does anyone else find it annoying when foreign people talk their own language while in your own country?

Question

Not being rasist but I find it very rude that people come over from another country and want to live as a member of this country yet talk (loudly) in their own language, how do you know they are not slagging you off or saying stuff about other people, surely if they are in your country abiding by your countries rules and want to be a member of your country shouldn't they speak your own countries language?

And i dont mean visit the country I mean come to live here, if i went to live and work abroad and was able (as all these people are) to talk the language there i would

Answer 1

no it does not because wen we go and visit their country we speak in our language too (english).

Answer 2

According to your statement in additional details "if i went to live and work abroad and was able (as all these people are) to talk the language there i would" it sounds like you think that all of these foreigners can speak english. This is not true. A lot of illegal mexicans are here simply to provide a better life for there family. They work 12 hour days and then probably spend the rest of the day resting or playing with their kids.

As for other english speaking bilinguals it is true that they will sometime talk in "code" This one b**ch called me an a**hole in spanish thinking I would not understand. I can assure you though she truely was a stupid b**ch though, not all do this.

There might also be some other a**holes talking about you in another language; but think about this; if they are big enough a**holes to do that, do you think you would be friends with them anyway? Their true colors will eventually show. In other words isn't it obvious. It is just like two english speakers talking behind your back; I mean you will eventually figure out that these guys are scum anyway right?

It sounds like you are just paranoid over nothing. Most non-native english speakers are probably just happy to find others from who speak their language to converse with. Language is not just the words you say it also represents a culture. And speaking their native language can probably seem very comforting in a foreign environment.

Answer 3

I think it's only natural to speak in your native tongue whether you're living in a foreign country or working there or just visiting when you're speaking to someone from your own country or someone who shares the same language as you. I can say this from experience. I live in Spain (speak fluent Spanish), but English is my first language so if I'm talking to a friend from an English-speaking country, I'll use English to communicate unless there are Spanish people who don't know English amongst us. Then I think it's rude if we only speak English.

Answer 4

Ok. I think you somehow think English is a national language, huh? Guess what, there has never in this nation's history been a time when people spoke exclusively English. With the exception of native american folks, all of us speak a foreign language. (By the way, pardner, I bet English was a foreign language where you live up until about 100 years or so ago.) It is not racist, it's ethnocentric, that is, the idea that everyone should be the same as us. Get tolerant and learn some other languages. If you are so insecure that you think someone is slaggin' you, they probably are. Dipshit is probably universal.

Answer 5

If you had ever tried to communicate in a foreign language you would appreciate how much easier it is to speak in your mother tongue - even if you have lived in a foreign country for a long time! As for 'slagging you off' as you put it, how odd that you should think this! Look up 'paranoia' in the dictionary. Oh, and do try to look at things from a more tolerant point of view!

Answer 6

I was told - many years ago -

In a foreign country, in presence of the others from that country, NOT to use any other language even when speaking with others who shares your native language. It's just not a polite thing to do.

Obviously, being polite isn't important anymore for many people. Their wish to do whatever they want - mistakenly called freedom, and rights, and belief that anything else will be a discrimination against them are more prevalent.

Yes, I personally find it rude. If they must, I wish they lower their volume to the level that is enough for them to communicate.

Answer 7

You try living in Spain, for example, with a fellow English-Speaker and speak English while not annoying the locals.

It's the same story wherever you go so complaining about it just does not make sense.

If it really bothers you that much, stop being so paranoid and learn their language. That way, you'll know what they are saying.

Also, they may respect you for at least trying to learn more about them and you'll make some new friends in the proces :-)

Answer 8

more then 99% of the time, they are going to be talking about every day things in life - Family, Work, Shopping, ect.
Many are working on learning English, but with in people from their culture, they feel more comfortable speaking their mother tounge. Do you propose that before ANYONE can come to a new country that they should pass a language profiency test? (examples: TOFEL - English; HSK - Mandarin Chinese) How would you propose to do that?
Try moving to China for a few years, learn Mandarin, but see if you will still talk to people in English when you can.

Answer 9

I agree with you.

In my town I have been hearing a lot of polish - I dont speak a word of it. I think I heard that there are about one million eastern europeans in the UK now who arrived in the last year or so.

I'm sure the native americans, aborigines, palestinians etc feel the same.

When I go abroad, I make an effort to speak the local language if I know it.

Answer 10

"Racist", and I actually do find your comment kind of racist in nature even if you say it is not. I am the son of two Vietnamese immigrants who came over to this country about 20 years ago for a better life. They have worked everyday they have been here, and in the process really did not have time to attend English classes. After absorbing the language for this number of years, they now speak English fairly well when associating with English speaking people. Around the house, and when conversing with one another in public we prefer to make things easier by speaking our native tongue Vietnamese.

Think of it this way. If you and your wife (husband?) were to re-locate to say Japan for an outstanding job opportunity, would you walk around Toyko speaking Japanese to one another? Doubtful. America is known as the melting pot of the world for a reason. Embrace diversity instead of avoiding it.

Answer 11

Not at all, they are within their rights.

I learned Dutch just so I could tell when I was being slagged off by the Dutch people at work. I wasn't and now I can speak Dutch (which is pointless).

Why put "not being racist" on your post? That's up to others to judge, I'm sure that you will get some people slagging you off in English for this question.