Perthbum

They don't give a shit as long as you spend plenty of euros.

JLFS

I can understand that certain words should not be used, but it has not slipped my notice that whenever the British footie commentators talk about
Aguero, they always call him Sergio Aguero, whereas he has always been known as "KUN" pronounced coon.

I think that is taking then "not offending anyone policy" too far.

Kun is the name he is known by,but now it seems that it must change, and I dont understand why, as in his country of oregin neither the spelling or pronunciation have any offensive meaning.

Perthbum

Germans followed by french, aussies, greeks, spanish then Brits.

rachelk

Way back when I was still watching them every week, Celtic briefly had a Brasilian on their books, name of Rafael Scheidt.

He was known as Rafael and that was went on the back of his shirt.

bil

I think you will find people do give a shit.

I always endeavour to be polite, and making an effort with the language is polite.

Perthbum

True, but they are still more interested in how much you spend no matter what your dialect is.

bil

I didn't say they wouldn't be interested in the money. It was just that you said they didn't give a shit.

Perthbum

My opinion after working and living with the Spanish.

JLFS

I tend to agree with you.

HBG

I was in a bank today, queuing behind an expat lady who made a real effort to speak Spanish. She asked to withdraw 3,000 Euros from her account and handed over her ID and bank book. The lady cashier got her to sign the necessary forms which were all stamped up and then counted out the money to her.

As the pile grew, the expat lady started to get agitated, forgot her Spanish and said in English that she only wanted to withdraw 300 Euros. The Spanish cashier looked down at the pile of notes, the ladies bank book and other forms and swore, in her own language.

I left the queue and went for a coffee in the bar next door. It took 45 minutes to sort it all out.

bil

What, that the Spanish don't give a shit whether you try to learn the language or not?

There are a lot of times that I really wonder if I'm living in the same country as some of the posters here.

I take learning the language seriously, learning appropriate phrases (tho sometimes the inappropriate ones are way more useful) and modeling my pronunciation and vocabulary on the local Andaluz model rather than the strict Castillian version.

So far I have always received good service, with pleasant, friendly conversation with shop assistants, police, waiters and so on. The only rude Spaniards I have so far found have been some of the courier drivers, and I can live with that. I get my leg pulled for sounding andaluz, but never in a nasty way, and people always seem to appreciate my efforts. Never once have I been made to feel that the money was the be all and end all.

When my OH was out here on her own, while I was still in the uK, she ordered a load of firewood. The guy who delivered it insisted on wheelbarrowing the full load into the woodshed for her and refused to take the tip she offered as a thank you.

Then again perhaps it's this. I was told once that when you go into a new country or situation like that, you will encounter the type of people that you expect to.

hotchick

Hand signals are common place in a lot of countries and certainly not considered to be ignorant. I travel a lot to Dubai and no I know very little Arabic as they all speak perfect English and like this to be known. Although English is being spoken, all parties will still use hand signals. It is much the same in Italy.

Where do you draw the line if you don't know the word for something in a shop for instance is it rude to point ? If I am dealing with foreigners in England I don't think twice about how they are trying to make themselves understood, I just go with the flow and appreciate that they are trying to communicate. The last thing anybody wants is to be made to feel stupid and have their self confidence knocked.

Domino

every country I have ever been to (except South Africa) I have learnt a few basic words of the local lingo, it is only courteous to be able to say Yes, Please, No, Thank You, Pardon and perhaps Give Me 2 Beers.
the accent may be appalling but the effort has been made.
generally I then find they want to practice their far better English

the Brits are on the whole lazy about languages and many still believe that if you shout loud enough then Johnny Foreigner will eventually get it through his thick skull

however, I do think the drivers of the noddy buses from Granada central to the Alhambra are selected for only being able to speak Spanish and nothing else. they also start shouting if you dont understand them - wonder where they got that from

how to win friends and influence people (not)

fionamw

The way I look at it, it matters not if it was their first or fifty first visit to Spain, Morocco, Hong Kong or Kenya. It matters not that English is one of the four, if not the single, most important languages internationally. It matters not that the couple possibly couldn't have struck up a detailed conversation about the state of the waves that day, or why the N340 is the most dangerous road in S Spain. What matters is making a minute effort to know a very few words when you walk into an establishment (just forget the country for a moment) where the native language is not English. Why being embarrassed by someone seemingly not prepared to do that should make anyone puke, or finding it cringeworthy be regarded as pathetic, I don't know.
My Spanish isn't by my own definition good but I make the effort even in places and with people I know to speak better English than my Spanish. I consider it arrogant and impolite to do any different. Of course pointing has its place - I most certainly don't know the name of every last plumbing accessory in the ferreteria, for example! But I do know an approximation, and how to say 'sorry, it's another thing for which I don't know the name!'
I get that the € is probably what the camarero or his boss care most about, wouldn't any businessman......

I guess my point is that Anytown Spain, or wherever, isn't an international enclave where Fred and Freda Bloggs SHOULD be able to speak English as their first option. Second option, fair enough. But before even attempting 'dos cervezas' (with the attendant, and at that point not unreasonable, hand signals!) ????
Yes, I do think it's incumbent on people travelling 'abroad' to buy a cheap phrase book. One, six, 12 languages.. why not? The alternative would most definitely be that feeling of British superiority, in my humble........

Lenox

'Embarrassed by the Brits?' - it's not so much how they sound but how they dress! (Who wears the short shorts?)