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 Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 2:31 pm
I speak neither language and I only know English, and to be frank I'm uncultured in the ways of speaking to people who don't primarily speak English
so I come to you asking a few question, what's proper etiquette for speaking English in one of these countries? are there any phrases I must learn to avoid being rude?
also where's a good place to party in Germany? Berlin?
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 7:05 pm
Almost all Dutch people speak perfect english.
My cousins are Dutch, and I've been to Amsterdam. Busy city, I like Rotterdam and Voorburg better.
You should be perfectly fine.
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Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 12:59 pm
how do you ask someone if they speak english in Dutch?
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Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 5:05 pm
Sorry, I study French.
I know zero Dutch.
I would check the internet, or books on the Dutch language.
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Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 8:41 pm
formal in french would be parley vous francais?
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Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 10:42 am
Sexhibitionist how do you ask someone if they speak english in Dutch?
Dutch sad Standard)
Spreekt U engels? (formal)
Spreekt je engels? (informal)
Dutch (Flemish dialect spoken in)
Spreekt gij engels? (Informal)
Spreekt ge engels? (Informal)
German:
Sprichst du Englisch? (Informal)
Sprechen Sie Englisch (Formal)
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Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 10:57 am
Sexhibitionist I speak neither language and I only know English, and to be frank I'm uncultured in the ways of speaking to people who don't primarily speak English so I come to you asking a few question, what's proper etiquette for speaking English in one of these countries? are there any phrases I must learn to avoid being rude? also where's a good place to party in Germany? Berlin?
Many Americans (other English speakers, and the French (not everyone but a large amount) assume that there's always going to be someone to speak English (or French if they're French) fluently and not bother learning the language and thus coming off as a rude tourist in a many circumstances (not always but most of the time). Be sure to READ your PASSPORT in the section concerning international laws as being ignorant will not excuse you. Just because some thing is legal in your country, it might not be legal there. [/passport rant]
Even though they probably can speak English fluently (with either a German or Dutch (Yes they have an accent despite how good their English is!). The very least you could do is learn how to say "Hello", "Thank you" and "Goodbye" at the bare minimum. I do have some friends who are German but none live in Berlin. You could either find a traveler's book that has a good one or ask a native (assuming they speak English, not all Germans speak English so you may want to learn how to say "Where's a good place to have a party?" or a phrase equivalent like: "Where can I find a disco (Pub/Bar/Club/etc." in German and Dutch.
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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 9:07 am
Places to go in Germany? Hmm... Berlin is wonderful, but it depends on how much time you have. If you'll be there for several days or a week, yes, go to Berlin. If not, I'd say you're better off in Munich. Munich is a lot more stereotypically German, if that's what you're looking for, whereas Berlin is very international. Both have great museums and palaces to see as well.
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 6:08 pm
thank you all very much, this was very informative
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 6:49 pm
I think you should learn how to say "Sorry, I don't speak German/Dutch". I live in a country that's supposed to be billingual and it annoys me pretty much when people don't even make the effort to try speaking French, no matter how little they know, or at least say they're sorry if they don't instead of assuming that we all speak perfect English (and making fun of us if we don't). I've seen this a lot of times and it's incredibly annoying so just try not doing it and you should be fine mrgreen
Also, you should learn some basic phrases in case you don't find anyone who speaks English (this is pretty unlikely, but it could happen). You can find nice beginner lessons for almost any language on the Internet.
Good luck!
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 12:50 am
PolyglotKoko Sexhibitionist I speak neither language and I only know English, and to be frank I'm uncultured in the ways of speaking to people who don't primarily speak English so I come to you asking a few question, what's proper etiquette for speaking English in one of these countries? are there any phrases I must learn to avoid being rude? also where's a good place to party in Germany? Berlin?
Many Americans (other English speakers, and the French (not everyone but a large amount) assume that there's always going to be someone to speak English (or French if they're French) fluently and not bother learning the language and thus coming off as a rude tourist in a many circumstances (not always but most of the time). Be sure to READ your PASSPORT in the section concerning international laws as being ignorant will not excuse you. Just because some thing is legal in your country, it might not be legal there. [/passport rant]
Even though they probably can speak English fluently (with either a German or Dutch (Yes they have an accent despite how good their English is!). The very least you could do is learn how to say "Hello", "Thank you" and "Goodbye" at the bare minimum. I do have some friends who are German but none live in Berlin. You could either find a traveler's book that has a good one or ask a native (assuming they speak English, not all Germans speak English so you may want to learn how to say "Where's a good place to have a party?" or a phrase equivalent like: "Where can I find a disco (Pub/Bar/Club/etc." in German and Dutch. I know this is somewhat irrelevant, but please, for the love of god, can you close your brackets once you open them?!
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Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 7:02 pm
Sexhibitionist how do you ask someone if they speak english in Dutch? Hey there, I'm from Amsterdam. "Do you speak English" would be a rather good suggestion wink Everyone speaks English here, even the waiters ask me in your language what I want for a drink often, even though I'm as Dutch as they are. The people in Amsterdam are very used to tourists. Don't you worry about a thing. The Escape in Amsterdam is a good club by the way if you wanna go get a drink and meet up with people. And it's right across a coffeeshop ^^ (Coffeeshops is where you buy stuff that's illegal in your country)
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Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 7:04 pm
PolyglotKoko Sexhibitionist how do you ask someone if they speak english in Dutch?
Dutch sad Standard)
Spreekt U engels? (formal)
Spreekt je engels? (informal)
Dutch (Flemish dialect spoken in)
Spreekt gij engels? (Informal)
Spreekt ge engels? (Informal)
German:
Sprichst du Englisch? (Informal)
Sprechen Sie Englisch (Formal)Dont read this dude.. it's not right and if I ignore the bad spelling it's still WAY too formal. No one speaks like that here in the Netherlands.
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Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 7:16 pm
[neon.zombie] PolyglotKoko Sexhibitionist I speak neither language and I only know English, and to be frank I'm uncultured in the ways of speaking to people who don't primarily speak English so I come to you asking a few question, what's proper etiquette for speaking English in one of these countries? are there any phrases I must learn to avoid being rude? also where's a good place to party in Germany? Berlin?
Many Americans (other English speakers, and the French (not everyone but a large amount) assume that there's always going to be someone to speak English (or French if they're French) fluently and not bother learning the language and thus coming off as a rude tourist in a many circumstances (not always but most of the time). Be sure to READ your PASSPORT in the section concerning international laws as being ignorant will not excuse you. Just because some thing is legal in your country, it might not be legal there. [/passport rant]
Even though they probably can speak English fluently (with either a German or Dutch (Yes they have an accent despite how good their English is!). The very least you could do is learn how to say "Hello", "Thank you" and "Goodbye" at the bare minimum. I do have some friends who are German but none live in Berlin. You could either find a traveler's book that has a good one or ask a native (assuming they speak English, not all Germans speak English so you may want to learn how to say "Where's a good place to have a party?") or a phrase equivalent like: "Where can I find a disco (Pub/Bar/Club/etc.) in German and Dutch. I know this is somewhat irrelevant, but please, for the love of god, can you close your brackets once you open them?!
Neon zombie: My bad. I have a different keyboard format on at times and sometimes I either forget to close them because I have extended a though and didn't realize that I put them in parenthesis or when I click the bracket button it comes up with a different symbol because it's not on English when I typed it. sweatdrop
Plugabugz: I just either found them on a website and did some from memory. Did I misspell something?
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Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 4:32 pm
PolyglotKoko Plugabugz: I just either found them on a website and did some from memory. Did I misspell something? Ehm yeah and the grammar aint great either. But if you say you never use the language and this was from memory, it's still impressive ^_~ For example 'Spreekt je Engels?' should have been "Spreek je Engels?" But the Dutch would more likely ask: "Kun je (ook) Engels?" Which would translate best to "Do you know English (as well)?" Instead of "Do you speak English?" Depending on the province "Kun" is replaced by "Ken" or "Kan". They don't all mean the same, but often used as such. I hate to say it about my native language, but it wasn't exactly made to make sense I guess. "Do you speak English" Is understood here as well, so you might wanna stick to that.
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