London Banter - View Single Post

[email protected] · August 29th 17, 12:50 AM posted to uk.transport.london

In article ,
(Richard) wrote:

On Mon, 28 Aug 2017 10:07:01 -0500,
wrote:

In article ,
(tim...) wrote:

(fortunately, the machines offer instructions in 4 languages -though
you can just about bluff your way through without translation -
unlike the bloody Scandinavian offerings)

I'm very disappointed that you can't understand enough French to deal
with such everyday things. Another shameful British habit.

That's a bit harsh - unless you're suggesting that French has a
special status, which I think it has, but you can't know the language
everywhere you go. The other option is not going anywhere not on your
language list, far too limiting (even if I'm guilty of it sometimes).

I take French as a bit exceptional because at least in theory almost all of
us are supposed to have learnt it at school.

I must say I do feel uncomfortable going to countries where I know nothing
of the language to the point of not knowing which are the words for Ladies &
Gents' loos and have only done it once, to Poland in 2002. I got away with
English entirely except on one occasion, buying single train tickets from
Krakow to Warsaw. I thought of trying German but decided it would be
undiplomatic at least. Luckily the next person in the queue behind us was a
student who did the necessary interpretation.

The other exceptions are the Netherlands and Belgium. I've found that my
German helps me pass the loo test (and which poster in a railway station
lists Departures and which lists Arrivals) but having found how good Dutch
and Flemish-speaking people are at English I was surprised in Gent a few
years back how few prisoners they took linguistically.

--
Colin Rosenstiel