Do you get miffed when you try to speak the local language and they respond to you in English?
 

Does this happen to you? I have heard of people going to Paris and speaking French rather well to only be answered in English. Thia ia quite annoying when you really want to practice the language. Why do they answer you in English when its obvious that you would like to speak in French!

No.

>Why do they answer you in English when its obvious that you would like to speak in French!<

Because it is much easier for them to speak English than to try to understand your awful French? :)

((I))

At some point accuracy and speed might trump your desire to practice. Just congratulate them on knowing your language better than you know theirs and let it go at that.

So, just keep speaking French. That way both of you can practice speaking your non-native languages.

BUT IRA, I SAYING THAT ITS GOOD FRENCH. NOT BAD FRENCH. I HAVE KNOW PEOPLE FRON QUEBEC ACTUALLY THAT HAVE BEEN ANSWERED IN ENGLISH!

Hi

I guess it is much the same for US people in England ?

Peter

Actually, I'm quite grateful when they respond to me in English.

I'm quite aware that although I try my best, I am butchering their language.

Allowing the conversation to continue in English is a relief.

Sorry, Ira, I didnt realize the caps were on. I was yelling. Also, I meant to say"I am saying" not I Saying.
Actually, my French is pretty good and it doesn't happen that often that they answer me in English and when it does it still is annoying. I do continue in French. I give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you were not trying to be antagonistic.

Not yelling at you, Ira dear! I had too much café au lait today. Hey, that rhymes!

The obvious answer is that they want to practice their English as much as you want to practice your French!
There are certainly a lot more important things in life for you to get upset about.

Are you sure that the only thing in that coffee was the au lait? LOL I think they are trying to be considerate rather that being antagonistic...it seems you have an odd "take" on it. You certainly are free to continue to speak french as you say you do and when they realize how well you speak it I'm sure they are comfortable speaking to you. Personally, I am not as fluent in the language as you are so after awhile I am actually glad they come back in English because by the end of the day my head is hurting from the attempted frend speaking.

Frend speaking? hmmm... better check my own coffee here...what IS in there? LOL

I have never been miffed at anyone for speaking English to me. If I am in a non-English speaking country and they have gone to the trouble to learn my language, I am grateful. When that happens, I am well-aware that their English is much better than my command of thier language, and I don't have a problem with that.

Many years ago as we were checking out of the Hotel Scandinavian in Paris I was trying, in my awful French, to explain which days our two teenagers had breakfast.
The desk clerk politely asked my in English if I speak English.

My daughter is having the devil of a time in Germany. She's studying at the University of Tubingen and working hard to immerse herself in all things German. But Germans keep speaking English to her. When she asks them politely to speak German so she can improve they say that they want to practice their English.

It would not rhyme to a French ear.

I am trilingual. My first language is English and I speak Spanish fluently and French fairly fluently. When I meet some people in the States who speaks these languages, I never speak to them in their native language unless they tell me that they don't speak English. To be polite to them, I might ask them if they would like me to speak either language. You just never know how long someone has been living here and I know that they might take offense.
In Europe, I don't think that it is always to help out the English speaker that the Parisian shop keeper responds in English when he has been addressed in decent French. Regardless if he hears an accent. I think in a lot of cases, it is both a control and a snobbery issue. This can happen in Montreal too. Its like " oh, please, I can't be bothered with the way that you are speaking my language so I choose to switch to English, you fool!

If it really bothers you that badly, ask them why they switched to English rather than assuming they are being offensive. How does anyone here know why they switched to English??

Well, given the response here, I would bet that 90+% of people appreciate it when responded to in English, and that might explain why people do it. I doubt that it has much to do with snobbery, and even if it did, it's a fairly small slight. I am sure that if I spoke another language and someone asked me a question in broken English, I'd try to switch to their language, too. I think people are just trying to be courteous (or save time).

My French, unlike yours, is atrocious (if not non-existant), and I was super-appreciative each time someone volunteered to speak English to me. I'm sure the panicked look on my face (when they asked a question in French) hastened their decision to speak English to me!

The only reason why I would answer in English (and I know I have done this!) is just to be helpful. It has nothing to do with being snobbery.
Although people think their French is good there is still the accent that often makes it hard to understand, especially for a non-French, non-English native speaker like me (my mother tongue is Dutch).

In Italy, I believe that all my attempts at speaking the native language were appreciated. When not quite correct, I often got a smile and a response in English. I appreciated that.

There were a few times that my speech was gramatically correct and sounded great. In those cases, I was rewarded by a response in Italian. That was special.

Yes, Myriam but you should ask if they would like you to switch to English. There are so many people in the USA that have accents and many are difficult to understand but they are trying to speak English.
While I was studying Spanish in Spain there were so many Germans and Dutch and Italians that were also there to learn Spanish. Instead of speaking Spanish they would speak to each other in English.This was insane! I refused to speak to any of them in English. They would respond, oh but its so much easier to just speak in English! Well, why were they there in Spain? Crazy!
Englsih is a curse, I tell you!

I was talking with a young man from Brittany last week and he had the same complaint about Parisians. Also said his friends from Montreal got the treatment. We have a friend who's native language is French ( and he has a French name) He often returns from France foaming at the mouth because they answer him in English. (Guess he's picked up a New Yawk accent -:)

Do you mean you spoke to your teacher, the one who's paid for his/her time to listen to you, to teach you, to correct you, to be patient with you and s/he switched to another language? If this is not the case, why are you so upset?

Somebody was not polite enough to ask you if it's OK for you to test their patience? If your French is "fairly" good doesn't mean it's equally good for everybody else.

Why is it a "curse" for people from different countries to be able to be able to communicate in a language they all spoke well (English) rather than always struggling with a language they were just learning (Spain)? Even if you're studying a language, sometimes you just want to slip into something more comfortable. If there two French people studying Spanish in Spain who sometimes switched to French for a rest, would that be so terrible?

To answer the original question, no I'm not miffed when I speak Italian and Italians answer me in English. If I'm having a short, businesslike conversation with them, they probably just want to complete the transaction in the way that's easiest for them. If it's a long social conversation and I really want to speak Italian, we can discuss which language(s) to use. Sometimes we'll each speak the other's language, since that's the one we each want to practice.

Fainagain, you are making no sense at all. When I say fairly good I mean that it is good. My mistake for being modest. It is in fact very rude to switch to another language if the person who has initiated the conversation is proficient in the language and can be easily understood by the other person. If I am speaking to you and you can understand everything that I am say, and then you decide to switch to another language it is extremely rude.

KT- When you learn another language and slip back into your native language, it slows down progress. It is not a good thing to do. Those German and Dutch were really in Spain to party and not really there to learn the language. This is very common among these nationalities.

I'm going to regret this...oh well,let the bullets rain....why don't you worry about something important..if this is the most you have to worry about you are steps ahead of most people in the world. I remember a similar post not too long ago on much this same subject..I didn't research but I'll bet you just might possibly be that poster..ya think?

Crefloors, I am passionate about languages and it irks me to no end that Americans are so bad about learning languages. It was common a generation ago that a lot of Americans just expected people to speak English and even though the French pretended that they didnt know English. Anyway, when I go to France, I want to speak in French not in ENglish and it is bothersome when I am addressed in English. I have many friends that speak other languages and they feel the same way. Its amazing that on this board so many people seem to have various degrees of the old attitude of which I described. "Ah, come on, speak English!!! Anglo Canadians are sometimes just as intolerant about French I find. What a pity!

No. I'm glad they don't return in their tongue as i'd be lost. I think they appreciate the fact that you tried in the first place. If i'd spoken the language well enough then they may start speaking to you in it i think.

Yes, I'm aware of the obvious fact that that when you're trying to learn one language, speaking another language slows you down. However, outside of an enforced total immersion environment, I doubt that even devoted language learners never give in to the temptation to take a rest and communicate easily.

I'm beginning to think this thread is less about whether people mind being spoken to in their own language and more about some people wanting some kind of applause for being able to speak another language. You know, I have a Belgian friend who is fluent in five languages (Flemish, French, English, German, and Spanish) and able to get by in a few others, and she doesn't let it get up her snoot about what language people use with her.

If you can't tell the difference between "Come on, speak English" and "Go ahead and speak English if you want to" perhaps you should stop studying languages and start studying logic.

Don't take it personally. Communication (unless they're specifically trying to help you learn) is about getting a point across, not about letting you practice your tenses : )
And I agree that many people in other countries are proud of their English and jump at the chance to practice it on you! I do the same thing when I encounter an Italian tourist at home. They will speak to me in English and I'll respond in Italian. Just human nature!

MissPraline, maybe they hate americans, and this is their way to show you can't hide your identity from them? **==

Gee, that was just brilliant.

Anyway, I have always felt that when someone responds in english to my french, they are doing so because they feel it is the quickest and most efficient way to deal with the matter at hand.

MissPraline -

My own French is basically of the pitiful tourist variety and I have found people always willing to let me try it out if I like. They usually only switch to english when it's apparent that the French is beyond me.

So, despite all of your protests I would assume that the reason people keep switching to english is because they can;t understand what you mean in french. (Perhaps it is as confused/confusing as many of your posts here.) Otherwise there is no reason for them not to speak in French.

No, it takes more than that to <i>miff</i> me :)

Although I have heard of some people who like to stay in a &quot;zone of some sort of immersion&quot; so they don't like to speak anything but the local language.

Folks, you are trying to engage in rational exchange with a reincarnated troll.

The rhetoric at the start of this post was muted so as to avoid immediate deletion of the post.

But as the conversation progresses, the combative, argument-provoking true character emerges.