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Source post: https://lemmy.world/post/13376939 !funny@lemmy.world
Swede here. We all speak English. Heck - my kids use English whenever they're speaking about games or Youtube anyway.
Come to think of it. We should just drop Swedish altogether.
The last time I went to Systembolaget I said "hej" to the cashier who replied "you're from Finland aren't you?"
A Finn wouldn't pay 100 billion trillion for a light beer at Systembolaget, he'd bring his own for cheap when crossing the border
Cheap Finnish alcohol? You mean Estonian bought beer, right?
I mean, cheaper than Swedish alcohol
The correct legend for France is:
"Please don't.
Also, don't speak foreign. Especially not English."
I was in France and when I tried my best French (which admittedly is not that great) all I got was an angry stare. Like, not one time, but in several cases. I did not understand why. I was just doing my best. 😢
So, I think the map is correct for France.
Did you perhaps forget to say bonjour/excusez moi or other necessary greetings? That'll make people look angrily at you regardless of how good your french is
I think I did say hello. I know I said s'il vous plaît and merci. However, I am Dutch and we are known for being a bit rude sometimes. So, maybe I did not behave completely correct according to French customs. I am not sure.
Edit: Or maybe they thought I was German. I did not think that happens anymore, but when I was a child and I would go on a holiday people were sometimes rude if they thought we were German because of WW2.
Dutch are not rude, but very direct. Even more so than the Germans. Try dialing the niceties and charms up to 11
How do the Dutch compare to the British? British culture is quite extroverted and smalltalk-y, is Dutch culture more introverted?
No, they're quite open, like the British
I spoke Spanish at a shop in Barcelona and they were not my friend.
That's because you spoke Castilian, not Catalan.
As a Belgian, I'm a bit annoyed with the lack of Dutch/French distinction, but at least they mentioned that on the side
How should I feel? We have four languages ffs
(Switzerland)
As a Russian, I agree. Like okay, man, you have challenged yourself to the level when you easily construct sentences in accusative case, but why? To read Bakunin or understand Letov's metaphors?
Foreigners who learn Russian out of curiosity are true madlads.
Я учусь русскии язык.
Уже могу сказать "путин иди на хуй"
Ещё только 50 лет больше и я могу понимать родителный падеж. Навернае.
Your Russian is decent but why tf you are spending your life on that
I'm not the same guy you're responding to.
Point #3 is not the strongest but it is the reason why I have an interest in learning Mandarin (although I have NEVER started the process)
Russian language lands in the top 10 of most spoken languages
It doesn't necessarily mean that Russian/Mandarin will be in the top 10 among people you meet
There's a figurative billion of Ukrainian war refugees in Europe now, and almost all of them speak Russian as a first or second language
Спасибо! Мне нравится учить разные языки. Я знаю языки из группа немецкий и латинский, но не славянский. Поэтому я начинал учить русскии.
In Germany, it will absolutely depend on where you try this. Bigger cities? Yeah, likely. Countryside? You're lucky if you find someone speaking understandable German, let alone English.
That's because no one speaks actual German (the way it is written), everyone speaks their local variety
I guess that's kind of similar to English then? At least UK English
Yes
As a german I can say this seems legit. I'd rather speak english to a non-native speaker than german, because most of the time it is hard to follow their speaking due to their faults in pronounciation and grammatics. Well, except when they speak german good (at least A2 or higher) or need it for their training.
Do you think this is because English is a more flexible language or simply because Germans are more exposed to English culturally?
I think a bit of both. English is definitely more flexible in terms of understandability as a second language for non-native english speakers. You can learn it relatively easy, unlike german (if you are not raised by german speaking folks). In the past we had a few TV programs that came unlocalized in german TV (Jackass, Beavis & Butthead, Celebrity Deathmatch). This exposed many of the younger people to english. The school system picked up english to the curriculum already in 1964. Back in my day (late 90s) we learned english since the 5th grade, today it seems to be third year primary school. Everyone learns english here, but too many people don't bother anymore after school and practically unlearn it.
I know a lot of people who don't speak German as their native language and who don't or barely speak English, so I'd rather speak in German with them, or French with some of them.