Speak the language
Comments
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David our first French stay was early last year, 3 weeks to Chamonix and Grenoble area.....if people were selling they talked....if asking directions or other questions it was appalling....Bus drivers were the worst!!
I appreciate that the French are really bitter that English is the language of choice generally...but they do take it a bit far!
PS. The garage in Grenoble, where we spent 750 Euro, were fantastic...even arranging a nearby campsite for a couple of nights!
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David our first French stay was early last year, 3 weeks to Chamonix and Grenoble area.....if people were selling they talked....if asking directions or other questions it was appalling....Bus drivers were the worst!!
I appreciate that the French are really bitter that English is the language of choice generally...but they do take it a bit far!
PS. The garage in Grenoble, where we spent 750 Euro, were fantastic...even arranging a nearby campsite for a couple of nights!
Write your comments here...I still think that a lot of the ambiguity stems from the fact that WE ,the British ,trounced the occupying forces .Their history lessons may convieniently have ignored that !!
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"Bus drivers were the worst!!" Amazing that you should expect a French bus driver to speak English
How many British bus drivers speak French, we wonder?On the other hand, even the young folk at the tills in Spanish supermarkets can speak English so they can converse with monoglot ex-pats
By the way, our 5 year old grandson can speak French fluently ,as well as English, so it can't be that difficult.
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We were suprised that on a recent extended visit to southern France, just how many DIY (and other large) store staff can speak perfectly good English - and even though you ask in French for something, will obviously recognise the accent and reply in English.
They wish to speak English just as we wish to try in French. I don't recognise the attitude EJB986 met with at all - and most people have gone out of their way to be helpful.0 -
David our first French stay was early last year, 3 weeks to Chamonix and Grenoble area.....if people were selling they talked....if asking directions or other questions it was appalling....Bus drivers were the worst!!
I appreciate that the French are really bitter that English is the language of choice generally...but they do take it a bit far!
PS. The garage in Grenoble, where we spent 750 Euro, were fantastic...even arranging a nearby campsite for a couple of nights!
Write your comments here...I still think that a lot of the ambiguity stems from the fact that WE ,the British ,trounced the occupying forces .Their history lessons may convieniently have ignored that !!
.Maybe their history lessons told them what trounced the occupying forces was American money and Russian lives.
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"Bus drivers were the worst!!" Amazing that you should expect a French bus driver to speak English
How many British bus
drivers speak French, we wonderHow many British bus drivers speak English?
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"Bus drivers were the worst!!" Amazing that you should expect a French bus driver to speak English
How many British bus
drivers speak French, we wonderHow many British bus drivers speak English?
..How many can actually speak,!! its normally a grunt 0 -
The majority of visitors to Croatia are German or Austrian who make no or little attempt to speak Croatian, not even please or thank you. ( a personal observation). There's a general assumption that all vistors are German-speaking in cafes, bars and shops. Most menus are in German. The way to overcome this is to smile and respond in English, apologising that you don't speak Croatian. We've found that the using a few words such as Molim (please) and Hvala (thank you) will get you a much warmer welcome.
It's a difficult language to learn: it's so unlike the romance languages of western Europe, but a few phrases will go a long way. Have a look here for starters.
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If I get a particularly unpleasant reception I reply in rather good German and that really raises the hackles.
I take it all in reasonable humour, I was/am on holiday after all, so it is just a little niggle that I tend to remember.
I'll shut up now!
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Some of the "Disgruntled France Haters" must be going to a different France from that which I have been holidaying in for years and years. Having been to almost every department in France, I can say that I have always been impressed with how polite and helpful the French people have been. There has always been a close affinity between the French and the Scots ( Referred to as the "Auld Alliance ")
So -- It must be the Little Englander attitude of shouting ever louder in English in an attempt to make themselves understood, with absolutely no intention of using the French language or polite speech which causes friction.
Perhaps the next time that they go to France they should learn more about the French language and culture before they depart. OR if they can't be bothered ----- Go Elsewhere
K
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Found the French friendly, always try my hardest to throw in a few of the easier French terms and have always managed to get by. My language learning abilities are blunted by age now but you have to make some effort and not expect English to rule.
As for Scotland, well ......
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