I have experienced this many times, if you are in the U.K around british people then speak it!
2006-09-26 07:55:05 · 62 answers · asked by Appy 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
it is supposed to be rude. I used to work ing a company that had a couple of different nationalities the french seemed to be the worst for doing that.
lol
in fairness if they are not native english speakers speaking in english can be a strain so maybe you should give them a break.
but they should say something like 'excuse me but i'm going to talk to such and such a person in another language' they are after all excluding you from the conversation.
One Particular french person never did.
2006-09-26 08:21:20 · answer #1 · answered by mixturenumber1 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Not at all , we all do it at 1 time or another , can you speak the language of everyone you meet , whether at home or abroad , how many times have you met someone who can't speak English , and had a conversation with someone else in front of them in English , i think that people who are worried that the conversation might be about them should stop being so paranoid and get on with life , life is to short to worry about what other people are talking about in a language you can't understand , find something better to do with your time instead of worrying what other people are talking about , and if you really want to know then learn the language of anyone you're likely to meet , then you'll see that people have better things to discuss than those around them
2006-09-26 08:25:13 · answer #2 · answered by saint 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have my idea of what you are asking and I don't feel that it is correct; but, hey! why should that stop me? Firstly we must define the situation. I going to invent language A and language B (we might need C too.) We will assume that you are a not talking about a soliloquy or a recital like a mass in Latin. It seems that the situation calls for 3 parties: you who speak languages A and B. And two other parties one who speaks each language of A and B. It is not wrong to speak to A in A in front of B. But, it could be felt as a slight and so you should apologize to B and explain what you are talking in A to A.
I feel that this is not what you are talking about at all. I see also that you have a lot of answers so I expect it is one of those questions that is meant to knock someone or some nationality. I mean, if you are in a country and they are speaking its language and you are not understanding and feel that they should stop and inconvenience themselves to explain things to you; then you have some consideration due you to expect such a contract? Then sue them!
2006-09-26 23:58:50 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is an interesting question.
I work in an office with 33 people and 15 different nationalities with at least 7 different languages. It's so much easier for the German/Spanish/Dutch/Polish etc people to speak in their first language rather than English. Trouble is this can cause others (like me) to feel excluded. So my boss recently made it a policy that only English was allowed to be spoken within the office even between two Spanish people!
I know most large hotel chains such as Hilton or Marriott only allow English to be spoken within the office.
I love to hear people people talk in their own language but unfortunately certainly in offices it's dying out...
2006-09-26 08:30:43 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depending on the situation; I live in a Spanish speaking country and I use it to talk with my friends because it is a way to practice it. I make a point of not using it in front of other people so they don't think I'm talking about them. There was this one time, though, when I was with a friend in a food court and two women tried to pick my pocket; nothing like this had ever happened to me and I froze... the only thing I was able to do is to whisper in English to my friend that they had a knife next to me and then she turned around and screamed for the police which scare the women who got out of there running.
2006-09-26 12:59:50 · answer #5 · answered by jenny 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just in front of them, no not wrong. If you're actually in a group with them then it can be inappropriate...but not necessarily. I always speak English to my kids and my in-laws fully approve of that on principle, but I think now and then my MIL misses a comment I say and probably thinks it rather rude of me. (The rest of the conversation being in French.)
But, I've been teaching a class in English here in Switzerland and if I can't really say it's wrong, it's certainly VERY frustrating when the students (3 men) explain things to each other in Swiss German which I really don't understand at all. And since I'm not actually teaching English, I don't think I necessarily have the right to insist they speak English.
2006-09-26 08:58:18 · answer #6 · answered by Goddess of Grammar 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I dont think it wrong. If you are speaking your native language...I just dont' think it's very polite. I am bilingual (french and English) I make it a point to speak so everyone can understand...or if I am with two people and each speak an opposit language....I make sure they both know what is being said. I think that is just the polite thing to do. Nobody likes to feel excluded or not understand the conversation.
2006-09-26 07:57:54 · answer #7 · answered by wardsha2002 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It is rude if the speakers know the country's language. If they don't, or not well enough to carry a conversation, then allowances are made. My parents are Asian, and their command is partial, so they end up using half-half with us, but between siblings (and Asian friends) we speak English.
By the way, Freedom of Speech in the US refers to the right to state an opinion without fear of censorship, not to speak whatever language you want. And before anyone says anything, I am indeed a born citizen who speaks English 99.9% of the time...
...the other 0.1% is Klingon.
2006-09-26 08:12:15 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No i disagree with you, having travelled to other parts of the world i have found foreigners dont mind when i talk English.
If someone is in this county of a foreigne ethnicity it is impotant for them to remember there routes, its what makes them who they are as well as being British, i dont feel insulted at all when people are talking in foreigne tounge it's quiet interesting to listen to and amazing how theres so many different languages. Lets be free people and not have a controlled societs where you have to do the same as everyone else, life would become boring if we went in that dirrection.
2006-09-26 08:07:02 · answer #9 · answered by Jabba_da_hut_07 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am a foreigner living in the UK... I agree with you... Is not right because others may think that you are talking about them...
Even if I speak another language I try to speak only English.. But I have been around other foreigners who do that and they made me feel really bad... I felt excluded!
In fact, I have been in situations where my in-laws were talking bad things about me in their own language (Greek)... I felt like a stupid!! Is so horrible!!
2006-09-26 07:57:59 · answer #10 · answered by Marmot 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋