This is Tennessee, not a lot of people speak German

[guitardude1987]

In Tennessee, a certain car manufacturer based in Germany is setting up a manufacturing plant. The factory isn't set up yet, but a lot of people who originally worked for the company in Germany are moving to the area that I live. Now, it should be noted that I actually do have a fairly good grasp of German. I don't get a lot of slang that they use, but hey, I can communicate. Anyway, at the Wal-Mart that I work at, I've gotten quite a few German people come through the checkout lines and I have helped a few out in the departments. Most of them speak English pretty well because Germany (as well as quite a few other European countries) have wisely made it mandatory for students to learn a foreign language. There was, however, a man who spoke no English at all and was getting very upset because no one could help him.

One of the managers knows that I speak German, having walked in during a conversation I was having with a customer that was being held entirely in German. So, he finds me and asks if I can come translate. I say "Sure" and we head over to the hardware department where the guy needing help is getting upset.

(The following conversation was held in German, I'm translating)

Me: Hi, I speak German, can I help?\
Him: Why the hell doesn't anyone here speak German? The [Car Manufacturer] plant is coming here, so I'm thinking more people should know German.
Me: I'm sorry about that sir, what is it you are looking for?
Him: It doesn't matter anymore, I'm leaving. I'm never coming back until everyone who works here at least knows basic German. Tell your asshole boss behind you that he's going to lose a lot of business when more Germans move here to work.

He leaves and the manager asks what his problem was. I told him that he wouldn't tell me what he was looking for and then I told him about how he wanted us to teach all of our employees German.

Sigh...

[Dave1982]

Damn.....and I thought it was us Americans who were short-sighted (speaking generally here, not about you or me or anyone else on this board) when it came to expecting people in OTHER COUNTRIES to speak our language.

Spanish.....I can understand the argument there, though I don't agree with it. But German? No way.

Makes me wonder if he does this at EVERY store? What's he going to do then? Stop buying food until the supermarkets speak German? Good luck with that one, moron......

[sirwired]

When I was in France on a business trip, I was not in a particularly tourist-y town (Montpellier.) While it was frustrating that the only people that spoke English in the town were at the hotel, I certainly didn't get mad that waiters, store clerks, taxi drivers, etc. I interacted with did not speak English.

One thing that was funny... after a mis-communication about the menu in a restaurant, the waiter left and brought me an English menu. However, the menu was an English-only menu, so when I picked out what I wanted, the waiter had to look at the price, and then go through the French menu to figure out what I wanted.

SirWired

[Kali]

Whoa, Dave@!!

Can I have your avatar?

It's possibly the coolest one I have ever seen, and I spend at least 50 hours a week on forums.

I mean, the p90 is even recognisable!!

[Calud]

I'm in favor that anyone on the planet should know at least 2 if not 3 languages. It's just better.

Also I love when English speak German or English with a German Accent, its just way too funny for my ears.

[corporateslave]

There was, however, a man who spoke no English at all and was getting very upset because no one could help him.

That's bizarre to me. I've never been to Germany, but I've known a lot of Germans, and I've never met one that hadn't known at least a bit of English. I can't help but wonder if he was just being a douche and pretending not to speak English.

[dalesys]

According to Dr. William Cosby, Jr., Henry Kissinger was from Alabama.
(My Father Confused Me: track 2)

Maybe he could shop in Huntsville.
End zone for Operation Paperclip.

[wagegoth]

If I were moving to another country for a while, I would start studying the language. At least if you study basic conversation and cover things you use regularly, you should be able to get around fairly well while you pick up the language from use.


We're spoiled here in the U.S. because English is very commonly the second language learned for many people.

[Dave1982]

Upon further reflection, even "basic German" would be inadequate. You can't discuss the ins and outs of even a simple product in "basic German" let alone a complicated one.

[wynjara]

Also I love when English speak German or English with a German Accent, its just way too funny for my ears.

I speak German with a Spanish accent...

[Kogarashi]

I speak German with a Spanish accent...

According to Venezuelans, my husband speaks Spanish with a German accent. (Spanish is the only spoken language he has any familiarity with aside from English.)

And a friend of mine, at one point, got so muddled that she was speaking Japanese with a French accent and Latin construction.

[Mike Taylor]

The other day, I managed to fumble my way through demonstrating a GPS to someone who only spoke Portugese. The real challenge was switching the GPS over to Portugese in the first place.

[Dave1982]

The other day, I managed to fumble my way through demonstrating a GPS to someone who only spoke Portugese. The real challenge was switching the GPS over to Portugese in the first place.

So it was YOU!!!!! YOU'RE the guy who kept switching the display GPSs to Portugese at my old store!!!!!!!


(Just kidding. )

[SailorMan]

During the latter part of the 90s I was on a ship (a tanker) that was undergoing a shipyard period in Pusan, Korea. The ship was getting enough work done that what we call 'hotel services' (lighting in berthing areas, and electricity in food preparation spaces, for instance) were curtailed.

That meant that the crew had to be put up at a hotel, the Koreana, while the work was getting done. At this time a lot of Russians were just starting to travel freely from their home country, and from what I heard, a lot of the Russians in the country were connected to illegal activities. I was told by some of the crew that in a few of the bars of a certain sort there were a lot of Russian women who were, er... available.

I read later that both here and in Japan, at this time, Russian prostitutes were being advertised as being "affordable Europeans," and of course, their pimps, etc. followed along with them. Bear with me, I'm mentioning all this for a reason.
One day, as I was approaching a hotel elevator, out to get something to eat, I heard two people speaking German -- an older couple, a man and a woman. I asked them if they were from Germany, and it turned out that one was from Germany, and the other was from Austria, though I can't remember which was which.

This was in English, which is sometimes a lingua franca for diverse Europeans who wish to communicate with each other, outside of both of their countries. The whole time, though, they seemed hesitant about talking to me, and asked me what country I was from. I told them "America," but I could tell that they didn't seem to believe me.

I knew they thought I might be Russian; I'm "pretty damned white" as my Portugeuse/German-descent girlfriend likes to tell me, so it was conceivable, I suppose, that I could be mistaken for Russian. Thinking quickly, I remembered that there were a lot of American servicemen in Germany, so I reasoned that Germans must have their own stereotypical ideas of what Americans sound like: I was sure that Germans had probably heard lots of American servicemen and women trying their hands at speaking German, enough that it was probably parodied in comedy shows, for instance.

At the time, I decided that the most unmistakable, American-sounding person that a German might meet was from the South, so, in my best Gomer Pyle-like accent, I said: "Ich bin Amerikaner!"
This convinced them, and they were suddenly delighted to be talking to me!

[PepperElf]

one thing i love about dining out in japan: photo menus!

and if you go to beef bowl you don't even have to speak anything... just put your money in a machine, pick out what you want and hand the ticket to the person at the counter and they make you tasty food.


but back on topic... if that man refuses to shop anywhere where they won't speak german .... well he's either going to save a TON of money by never shopping... or he's going to spend a ton of it traveling to places where they do speak german...