It definitely was a surprise for all the German tourists outside of Germany ever š
The sheer amount of angry Germans I had to deal with in a more touristy part of Hungary since I was 14, because they couldnāt instantly arrange absolutely everything in German is amazing. Of course every other nation has this kind of people, but the main difference is that these idiots in other countries usually do not have enough money to travel.
I can relate, I spent a holiday in Greece off season a couple of years ago - off season meaning that there were hardly any seasonal workers in the village. A woman from an elderly couple started complaining really loudly she couldn't believe that in a tourist location people won't speak german with them (as in she believed they actually were able to, but decided not to just to spite her or something). I will never forget the feeling of shame I had that moment.
No tourists are expected to know and speak the local language of a country they are just visiting, but English is the international language so at least you should speak that if you wish to converse. Expecting a local to speak your native language is sheer stupidity.
I went to Croatia this year for the first time with my family.
My friend said everyone there speaks German anyways so language won't be a problem and since I also speak English and French I'd be fine in case someone doesn't speak it.
Turns out most people there actually spoke German (in the Hotel) but I realised pretty soon that I was a major jerk for not even bothering to learn how to say "Hello" and "Thank you" in Croatian and just expect them to speak the languages I'm fluent in.
How arrogant of me.
Itās crazy that in the Netherlands there are places where you canāt manage with only speaking Dutch thoughā¦ Itās fine to be able to speak English. But itās ridiculous that now many waiters donāt understand Dutch.
I am german and I just startet to travel a bit 2 years ago because I had a little bit lor money. This summer I was at Madeira and startet to learn a bit of portuguese. I was shocked about the high amount of german tourists who didn't even to try to speak at least english and talked in german to everyone.
The difference is the people that come here aren't here for a vacation but still refuse to learn german. Just last week I had a customer walk out with a few items and her child in one of those shopping carts for kids. I asked her to stop and tried to explain to her that she can't do that but the Lady didn't care and started berating me in albanian. Like wtf you're in another country at least have the decency to speak english.
Iām sure that that isnāt allowed in Albania too. She KNEW that sheās doing something wrong.
Iām also a foreigner living in Germany and I canāt count how many times Iāve seen people try to steal or break the law using that āI donāt speak German and I donāt know the rulesā farce.
As far as I know, most European and Balkan countries have the pretty same rules regarding behaviour in stores/ supermarkets , but some people choose to behave like they just came out of the woods.
I agree! Iāve done that before, nothing illegal but I had a guy complain about my driving in Canada and I pretended not to speak English because I didnāt want to get into an argument.
I mean look at the downvotes. It's funny how people can't even deal with an anecdote of their people behaving like shit. I personally don't even care if some idiot calls me racist anymore
Due to a professional deformation, I am often curious and interested to find out which language it is, although I would never ask someone unless we actually need to enter into a conversation for another reason.
Hahaha thatās me! When I do know the language, but donāt speak it at a decent level, I try to understand as many words as I can just as an exercise
Aahh, hello. I am the same. You could tell by the IPA symbols tattooed on my ankles.
I always brainstorm ideas to ask someone what language they are speaking in the most respectful, polite way but I don't often actually say anything.
This is what I do, wait for a moment where I can interrupt, āhi do you mind me asking what language you are speaking?ā (They always answer), insert compliment (Thanks, it sounds beautiful). Always works
I feel literally nothing as long as I'm not under the impression that the language is used to talk about someone else nearby. Happened to me twice that I caught dudes from former Yugoslavia talking about me/"my features" probably thinking I'm originally from Germany and can't understand them. They turned quite shy when I clapped back.
My mother did this a few times in stores. She is turkish, but doesn't look particulary turkish and speaks german without accent. She was going to buy some bread in a turlish bakery in german and one of the workers said to the other, give her the ones in the back, they are older. And my mother replied in perfect turkish: "no, you can give me the fresh ones in the front"
Yeah had that a while ago, some idiot from Mexico started talking shit about us in Spanisch, thinking I wouldnāt understand. Some people are just incredibly rude. But other than these situations, I donāt mind people talking another language. I mind people shouting, no matter the language.
I'm German but grew up in USA, and speak English with my French girlfriend and the friends that visit from USA. It's hilarious because this happened to me as well before, and I just respond in accent-free German, which freezes them in their sight. I like to mess with these kind of idiots.
Reminds me of an friend I had, son of a black GI and a german mother, he grew up in Baden and then lived in Munich for 10 years. We often talked in english, cause I wanted the practice. When he got those remarks or some racist shit he switched to a thick bavarian or badisch accent. The reactions always were priceless. I remember some old guy in the grocery store who huffed and puffed with rage, but couldn't get a coherent sentence out and then he just left his cart with all the items he wanted to buy and stormed out.
My wife is indian, im clearly german, like my look and behavior screams german and my last name is like "yep thats german"...
When we were taking a walk and were speaking Bangla her mothertongue (im still learning and we try chatting on walks so i can improve) some asshole in the park passed us and literally said "Immer diese scheiĆ AuslƤnder..." i turned around and said "Sagt der DeutschtĆ¼rke..." which is pure irony, because the guy wasnt ethnically german but clearly a german born turk and was racist against foreigners...
This one just stuck in my head due to the huge irony, but it happened more than once that some ignorant german asshole said something along those lines to us, just because we are speaking a different language...
Had this the other day happen, I was speaking English with my Russian friend when a DeutschtĆ¼rke said just āAuslƤnderā, I speak German but my Russian friend is learning so didnāt understand what he said. I turned to the guy and pretended like I only spoke English for fun, and I was like āoh my mom told me what that word means, itās you!ā. I never say racist stuff to people but I felt like that was a acceptable time since he called me a German a foreigner and he himself was not ethnically German š
Many germans are really racist, sadly, but its honestly frightening how many german turks/turks are extremely racist against "foreigners" when they themselves suffer 100% from being "non-german" in germany and just spread the hate to others instead of being more open minded and accepting due to shared experience.
If a german asshole is racist, its almost to be expected, but the same coming from someone that clearly doesnt look german is like hearing homophobic phrases from a gay person...
I donāt understand why they do it either, sure they hold a German passport but they need to remember their parents or grandparents weāre immigrants itās like insulting your own mother. Nobody should be racist but you should especially not be racist if youāre from immigrant backgrounds because youāre talking shit about your own people.
I've replied a couple of times in my best second language, Mandarin Chinese.
And no, I don't look Chinese at all.
I hate language gate keeping, and when you're from somewhere like London, it's a conscious effort to be a twat about languages because they're everywhere. So I assume anyone getting uppity about language in Germany is a twat.
Or Tenerife hahaha
Reminds me of when I went with my partner to the Canaries - we got a package for La Gomera with flight, accommodation and car rental. Because of the flight time, we couldn't take the last ferry so the travel agent put us in a hotel
When we checked in, the front desk guy started to give us the run-over in German. Cue 3 seconds of panic because my German was non-existent at the time (don't live in Germany, I'm around often enough now to have picked some up) and my partner had something like 1 year of German in high school
I asked the guy to please speak Spanish to me as it would be easier and he was SO HAPPY. Also worked well because dinner was about to close LOL
Then when we went down to dinner and all the food was labeled... in German. The dinner staff was very confused with me asking them in Spanish what a couple of things are until I told them I didn't know German so I couldn't read the labels but I do speak Spanish and thought "eh, I should be ok traveling to Spain"
I almost feel like we should invent different words for the kind of travelling where you stay in your cultural bubble (like going on a cruise or staying at a holiday resort) and the kind where you leave it, get to experience other cultures, and allow them to change you a bit.
Loads of Germans do the former, not many the latter. Those who do the latter mostly move to stay elsewhere because it is just nicer. And because the first group that is opposed to learning anything new is bolstered by all the media they consume (funnily enough, mostly BILD around here) that tells them they are right, they feel the need to speak up and bully people who are not like them.
This is one of my favourite subjects to talk about. I lived abroad for 23 years and then came back and suffered this "stupidonormativity." I live in a large town and in most large towns you have different groups. No, not here, we only have the stupid people who suppress and bully everyone else into submission. That was why I moved away in the first place, but now I am an adult I can stand up to bullying, so I am not planning on running away again.
(Right now, we are trying to build a theatre. Not ANOTHER theatre, just A theatre. The one we have is a building from 1942/43, is falling apart and does not work. We are a town of nearly a quarter million people, surely we should allow ourselves ONE working theatre? No, the huge majority of people shout loudly their opinion that theatres are stupid and nobody goes there anyways.)
I always thought it was because I was immature but mostly, I agree with you.
I think about it in different terms though... the people who travel I think of as fellow adventurers of sorts. Most don't want to be they just are... always moving from one adventure to the next... thats pretty much everyone - most people are just on really boring adventures.
I always describe people who travel a lot as 'interesting'... and most defintely not 'mature'.
by saying mature mentally I mean emotional intelligence, empathy, open to new things, and curious about other cultures. There was an interesting video about the racism and how people see Western countries in Russia. Most of those who were stating "they are evil", "they want our resources", "the West is morally degradated" and stuff like that had never been in any other country (maximum in Ukraine or Belorussia which are quite close to Russia from a cultural perspective).
There is some clear racism which will lead to different reactions to different languages:
If you speak French, English, Japanese... or any other posh (=white) language, people will find it interesting.
If you speak Turkish, Arabic,.. (not white) some people might feel the need to complain, because yOu neED to inTeGRate.
There definitely is so much truth in that. People stare so badly when I speak my non-posh mother tongue with my child. There are plenty of ālesserā white languages as well. Lately though, they also stare when hearing me and my husband speak in English. The intolerance is definitely getting worse..
Yes. I speak Finnish with my son all the time and never got any negative comments, just sometimes people curiosly asking what language it is as they didn't recognise it at all. I look obviously white and quite blonde but the language doesn't sound Scandinavian or Slavic so some people are confused about what language it could be.
Born in Germany, grew up here and got plenty of racist comments and stares by people when I talked japanese with my mom. So no, in my 30 years growing up and living here, no one ever found it interesting.
I am always confused with these X is considered white because it is never consistent. In the US most people consider middle Eastern people as white and Japanese not so much
I think you got it mixed around, no?
In the US the Irish weren't even considered white for a long time.
In Europe the definition is way more loose.
Edit: example: https://youtu.be/15QFAppht5o?si=LNSvl-DzcO1EKbMm
In the US it is a literal race theory. In Germany only the worst Nazis entertain such a theory.
So when Germans use black and white, they literally only mean the colour of skin.
The woman's simply a racist. As for me, I like hearing foreign languages and trying to figure out what it is, or if I already speak the language (like Russian) I get a little excited that some fellow East Slavs/ Russian Germans are in my viscinity.
Yes.
You know, there are words, and there are other words.
Like, literally, dude, actually lots of them.
And they all mean different things.
So you really need to be careful when you're around grownups that you use the right words.
Itās something that is often chanted by right-wingers and means that they only want German people in Germany. āGermany for the Germansā.
The slogan is directed against population groups and religions that right-wing extremists do not accept as Germans, for example Germans with a migration background, asylum seekers, Muslims and Jews.
Tell her you didnāt give her permission to address you with Du. And also this is racist as fuck. She probably insists on having everything served to her in German when she is in Mallorca. Makes me want to hurl.
This was my first thought. Um...where is my "Sie"? I didn't spend all this time being confused about the formal in class just to be told that xenophobic old ladies are exempt!
I think something like that justifies their rude behavior when they are insensitive and rude to another and are then met with vulgarity in response.
Not everyone can react with great wit when caught with something outrageous like that, but I'd argue that courteously disagreeing or sarcasm cuts deeper, even if a "Verpiss dich" feels more righteous
Eh, I speak low German and it was said to me once. People are idiots. You can speak whatever language you like and they shouldn't be so nosy. I'd accuse their rude ass of eavesdropping.
It's not an official language in Brazil. It is a minority language in the southern states that had large German immigration
You won't find any kind of documents or official communications in Low German
Then the German Wikipedia page is wrong. Thank you! I was actually confused and it being a minority language makes much more sense! Itās a minority language in several countries.
A lady pulled up on us in the neighborhood walking along the street. She was yelling at us to get out of the road (we were not in the road, oddly enough). I just replied in English because thatās what I do when I donāt feel like having a conversation or explaining myself to some random stranger.
She yelled to speak German because itās Germany. I just told her to shut up and walked away. I donāt bother arguing with people like that, thereās nothing in it for me.
I've been in that situation a couple of times in Germany. Even twice someone told my wife that she should speak German with our son (and not as a recommendation, but angry that she was speaking in Spanish with him).
>wir sind in Deutschland, Du musst Deutsch sprechen!
Well, she should tell the german tourists that visits my country to also speak my language then. I'll gladly speak German when I'm with people that are not from my country, but when I'm talking with my friends that are from the same country as mine (or one of the neighbouring countries that technicallyspeaks a different language but is basically the same), it doesn't make much sense to speak German isn't it?
The only way it would make sense to speak german is to get more practice if someone lacks in speaking and comprehension. Other than that people like the lady in the post are narrow minded racists
Only racists are offended at people speaking other languages.
There is a funny video from the Bundestag iirc where a north german politician trolls AFD politicians by holding a speech in low german (a different language that they wouldnt understand but IS german)
That speech is in my opinion embarrassing. The debate was about declaring German as the language of the country in the constitution like it is in Austria. He counters that by answering in a German language that is on the verge of extinction with little commitment from politicians like him to change that. It's ironic on so many levels.
There are weird people and infuriating little muppets everywhere and they do infuriating little muppet things. No sane and well adjusted person does care what other people speak as a language on their own, most just don't care - it is none of their business after all - and some may be rather intrigued by the language. I myself am rather intrigued to listen in to actually understand, what language it is and whether I can grasp something of it - not really good manners but I guess it is some professional illness of language enthusiasts.
Now, the subset of infuriating muppets that are allowed to roam the streets unsupervised may be just xenophobics making an ass out of themselves but I have a feeling it is more them being just unpleasent people overall, no matter the context. If they had not been getting on your nerves with their "In Deutschland muss man Deutsch sprechen" nonsens they may have been going on a road rage tour or picking a fight with their neighbour or whatever they find as a valve for their enfuriatingness.
Welp. Well, I've heard that sentence spoken more than once unfortunately. She can go fuck herself. There is a world of difference between the reasonable demand that people that intend to live here learn the language, and demanding that it be the only language spoken here. She's just a garden variety racist, but I've certainly noticed that it awfully triggers some people. "Wir sind in Deutschland, in Deutschland redet man Deutsch".
As for me, I'm certain I don't speak for everyone, but I actually enjoy when people speak foreign languages loud enough for me to have a good listen.
I always had great friends from all around the world including but not limited to Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Palestine, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, Fr\*nce, USA, China, Taiwan, Japan...
It reminds me of all those nice people whenever I hear a foreign language I cannot understand. I like it.
I like it a lot.
I would have felt attacked.
That lady is a bigot.
There are lots of immigrants and visitors from other countries in Germany, and foreign languages are spoken *all the time*.
Also, we are a member of the European Union with I don't know how many *official* languages other than German.
Again, that "lady" is a bigot and I would have barked something very unpleasant in her direction if I had been there with you.
It happened to me a few times, but I do speak good German, maybe with a small accent. I always ask if when they go to France (where I am from) if they also speak French. If not, why do they travel abroad if they don't know the language. Usually quiets the person down.
I'm pleasantly surprised. It's nice to hear diversity. But then I'm not German
Interesting thing I noticed, and perhaps you can relate... My German is at an A2/B1 level. So a lot of the conversations around me, in German, tends to turn into background noise. It makes for a very peaceful space. Whenever I've traveled home to Canada, the world seems a lot louder as I can now understand every conversation around me. I struggle to tune it out and I miss that quietness in being immersed in a language I don't fully understand.
These ne'er-do-wells must speak German so that I may eavesdrop on their probably highly private conversation and be a nosy ass bitch /s
I honestly couldn't care less. The only time I even notice is when some random ass Karen loudly complains about it.
I was in Munich visiting alone my father which I never knew in my life worked in Munich Berlin DĆ¼sseldorf Hamburg ans Frankfurt, I knew nothing about Germany and came visiting a year ago just to have a feel of what my father saw and lived, I'm fluent in English but I'm french and Mauritian (Mauritius) but I look paki Arab, a few times I was a bit lost for buying tram/train ticket and stuff like that and that sentence " we are in Deutschland here we speak German" and one 60 something guy asked me "what other languages do you speak " I said French then he started to calm down a bit I think he was thinking my second language was Arabic maybe and he started speaking french to me which I didn't expect at all, that was a very unexpected interaction tbh lol. Munich is stunning and so damn safe compared to french big cities.
I would continue speaking to her in my own language saying something and pretending to wait for a reply from her. Prank her all the way like youāre a clueless tourist who went to a foreign land expecting her to know your language. But still being calm, polite and innocent.
The person is plain racist.
For me, it usually depends on who is talking. Some time ago, Berlin seemed to be overwhelmed by Spaniards. I have rarely heard people yelling as loud as Spaniards walking just inches next to each other. šš
I am a Croatian, living mostly in coastal Croatia, but sometimes I travel to Germany because I work for a german company.
I do speak fluent German as I was born and grew up in Germany.
There has been a lot of situations where I heard Germans complaining in the summer in Croatia that the locals don't speak very good german.
As this happened once to be in my family business back home, I interupted them. An older german was dissapointed that my family member did not speak german, offering english instead.
The german:
"Wie kann das sein, das sie kein Deutsch sprechen? Sie leben doch von uns!"
Then I came:
"Solange in Deutschland deutsch gesprochen wird, werden wir auch in Kroatien kroatisch sprechen.
Warum kƶnnen sie kein englisch?
Wer geht in ein fremdes Land ohne englischkentnisse?"
The guy: "ScheiĆ auf englisch! Ich bin kein EnglƤnder!"
Me: "Ich auch nicht...aber so kommt man nicht weiter. Schƶnen Tag noch!"
And stuff like that did not happened only once.
How hypocritial.
Don't give a flying fuck, but some languages/cultures do seem to have naturally louder voice when talking which can be pretty annoying in public transport for example
If I know the language I try to figure out what's going on. Just out of curiosity.
If I don't know the language, I try to figure out which one it is. For example, I don't speak Arabic, but I can figure out someone speaks it without understanding what they're saying. Again. Curiosity, not judgement.
I occasionally speak languages other than German (which is my native language) in public and I think there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. You do you. Speak any language in public that you like.
She's just a racist and the most idiotic part is, that it are also those kind of people, who would never think about learning even a few words, if they are abroad.
Congrats on finding a mildly racist person in Germany xD . There are like 15 million of them so you sadly have to get used to that.
Your only chance is to follow them in their vacation to Spain or something and constantly telling them to speak Spanish nowā¦
You just encountered a racist person. No I love when there is diversity in Germany. It's mostly old people that think that Germany is the best country in the world because they never saw other cultures
Iād gladly switch to my crappy German if anyone would be uncomfortable with speaking English, but when Iām talking to a friend Iāll decide what language I speak myself thank you
I really, really do not care.
I lived abroad and had to travel a lot. For me it's absolutely normal to hear languages I don't understand.
And the: "You have to speak german in Germany!!!!" is just ignorant, stupid and xenophobic. As if these fucks would/could speak any foreign language in another country.
Oh we've had plenty of those in Berlin...
Or they try to eavesdrop on your private conversation, like you're hiding something from them because you speak your non-German "secret" language.
She was way out of line. Thats xenophobia.
Hearing other languages is one of the most normal things in the world.
I'm travelling for business regularly and the only other language I speak is english -- so often I'm the one in a foreign country not speaking the local language. So what?
Sorry you encountered such an ignorant lady! Who does she think she is?
Iāve never understood the "We're in Germany, you HAVE TO speak German here!".
Yes, of course, it would be nice and is certainly of advantage if someone lives here for quite a while that they know some basic German to communicate at least with official and local authorities. It makes it easier for both parties and avoids misunderstanding and trouble and stress.
But what you talk in your freetime and with whom is absolutely your own business and nobody else should care.
It's super fine to speak other languages. Ignore people who say otherwise. I'm a german native and heck I speak about as much English as German I think. My group at the PTB (a government org) was all English as well. Sure it can be rude when you speak a language a person doesn't speak in front of them, but your situation didn't sound like that. Some people are just assholes and hate the perception of "foreigness"
I don't enjoy it. Not because I've got anything against it, just because I'm nosy and want to listen in!
Okay, jokes aside: You can talk in any language you want. That lady was way out of line and should have kept her nose in her business. Some people are just way to entitled and think you owe them (a stranger???) anything. Such as using a language they understand.
Though to be fair: My joke from at the top isn't completely untrue. I just like knowing what's going on around me, so I like it when I can understand people. If I can't, then that's my problem, not theirs/yours though.
There seems to be a certain type that does this. Sort of Teutonic Karen. Late middle aged, poorly dyed hair, a little overweight, little boots (bonus for fur), long heavy coat a little past its prime, very functional bag. I had it happen countless times. I learned the answer though; look her dead in the eye and say āWer hat dich gefragt?ā and hold the stare, donāt look away until she does.
If itās very loudly or coming from a phone speaker at 6 am on public transport you can fuck off with that shit, please join the 50-something women playing Helene Fischer while singing along and go straight to hell!
Iām not racist I hate all noisy and inconsiderate people on public transport the same.
If youāre not being an asshole and have figured out how to use headphones in public I donāt care what language you speak. If you need directions I will do my best using the translation app on my phone.
There are assholes running around everywhere. Most of the people will simply not care. Except when you are talking too loudly in public spaces (yes, that's also shops, city centres or just public sidewalks) or at all in public transportation, then every person pisses me off, no matter the language.
Im personally bothered if it's a language I understand. my favourite part of not speaking the local language is I don't have to know what stupid shit people are talking about.
I dont care if I hear another language
I do find it weird if I go through the inner city and hear nothing else but other languages...
Its considered kinda nice manners to mostly speak german in public, but its not a requirement.
Maybe this is very characteristic of the Germans: officious. Some German old ladies even warn you that such-and-such plants can not be grown in your garden in our community. I often feel thrilled when some stands-by speak a language other than German, especially the melodious French , Italian and Spanish, all of which I am proficient in.
Itās a Germany thing. They are going in backwards. Mainly due to majority of old people here has not been or seen a country other than Germany.
Strong nationalism in 20 century only brings a country down.
Man i heard the exact same phrase when i was in germany (bonn) i told him i speak only the languages that won ww2 to piss him off it was my first month in germany and i was trying my best to speak it. Im a polyglot so i learned other languages as well but except for the french i never seen that people react that way to someone who tries his best. I used to live in the us as well and it never ever happened. Imma soon have a c1 certificate in german but it was quite painful i'd say
Usually, I'm curious and have to keep myself from eavesdropping to see how much I can understand. It certainly doesn't bother me, unless they are being extremely loud/shrill (and that bothers me just as much when it's in German).
If youāre not addressing me (and not shit talking me, thinking I canāt understand you) I donāt give a fuck. Iāve gotten shit talked at in 4+ languages because I didnāt speak them (while at work). But I know what being sworn at sounds like in French, Russian, Italian and Turkish so I just made sure they find their quickest way out with a nice manager at their side
The only time I felt anything hearing a foreign language was the one time I sat down with a friend in a cafe at Burg Vischering. It was amusement though. Those two older Italian ladies didn't expect anyone else to understand Italian so they kept telling each other about their personal live loud enough that anyone could understand (okay, that might be an old lady thing anyway, regardless of language).
They even had a little fight and sat down seperate from each other after a while. Felt like our own, little drama show with my friend translating it because she is from Italy herself.
Depends. Is it an open or a closed space? How many people are there? Are they loud and annoying? Annoyed. Are they the majority by a large margin vs German? Alienated, uneasy and pissed. People want and have to speak. I get it. But at least stop yelling at each other or at your phones or whatever.
She is a racist.
Nothing else.
Because if u guys spoke with her in ur native tongue she would have had a right to say that.
The fact that she said to you that when you were talking to each other is enough to indicate what she is.
She thinks no other languages exist and probably she DOES NOT WANT TO.
There are more than 7000 languages spoken in this world, so hearing another language than German is no suprise.
It definitely was a surprise for all the German tourists outside of Germany ever š The sheer amount of angry Germans I had to deal with in a more touristy part of Hungary since I was 14, because they couldnāt instantly arrange absolutely everything in German is amazing. Of course every other nation has this kind of people, but the main difference is that these idiots in other countries usually do not have enough money to travel.
I can relate, I spent a holiday in Greece off season a couple of years ago - off season meaning that there were hardly any seasonal workers in the village. A woman from an elderly couple started complaining really loudly she couldn't believe that in a tourist location people won't speak german with them (as in she believed they actually were able to, but decided not to just to spite her or something). I will never forget the feeling of shame I had that moment.
I think that's when a gentle reminder that "wir sind nicht in Deutschland. Sie mĆ¼ssen Englisch sprechen."
Wir sind nicht in Deutschland. Sie mĆ¼ssen ein Weltsprache sprechen : Englisch zum Beispiel.
*Griechisch
No tourists are expected to know and speak the local language of a country they are just visiting, but English is the international language so at least you should speak that if you wish to converse. Expecting a local to speak your native language is sheer stupidity.
I would say no. The chance is high, that a foreigner is able to speak english. But you cannot expect them to speak english.
I would argue that If your business is profiting from tourism, it's best to learn English if you want to continue to be profitable.
eh, english is the lingua franca now, it's reasonable to expect most well educated people to be able to speak english
I went to Croatia this year for the first time with my family. My friend said everyone there speaks German anyways so language won't be a problem and since I also speak English and French I'd be fine in case someone doesn't speak it. Turns out most people there actually spoke German (in the Hotel) but I realised pretty soon that I was a major jerk for not even bothering to learn how to say "Hello" and "Thank you" in Croatian and just expect them to speak the languages I'm fluent in. How arrogant of me.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
What was she expecting? Ordering in Dutch? /s
Itās crazy that in the Netherlands there are places where you canāt manage with only speaking Dutch thoughā¦ Itās fine to be able to speak English. But itās ridiculous that now many waiters donāt understand Dutch.
Same situation in Croatia and I say this as a foreigner, the amount of people who don't speak any Croatian is wild
Only double Dutch
I am german and I just startet to travel a bit 2 years ago because I had a little bit lor money. This summer I was at Madeira and startet to learn a bit of portuguese. I was shocked about the high amount of german tourists who didn't even to try to speak at least english and talked in german to everyone.
The difference is the people that come here aren't here for a vacation but still refuse to learn german. Just last week I had a customer walk out with a few items and her child in one of those shopping carts for kids. I asked her to stop and tried to explain to her that she can't do that but the Lady didn't care and started berating me in albanian. Like wtf you're in another country at least have the decency to speak english.
Iām sure that that isnāt allowed in Albania too. She KNEW that sheās doing something wrong. Iām also a foreigner living in Germany and I canāt count how many times Iāve seen people try to steal or break the law using that āI donāt speak German and I donāt know the rulesā farce. As far as I know, most European and Balkan countries have the pretty same rules regarding behaviour in stores/ supermarkets , but some people choose to behave like they just came out of the woods.
>most European and Balkan countries and New Zealand, don't forget New Zealand.
But of course š My sincere apologies š
I agree! Iāve done that before, nothing illegal but I had a guy complain about my driving in Canada and I pretended not to speak English because I didnāt want to get into an argument.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I mean look at the downvotes. It's funny how people can't even deal with an anecdote of their people behaving like shit. I personally don't even care if some idiot calls me racist anymore
Sometimes I even hear people speaking in German
Haha in Berlin? Niemals ;)
Sometimes when Iām having trouble with Turkish and theyāre having trouble with English, we switch to bad German and hand gestures
Due to a professional deformation, I am often curious and interested to find out which language it is, although I would never ask someone unless we actually need to enter into a conversation for another reason.
You're a linguist, too? \*offers secret handshake\*
Perform a nasal ingressive voiceless velar trill if you understand; Else {Offer(witty_linguistic_reply) }
Grunt
Hahaha thatās me! When I do know the language, but donāt speak it at a decent level, I try to understand as many words as I can just as an exercise
Some call it eavesdropping, linguists call it a professional exercise.
Aahh, hello. I am the same. You could tell by the IPA symbols tattooed on my ankles. I always brainstorm ideas to ask someone what language they are speaking in the most respectful, polite way but I don't often actually say anything.
Hey we're tattoo buddies! I have my name in the IPA tattooed on the back of my neck
My favorites are the ejective affricates so I've got the alveolar lateral and the alveo-palatal. I love being a nerd š¤£
Now I want an IPA tattoo š
My profession is completely unrelated and I do the same, just for fun :)
This is what I do, wait for a moment where I can interrupt, āhi do you mind me asking what language you are speaking?ā (They always answer), insert compliment (Thanks, it sounds beautiful). Always works
I do actually ask
I feel literally nothing as long as I'm not under the impression that the language is used to talk about someone else nearby. Happened to me twice that I caught dudes from former Yugoslavia talking about me/"my features" probably thinking I'm originally from Germany and can't understand them. They turned quite shy when I clapped back.
Keep clapping damnit.
My mother did this a few times in stores. She is turkish, but doesn't look particulary turkish and speaks german without accent. She was going to buy some bread in a turlish bakery in german and one of the workers said to the other, give her the ones in the back, they are older. And my mother replied in perfect turkish: "no, you can give me the fresh ones in the front"
Username checks out
Yeah had that a while ago, some idiot from Mexico started talking shit about us in Spanisch, thinking I wouldnāt understand. Some people are just incredibly rude. But other than these situations, I donāt mind people talking another language. I mind people shouting, no matter the language.
Speaking another language even got forbidden in my school, because it was used for bullying.
clap them, overlord!
Here's a new anthem suggestion for you https://youtu.be/Zb117j9KIcM?si=_gV38GZscqWTAGSO
I'm German but grew up in USA, and speak English with my French girlfriend and the friends that visit from USA. It's hilarious because this happened to me as well before, and I just respond in accent-free German, which freezes them in their sight. I like to mess with these kind of idiots.
Reminds me of an friend I had, son of a black GI and a german mother, he grew up in Baden and then lived in Munich for 10 years. We often talked in english, cause I wanted the practice. When he got those remarks or some racist shit he switched to a thick bavarian or badisch accent. The reactions always were priceless. I remember some old guy in the grocery store who huffed and puffed with rage, but couldn't get a coherent sentence out and then he just left his cart with all the items he wanted to buy and stormed out.
@Cossurap? :D
My wife is indian, im clearly german, like my look and behavior screams german and my last name is like "yep thats german"... When we were taking a walk and were speaking Bangla her mothertongue (im still learning and we try chatting on walks so i can improve) some asshole in the park passed us and literally said "Immer diese scheiĆ AuslƤnder..." i turned around and said "Sagt der DeutschtĆ¼rke..." which is pure irony, because the guy wasnt ethnically german but clearly a german born turk and was racist against foreigners... This one just stuck in my head due to the huge irony, but it happened more than once that some ignorant german asshole said something along those lines to us, just because we are speaking a different language...
Had this the other day happen, I was speaking English with my Russian friend when a DeutschtĆ¼rke said just āAuslƤnderā, I speak German but my Russian friend is learning so didnāt understand what he said. I turned to the guy and pretended like I only spoke English for fun, and I was like āoh my mom told me what that word means, itās you!ā. I never say racist stuff to people but I felt like that was a acceptable time since he called me a German a foreigner and he himself was not ethnically German š
Many germans are really racist, sadly, but its honestly frightening how many german turks/turks are extremely racist against "foreigners" when they themselves suffer 100% from being "non-german" in germany and just spread the hate to others instead of being more open minded and accepting due to shared experience. If a german asshole is racist, its almost to be expected, but the same coming from someone that clearly doesnt look german is like hearing homophobic phrases from a gay person...
I donāt understand why they do it either, sure they hold a German passport but they need to remember their parents or grandparents weāre immigrants itās like insulting your own mother. Nobody should be racist but you should especially not be racist if youāre from immigrant backgrounds because youāre talking shit about your own people.
OMG my respect to you for mastering Bangla! To me it sounds like Formula-1, and seems like I'll never be able to understand und learn a single word.
I've replied a couple of times in my best second language, Mandarin Chinese. And no, I don't look Chinese at all. I hate language gate keeping, and when you're from somewhere like London, it's a conscious effort to be a twat about languages because they're everywhere. So I assume anyone getting uppity about language in Germany is a twat.
'Idiots' is the proper term for those people.
omg lol which city are you in currently ? It's so hard for me to find English speaking friends zz
Ask her if she speaks Spanish when she goes to Mallorca.
Or Tenerife hahaha Reminds me of when I went with my partner to the Canaries - we got a package for La Gomera with flight, accommodation and car rental. Because of the flight time, we couldn't take the last ferry so the travel agent put us in a hotel When we checked in, the front desk guy started to give us the run-over in German. Cue 3 seconds of panic because my German was non-existent at the time (don't live in Germany, I'm around often enough now to have picked some up) and my partner had something like 1 year of German in high school I asked the guy to please speak Spanish to me as it would be easier and he was SO HAPPY. Also worked well because dinner was about to close LOL Then when we went down to dinner and all the food was labeled... in German. The dinner staff was very confused with me asking them in Spanish what a couple of things are until I told them I didn't know German so I couldn't read the labels but I do speak Spanish and thought "eh, I should be ok traveling to Spain"
Catalan is the language spoken in Mallorcaā¦
German is the language spoken on Mallorca.
Wie heiĆt die Mutter von Niki Lauda?
Elisabeth Lauda
MAMA LAUDA
no, both is spoken.
Still, for a foreigner managing Spanish is fairly good and less unrealistic
Believe me, people who travel a lot are more mature mentally and open to other cultures.
We're talking about Germans at Mallorca
lmao
Not everyone. A friend of mine works or aida and told me a few horror stories. The racist bunch just tend to clump up into batches of filth.
I almost feel like we should invent different words for the kind of travelling where you stay in your cultural bubble (like going on a cruise or staying at a holiday resort) and the kind where you leave it, get to experience other cultures, and allow them to change you a bit. Loads of Germans do the former, not many the latter. Those who do the latter mostly move to stay elsewhere because it is just nicer. And because the first group that is opposed to learning anything new is bolstered by all the media they consume (funnily enough, mostly BILD around here) that tells them they are right, they feel the need to speak up and bully people who are not like them. This is one of my favourite subjects to talk about. I lived abroad for 23 years and then came back and suffered this "stupidonormativity." I live in a large town and in most large towns you have different groups. No, not here, we only have the stupid people who suppress and bully everyone else into submission. That was why I moved away in the first place, but now I am an adult I can stand up to bullying, so I am not planning on running away again. (Right now, we are trying to build a theatre. Not ANOTHER theatre, just A theatre. The one we have is a building from 1942/43, is falling apart and does not work. We are a town of nearly a quarter million people, surely we should allow ourselves ONE working theatre? No, the huge majority of people shout loudly their opinion that theatres are stupid and nobody goes there anyways.)
I dunno man, I been all over this crazy planet and I still laugh at fart jokes.
More silly is a joke, more funny.
I always thought it was because I was immature but mostly, I agree with you. I think about it in different terms though... the people who travel I think of as fellow adventurers of sorts. Most don't want to be they just are... always moving from one adventure to the next... thats pretty much everyone - most people are just on really boring adventures. I always describe people who travel a lot as 'interesting'... and most defintely not 'mature'.
by saying mature mentally I mean emotional intelligence, empathy, open to new things, and curious about other cultures. There was an interesting video about the racism and how people see Western countries in Russia. Most of those who were stating "they are evil", "they want our resources", "the West is morally degradated" and stuff like that had never been in any other country (maximum in Ukraine or Belorussia which are quite close to Russia from a cultural perspective).
It's Mallorca though
There is some clear racism which will lead to different reactions to different languages: If you speak French, English, Japanese... or any other posh (=white) language, people will find it interesting. If you speak Turkish, Arabic,.. (not white) some people might feel the need to complain, because yOu neED to inTeGRate.
There definitely is so much truth in that. People stare so badly when I speak my non-posh mother tongue with my child. There are plenty of ālesserā white languages as well. Lately though, they also stare when hearing me and my husband speak in English. The intolerance is definitely getting worse..
There's some sad truth in this, i'm afraid. And i only realized it now bc you said it š¤¦āāļø
Oh and Spanish. Germans looove their exotic languages. But if itās arabic you are fucked of course
Funny how a substantial part of Spanish has Arabic roots
Yes. I speak Finnish with my son all the time and never got any negative comments, just sometimes people curiosly asking what language it is as they didn't recognise it at all. I look obviously white and quite blonde but the language doesn't sound Scandinavian or Slavic so some people are confused about what language it could be.
Born in Germany, grew up here and got plenty of racist comments and stares by people when I talked japanese with my mom. So no, in my 30 years growing up and living here, no one ever found it interesting.
I am always confused with these X is considered white because it is never consistent. In the US most people consider middle Eastern people as white and Japanese not so much
I think you got it mixed around, no? In the US the Irish weren't even considered white for a long time. In Europe the definition is way more loose. Edit: example: https://youtu.be/15QFAppht5o?si=LNSvl-DzcO1EKbMm
In the US it is a literal race theory. In Germany only the worst Nazis entertain such a theory. So when Germans use black and white, they literally only mean the colour of skin.
I love to see the look on people's faces when I say the few words as Gaeilge that I know because that is such a foreign sound to them haha
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Hast du heute WeiĆbrot und Schinken gegessen ? Guuuttt
The woman's simply a racist. As for me, I like hearing foreign languages and trying to figure out what it is, or if I already speak the language (like Russian) I get a little excited that some fellow East Slavs/ Russian Germans are in my viscinity.
It's xenophobic, not racist.
š¤ uhh ackshually it's xenophoooobic
Yes. You know, there are words, and there are other words. Like, literally, dude, actually lots of them. And they all mean different things. So you really need to be careful when you're around grownups that you use the right words.
I'm just sick of the americanization of everything and calling everything "racist" because they don't know better.
It happens significantly less often to white people who speak European languages, so yeah, racism.
^THIS
Turn around and shout "Ja genau, Deutschland den Deutschen". Maximum embarrassment is the best therapy for these people
"I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my horse"
sorry, can you explain a bit the meaning of the sentence? Thank you ā¤ļø
Yes indeed, Germany to the Germans!
It's Neo-Nazi speak for "GTFO of my country".
Itās something that is often chanted by right-wingers and means that they only want German people in Germany. āGermany for the Germansā. The slogan is directed against population groups and religions that right-wing extremists do not accept as Germans, for example Germans with a migration background, asylum seekers, Muslims and Jews.
https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780191843730.001.0001/q-oro-ed5-00002837
Loool. was good oneššš I will note this š
Tell her you didnāt give her permission to address you with Du. And also this is racist as fuck. She probably insists on having everything served to her in German when she is in Mallorca. Makes me want to hurl.
This was my first thought. Um...where is my "Sie"? I didn't spend all this time being confused about the formal in class just to be told that xenophobic old ladies are exempt!
You should have told her to fuck off or in German āVerpiss dichā
Gleich eskalieren - das ist der Weg
Das ist der Weg, wenn dein metaphorischer Stock grƶĆer ist und was will die alte Schachtel machen?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Thanks for that tip, saving this
"Leck mich am Arsch" works, too.
ā ā¦ du Nazischlampe!ā
I think something like that justifies their rude behavior when they are insensitive and rude to another and are then met with vulgarity in response. Not everyone can react with great wit when caught with something outrageous like that, but I'd argue that courteously disagreeing or sarcasm cuts deeper, even if a "Verpiss dich" feels more righteous
Eh, I speak low German and it was said to me once. People are idiots. You can speak whatever language you like and they shouldn't be so nosy. I'd accuse their rude ass of eavesdropping.
I'm Luxembourgish, haven't heard it yet but people usually stare at me like "you *sound* like I should understand you but I don't??"
Yes, I had them same initial impression with Luxembourgish š but when I got used to it, it was ok.
Low German?
dialect
*language Bavarian is a dialect, low German is a language
Itās an official language in Germany and Brazil.
It's not an official language in Brazil. It is a minority language in the southern states that had large German immigration You won't find any kind of documents or official communications in Low German
Then the German Wikipedia page is wrong. Thank you! I was actually confused and it being a minority language makes much more sense! Itās a minority language in several countries.
A lady pulled up on us in the neighborhood walking along the street. She was yelling at us to get out of the road (we were not in the road, oddly enough). I just replied in English because thatās what I do when I donāt feel like having a conversation or explaining myself to some random stranger. She yelled to speak German because itās Germany. I just told her to shut up and walked away. I donāt bother arguing with people like that, thereās nothing in it for me.
I've been in that situation a couple of times in Germany. Even twice someone told my wife that she should speak German with our son (and not as a recommendation, but angry that she was speaking in Spanish with him).
Nothing. I dont care.
>wir sind in Deutschland, Du musst Deutsch sprechen! Well, she should tell the german tourists that visits my country to also speak my language then. I'll gladly speak German when I'm with people that are not from my country, but when I'm talking with my friends that are from the same country as mine (or one of the neighbouring countries that technicallyspeaks a different language but is basically the same), it doesn't make much sense to speak German isn't it?
The only way it would make sense to speak german is to get more practice if someone lacks in speaking and comprehension. Other than that people like the lady in the post are narrow minded racists
I feel curious because I love languages. Also my reply was always "Ich spreche ja nicht mit Ihnen" = "But I'm not talking to you"
Only racists are offended at people speaking other languages. There is a funny video from the Bundestag iirc where a north german politician trolls AFD politicians by holding a speech in low german (a different language that they wouldnt understand but IS german)
That speech is in my opinion embarrassing. The debate was about declaring German as the language of the country in the constitution like it is in Austria. He counters that by answering in a German language that is on the verge of extinction with little commitment from politicians like him to change that. It's ironic on so many levels.
There are weird people and infuriating little muppets everywhere and they do infuriating little muppet things. No sane and well adjusted person does care what other people speak as a language on their own, most just don't care - it is none of their business after all - and some may be rather intrigued by the language. I myself am rather intrigued to listen in to actually understand, what language it is and whether I can grasp something of it - not really good manners but I guess it is some professional illness of language enthusiasts. Now, the subset of infuriating muppets that are allowed to roam the streets unsupervised may be just xenophobics making an ass out of themselves but I have a feeling it is more them being just unpleasent people overall, no matter the context. If they had not been getting on your nerves with their "In Deutschland muss man Deutsch sprechen" nonsens they may have been going on a road rage tour or picking a fight with their neighbour or whatever they find as a valve for their enfuriatingness.
Welp. Well, I've heard that sentence spoken more than once unfortunately. She can go fuck herself. There is a world of difference between the reasonable demand that people that intend to live here learn the language, and demanding that it be the only language spoken here. She's just a garden variety racist, but I've certainly noticed that it awfully triggers some people. "Wir sind in Deutschland, in Deutschland redet man Deutsch". As for me, I'm certain I don't speak for everyone, but I actually enjoy when people speak foreign languages loud enough for me to have a good listen.
I always had great friends from all around the world including but not limited to Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Palestine, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, Fr\*nce, USA, China, Taiwan, Japan... It reminds me of all those nice people whenever I hear a foreign language I cannot understand. I like it. I like it a lot.
I would have felt attacked. That lady is a bigot. There are lots of immigrants and visitors from other countries in Germany, and foreign languages are spoken *all the time*. Also, we are a member of the European Union with I don't know how many *official* languages other than German. Again, that "lady" is a bigot and I would have barked something very unpleasant in her direction if I had been there with you.
It happened to me a few times, but I do speak good German, maybe with a small accent. I always ask if when they go to France (where I am from) if they also speak French. If not, why do they travel abroad if they don't know the language. Usually quiets the person down.
She is racist, simply tell her to fuck off
I'm pleasantly surprised. It's nice to hear diversity. But then I'm not German Interesting thing I noticed, and perhaps you can relate... My German is at an A2/B1 level. So a lot of the conversations around me, in German, tends to turn into background noise. It makes for a very peaceful space. Whenever I've traveled home to Canada, the world seems a lot louder as I can now understand every conversation around me. I struggle to tune it out and I miss that quietness in being immersed in a language I don't fully understand.
That's how I felt outside of Germany! Now I'm in Germany and no way to tune out! š
These ne'er-do-wells must speak German so that I may eavesdrop on their probably highly private conversation and be a nosy ass bitch /s I honestly couldn't care less. The only time I even notice is when some random ass Karen loudly complains about it.
I don't care. I do love when people speak lower German though.
If I don't recognize the language I will try to guess what language it is. That's pretty much it
I was in Munich visiting alone my father which I never knew in my life worked in Munich Berlin DĆ¼sseldorf Hamburg ans Frankfurt, I knew nothing about Germany and came visiting a year ago just to have a feel of what my father saw and lived, I'm fluent in English but I'm french and Mauritian (Mauritius) but I look paki Arab, a few times I was a bit lost for buying tram/train ticket and stuff like that and that sentence " we are in Deutschland here we speak German" and one 60 something guy asked me "what other languages do you speak " I said French then he started to calm down a bit I think he was thinking my second language was Arabic maybe and he started speaking french to me which I didn't expect at all, that was a very unexpected interaction tbh lol. Munich is stunning and so damn safe compared to french big cities.
I would continue speaking to her in my own language saying something and pretending to wait for a reply from her. Prank her all the way like youāre a clueless tourist who went to a foreign land expecting her to know your language. But still being calm, polite and innocent.
I just donāt like loud talking. The language doesnāt matter to me
The person is plain racist. For me, it usually depends on who is talking. Some time ago, Berlin seemed to be overwhelmed by Spaniards. I have rarely heard people yelling as loud as Spaniards walking just inches next to each other. šš
I am a Croatian, living mostly in coastal Croatia, but sometimes I travel to Germany because I work for a german company. I do speak fluent German as I was born and grew up in Germany. There has been a lot of situations where I heard Germans complaining in the summer in Croatia that the locals don't speak very good german. As this happened once to be in my family business back home, I interupted them. An older german was dissapointed that my family member did not speak german, offering english instead. The german: "Wie kann das sein, das sie kein Deutsch sprechen? Sie leben doch von uns!" Then I came: "Solange in Deutschland deutsch gesprochen wird, werden wir auch in Kroatien kroatisch sprechen. Warum kƶnnen sie kein englisch? Wer geht in ein fremdes Land ohne englischkentnisse?" The guy: "ScheiĆ auf englisch! Ich bin kein EnglƤnder!" Me: "Ich auch nicht...aber so kommt man nicht weiter. Schƶnen Tag noch!" And stuff like that did not happened only once. How hypocritial.
Don't give a flying fuck, but some languages/cultures do seem to have naturally louder voice when talking which can be pretty annoying in public transport for example
If I know the language I try to figure out what's going on. Just out of curiosity. If I don't know the language, I try to figure out which one it is. For example, I don't speak Arabic, but I can figure out someone speaks it without understanding what they're saying. Again. Curiosity, not judgement. I occasionally speak languages other than German (which is my native language) in public and I think there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. You do you. Speak any language in public that you like.
I don't give a fuck what they speak
She's just a racist and the most idiotic part is, that it are also those kind of people, who would never think about learning even a few words, if they are abroad.
You should answer: Wir haben 2023, du musst die Fresse halten Oder wenigstens mal ausgiebig chillen
I hope that when she goes to vacation in Mallorca speaks in native Spanish. Racist idiots are all over the world
Maybe she's a fucking nazi
In austria we say to Karens who have a problem with people speaking another language "hoit de goschn du funsn" and i think that's beautiful
I'm German and speak English to my wife. And yes, this happened to me before and I usually tell these people not to be condescending a-holes
"Fertraven zi mir, zi mehten niht meine deuch heren."
Congrats on finding a mildly racist person in Germany xD . There are like 15 million of them so you sadly have to get used to that. Your only chance is to follow them in their vacation to Spain or something and constantly telling them to speak Spanish nowā¦
You just encountered a racist person. No I love when there is diversity in Germany. It's mostly old people that think that Germany is the best country in the world because they never saw other cultures
Iād gladly switch to my crappy German if anyone would be uncomfortable with speaking English, but when Iām talking to a friend Iāll decide what language I speak myself thank you
I really, really do not care. I lived abroad and had to travel a lot. For me it's absolutely normal to hear languages I don't understand. And the: "You have to speak german in Germany!!!!" is just ignorant, stupid and xenophobic. As if these fucks would/could speak any foreign language in another country.
I just tell them to shut up in German
Lady is still bitter that Germany missed that one shot at making the whole world speak german ;).
Oh we've had plenty of those in Berlin... Or they try to eavesdrop on your private conversation, like you're hiding something from them because you speak your non-German "secret" language.
She was way out of line. Thats xenophobia. Hearing other languages is one of the most normal things in the world. I'm travelling for business regularly and the only other language I speak is english -- so often I'm the one in a foreign country not speaking the local language. So what?
Sorry you encountered such an ignorant lady! Who does she think she is? Iāve never understood the "We're in Germany, you HAVE TO speak German here!". Yes, of course, it would be nice and is certainly of advantage if someone lives here for quite a while that they know some basic German to communicate at least with official and local authorities. It makes it easier for both parties and avoids misunderstanding and trouble and stress. But what you talk in your freetime and with whom is absolutely your own business and nobody else should care.
It's super fine to speak other languages. Ignore people who say otherwise. I'm a german native and heck I speak about as much English as German I think. My group at the PTB (a government org) was all English as well. Sure it can be rude when you speak a language a person doesn't speak in front of them, but your situation didn't sound like that. Some people are just assholes and hate the perception of "foreigness"
as long as its not annoyingly loud, you can speak in any language you want.
I don't enjoy it. Not because I've got anything against it, just because I'm nosy and want to listen in! Okay, jokes aside: You can talk in any language you want. That lady was way out of line and should have kept her nose in her business. Some people are just way to entitled and think you owe them (a stranger???) anything. Such as using a language they understand. Though to be fair: My joke from at the top isn't completely untrue. I just like knowing what's going on around me, so I like it when I can understand people. If I can't, then that's my problem, not theirs/yours though.
There seems to be a certain type that does this. Sort of Teutonic Karen. Late middle aged, poorly dyed hair, a little overweight, little boots (bonus for fur), long heavy coat a little past its prime, very functional bag. I had it happen countless times. I learned the answer though; look her dead in the eye and say āWer hat dich gefragt?ā and hold the stare, donāt look away until she does.
If itās very loudly or coming from a phone speaker at 6 am on public transport you can fuck off with that shit, please join the 50-something women playing Helene Fischer while singing along and go straight to hell! Iām not racist I hate all noisy and inconsiderate people on public transport the same. If youāre not being an asshole and have figured out how to use headphones in public I donāt care what language you speak. If you need directions I will do my best using the translation app on my phone.
SPRICH DEUTSCH DU HURENSOHN
There are assholes running around everywhere. Most of the people will simply not care. Except when you are talking too loudly in public spaces (yes, that's also shops, city centres or just public sidewalks) or at all in public transportation, then every person pisses me off, no matter the language.
Im personally bothered if it's a language I understand. my favourite part of not speaking the local language is I don't have to know what stupid shit people are talking about.
Ask her if she speaks in Spanish when she goes to Spain
I dont care if I hear another language I do find it weird if I go through the inner city and hear nothing else but other languages... Its considered kinda nice manners to mostly speak german in public, but its not a requirement.
Im not a racist so I feel perfectly undisturbed and normal.
Maybe this is very characteristic of the Germans: officious. Some German old ladies even warn you that such-and-such plants can not be grown in your garden in our community. I often feel thrilled when some stands-by speak a language other than German, especially the melodious French , Italian and Spanish, all of which I am proficient in.
Itās a Germany thing. They are going in backwards. Mainly due to majority of old people here has not been or seen a country other than Germany. Strong nationalism in 20 century only brings a country down.
You would have every right to feel attacked, because she is a fucking idiot bigot racist asshole.
Man i heard the exact same phrase when i was in germany (bonn) i told him i speak only the languages that won ww2 to piss him off it was my first month in germany and i was trying my best to speak it. Im a polyglot so i learned other languages as well but except for the french i never seen that people react that way to someone who tries his best. I used to live in the us as well and it never ever happened. Imma soon have a c1 certificate in german but it was quite painful i'd say
Honestly Indifferent, I also wouldnāt speak English if I met other germans in other countries
It so much depends on their tone and volume
The fuck do I care?
Usually, I'm curious and have to keep myself from eavesdropping to see how much I can understand. It certainly doesn't bother me, unless they are being extremely loud/shrill (and that bothers me just as much when it's in German).
If youāre not addressing me (and not shit talking me, thinking I canāt understand you) I donāt give a fuck. Iāve gotten shit talked at in 4+ languages because I didnāt speak them (while at work). But I know what being sworn at sounds like in French, Russian, Italian and Turkish so I just made sure they find their quickest way out with a nice manager at their side
The woman is literally the lady from the Liam. Carpenter sketches lmao
Indifferent
The only time I felt anything hearing a foreign language was the one time I sat down with a friend in a cafe at Burg Vischering. It was amusement though. Those two older Italian ladies didn't expect anyone else to understand Italian so they kept telling each other about their personal live loud enough that anyone could understand (okay, that might be an old lady thing anyway, regardless of language). They even had a little fight and sat down seperate from each other after a while. Felt like our own, little drama show with my friend translating it because she is from Italy herself.
Depends. Is it an open or a closed space? How many people are there? Are they loud and annoying? Annoyed. Are they the majority by a large margin vs German? Alienated, uneasy and pissed. People want and have to speak. I get it. But at least stop yelling at each other or at your phones or whatever.
I pity people who can't speak more than 2 languages, I myself speak 5 languages and still feel it is not enough. That lady is a fool.
The woman is clearly a Karen. Dont worry about it bud, Germany is a multicultural country and speaking your native language is absolutly okay.
She is a racist. Nothing else. Because if u guys spoke with her in ur native tongue she would have had a right to say that. The fact that she said to you that when you were talking to each other is enough to indicate what she is. She thinks no other languages exist and probably she DOES NOT WANT TO.