As travelers we are all lucky to speak English

[Gone4Good]

"If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it is good enough for me." [FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif]

[/FONT]

Classic.

 

[CoolChange]

...
Heard stories about countrymens to me being assulted in the streets, when visiting a non-western country, because speaking brittish with american accent, then receiving an excuse. "sorry, whe thought you where americans"

English might be the lingua-franka of travellers... but also a burden.

I am from the USA and have been told several times by new friends met while traveling (generally at some local pub/tavern/bar/saloon) that I should claim to be Canadian to avoid this; but, I have never actually been hassled enough to try this.

 

[tuixiu]

I've heard that a lot too (pretend to be anything but American, sew Canadian flag on your backpack, etc.) but I believe it's a lot more hype that reality.

Not saying there haven't been people who's gotten into drama because of an anti-American bias, just saying it seems way overstated and among best practices for not getting yourself into trouble when traveling your nationality is waaaay down the danger list compared to the obvious like not wandering back to hotel alone along dark street, not wearing lots of jewelry, not discussing politics when everyone is drinking a lot, etc.

 

[FIREngineer]

Check out this funny defense of Americans being uni-lingual: Structured Procrastination - On Becoming Bilingual

 

[Gone4Good]

With respect to "anti-Americanism" abroad, I personally haven't experienced it. Most of the people I've met abroad are delighted to talk about their trips to NY, or their nephew who's going to school in North Carolina, or any number of other things. Rarely, if ever, have I experienced any kind of unpleasantness because of my country of origin.

I suspect this notion that American's are hated overseas is mostly an old wives tale perpetuated by a bunch of xenophobes who've never actually left the country.

 

[FUEGO]

With respect to "anti-Americanism" abroad, I personally haven't experienced it. Most of the people I've met abroad are delighted to talk about their trips to NY, or their nephew who's going to school in North Carolina, or any number of other things. Rarely, if ever, have I experienced any kind of unpleasantness because of my country of origin.

I suspect this notion that American's are hated overseas is mostly an old wives tale perpetuated by a bunch of xenophobes who've never actually left the country.

Same here. Last trip abroad it was "my friend/bro/sis studied/worked in Chicago/NYC/LA. Is that near your [east coast state of residence]?" Yes, it is near as compared to the 5000 miles that separates me where I was versus my home in the US.

I think it is some attitude that certain Americans adopt that other cultures or countries are far superior to the USA in some or all respects. As a result, they think other people abroad SHOULD hate us all and hate our national origin.

It is probably like a small segment of the US that "hated" the french sometime in the 2000's decade for something they did (can't recall - musn't have been very important). You know, the "freedom fries" eaters. Would a person in France be accurate if they said "All Americans hate French people"? No!

And then there is a distinction between hating a nation of people and hating individual people. Non-Americans may hate the US for being imperialist bastards (or [insert insult here]). But when you strike up a conversation with a non-American, you are dealing one on one with another living, feeling, thinking human being that is probably interested in you as an individual more than hating you as an imperialist bastard.

I don't know - maybe those Canadian flag wearing Americans just don't have very good interpersonal skills. Or maybe they spend most of their time abroad hanging out with fellow Americans wearing Che Guevara shirts traveling the hippie circuit, and all hating on their own country.

 

[Gone4Good]

I think it is some attitude that certain Americans adopt that other cultures or countries are far [inferior]to the USA in some or all respects. As a result, they think other people abroad SHOULD hate us all and hate our national origin.

I think there is some of that. I think there is also a lot of just plain ignorance. A quick calc at the US Passport site shows that fewer than 100MM Americans have passports. That means at least 2/3 of our population doesn't leave the country. Maybe never has. It's easy for people to believe stereotypes when they never actually confront reality. Mark Twain said it best in The Innocents Abroad . . .

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."

 

[FUEGO]

I think there is some of that. I think there is also a lot of just plain ignorance. A quick calc at the US Passport site shows that fewer than 100MM Americans have passports. That means at least 2/3 of our population doesn't leave the country. Maybe never has. It's easy for people to believe stereotypes when they never actually confront reality.

I have always associated the "wear a Canadian Flag on your backpack and you'll be ok" with the stereotypical 20-something American who spent a summer during or after college backpacking from hostel to hostel in Europe (or SE Asia), hanging out with mostly 20-something backpacking westerners of very similar mindset. I just assumed these people thought it was cooler to be from somewhere that wasn't big bad US of A.

 

[WanderALot]

Never had any issues with anti-Americanism during my travels. This includes a few majority-Muslim countries that I've been to. I don't make it a point of announcing loudly that I'm American ("American coming through, please make way") but when asked, I don't ever say that I'm Canadian or anything else. I remember one particular incident when an Australian and I apologized to each other for the actions of our respective countrymen at a hostel where we we both staying!

The vast majority of people are friendly, especially when you [-]butcher[/-] attempt to speak their language. Some people are genuinely curious about certain perceptions about America which could start a political discussion. But I've never had non-civil discussion.

It's so easy to pigeon-hole people or to boil an entire country into a sum of its stereotypes. Fortunately, it's equally easy to melt away a stereotype once you start talking to an individual.

 

[freebird5825]

I was "bilingual" at one point in my life - I studied Castillian Spanish for 4 years in high school. These days, I can still read just enough to get by. I'm not able to converse or write freely, but I would do very well with a phrase book.
My overseas travel has been very limited, however...
Once upon a time in the 1990s, I flew solo to Europe to meet up with LH, who was already there on business. The plan was to bop around Germany, Holland, and Denmark by car. He had done this when he was in the Navy stationed in Naples in the 1970s.
No way was I going to be an ugly American overseas. I was armed with pocket size Berlitz phrase guides. I memorized several cordial phrases for initial greetings or simple questions. My attempts at speaking German, Dutch, and Danish were very well received.
It may have had something to do with the smile on my face and positive body language. Then everyone switched to English.

 

[tinlizzy]

We experienced a lot of anti-American sentiment in France after the invasion of Iraq while we were visiting in 2003. Particularly upsetting was dirt in our water at a diner (a big pinch, mind you, with vermiculite floating to the top). C'mon, my child is 12 and you're putting dirt with fertilizer in his water?

All other visits to different countries have been great. We were probably ugly Americans in Japan though - we had all caught a cold in China and had runny noses. How do the Japanese refrain from blowing their noses in public when they have a cold?

 

[REWahoo]

How do the Japanese refrain from blowing their noses in public when they have a cold?

Like this?

 

[FIREd]

We experienced a lot of anti-American sentiment in France after the invasion of Iraq while we were visiting in 2003. Particularly upsetting was dirt in our water at a diner (a big pinch, mind you, with vermiculite floating to the top). C'mon, my child is 12 and you're putting dirt with fertilizer in his water?

Few select people on this board are aware of this, but I am a Frenchman. There. I've said it. Even if it eats me alive sometimes, I guard this information very carefully. So I still feel a bit uneasy coming out on a public forum like this one.

I am very sorry to hear what happened to you in France. It's inexcusable. It's one thing to oppose a country's policies and quite another to verbally or physically attack that country's citizens.

But I can attest that the French community living in the US had to deal with similar BS. It was so bad in 2004 that I almost moved back to Europe. In addition to the personal attacks, the constant and widespread French-bashing in the media became unbearable and each anti-French comment or joke became like a dagger that someone planted in my stomach. It felt horrible.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Few select people on this board are aware of this, but I am a Frenchman.

Living in Alabama, to boot! I was born here, and I would have major reservations about living in Alabama. Even driving through Alabama.

The only country I have experienced anti-American treatment is Canada. Maybe a whiff in Germany and Holland (so much for having a Dutch surname), but the Canucks (not uniformly, but IMHO more than half) are definitely hostile. (I learn so much by keeping my mouth shut and listening. )

Cheers,

Gypsy

 

[FUEGO]

The only country I have experienced anti-American treatment is Canada. Maybe a whiff in Germany and Holland (so much for having a Dutch surname), but the Canucks (not uniformly, but IMHO more than half) are definitely hostile. (I learn so much by keeping my mouth shut and listening. )

The bastion of civility, Canada? Say it ain't so!!

 

[kcowan]

In Italy, we were touring with four other cruisers, 2 from San Francisco and 2 from Texas. The Texan man was wearing a cap with the Canuck flag displayed front and center. Being Canadian, we asked the Texan where he was from. Houston he said without blinking!

 

[WanderALot]

But I can attest that the French community living in the US had to deal with similar BS. It was so bad in 2004 that I almost moved back to Europe. In addition to the personal attacks, the constant and widespread French-bashing in the media became unbearable and each anti-French comment or joke became like a dagger that someone planted in my stomach. It felt horrible.

 

[Alan]

We once had an interesting experience in Sydney, Australia. We were in a bank attempting to change some travelers checks into Australian $. I was stood behind DW who was doing all the speaking. Unlike me she is very good at "linguistic accommodation" but the bank teller guessed she was English from her accent and was very rude. When she asked for id, DW slapped down her Louisiana driver's license and you could see the thoughts running through the teller's mind -"US $ travelers checks, US driving license, strange accent - OMG she's not English, she's American". Her attitude changed immediately and was extremely polite and welcoming from that point on





Full disclosure - we've spent 8 weeks in Australia and this was the only time we've ever came across a bad attitude or service, despite the stereotype that the Ozzies hate the Pommes.

 

[tinlizzy]

It felt horrible.

Sounds like we each had unfortunate experiences.

I got side tracked going down bad memory lane. Before we went on the vacation to France my ds and I took a French class. Unfortunately we keep our mouths shut most of the time.

Italy and Japan I tried but unless the accents are dead on, they really have a hard time figuring out what you are saying. The Chinese on the other hand, God bless 'em, see it as a challenge and a chance to teach you and will have you say something again and again. They try to guess your nationality (they thought my Chinese sounds Italian which amused ds) and hug you for trying even when you are telling them you don't want any. I loved the Chinese, they are so very nice (to each other not so much...but I did secretly enjoy watching them scream at each other in public - lol).

she's not English, she's American". Her attitude changed immediately and was extremely polite and welcoming from that point on.

Funny. I always get Australian and British accents mixed up.

One of my favorite forums is WordReference Forums Be careful though it's really addicting for some reason.

 

[kcowan]

Funny. I always get Australian and British accents mixed up...

The ability to distingish between Aussie, Brit and South African is indeed a fine art. But the speaker will consider it a great talent on your part.

 

[audreyh1]

The ability to distingish between Aussie, Brit and South African is indeed a fine art. But the speaker will consider it a great talent on your part.

Don't forget to add New Zealand to that list.

Audrey

 

[kumquat]

The only country I have experienced anti-American treatment is Canada. Maybe a whiff in Germany and Holland (so much for having a Dutch surname), but the Canucks (not uniformly, but IMHO more than half) are definitely hostile. (I learn so much by keeping my mouth shut and listening. )

Cheers,

Gypsy

Cummon Ed. We Canucks, collectively, think you you-alls are ok individually but your collective persona leaves a bit to be desired. Most of us have met one or two who do fit the "ulgy American" stereotype. The term "tarred with the same brush" comes to mind. Don't leave Cowtown for Tronna or Ottawa, you'll get a real shock there.

Disclaimer: Some of my best friends are from south of the border.

 

[audreyh1]

Heck, in 2006 we got some really nasty looks due to our TX license plates in Washington State! For some reason, by our visit in 2008 this seemed to have gone away.

Audrey

 

[Alan]

The ability to distingish between Aussie, Brit and South African is indeed a fine art. But the speaker will consider it a great talent on your part.

Don't forget to add New Zealand to that list.

Audrey

I've met so few New Zealanders that I don't think that I could tell the difference. Back in 1979 we went on vacation to Ireland, and at a beauty spot on the Ring of Kerry I thought I had met my first ever Americans but when I asked what part of the USA they were from I got a very agitated "We are Canadians!!". A few days later while lining up at Blarney Castle to go and kiss the stone we heard a group of 4 tourists ahead of us and one of them hollered "Anyone wanting the gift of the gab line up here - Texans need not bother". I turned to my wife and said "Ah, that's what an American accent sounds like ".

Never in our wildest dreams did we expect to move to Texas 8 years later

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

kumquat,

I have been working in Ontario, Alberta and now BC for over seven years. Alberta was the most friendly, but don't take it for granted. I get along best with the immigrants.