Do people there speak English?

[Amethyst]

I figure if the tradespeople (tilers, carpenters, landscapers) who come to our house, who are mainly recent immigrants with little education, can pick up enough English to understand me and mostly be understood by me, I can certainly learn a little Spanish. So I do a little bit of Duolingo every day. I am now able to read simple instructions, etc. in Spanish but still can't understand a word the tradespeople say to one another. I realize this is because Duolingo teaches the "ideal" form of the language, whereas the people speak colloquial Spanish to each other. I can't imagine how they manage to understand colloquial English.

 

[grasshopper]

Living 30 miles from Mexico I know just enough of the language to get by. But we have a part time neighbor from Belgium, who out of necessity has to speak French, Flemish(Dutch), German, and now has a pretty good grasp of Spanish, my English wouldn't pass English 101.

 

[Lurking]

I’m surprised Singapore was as far down as #5 in the list, given that English is the primary language there and clearly the most common of the official languages. For example, street signs and announcements are all in English (although they may have other languages, as well).

It makes me wonder where the United States, Canada, Great Britain and other English-as-the-official-language countries would fare.

 

[gayl]

Move Japan up on the list (higher than South Korea irregardless of age) & agree South Korean kids better than adults

 

[Souschef]

Oh that sounds so French!

My former boss married a lady from Bordeaux, France. He once asked her if Parisians were only rude to Americans. Her reply was , "Oh no, they are rude to everyone"

 

[6miths]

The French are very proud and protective of their language which until the early 20th century was the language of diplomacy and culture. It had served this role since 1600s when it had replaced Latin. It was the rise of the United States as a world power that propelled English to the fore. In Canada the government of our largest French speaking province actually passed laws banning all English signage in an effort to preserve the use of French. The 'language police' became somewhat infamous.

In other countries the learning of English was actively suppressed for the masses though I suspect the motivations were different. The former Soviet Union and South Africa are two examples that come to mind.

 

[audreyh1]

I figure if the tradespeople (tilers, carpenters, landscapers) who come to our house, who are mainly recent immigrants with little education, can pick up enough English to understand me and mostly be understood by me, I can certainly learn a little Spanish. So I do a little bit of Duolingo every day. I am now able to read simple instructions, etc. in Spanish but still can't understand a word the tradespeople say to one another. I realize this is because Duolingo teaches the "ideal" form of the language, whereas the people speak colloquial Spanish to each other. I can't imagine how they manage to understand colloquial English.

A great way to learn colloquial usage is to watch contemporary television shows in that language.

 

[audreyh1]

Recently I went across the border to buy some medicine in a Mexico border town. At the pharmacy I was telling the clerks how to say things in English. One of the guys said to the other - she speaks more Spanish than you do English! Well, yeah, their English was pretty limited, LOL! I guess I speak way more Spanish than the typical Winter Texan.

Spanish has become so automatic I don't even think anymore. Which is wonderful. Yesterday I was watching a video by a very rapidly speaking Spaniard. I usually have trouble with Spanish from Spain, but this lady was clear as a bell in spite of her rapid fire speech.

The really weird thing is that I've only been studying Dutch lately, but it did not interfere with my Spanish.

 

[HarveyS]

surprised England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USVI, BVI, India, Bahamas, Jamaica, Bermuda, etc. didn't make the list. I've been to most of these places and English is spoken just about everywhere.

 

[OldShooter]

Strange list. We generally don't worry about the language as long as the street signs use the Roman alphabet. Arabic, Tamil, etc. are too hard to follow, so there we go for a guide.

Actually, one place I remember a person being completely incomprehensible was in rural West Scotland. And he thought he was speaking English!

 

[Hermit]

Strange list. We generally don't worry about the language as long as the street signs use the Roman alphabet. Arabic, Tamil, etc. are too hard to follow, so there we go for a guide.

Actually, one place I remember a person being completely incomprehensible was in rural West Scotland. And he thought he was speaking English!

I thought that only happened in Texas!

 

[zinger1457]

I think the main reason people in many of the countries listed learned a second language is that it is seen as a useful job skill rather than a nice to have skill. In the southern US border states Spanish can be a useful skill to have but in the rest of the US I'm not sure a second language skill is all that useful for most people. I had French lessons throughout grammar school but found it a waste since I never really had a chance to use it outside of class. Learning a second language is like most skills, use it or lose it, and I lost it.

 

[latexman]

I can vouch for Singapore. My wife, oldest daughter, and I lived there 3 years and rarely had trouble communicating in English.

 

[Meadbh]

Here are the data for Canada (2016 Census)

Language Highlight Tables, 2016 Census

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/08/02/highlights-from-the-2016-census.html

 

[brett]

I kept up my French for a number of years by listening to hockey games in French and reading a French language daily newspaper.

Sadly, this has gone by the wayside. My French is not great. It takes me three days or so to get it back once we are in France.

I very much envy people who speak several languages. Makes us feel a little inferior when we travel.

 

[Amethyst]

There are places in England where I can't understand the locals. We lived in North Yorkshire for three years, and the natives who came to fix things were no easier to understand than Spanish. In fact, I might even do better with Spanish.

I thought that only happened in Texas!

 

[gerntz]

Spanish is gaining ground .

I doubt it. I'd bet more native Spanish speakers speak English by a long shot than the other way around.

 

[braumeister]

I stopped at one of the Hadrian's Wall spots (Housesteads IIRC) a couple of years ago and discovered I needed coins for the car park. Saw a tour bus sitting nearby so I walked over and asked the driver if he could change a fiver. He was quite friendly but he was also from North Yorkshire as far as I could tell. Didn't understand a word he said, but we worked out the transaction by sign language. He was still giving me helpful advice as I walked back to the car. DW asked me what we had been chatting about and I said "I don't have the faintest idea."

 

[brett]

I grew up in an environment where various Scottish and English accents were common.

I had friends, and a spouse, who often could not understand what those with a thick Scottish accent said.

You are correct...it can sound like a foreign language at times even when you discounts the words or sayings unique to the speaker's heritage.

 

[MRG]

I grew up in an environment where various Scottish and English accents were common.

I had friends, and a spouse, who often could not understand what those with a thick Scottish accent said.

You are correct...it can sound like a foreign language at times even when you discounts the words or sayings unique to the speaker's heritage.

After my first day of business in the UK spent in meetings and everyone's showing their best accents. My boss assured me it would get better. It did.

I had a buddy from Wales, after beers I understood less and less of what he was saying. By closing time I couldn't understand anything.

My favorite was being taken to a Scot's office who was ticked off at Megacorp. He spent 3 hours, yelling and telling me our system was "crap pure crap". Of course all this is in his thick accent and I only got every few words. Eventually I imagined myself in an original Star Treck episode talking to Scotty, who was po'ed. I'm sure a little smile was visable and brought on another round of "crap pure crap"!

I was only there 4 days and half of the first was spent getting chewed out but only understanding part of it.

 

[Amethyst]

A few years ago we had a Spanish member, who seems to have quit the forum, whose English was excellent (and colloquial).

I doubt it. I'd bet more native Spanish speakers speak English by a long shot than the other way around.

 

[Texas Proud]

I grew up in an environment where various Scottish and English accents were common.

I had friends, and a spouse, who often could not understand what those with a thick Scottish accent said.

You are correct...it can sound like a foreign language at times even when you discounts the words or sayings unique to the speaker's heritage.

LOL... I am a bit like MRG but I was there 14 months....

One time a lady from East Texas came to see me as we knew each other in Texas when I was there.... both her and the people from England asked me to translate Seems neither side could understand the others accent....

I actually could understand most of the people from Scotland... the only bid exception was when my sister and I went to Glasgow... some guy came up to us and started to talk... I was shaking my head that I did not understand what he was saying.. so he said it again and the only words I understood was 'Jerry Springer'.... he had a talk show over there, but not like here... a normal show....

My Scottish friends told me they have trouble with people from Glasgow...

 

[mh]

Put Iceland on that list. With so few people speaking Icelandic (the country has only around 300,000 natives), most Icelanders speak English, at least.

Sadly, the fact that English is becoming the common languages of tourists everywhere, it makes Americans even lazier about learning other languages. I say this as someone who can communicate decently in French and German (and tourist Spanish) but tend to fall back on English if someone understands me.

I had the same experience in Iceland. even the old farmers had good enough English to get by communicating with. Certainly way better than I’ll ever get in Icelandic.

 

[DrRoy]

DW and I spent 2 1/2 weeks in Norway a couple years ago and only ran into one person the whole time that did not speak English. We also managed pretty well in Italy, France, and Switzerland. I used a little French when I could.

 

[kcowan]

...My Scottish friends told me they have trouble with people from Glasgow...

Yes my Dad's family immigrated from Glasgow. I learned their language when I was under 5. I never mastered speaking it though. In my twenties, I was speaking to a Space Needle guard and discovered he was from Glasgow when he detected my accent. I asked him to talk to me in Glaswegian and I still understood it.