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You may have the patience but I do suspect that the majority of people doesn’t. I also don’t think it is necessarily about respect or admiration. In day to day

by tr352 8y ago

You may have the patience but I do suspect that the majority of people doesn’t. I also don’t think it is necessarily about respect or admiration. In day to day interactions, people just prefer to use the most efficient means available to understand and be understood. Like using English instead of a clumsy beginners level of Spanish.

Rainymood 8y ago
>I also don’t think it is necessarily about respect or admiration. In day to day interactions, people just prefer to use the most efficient means available to understand and be understood. Like using English instead of a clumsy beginners level of Spanish. Of course, but I can guarantee you that, at least for Dutch people, we have huge admiration for people trying to learn our language. Dutch is hard and the effort is appreciated, it shows a certain kind of respect towards the country and its people. I can guarantee you that if someone at the counter gives the receipt and a foreigner replies with "Ja, graag" in a thick heavy accent she will be greeted with a smile. I think that we switch over to English and the easy more default setting way too easily, this makes it hard for people to learn the native language because no one wants to practice with them.
- kwoff 8y ago
  Irrelevant tangent: I was in Albert Heijn (common Dutch supermarket) today, the one in Amsterdam at Dam Square. They recently sell "Danish Chef Cheese Spread" (you might imagine Cheez Whiz in a tube), which I'm addicted to, to the detriment of my health. As I was stuffing tubes of this into my basket, a pretty young Chinese woman (tourist) stood right beside me and said something in Chinese. It took me a few seconds to realize she'd spoken Chinese and couldn't care less if I existed. It so happens that, at the risk of humble-bragging, I've taken some Chinese lessons. Ten more seconds later, I understood what she'd said: zhe shi shenme? "What is this?" She had no idea what this bin of cheese tubes was, and why would she? I then spent another half-minute trying to think of the word for "cheese" in Chinese. Of course, I was too late, and she re-joined several other attractive Chinese people. Google translate says Qǐ sī (chee suh), but is that possibly the actual translation? I may never know.

by tr352 8y ago

Rainymood 8y ago

>I also don’t think it is necessarily about respect or admiration. In day to day interactions, people just prefer to use the most efficient means available to understand and be understood. Like using English instead of a clumsy beginners level of Spanish. Of course, but I can guarantee you that, at least for Dutch people, we have huge admiration for people trying to learn our language. Dutch is hard and the effort is appreciated, it shows a certain kind of respect towards the country and its people. I can guarantee you that if someone at the counter gives the receipt and a foreigner replies with "Ja, graag" in a thick heavy accent she will be greeted with a smile. I think that we switch over to English and the easy more default setting way too easily, this makes it hard for people to learn the native language because no one wants to practice with them.

kwoff 8y ago
Irrelevant tangent: I was in Albert Heijn (common Dutch supermarket) today, the one in Amsterdam at Dam Square. They recently sell "Danish Chef Cheese Spread" (you might imagine Cheez Whiz in a tube), which I'm addicted to, to the detriment of my health. As I was stuffing tubes of this into my basket, a pretty young Chinese woman (tourist) stood right beside me and said something in Chinese. It took me a few seconds to realize she'd spoken Chinese and couldn't care less if I existed. It so happens that, at the risk of humble-bragging, I've taken some Chinese lessons. Ten more seconds later, I understood what she'd said: zhe shi shenme? "What is this?" She had no idea what this bin of cheese tubes was, and why would she? I then spent another half-minute trying to think of the word for "cheese" in Chinese. Of course, I was too late, and she re-joined several other attractive Chinese people. Google translate says Qǐ sī (chee suh), but is that possibly the actual translation? I may never know.