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I always thought so, but my recent trips to Paris were very surprising that everyone was happy to speak English with me (even though I tried in basic French). M

by dx034 10y ago

I always thought so, but my recent trips to Paris were very surprising that everyone was happy to speak English with me (even though I tried in basic French). Might be very different on the countryside, but then again, good luck speaking English on the German countryside.

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alexanderchr 10y ago
Personal observation: most people in Paris are very happy to speak English with you - as long as you try to speak with them in French first.
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henk53 10y ago
>good luck speaking English on the German countryside. It differs, in generally people either speak it there, and then do so reasonably, or they absolutely don't speak it, not a single word. This is quite different in The Netherlands. In Amsterdam people in shops etc will often address you in English and are rather fluent, but even in the most remote villages of the Dutch countryside everyone speaks some amount of English. It may be with a very heavy accent and not fluent at all, but generally it's enough to at least have a basic conversation.
- nkrisc 10y ago
  Dutch is also probably one of the easiest languages for a native English speaker to learn. It's one of the closest living related languages to English. If I recall correctly, I believe Faroese might be the closest (depending on how you classify Scots).
- henk53 10y ago
  > It's one of the closest living related languages to English. One the closest indeed, although Frisian is technically even closer. If I'm not mistaken it's really quite close to old English, but a modern English speaker wouldn't be able to understand it at all ;)
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__derek__ 10y ago
> (even though I tried in basic French) That's important. The French tend to be happy to accommodate, but there's something about making it clear that communication is a mutual effort. If you try in French first, it indicates that you want to work with them rather than assuming that they should kowtow to your preferences.

by dx034 10y ago

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alexanderchr 10y ago

Personal observation: most people in Paris are very happy to speak English with you - as long as you try to speak with them in French first.

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henk53 10y ago

>good luck speaking English on the German countryside. It differs, in generally people either speak it there, and then do so reasonably, or they absolutely don't speak it, not a single word. This is quite different in The Netherlands. In Amsterdam people in shops etc will often address you in English and are rather fluent, but even in the most remote villages of the Dutch countryside everyone speaks some amount of English. It may be with a very heavy accent and not fluent at all, but generally it's enough to at least have a basic conversation.

nkrisc 10y ago
Dutch is also probably one of the easiest languages for a native English speaker to learn. It's one of the closest living related languages to English. If I recall correctly, I believe Faroese might be the closest (depending on how you classify Scots).
henk53 10y ago
> It's one of the closest living related languages to English. One the closest indeed, although Frisian is technically even closer. If I'm not mistaken it's really quite close to old English, but a modern English speaker wouldn't be able to understand it at all ;)

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__derek__ 10y ago

> (even though I tried in basic French) That's important. The French tend to be happy to accommodate, but there's something about making it clear that communication is a mutual effort. If you try in French first, it indicates that you want to work with them rather than assuming that they should kowtow to your preferences.