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My post: "That's Brits on vacation for ya. They come to Spain every year by millions, yet they will only know how to say cerveza and sangria, if that."
And that's insulting?? give me a freakin break, that's just calling things for what they are.
I don't expect people who come here for brief tourist visits to speak English. However, I live in such an un-touristy part of the country that it's unheard of for people who truly speak no English to pass this way. If you visit a major tourist destination and speak a language that is rarely studied here, I don't think you should count on being able to get by with just your native language.
If you come here as a student, I expect you to know at least some survival English. If you plan to settle here, I expect you to at least be learning English.
All Americans know Mexico has a different language. Why would any Americans, with enough money and the wherewithall to travel overseas, be surprised to learn countries in Europe have their own languages?
I'll agree that there is a percentage of Americans who think Europe is a country. But I find it hard to believe that a lot of Americans who travel to Europe would fall into this category.
That's the beauty of it. You don't have to believe in something to make it true.
And no, not all Americans know that Mexico has their own language. Despite all the Spanish everywhere, many fail to notice it (i.e. to process it deeper than "I don't understand it. It's so unfair that they get to do this in our country"). It's illogical and yes, even I have a hard time believing it's true, despite witnessing it pretty much on a daily basis. The first times I encountered it I thought they were joking. Sadly, they weren't.
(Doesn't help that I speak English without an accent - it appearantly makes it harder to grasp that where I'm from we don't speak English on a daily basis.)
But, many people from this country that go abroad do not know until they do travel specific research just before that the country they're going to has it's own language.
I'm not talking the Average American traveller, I'm talking individuals that I have personal experience dealing with. They're out there, whether we want to believe it or not.
My post: "That's Brits on vacation for ya. They come to Spain every year by millions, yet they will only know how to say cerveza and sangria, if that."
And that's insulting?? give me a freakin break, that's just calling things for what they are.
And you continued, and you complained when others brought up the Spanish and escalated. Then you complained.
Your opinion is just as valid (or not) as everyone else's. Don't want yours complained about, don't complain about others.
Well......its hard to phrase this since I don't think people should be required to know English or to speak it just when an American is visiting, but at the same time I kind of "expect" most people to know it just because English is the international language, though I would not get upset it someone doesn't know it and think that a visitor should at least learn a few phrases in the local language as a sign of respect for whatever country he/she is visiting.
The thing is with English being the international language, it doesn't really honestly make sense for example for an American to learn Dutch just to visit Amsterdam for a few days, it makes more sense for the Dutch person to learn English. The only foreign country I think is overly proud of their language is France. Today France is just one other country, it really is no more important to learn France than to learn Dutch, Czech, Italian, Korean, or Japanese. Chinese and Spanish are more important languages in the world today than French. Plus if it wasn't for the US and Britain, France would be speaking German today.
My post: "That's Brits on vacation for ya. They come to Spain every year by millions, yet they will only know how to say cerveza and sangria, if that."
And that's insulting?? give me a freakin break, that's just calling things for what they are.
agreed, there are plenty of tourists who dont speak english here in usa too, no one really cares..
I dont see why people are making such a fuss here. on top of that, I would have to say most americans probably aren't that rude , not any more of a % than other countries.
...The only foreign country I think is overly proud of their language is France. Today France is just one other country, it really is no more important to learn France than to learn Dutch, Czech, Italian, Korean, or Japanese. Chinese and Spanish are more important languages in the world today than French.
My friend, the competitor who speaks French will beat the pants off you doing business in Africa! So, unless you are speaking only in terms of Europe, you are quite wrong.
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Plus if it wasn't for the US and Britain, France would be speaking German today.
Not relevant to your point, but it does indicate the location of your head.
Well......its hard to phrase this since I don't think people should be required to know English or to speak it just when an American is visiting, but at the same time I kind of "expect" most people to know it just because English is the international language, though I would not get upset it someone doesn't know it and think that a visitor should at least learn a few phrases in the local language as a sign of respect for whatever country he/she is visiting.
The thing is with English being the international language, it doesn't really honestly make sense for example for an American to learn Dutch just to visit Amsterdam for a few days, it makes more sense for the Dutch person to learn English. The only foreign country I think is overly proud of their language is France. Today France is just one other country, it really is no more important to learn France than to learn Dutch, Czech, Italian, Korean, or Japanese. Chinese and Spanish are more important languages in the world today than French. Plus if it wasn't for the US and Britain, France would be speaking German today.
This is a very anglocentric view and reflects a certain arrogance that people in other countries find so annoying.
Not in Spain.
Americans always try to use their HS Spanish, some get by pretty well.
I always observe that when they travel in groups, they always have someone that speaks Spanish.
Some speak good Spanish with Mexican accents, people find it funny.
Some even try to speak Catalan....(they all have their little guides).
At least have the courtesy of trying.
In general, Americans are rather popular here, they are friendly and they TIP.
I'm talking about high class-wealthy Americans, the ones we receive here.
Americans act in a similar way that Russians, Russian groups always have someone that speak Spanish.
Russians speak Spanish with no accent, perfect, academic.
Russian and Americans are the only tourists here that visit cultural places such as monasteries, ruins, etc.
Both groups have a high purchasing power, but Russians spend more because I guess they don't have much offer in their countries.
I concur with your observations.
Americans traveling in Spain seem to largely be from three specific groups: university students studying abroad (now a VERY common activity), tourists interested in cultural, historical, or scenic attractions, and business travelers. The first group largely learned Spanish in high school, and perhaps took at it the university level; those studying in Spain are probably doing so in large part to improve their Spanish. Many not studying abroad go on "Eurotrips" to experience many different European countries; Spain is a bit of an outlier on the European map. Barcelona is probably the most popular destination for Eurotrippers, as it most accommodates trans-European routes. I encountered some from this group in my May/June 2008 trip to Spain in Barcelona hostels. I also found two Eurotrippers on a Barcelona - San Sebastian train. They were typical American fratty boys who woke up drunk after a vodka-filled night in Barcelona and missed the train to Paris, and were eating McDonalds on the train.
I would not be surprised if the second group - tourists - have, on average, a greater income and socio-economic status than the average American. One critical part of socio-economic status in the United States is education, and by extension, worldliness. They are not going to expect Spaniards to speak English simply because they are more educated and know better. In fact, to many of them it would probably be better if they didn't - more "authentic". Fluently speaking a language as a non-immigrant also carries prestige in the U.S. Normal working- or middle-class Americans wanting a beach vacation go to popular resorts in Mexico, the Caribbean, or Florida; these often expect service to be provided in English, because they are not familiar with any other language, and not leave the resort, except to go to a "tourist market", and of course, the airport) They are the exact equivalent of most British and German tourists to Spain. Benidorm can be likened to Cancun almost perfectly.
More cultural travelers, who are likely to be more educated and perhaps even bi or multilingual, gravitate towards Europe (and Asia). These seem to have other correlating tastes as well, and many of the younger set's preferences are cataloged at stuffwhitepeoplelike.com .
The third group I know little about, but people who travel internationally for business tend to be at least middle-class.
My friend, the competitor who speaks French will beat the pants off you doing business in Africa! So, unless you are speaking only in terms of Europe, you are quite wrong.
There are a lot of former colonies that have French as their official language but only 20% or so speaks actually French. Besides, Africa is not an important trading partner at all. It's 3rd world. I'm sure English will be just fine.
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Originally Posted by Tom Lennox 70
Plus if it wasn't for the US and Britain, France would be speaking German today.
LOL LOL LOL!!!
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