In American English it would go
“Do you speak English”
“Nein”
“O K. I. Will. Talk. Slow. So. You. Can. Under. stand. Me.”
Comment on ESL homework
alexc@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Reversed, this is how English as a first language conversations go in foreign lands
In American English it would go
“Do you speak English”
“Nein”
“O K. I. Will. Talk. Slow. So. You. Can. Under. stand. Me.”
mech@feddit.org 1 day ago
In many countries they don’t even ask. They recognize your accent and reply in English right away.
NotSteve_@piefed.ca 23 hours ago
Very much how it is in Québec which is unfortunate as someone trying yo better my French
dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 11 hours ago
So I find it to actually be a really helpful “barometer” of language skill. When I’m in France, if I go in a store and conduct s full conversation in French, I know my accent, word choice, and general language skill is good. If halfway through the exchange we switch to English, I know I either made an egregious language error or I started sounding like an American. If the conversation switched to English right away, I either made a critical language mistake OR I just happened across a very competent English speaker.
some_kind_of_guy@lemmy.world 18 hours ago
I can carry a basic conversation - certainly enough to get by and be understood. last time I went to Quebec though, most locals were like “hell naw” and assumed I couldn’t. This is without even speaking a word, though. They had an uncanny ability to guess my primary language by appearance alone.
This is in Montreal, btw. I did spend some time around the Mont Mégantic valley area (super rural, basically farm country vibes) where I encountered people whose English was worse than my French. I was able to get some practice in with them, but I could tell they didn’t necessarily like it haha!
GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 20 hours ago
sounds like you need to work more on your “hon hon hon” and a little less on your “baguette”.