"I read somewhere..."

[DodgyAgent]

No just pouring scorn on UK people like you, now try and think of something original...

if only it were just me but it isn't is it?

[darmstadt]

No just pouring scorn on UK people like you, now try and think of something original...

if only it were just me but it isn't is it?

Reading comprehension problems?

[NotAllThere]

I was quite amused when my Indian colleague related the tale of the time he met another Indian gentleman on the street & after trying one or two Indian languages, they found their only common language was English.

I've seen that happen with people from different parts of Switzerland. Even some German speakers, if they have widely different dialects (such as one being from Basel the other being from Chur), prefer to communicate with each other in English.

Yeah maybe you stop being a guest when you properly go native and genuinely integrate and embrace where you live?...

A guest in your home is someone you invite because you want to share your assets with them (e.g. a dinner party) or help them (putting someone up in your spare room). Many foreign workers aren't guests - they're in the country because the country needs them. For the latter, being referred to as a guest is rather insulting, implying some kind of debt to the "host".

As a foreigner, bitching about the country's customs or laws is a bit off regardless, but integration is a two way thing.

I like Switzerland and have some Swiss friends, but it's majorly hard work. The Swiss barely integrate with each other! Someone from the next village is a foreigner - they talk funny.

[darmstadt]

At client site we foreigners have been banned from speaking German because it makes our Swiss and German colleagues ears hurt.

I've done a few projects in Switzerland and I remember one where the contact guy was from Serbia and spoke good German and English. In the meeting were German Swiss and the other guys were from Ticino (Tessiner Swiss who speak a version of Italian) so the meeting had to be held in English as none of the Swiss could understand each other. When the Serb guy and me wanted to discuss something important without the others knowing what we were talking about, then Hoch Deutsch was used as none of them could understand that!

[VectraMan]

I was quite amused when my Indian colleague related the tale of the time he met another Indian gentleman on the street & after trying one or two Indian languages, they found their only common language was English.

I had a colleague who had Punjabi as his native language and he said he had relatives that spoke Hindi, but even though he spoke some Hindi they'd end up talking to each other in English as that was easier.

We're so lucky that English became the international language.

[zeitghost]

Not surprising when India has over a billion people, there as some Northern European countries have less people in them than London.

I was told on one contract by an Indian colleague they had to speak in English to each other as even the dialect of Hindi was different.

Perzactly my point.

[VectraMan]

Assuming you're German, why wouldn't we understand? We had to sort your country out after Adolf's Adventures in Europe, 1936 to 1945.

Btw, where did all the :nazi::nazi::nazi: dissappear to after 1945?

Nein, nein, ve are Germanz! Not Nazi! :nazi::nazi::nazi:

This makes me sad. Although most of us have evolved beyond thinking we're defined by our national identity, it's still hard not to feel a little embarrassed to be British when you read that sort of thing.

[zeitghost]

Someone from the next village is a foreigner - they talk funny.

Oh, it's just like that around here.

Must be the vaaaaalleeeeeeeeys.

Or something.

There's tidy then.

[zeitghost]

We're so lucky that English became the international language.

Well we put a lot of effort into making it so.

Despite the distressing tendency to speak septic in recent years.

[barrydidit]

Sheffield factory introduces ‘English language-only’ rule for European workers - The Star



oh dear..

Hmmm, people in Sheffield that nobody can understand... Are we sure they aren't just from Barnsley?