You’re traveling in a foreign country. You’re out chatting with a friend, and some passing local says “Hello!” or “Welcome!” in your native language.
What’s your reaction? Is this a great example of a friendly local? Or is it kind of weird and intrusive? Or something else?
The reason I ask: sometimes on the subway or in a store I’ll hear tourists speaking German, a language I (haltingly) speak, and a country I love. I’m often tempted to go over and say “Wilkommen in Amerika!” or some such, but am always slightly unsure how it would come across. Am I overthinking this?
Happens all the time. No problem. But if they next want to take you on a cheap tour or to a gem shop, ignore them.
More common here is “You! You!” which they actually think is correct, having been taught it by the movies apparently. Also common is “Where you go?”
In fact, I recall a song back in the 1980s by, I think, the popular local band Carabao called “Welcome to Thailand.” It includes the English lyrics: “Tom, Tom, where you go last night? I love Muang Thai, I like Patpong.” Muang Thai being one version of “Thailand.” But Patpong is one of the major red-light districts – the main one at that time – and this song was popular for months and months. It became very common to walk down the street and be greeted with “TOM, TOM, WHERE YOU GO LAST NIGHT?” Followed by wild, maniacal laughter by the greeter at his own cleverness, as he was certain no one had ever done that before. I admit that got pretty old after a while.
You’ll know by the reaction pretty quickly whether its welcome or not.
Just dont push things with those who are more cautious. Only way you’ll really know for your particular area is to try and see what the general reaction is.
I’m French, so I’d have to pretend I dont understand a word of his gibberish-y attempt at speaking French (you’ve got to practice a lot to get the Scornful EyebrowTM. French babies that cant manage to do it are abandoned at the gates of the city to feed the wolves).
In many of the countries I’ve visited ‘Hello’ is one of the only English words known. Said by kids - it’s often to get a reaction out of you, and normally they want no more than a smile in exchange. Said by an adult, they generally want your money. Walking around Morocco for example the shopkeepers would try a variety of languages to see what we were (I found responding in Italian always worked, as it’s not commonly spoken outside Italy and allowed us to keep moving without being hassled anymore).
In China, it made me feel kind of like a celebrity (in a pleasant but slightly self-conscious way). In fact, when we went from Nanjing to Shanghai, I was slightly disappointed because there were so many foreigners there; I no longer felt special.
As noted by Girl From Mars, it was usually kids practicing their English and trying to get a reaction; I usually waved.
Not quite the same thing, but I’ve found I tend to get asked for directions a lot by other anglos when I’m in a foreign country. Mrs Piper says I must have a look that says “harmless but knowledgeable.”
I once accidentally sent a couple of Italian pilgrims who were looking for Sacre-Coeur through the sex-mart on rue Pigalle in Montmartre. Oh well, at least they had a glimpse of the wickedness of the world…
It all depends. In Switzerland, you greet people you meet while out hking with a friendly “Gruezi (miteinander)” or "“Bonjour”, but once I was hiking with a Swiss friend and we were speaking English and at least one person we passed said “Greetings”. Obviously nothing inimical about that.
Once I was somewhere in France and a stranger came up as asked, hesitantly, “Do you speak English?” When I told him I did, he asked for a restaurant recommendation. Again, nothing out of the way. Once when I was in Japan, a Japanese woman asked if I spoke English. It turned out that she was a teacher of English in Japan and wanted to practice hers. It wasn’t too bad and we had an interesting conversation. Once, also in Japan, I was in a takeout sushi place choosing boxes by pointing when the clerk, a teenage girl, started speaking to me in absolutely unaccented and perfectly fluent American English. Most remarkable thing I ever heard. I assumed she had frown up in the US, but no, she had never been out of Japan. She had learned by listening to tapes. She obviously had an incredible linguistic talent.
So all my experiences of this sort have been totally benign.
Like any communication initiated by a stranger, it all depends on context.
When the shady guy at the corner says, “Hi, buddy, I can take you to pretty girls,” I’m a bit leery. But my most pleasant international flight was spent chatting and playing cards with a young Polish girl who approached me and asked if she could practice her English with me.
I suspect it’s more common for English speakers in Europe than European language speakers in the US.
In France, I discovered that people would be happy to switch to English once they discovered you spoke it. I was actually asked directions in French by what turned out to be a group of Germans. I was answering in French, and I let slip a “let’s see.” They immediately switched to English.
There were other French speakers who talked to me in English once they realized I was American (many assumed I was French because of how I looked). I think that if they realized I was American, they would have spoke to me in English.
Interesting reactions so far. Maybe I flatter myself, but I don’t think it would seem like I was trying to scam people for money - I’m nicely dressed, presentable looking, etc. I’d just like to give the German tourists I see visiting New York (or even, as someone above said, the German speakers who live here) a positive experience of the country, and even let them know that some of us speak their language! Wish there was a non-weird way to do that…
Good point, although the Chinese guy at a food stall who grinned at me and my (Chinese) wife and asked “Massage-ee?” made me laugh. My wife thought he was speaking Chinese and she couldn’t tell what he was talking about; maybe Sichuan-flavored chicken (“ma” as in “ma po tofu” and “ji” as in “chicken”)?
My work experience with German customers is that they have a less “friendly” culture than we do. Bringing up personal information like family and home life is met with cold silence or - at best - awkward verbal shuffling. I suppose that travel would tend to select for those who are more “open” to connecting with new people. But my assessment of the general response was almost one of being insulted, as if I had implied that they didn’t have enough friends and must be desperate enough to discuss their personal lives with strangers. This is in response to questions as simple as ‘Do you have children?’ or after a big storm ‘Is your family all right?’ (answer: a bout of harrumphing followed by ‘Do you know my family?’)
In short, specific to German folk in business, my experience has been that they have no interest at all in connecting with strangers, and would not be likely to welcome your advance.
It’s been my experience, as a visitor in many other countries, that the locals appreciate it when you try to converse with them in their own language, even if you’re not adept at it. (French-speaking countries seem to be the exception.)
However, as an English-speaking visitor, I’d find it incredibly rude for a local to intrude in my conversation, same as I’d find it rude for any English-speaking local in America to intrude in my conversation. An exception would be an apologetic interruption to correct a serious misunderstanding that could cause harm.
If you’re a local who understands a foreign language being spoken by visitors, the best you can do is ask to be invited into the conversation, even if just briefly.
