I meant that they might know phrases in French, German, and Spanish more than English, though in the case of Europe English is pretty common. However, to be fa

I meant that they might know phrases in French, German, and Spanish more than English, though in the case of Europe English is pretty common. However, to be fair, in my experience, some people in Europe have hang ups too about different languages. I speak Italian, can pass with a little French, and know no German. In the northern Italian mountains people would start conversations with me in German based on my appearance, and in resort towns there were a number of people who chose not to learn Italian, but English was okay. Similarly, a friendly lady was trying to help me in a train station in Paris, my French wasn't good enough to understand some detail, her English wasn't any better than my French, and I asked her if she spoke Italian. She curtly answered no, and seemed a little offended. I imagine I'd have similar stories if I only spoke English and French, English and Spanish, or English and German. Would people react with occasional distaste if you tried communicating using Cantonese in Beijing?