize things as “English”, and “not English” (or whatever your native language happens to be) by default until we learn a bit more and get more comfortable with separating them out.
Yeah my biggest regret in life is not learning more languages while young
Yes just the word and add o or a
At the beginning of spanish classes, lots of high-schooler tries the trick of writing french but with a/o at the end and a few spanish words in between. (it doesn't work)
I will say though when you already know a latin based language the others are not super different. They are but some of the basic rules are similar which helps you start out. I took French in high school and Spanish helped me out with innately knowing what certainly words meant, etc. Or how sentences are structured. But the closest to Spanish has to be Portuguese tho. I can kinda sorta read it without formal training. But not speak or understand it when spoken, those are different beasts.
No. French is spanish with extra voyels (five in spanish, 7 in French).
Alternatively, Spanish is French with -o or -a at the end of each word.
Spanish isn't stupid like French is
I used this trick when I studied in France. I pretended I was Italian. The issue was I can't speak Italian. I got away with it until one day in a shop the cashier started to speak Italian at me and I had to come clean. Suffice to say there was an awkward silence
When I moved to Germany, I already spoke B2ish German. It still took about 6 months for people to not just automatically switch to English with me. I think it doesn’t have as much to do with you sounding foreign but knowing the cadence of the conversation.
I think a lot of native English speakers under-estimate the value of cadence and tone in both their own and other languages. That is, I agree cadence is big but I wouldn't separate it from the rest of language learning.
This is strange. I’ve lived in Germany for 3 years now, don’t speak German, but can say every day words to get by and people will reply back in German and I have no idea what they’re saying, having to ask “English please?”
There are also times however, before I even say anything, they’re already speaking to me in English.
How come you never bothered to learn German in order to speak it after three years ???
I’ve lived in Japan for nearly 20 years and I know people who’ve lived here for over 10 years who can’t speak Japanese to save their lives. Boggles my mind.
it's honestly embarrasing after a while
Well he isn't u/lowEffortChampion without reason
Right? I could understand if you lived in China or something but German is just English spoken in Swedish.
Uh well as someone who's got a B1 in German, I've got to say it's not that easy either. I can barely link English to German when it comes to vocabulary equivalent. As both a French and Italian speaker though, holy hell it's easy.
Nevertheless, when you've spent THREE damn years living in a country you better TRY to get a B2 level, plus your whole ENVIRONMENT is there for you to practice. If you don't you're just lazy. I'm Vietnamese and remember when my French teachers came to my country, they'd go on to marry Viet women (yeah I know the usual...) and would actually try to speak my language despite struggling, but holy hell did they try.
This is what remote job does to a mf. 2.5 years in Poland, A2 at most. When you aren’t planning to keep living here and you don’t even really need the language on daily basis, that’s what happens.
Even if it were China, you should still make a serious attempt at learning the language of the place you're living long-term. I'm sure most people could become conversational in Chinese in three years, with enough studying and being surrounded by native speakers.
Also, I speak English, German and understand Swedish (I'm Danish). German pronunciation has nothing at all to do with Swedish, even though they are both Germanic languages :P
I'd say German is closest to Dutch, both in pronunciation and grammar.
Their username checks out lmao
Probably they're living in Berlin. It is sadly common for foreigners here not to learn the language at all as you really can live with English only
I’ve had it go both ways in Germany. Either they immediately switch to English or they reply like I’m already fluent, nothing in the middle. Tbf I can understand a lot but my family is Bavarian and other accents are harder for me to understand, I’m just not used to them.
In Dresden I could barely understand anyone. At one point a bus driver just let me on for free because I couldn’t understand him and he couldn’t understand me and we both just ended up laughing with him waving me aboard.
I’ve had the same experience! I’ve learned very basic German out of respect because I don’t want to be That Person who just assumes everyone speaks English lol, and I think I’m terrible but every single time they respond back to me in complex German as if expecting me to understand. Total opposite of the French
When I was in stuttgart, I had to use my broken German almost everywhere because nobody bothered to switch to English for me. I think it’s super area dependant
I'd you speak French, they will reply in English.
I'd you speak English, they will reply in French.
I'd
Damn autocorrect. I'm leaving it
I'd leaving it
I'd leaving you
I'd loving you
I’d laughing you
Damned I'd you do, damned I'd you don't.
They’ll do whatever they can to come across as assholes. It’s their culture
Douche is a French word, after all
The only 1 time it happened to me (back then i was still learning) i switched to italian (we are notorious for not knowing english). Lmao
This is so true
Bonjour, como say vah? Ich habe a reservation. Do you sprechen englisch?
Well of course, you don't say salut to a receptionist, they're not your bro.
It would be appropriate in Quebec, but that's pretty much it.
This is what i was going to say. In Quebec, I rarely hear anyone use vous and nous. It wouldn't be strange for someone performing customer service to still use the informal tu and on.
But Quebec is not France.
le Quebec est supérieur
Yeah, that's informal and a little rude. Try bonjour or bonsoir.
Cmon, if you're both like 20, that's not that weird even as total strangers.
It just doesn't work like that. This person will have to reply "bonjour", generally, if there is a minimal sense of professionalism in their hotel, so there's a sort of asymmetry here. They say bonjour, you say bonjour.
You say, "Goodbye" and I say, "Hello, hello, hello"
I don't know why you say Goodbye I say Hello
Umm no. Why are you saying salut to random people?
when i spoke Québécois joual in France they asked me to speak English.
When I spoke Ontario school system French in Paris they generally spoke French to me.
When I speak French in Montreal they switch to English.
When I speak French in rural Quebec they tell me in French they don't understand me.
The trick is just to use English at that point.
That is funny!! I wonder if it's because in Quebec, we speak both English and French and we tend to speak the language that we THINK the other one is most comfortable with.
When I talk to my Montreal friends, they complain about how snooty France French people are and how they hate it when they go there and the locals speak English to them.
When I talk to my bilingual friends from Ottawa, they complain about how snooty Quebec French people are and how they hate it when they go there and the locals speak English to them.
When I speak French with my Ottawa friends, they speak English to me.
I really think it all has to do with context and people find the narratives and trends they expect to be there regardless. My French isn't great, I'm definitely not fluent. I could totally see a Parisien hearing it and thinking "thanks for trying!" Where a Quebecois might think "Ugh, another square head tourist" or "I'll speak English to this Anglo because it will make them more comfortable" but who knows really?
😂
French in Paris: “please don’t.”
I’m an American in Paris right now, and I can’t decide if I seem like a bigger asshole if I try to speak French or if I don’t even bother. You say it’s the former?
Once I wanted to thank a French woman for giving me directions so I put a toaster strudel in her purse. She was really bothered by it. They’re just very difficult people to please.
I had a similar experience with a French man. He helped me flag down a taxi so I put a pizza roll in his hat, didn't seem to appreciate the gesture.
You gotta mail him the pizza rolls, that was your mistake.
What in the world 😭🤭
Was it frozen or warm?
Went with my high school French class 20 years ago. We got off the plane, went to the first store all excited to speak French, walked in and said "Bonjour!" and they said "Can I help you?"
We were crushed.....but the pressure was off!
If I’ve learned anything from movies and shows where non-native French speakers attempt to speak French in France, it’s that it’s unwelcome, and that the earnest attempt is met with contempt more than it is met with appreciation of effort applied, no matter how well it is spoken with a non-native tongue. This is, of course, viewed through the lens of stereotype, but those typically contain some truth regarding the context in which they are derived.
Have never had anything but positivity testing the (minor) limits of my GCSE French in France. I either muddle through or they take mercy and fall back to English, but I've always felt appreciated for giving it a go.
No - just don't be a dick and you'll be fine. I speak French fluently and when I'm with friends who speak English and wait staff hear us speaking in English, they'll ask me what language they should speak in, to make it easier for everyone.
Usually if you try a few words in French people will appreciate it, but the reason they reply in English is because they know you aren't fluent and it's just easier for everyone, lol.
I’m going to Paris for work in February and know zero French. My plan is to always open with “bonjour” as smoothly as possible and hope they immediately switch to English. And I’ll always say “merci.” Hoping this is as polite and respectful as possible with my compete lack of French speaking skills.
It absolutely is polite and they will appreciate the effort! "Politesse" is a super important concept that this small interaction is a key part of.
I've seen so many Americans that don't even try and just sit down / walk into a store and start rapid firing in English - that's just rude, and that's when people might be rude in return.
You have until February to learn some basics. I recommend enough to order a coffee and some basic foods. Other pleasantries like I'm sorry and I dont speak French will go a long way too. I think because of these things I've never gotten any rudeness from the French.
I love it over there actually. Would love to retire there one day. Make sure to get around and see some stuff while your there if you can.
You'll be fine in France, but you have to greet people with "bonjour." Then you can ask if they speak English in French. A lot of Americans and tourists in general never properly greet people in France. The French take that as a personal insult, and will be 100% okay with treating you like dirt if you don't. Not saying "bonjour" (or "bonsoir," depending on the time of day) is basically refusing to acknowledge someone's presence. Especially in restaurants, you greet them first.
Say "Bonjour" with a Texan accent, then switch to Globish.
Ask them in French if they speak Spanish
Salut is familiar, you say that to friends, family or coworkers at the same "level".
In a store / hotel / administration, you say bonjour.
Despite speaking French regularly since I was a kid, my brain is wired to speak in an overly familiar way with people where it should be formal, and vice versa. It’s very annoying.
What is the 'level' dynamic for bonjour?
None you can say « bonjour » to everyone. If you want to be polite you say « bonjour monsieur » or « bonjour madame ».
I got u fam… next time a French person speaks to me in English (in America), I’ll respond to them in French even though I’ll be able to understand their English just fine.
They do that to fluent French speaking Canadians as well so don’t take it personally.
That's when you switch to German and apologize that your French isn't up to their standard and perhaps they'd feel more comfortable continuing the conversation in German.
I got “can we switch to English or do you want to keep practicing your French?”
The French always know
They don't want you to speak French, BUT they want to to at least TRY
They’re in a hotel in a European capital in 2025. French is the receptionist’s third language. English is their second language.
Unless you're in the middle of the countryside, that's just untrue. In any slightly touristy city, a service worker will default to English if they think that's the best way for the customer to get information. Their work hours are for doing their job, not help a foreigner practice linguistics. On a calm day, some might humor you if you make it fairly clear you wanna try, but don't EXPECT it of them.
In my experience (years ago) if you start in English, shop workers (not waiters bc they don't have time to f around) act like they can't understand. But if you start in French, they'll immediately switch to English
Well, I'm happy to report that has mostly changed over the years. In touristy areas, it's now a job requirement to speak English for service workers. You might get some old guys giving you the eye, but young people will not act that way anymore.
I would’ve been relieved.
"Salut"? Next time better start with "what's sup, bro!".
No, "wesh cousin" is the only appropriate thing to say to hotel staff.
Wesh, t’as une chambre mon frérot ?
Might be ok in Marseille?
"Une chambre et un 10g fraté, tié le sang" for Marseille specifically.
I’m an American. Multiple immigrants and tourists have introduced themselves with “what’s up, bro” or something similar when asking for directions. I don’t get out of shape because I’m not a giant cocksucker like it sounds like the French are.
I’m all for clowning on the Fr*nch but to be fair, if you were a receptionist at a hotel in America you probably would find it a little strange if someone came up to the desk and started off with “what’s up, bro” too. I doubt anyone would actually be offended or care too much but it would at least sound a little weird.
Listen as a receptionist I’m just happy if they acknowledge my personhood
I've asked for a pot of warm margarine and 4 frozen cucumbers like 5 minutes ago and I still haven't got them, and now I know why. Get out of Reddit and get me my me time foods!
Certain people have the energy to pull it off. They’re either the nicest people you’ll ever meet, who want to break down formality and talk like friends ASAP, or they’re really fucking irritating and overbearing.
Not a receptionist, but a mental health professional in the States. I love it when people I've never met before hit me with the "sup dude" because it makes me feel more like a person and less like a clinician. Idgaf who does it, I just appreciate people speaking my language 😭
Hit em with some High school Spaniol
My brother, I has a reservation.
omelette du fromage
Should’ve started with that.
Have some respect to French culture.
It’s lose lose. If you start off English you get the “stupid tourist” attitude, if you start speaking French you get “yeah whatever you need English obviously”
Fuck it return the Statue of Liberty
For most people, making an attempt to communicate in their native language is usually greeted with warmth and friendliness.
To the French, it is one of the most offensive things you can possibly do. Second only to trying to speak to them in English.
As Werner Herzog would say about speaking French, ‘I regret it.’
Here's a tip to avoid this, don't go to France
Nah, just don’t go to Paris. People outside of Paris are a lot nicer.
Reminds me of my mom in Brazil. She went there for work, and during her free time she wanted to buy some shoes, but knew that she could be charged more if the seller knew she was a foreigner. We’re Latinamerican so at least looks wise she didn’t stand out, but we’re Colombians so language wise no luck. So she spent the whole morning practicing “quanto custa?” (How much is it?) to be able to say it as naturally as possible.
She goes into the shoe store, points to the shoes she wants to the employee and in her best Brazilian accent goes “quanto custa?”. The employee looks at her with a huge smile and asks “Are you Colombian?!”. Turns out the employee was also Colombian, and was very happy to see a fellow Colombian.
You want to practice your french. They want to practice their English. Figure it out.
Just say you don’t understand their English or accent in English. French ppl swear they are the linguist of the world but they butcher the English language like no other.
Parisians seem to demand that everyone speak with a Parisian accent but they all speak English with French accents.
Another reason why i prefer Latin America over Europe. They get excited when you try to speak Spanish. It's so uplifting and confidence boosting.
In French, one doesn't start this type of sentence with "salut". Immediately gives away a feeling of incomplete proficiency, hence the switch to English
*pfft. Had a French-Canadian colleague get his pronunciation corrected while ordering at a Parisian restaurant while on his his honeymoon.
Well, to be fair… Parisiens hate anyone who doesn’t speak French. They hate anyone who doesn’t have a Parisienne accent… they just hate everyone. Oh, and the French think the Quebequois speak a dialect of French from the 1600s. Which they kinda do. So if you were to walk into a London Pub and started speaking Shakespearean English you’d probably get a few weird looks too.
I spent six months in Mexico as a teenage exchange student. Had a personal rule to only speak Spanish so that I could force-learn.
I was trying in very excellent Spanish to describe a biscuit. I went into size, shape, texture, ingredients, flakiness, typical toppings, etc.
My host brother said "Ah, un BISCUIT!"
I still haven't gotten over how dumb I felt.
My first language is French and I get the same treatment.
Welcome to France.
Parisians are always like this
weird look j'ai le tete d'un anglais?
works every time
Plot twist: oop is french
I get that all the time when I travel here in Quebec. I am French Canadian!!!! So frustrating!
This is why when going to France you should learn another European language, German or Dutch. Then they might not immediately clock you
‘Ces’t ne parler anglais, mon ami, le parler Francais, oui?’
Yeah, me speak France.
Tourist: salut
Receptionist: am I a joke to you?
The French are hilarious. They are offended when you speak English and offended when you try to speak French.