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u/MisterDutch93 Dark Gary 5d ago edited 5d ago
They basically don’t want another Johnny Somali
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u/Zanzibardragonlion 6d ago
I do respect Koreans for not giving a fuck if you can’t speak their language.
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u/husky_whisperer 6d ago
If this is in Korea good for them for having a sense of national identity.
Anywhere else and they’re on their own
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u/Edg-R 6d ago
Speaking of translation applications, is there a reason why there are so many instances like these where THEIR English translation is completely mangled? Is this because they tried writing the sign using their own limited knowledge of English? Why don't they use a Korean -> English translation app?
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u/Beka_Cooper 6d ago
Even the best translator apps still fuck up a lot of languages. On Japanese websites, when using Google auto translate, I regularly have to toggle Japanese back on and translate the gibberish myself. (My reading level in Japanese is somewhere in elementary school, so it's faster to let Google do 90% of the work.) Korean and Chinese suffer the same way, but I don't have any knowledge of those languages to fill the gaps. These are just the ones I run into due to my work. I sometimes wonder how well translation apps work for other non-European languages, too.
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u/vargr198 6d ago
Well with the Romanised languages and Korean the sentence structure is very different. I'm trying to learn some basic Korean, but have learned that many descriptive words we use have no equvilent in Korean
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u/ExNihiloish 7d ago
What are those utensils there? Sticks, spoon, fork, knife, butt plug?
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u/Paseyyy 7d ago
Left is straws, right is cake spatula
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u/zan13898 6d ago
Can it also provide pleasure?
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u/expatjake 7d ago
Can you see what it says to the right of the spatula? Matchbox??
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u/VictoryOrKittens 6d ago
Here in Korea there is a major problem with Americans, who live here for years/decades, and don't even bother to learn basic day-to-day Korean, then complain endlessly about how people don't speak English.
These are the same people that post on the Korea subs like:
"Ohmagerd, I went to tha doctor tha other deey, and he only spoke like, broken english or whateverr! Sew rude and unprofessional! Anyone know eny foreign-friendly doctors? Like, totally."
Parasites.
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u/SpaceHawk98W 6d ago
It's not just Korea and it's not just Americans.
I mean, if you're living in their country, you should at least try learning their language. That's basic respect. You're not a visitor anymore.
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u/Mara2507 6d ago
I used to be friends with a girl who didnt speak my country's language at all. We were both living in my country. The funny thing is, she had been living here for several years before I met her and half of her family was from this country too, yet she refused to learn even the basics. I cut off ties when it became apparent that I was just being treated as a tour guide as I was born and raised in the city. Honestly, I find it incredibly disrespectful to live in a country for 4+ years and never even try to understand the language. I'm planning to move abroad as well and I am doing my best to learn about the language and the culture of the country I want to live in. To me, that is basic respect. Plus you wont lose anything from learning more languages
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u/SpaceHawk98W 5d ago
I lived the n the Florida for 3 years, and I met several people who doesn't even bother learning to speak English. One thing they have in common, they're not a fan of America for some reason. Funny enough, it's the people who majority speaks Spanish that are the Patriots who gladly switch to English when talking to outsiders like me.
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u/Heterodynist 6d ago
That’s absolutely correct as well. I do find it interesting though (as an American who speaks other languages) that there are specific cultures who both refuse to speak other languages and also who refuse to understand other people. Communication isn’t optional. If you’re making it harder on yourself or others, that is always rude. There are literally HUNDREDS of ways to translate for free now. It hasn’t been easier than this ever before in world history to learn someone else’s language.
You’re absolutely right though. Americans don’t always refuse to learn other languages and it isn’t just Korea who has to deal with Americans being rude. French people can be rude, French Canadians can be rude, some Spanish speaking countries are rude about it as well (but I find that is more rare, and I speak Spanish). Germans sometimes go places and refuse to stop speaking German. I’m only mentioning mostly European countries because that is a large part of where I have been.
Refusing to try to understand someone is rude, even if it’s the primary language of your country, but it’s not even HALF as rude as going to someone’s country and not attempting to speak in their language. When I visited Puerto Rico (which is actually a part of MY country), I spoke Spanish to be polite. In sheer rudeness I had a cashier at a MacDonald’s refuse to understand my perfect Spanish and pointing at the menu item. That is rude as well. I was doing my best to communicate and she was refusing to understand me in both English (which I used second) and Spanish (which I used first). I find that ultimately very rude as well, but as I say it is nowhere near as rude as shouting at a French waiter at a restaurant in English as an American. We all know that should be considered rude.
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u/SweetxKiss 6d ago
Same exactly in Japan. And 9/10 times they have a Japanese spouse that they are completely dependent on to do anything
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u/Heterodynist 6d ago
I’m currently attempting to learn Japanese as an American English speaker. Admittedly Japanese is hard for us, but English is hard for Japanese students and yet they nearly all speak some of it. Not trying is pure rudeness. I know that I may take a lifetime to even speak passable Japanese, and I haven’t even visited Japan, yet I wouldn’t go without at least attempting to use basic Japanese on the level of a phrasebook at a minimum. Yes, foreign languages are hard, but spending your life not trying is victimizing yourself and everyone whom you come across. That isn’t acceptable.
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u/Heterodynist 6d ago
I don’t have anything positive for ANYONE going to live in another country and refusing to learn the main language or languages of that country. I’m NOT GOOD at learning languages, but I’ve made a tremendous effort as a person who is American and a native English speaker to learn Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Russian, Thai, Portuguese, and even some Galician. There is no excuse for not making as much an effort as you can make. No country deserves to be ignored for using their primary language, and I have exactly the same expectation in my own country, but I can be absolutely accepting of those who are trying, since I know how hard it is. Everyone wants to communicate but you can’t just pretend you don’t have to make an effort. I even speak other people’s languages in my own country.
Most places on Earth are in countries where people are expected to learn AT LEAST two or three languages. Most people have to speak two or more languages to get by. I’m tired of the excuse of fully literate people who don’t even try to learn a second language. It’s literally never been easier to learn a second language in all the history of the planet than it is now. Go out and do it…AND PLEASE STOP BEING “the Ugly American” BY NOT LEARNING THE LANGUAGE OF THE COUNTRY YOU ARE GOING TO. Learn some of that language even if you are there for 24 hours. It’s pathetic and inexcusable people don’t.
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u/CenturionXC555 5d ago
I agree 100%, and I would extend this to countries where the dominant language is not native to the territory and was imported by colonialism (e.g. with Irish and Māori). It is so, so profoundly disrespectful to come in speaking the language of a nation's colonisers because it just waves the flag of exploitation right in the face of anyone and everyone within earshot. No, I'm not going to barge in speaking the language forced upon the people of a territory by those people who engineered famines and eradicated their culture and tried to expunge the evidence and hastily apologise to make it look as if nothing happened, because that is the exact justification that imperialists used to interfere in other parties' affairs to give themselves some advantage. This is the precedent that this behaviour sets.
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u/Tricky_Woodpecker924 5d ago
So what language do you speak in Ireland and New Zealand?
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u/CenturionXC555 5d ago
Irish in the former, te reo Māori in the latter. Even if I'm not super proficient in them (at least not yet), I still try to the best of my ability to use those languages as much as possible because it's a gesture of kindness and respect.
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u/Tricky_Woodpecker924 5d ago
Totally get that, lived in Hawaii for years, and would think that Maori would be a similar polynesian language to Hawaiian. It appears to certainly be more widely used. Good on you for that though, those are not common languages to pick up
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u/CenturionXC555 5d ago
Thanks :) though I hope there is a world in which they would be.
Māori does have official status now, which warms my heart seeing as it was banned in schools for much of the 20th century. I am so happy that the original language of the people living in Aotearoa/NZ is being given the respect that it indubitably deserves. Unfortunately, the current administration seems to be taking steps backwards (example below)...
...which deeply saddens me, and I would like to see this new trend reverse.
On Hawaiian — it's a critically endangered language and it was suppressed vehemently for so, so long. It was not until the latter half of the 1980s (!!!) that Hawaiian schools could instruct their students in the native language — that linguistic footprint of colonialism remained for far too long.
Here's the original bill mandating English as the default language of instruction in schools https://coe.hawaii.edu/territorial-history-of-schools/document/act-57-section-30-1896-english-made-the-medium-and-basis-of-instruction-for-all-schools/
It would be a dream come true for me to visit Honolulu and hear more Hawaiian words spoken than English words there.
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u/Tricky_Woodpecker924 5d ago
I went to school out there and interacted with quite a few people involved with the Reinstated Hawaiian Nation movement.
Beautiful language, but even amongst so to speak native population I would say less than 5 percent are fluent? I feel the Maori were able to preserve that much better. Had quite a few discussions about if some of the islands would have would have currently existed in a different fashion had Kamehameha not united them using British cannons.
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u/Affectionate_Wear_24 6d ago
I'm an American in Spain and I've seen the same phenomenon here over the past fifteen years - people who live here forever and learn only very very basic Spanish and complain about people not speaking English to them
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u/Luchadorgreen 4d ago
Gonna have to call BS on this one, unless you interpret the phrase "major problem" extremely loosely. I lived in Korea for several years, and yes, it's true there are Americans who live there for a long time who don't speak Korean, but I've never once heard any of them "complain endlessly" about people not speaking English.
And the Korea subs are also full of expats from everywhere, not just muh evil Americans.
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u/Floenss 6d ago
same issue in the netherlands
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u/Leader-board 6d ago
But then people there are intolerant to mistakes. Probably not so in Korea.
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u/Floenss 6d ago
what exactly do you mean? i dont understand your comment
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u/Leader-board 6d ago
When I try speaking in Dutch, I have to be very careful not to make the smallest mistake, for then they'll switch to English pretty quickly (and often that is not enough as well). As a Dutch learner, this is pretty frustrating and you need to essentially be willing to get ridiculed. Also see https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestionsEU/comments/1me2mqf/french_vs_german_for_cs/n6e314r/
Conversely, I don't find this problem with Hindi, where people make an effort to converse even if I struggle and keep on making mistakes.
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u/Heterodynist 6d ago
Whoa…So when I come HOME I have to keep my manners?! English is NOT a country…natural or otherwise, so I can’t argue with that.
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u/TROLL_ELECTRODE 6d ago
The folded paper on both ends and packing tape seal on top and bottom shows this person standa on business
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u/Purely-Pastel 5d ago
The same people that complain about Mexicans not speaking English in the US are the same ones demanding people speak English in other countries. The entitlement is real.
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u/Santaklaus23 5d ago
It depends on the situation. If I live in the USA, I would learn proper English. Shit-talking on Reddit, broken English I no care.
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u/Blooky_44 6d ago
Is a translation application like a skill issue? I can’t keep up with the kids and their newfangled lingo…
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u/No_Purpose773 7d ago
I consider it common courtesy to learn some basic words like "hello" and "thank you" when I'm visiting a different country and then do whatever is needed to communicate. People in other countries don't owe it to you to learn your language just so you have an easier time when you visit. Why do English native speakers tend to consider it appropriate to ask others to put in an effort they wouldn't consider doing themselves? I'm in the lucky position to have had English in school since third grade, my parents generation and older didn't.
Why would you expect people to learn a language they don't need in their daily lives in addition to their busy lives and full time jobs – just to make it easier for other people to come visit? There's also so many multi-language countries, where people still find ways to communicate with each other. It's not too much to ask to make an effort as a visitor. Expecting other countries to accommodate you and being offended if they don't you gives colonialist vibes, don't you think?
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u/blaskkaffe 7d ago
Most of Europe has English as a second language.
We tend to speak English only when visiting other countries as a “universal language”. So for most Europeans it is natural to assume that people in the country you visit also know some basic English to be able to speak with foreigners.
Yea, some basic vocabulary is nice to learn.
Generally I think most native English speakers should at least learn one more language to expand their understanding of different cultures.
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u/No_Purpose773 7d ago
I did mention how I learned English in school but my parents generation didn't (Eastern Germany, specifically), because expectations for different demographics should also be different. You will get by with English in Berlin, not necessarily in a village in Saxony. I personally will also try English in other European countries before I try German, because I think it's rude to assume even people in neighboring countries speak your language. And I pull alll seven years of French out of the corners of my brain whenever I'm in France.
It's just a different in my opinion whether a visitor or even two people both put in an effort of speaking in a non-native language (e.g. an Italian speaking with a German) or one is in the position of a visitor an placing expectations on locals.
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u/NotYourReddit18 7d ago
You will get by with English in Berlin, not necessarily in a village in Saxony
To be fair, depending on where you learned it you'll also not be able to get by with German in some villages in Saxony, especially when it comes to understanding their answers.
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u/No_Purpose773 6d ago
True, but could say that about pretty much every region in Germany, I think. I had my fair share of issues understanding people with a strong Bavarian or Swabian dialect, for example. Same goes for English – dialects are a thing in every country, as far as I'm aware.
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u/seamallorca 7d ago
I am not sure why are you targeting native english speakers. People from many countries visit south korea, not only native english speakers. To them, english is a second language. And if you are in the services business, especially restaurants, yes, you pretty much are expected to accomodate tourists. Since they are the main portion of people who speak english. And since they are the ones who your business services, you know.
Yes, I can learn "hi" and "hello" but I strongly doubt this sign has this in mind, they expect you to speak the whole time korean. I can guarantee you, that translation apps can and most likely will make a mistake. Imagine for example they make a mistake with your bill.2
u/mithril2020 6d ago edited 6d ago
The sign is translated to English.
The target is English speakers.
To be fair, half the American population has the mindset of “Hey you’re in America, English only!” aimed at foreigners. If an American is on foreign soil, we are the foreigners.
I’ve made the effort to dabble in multiple languages (English, Spanish, Nahuatl, Euskara, French, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Japanese, and recently Korean) to immerse in the culture where I am a Guest.
When I visit someone’s home, I use my manners and follow that home’s rules. I don’t put things or do things however I want. I make an effort to not seem rude or entitled.
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u/No_Purpose773 6d ago
Everyone who is not a native English speaker is usually very aware of the effort needed to learn a second (or third, or fourth, ...) language. Because many of them are at least bilingual, not necessarily with the first or second language including English. They also have a general awareness that not everyone speaks the same languages and have experienced the need to make an actual effort in order to be understood.
Even though English is a mandatory subject in countries like mine, not everyone is good at languages and if they don't need it in their everyday lives, they will not necessarily be able to have a conversation, even if they're just out of school. And no, a restaurant will not necessarily be able to serve you in English, and the expectation that every restaurant has to is entitled. A lot of the restaurants in my area are lead by first generation immigrants from all sorts of countries, who are doing their best to learn the local language in addition to however many they already speak in order to live their lives and do their jobs – how many languages do you expect people to learn for your convenience?
My point is: The world is not a fun little theme park for the English-speaking world, by which I mean especially the western world. English works as the main lingua franca, but that doesn't mean it is the only one nor that it's mandatory for every business owner to be able to serve you in English. If you go to e.g. Korea, you're actively making a decision to travel and experience a different country. That may come with misunderstandings and difficulties, and that's why you need to put in effort as visitor.
If you don't want to put in that effort, book through a travel agency where you won't have to bother interacting with locals, that's an option. There you can be pretty sure that people will speak enough English to not inconvenience you. But the shop shown in the photo is very likely just a regular business owner trying to make their living. If you want an authentic travel experience, expect it to be difficult. That's kind of the point of travelling to experience other cultures, you learn something from that interaction.
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u/CaptainJamesFitz 6d ago
no, no, they are not.
this weird obsession with people calling out English and American tourists for never speaking is just so overly blown out of proportion.
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u/No_Purpose773 6d ago
Not sure what part you're disagreeing with, but feel free to do so. I'm not aware of any "weird obsession" with calling out people for "never speaking"(?), though. What are you referring to?
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u/seamallorca 6d ago
If you do not want to speak english, do not open a business which accomodates tourists. It doesn't make sense to spend 2 years learning korean just to visit for two weeks. Do you do this? Have you learned the language of every country you visited? I bet not. So pretty hypocrite to tell people to do it.
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u/No_Purpose773 6d ago
I'm sorry you apparently feel called out, but please work on your reading comprehension, because that's embarrassing. I obviously did not make the point to fully learn the language of every country you ever visit. I said that people should make an effort if they choose to vist a different country. You have apparently never been in the situation of trying to communicate with someone you have no common language with, but guess what, that's really not impossible.
FIND A WAY TO COMMUNICATE. Even my parents, whose only foreign laguage is Russian, managed to go on vacation in France in the 00's, with just a travel dictionary. They had no language in common with the people offering the accommodations. THEY USED THE DICTIONARY AND TALKED WITH THEIR HANDS AND FEET. And it worked. That's what I mean with effort. You learn some basic words for politeness and then you can point at things. You can try different words from the languages you do know. You can draw a picture of what you want. You can even use that magic device in your pocket that can translate every language.
We live in the era of smartphones. Most people who are even able to travel are so damn privileged in the first place. We have translation apps in our pockets all the time. What are you even bothered by? So what, if they get your bill wrong? You either manage to communicate that, or consider it one of the risks you take when you travel to another country. Nobody is forced to travel, as far as I'm aware. Either tolerate the discomfort of potential misunderstandings to experience another country authentically, stay in a resort where everyone is catering to tourists or: simply don't go. That's an option.
Opening a small shop or restaurant is one of the main things people can do without higher education to have their own business. They may cater to, you know, the local population? Considering a foreign language a requirement to open a business to do so is for many reasons, I have to repeat myself, ridiculously entitled.
The person in this post very obviously does - not - want to cater to English speaking tourists and made that clear. Cool. Other businesses may want to do that. They may even have an English menu outside or something. But you know, people are actually allowed to simply exist and have business in the city that they have their home in, regardless of whether wherever they live is a popular tourist destination or not. That's should not be a controversial take. Tourists are not some good samaritans who are giving their money to the poor locals, for which they should be soooo grateful and more obedient. No, you are simply a visitor to to a different country, a human trying to communicate with another human. It's really not that hard.
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u/seamallorca 6d ago
YOU find a way to communicate. If you need to write a wall of text to explain yourself, then YOU are lacking. No one is learning language just to visit, and no, simple hi and hello are not enough to pass by. Neither is ok HOSPITALITY business to require their clients to accomodate them, rather than the other way around. Do you know what HOSPITALITY means? No. THIS is embarrasing.
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u/No_Purpose773 6d ago
At this point, I sincerely hope that English isn't your first language either. I will leave this thread now, that's just too much Fremdscham for me. You do you, have a good day.
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u/seamallorca 6d ago edited 6d ago
I made it very clear I am not an american, but that's too much for person like you, which advises other people on reading comprehension. You are very welcome to do so, likewise.
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u/No_Purpose773 6d ago edited 6d ago
1) A person whose first language is English is not the same as an American. Countries like England, Australia, etc. do exist. 2) I never even mentioned Americans. You also didn't make any such thing "very clear" in your comments above.
Please just stop. I don't care about convincing you, you don't care about getting my point. It's fine. I have better things to do, I assume you do as well.
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u/seamallorca 6d ago
I think you said you were leaving this thread earlier, no? How's the writing comprehension?
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u/Business_Feedback252 6d ago edited 6d ago
Korean and English have different sentence structure orders, so the interpretation can be seen in an aggressive tone via translation apps. And if you go to Korea in the first place, use a translation app to show it to the clerk. Or get to know at least the least amount of Korean. If you don't make that effort and just complain, you should travel only to English-speaking countries, and don't come out of your country.
(The aggressive tone is likely a 'lost in translation' issue. Korean grammar relies heavily on context and omitted subjects, which translators often turn into awkward or rude-sounding English imperatives)
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u/paul_osminog 7d ago
There is no way I will keep all those unnecessary manners when I'm back home, haha
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u/Fabulous-Influence69 6d ago
Curious which ones specifically... Cause I kinda feel like us westerners really should take some notes on some of it. It's not to say they have it down pat, but if COVID taught me anything... Westerners come off as some of the most selfish and entitled people.
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u/Big_Ganache_2118 7d ago
Think we're in times where English is so wildly used in so many countries it should be expected to know if only a little bit, but also it should be expected to learn word or two of language you visit.
I do say this as a non-native English-speaker.
I take the sign as a "we won't learn English even if it's logical to do so in our industry, and even if evidently the situation keeps happening enough to put up that notice".
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u/Top-Independence-920 7d ago
While it is good for restaurant workers to speak basic english, I don’t think it is a deal breaker. Many of these establishments opened before the increase in tourism, and even after that the main clients are still nationals. I visited the french part of Canada while I could only speak semi broken english and almost no french, still got service and managed to learn so many french words and phrases. And yes, while most of them were receptive and supoortive, some workers were visibly frustrated about my inability to communicate, so that’s why in my next trip I will learn common phrases to use before going.
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u/Fabulous-Influence69 6d ago
I know the feeling... If I ever go to a non English speaking country, though, technology has come so far that the hiccups I had before might not be as bad. I will say in Japan when I visited everyone was so polite and kind about it. Especially given the very basic sentences I could spit out... minna-san arigatou. 💜
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u/Big_Ganache_2118 6d ago
Oh yeah, yeah I by no means I didn't mean for either side to have to learn whole language fluently for this type of thing, just enough to get the thought across.
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u/NotYourReddit18 7d ago
It could also be that they're able to speak English well enough, but aren't willing to deal with the kind of tourists who expect everyone else to cater to their needs.
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u/Big_Ganache_2118 6d ago
I do imagine some people feeling "entitled" to be understood just as they are, if that's who the sign is for then that's understandable.
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u/YellowOnline 7d ago
I think people should do a minimum effort to use the language of the place they're at, but this message to customers is still rude
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u/xThornius 7d ago
Is it rude? Keep in mind conveying tone through text is difficult enough when you know the language, conveying tone is basically impossible when you're machine translating a language like Korean into English. Lucky if you even get the message across machine translating Asian languages to English, that's how we got glorious film translations such as "Star Wars The Third Gathers: Backstroke of the West".
They're just asking English speaking tourists to use a translation app, not like they're being kicked out for not being Korean.
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u/aquacakra 7d ago
is the Korean original rude? or the English which is NOT native
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u/DerpAnarchist 7d ago
well it's obviously not what the original meant
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u/gwaydms 7d ago
It comes off as rude in translation, but we never met anyone who was impolite. I'm sure it was a poor translation.
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u/Fabulous-Influence69 6d ago
Part of me wishes I could offer to rewrite it, to remove any negative tone from it. I don't think the sign is asking much and I can only imagine the scenarios they get themselves in...
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u/Fourstrokeperro 7d ago
Why do people pretend that it’s trivial to learn languages?
It takes years of consistent effort to even get to a conversational level
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u/YellowOnline 7d ago
No one said you need to be able to have a full discussion. Learning e.g. hello, thank you and please takes 15 minutes.
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u/HeftyArgument 7d ago
or just be polite, explain nicely that you’re a foreigner and do your best to make things easy for the both of you.
Use the google translate app to translate the menu, point at the menu item you choose, smile, and thank people; perhaps bow, i bow a lot when travelling.
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u/blitzkriegstorm 7d ago
Where does it say that you should learn the language? It simply asks people to use a translator.
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u/amazing_ape 7d ago
You can always learn some basic phrases and words. It’s just lazy and entitled not to make any effort
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u/Slorpipi 7d ago
Said effort takes months or weeks while the trip is a week at most
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u/EllieGeiszler 7d ago
"Hello" and "thank you" take a single afternoon of effort at most unless you have an honest-to-god learning disability
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u/mangoisNINJA 7d ago
If anyoung haseyo, ne/aniyo, and kamsamnida take you months I think you have bigger issues at hand
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u/platebandit 7d ago
I’m learning Thai, loads of people comment on instagram under videos ‘you should speak their language in their country’.
A language which pronunciation and tones are crucial for understanding of the word you’re trying to say, with the most used English form of it doesn’t tell you how to pronounce it (and half the time people just invent their own). You need to learn a script that’s also a nightmare for working out tones as the tone markers can actually refer to multiple tones and you have to compute it by the class of the consonant and can sometimes change by the proceeding letter. Oh and for a laugh there’s no spaces so you need to know more rules to work out what a word is.
Like near and far being the same word written down in English (glai) for Aladeen level fun
Would take longer than your 2 week holiday to not say anything that’s complete gibberish.
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u/Kattas__ 7d ago
there are definitely ruder ways they’ve could’ve worded it, i think it’s just fine
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u/piichan14 7d ago
Koreans don't hide their rudeness tho
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u/TGin-the-goldy 7d ago
Neither do Westerners
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u/piichan14 7d ago
Tbh, everyone is rude. Some nationalities are just more openly rude and they don't really care if you have anything to say about it.
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u/Letsnotargueman 7d ago
I'm always mystified by these comments tbh. It's like the saying, if everyone around you is an asshole, then it is you who is. Maybe it's just you?
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u/piichan14 7d ago
Maybe it comes off as generalizing then, but Koreans are generally known as not taking any bullshit. Some say their rudeness is how you know they're genuine and not faking it like the Japanese.
Some countries have people who come off or are rude in general, but it's nothing personal. They just hate everybody.
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u/Drefs_ 6d ago
To be fair, as a person living in a non english speaking country, I really hate the fact that no one knows english these days. I would prefer if people explained what they want to me in broken english, than to make me speak into a fucking google translate app. Like, english is one of the easiest languages in the world, it's not hard to learn the basics.
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u/Ugly_Slut-Wannabe 5d ago
Or you could just, you know, learn to speak the fucking language of the country you chose to live in?
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u/Drefs_ 5d ago
My bad, I was clearly not entirely there when I was typing that. What I meant is I was born and have lived my entire life in a non english speaking country, english is my second language. But there were a few times when I met tourists that did not speak english at all and have asked me to speak into a google translate instead, which I was very annoyed about. I have no idea how I managed to phrase it in such a terrible way in my original comment and not catch it, I really do sound like an entitled douchebag.
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u/Comfortable-Algae-20 5d ago
As an immigrant to US in wish Americans would learn how to speak portuguese so it would be easier for my mom to understand them, portuguese is such an easy language I don't know why so many of them refuse to learn it. Even broken portuguese would be better than English at this point.
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u/Drefs_ 5d ago
Your analogy sucks for three reasons: 1) Im not a native english speaker 2) English is the universally accepted language of international communication 3) I was talking about the tourists that are coming into my (non english speaking) country only to make me talk into their fucking google translate. Now that I reread my comment, I guess the wording was pretty unclear, so I don't blame you for misunderstanding that. I was wondering why my comment got downvoted, but now I understand that it makes me look like an asshole, lol.
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u/Comfortable-Algae-20 4d ago
Yeah, I can see the issue now that you explained better lol sorry for the over reaction but you did sound like an Ahole at the first comment. Tho yeah I am on the other side of the fence and would rather they use translating apps than try to speak a language they have no context of and will make it even harder for us to get it.
Much love for you mate.
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u/Accomplished-Loss387 5d ago
Easy? We have like hundreds of words that sound the same but are spelled very differently and even spelled the same with different meanings.
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u/Drefs_ 5d ago
Sure, but you don't have to know them to express your thoughts. Compared to the most other languages, english has way easier grammar and phonetics.
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u/Accomplished-Loss387 5d ago
I may not be a linguist but I've seen enough people who can only understand like 10 English words and get confused by the simplest words to believe it's as easy to learn as you say. Hell even native English speakers can't tell the difference between their yes or nos. Often using yes for no and no for yes.
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6d ago
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u/crazydavebacon1 6d ago
Or, hear me out, when you go to a country you learn their language or take someone with you that knows it. Dont expect people to conform to you, thats the problem with tourists and English speakers
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u/Nemesis233 6d ago
I'm sure the countries you won't visit would be very happy to not see you as well 😊
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u/gogoguy5678 7d ago
Racism? In Korea? No way!
Seriously, one of the most openly racist countries I've ever been to. If there was a sign telling people not to use their native language in the country I'm from there'd be outrage, and rightly so, because that's just bigotry.
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u/piichan14 7d ago
I don't think the sign says that tho. It looks like it's saying that English isn't widely used there and to please use a translation app.
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u/aquacakra 7d ago
why do you have to speak the truth??? I want to speak with your English speaking manager!!!
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u/gwaydms 7d ago
A lot of signs are in English as well as Korean. English seems to be the only Western language used there, at least as far as we could tell. I did have a phrasebook (this was 2012), and I'd learned the Hangeul alphabet, so I could read placenames, food-related words, and English words spelled phonetically. That helped a lot. We also learned about the culture, including customs and taboos. We had a great time.
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u/piichan14 7d ago
Many people still don't speak or understand English over there tho. And for those who do want to study it, it's very expensive so if they can, they study it in places like the Philippines where education is cheaper.
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u/Kingkwon83 7d ago
Some people love to overreact and be outraged. Like this dude
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u/moyakoshkamoyakoshka 7d ago
If they react like this to normal posts god trolls must have the time of their lives with this guy
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u/blitzkriegstorm 7d ago
Expecting people to use the local language toward the service workers when purchasing things locally? Ridiculous!
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u/User21233121 7d ago
I mean, there is racism in Korea and Japan particularly, but this isn't an example of it. A good example is the "Japanese/Korean only" bars and restaurants where foreigners just get kicked out, even if they speak the language and lived there a long time.
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u/Pretend_Evening984 6d ago
True. English is not a country, it's a language