BATE: Stereotypes in travel

[Raena]

No offense to any Brits out there, but it always seems like they are the most sunburned people on the beach. Easy to identify them with that lovely lobster red skin.

[Elgee]

Well, the English are usually the ones who, when encountering someone who doesn't understand English, speak R E A L L Y L O U D L Y A N D S L O W L Y. In English. One day that's still going to work

[Majsju]

Well, the English are usually the ones who, when encountering someone who doesn't understand English, speak R E A L L Y L O U D L Y A N D S L O W L Y. In English. One day that's still going to work

 

heh, I have only seen people from the US do that. I have a hard time even imagining English people raising their voice (with the exception of football hooligans, but they generally doesn't travel for touristy reasons)

[Basel Gill]

Whenever I encounter someone who obviously has trouble with the English language, I have to restrain myself from speaking louder. It's an easy trap to fall into.

 

These last few days will be a sort of free-for-all discussion. If there's anything dealing with travel stereotypes that anyone feels hasn't applied to one of the specific topics I've put up, feel free to bring it up in here. Whatever you want.

[el Nynaeve]

Well, the English are usually the ones who, when encountering someone who doesn't understand English, speak R E A L L Y L O U D L Y A N D S L O W L Y. In English. One day that's still going to work

 

heh, I have only seen people from the US do that. I have a hard time even imagining English people raising their voice (with the exception of football hooligans, but they generally doesn't travel for touristy reasons)

 

Ditto, I've mostly heard Americans do that. I've heard the odd English person do it, but mostly Americans.

 

What really gets on my nerves about Americans is that they expect you to speak like them and use their slang even though they're visiting your country. I had one ask me once to 'speak American'. My response to that was 'Sorry, but this is the way I speak.' What I wanted to say was "For FFS woman, you're in England, we're going to have British accents and there's NO SUCH THING as the American language."

[Majsju]

Well, the English are usually the ones who, when encountering someone who doesn't understand English, speak R E A L L Y L O U D L Y A N D S L O W L Y. In English. One day that's still going to work

 

heh, I have only seen people from the US do that. I have a hard time even imagining English people raising their voice (with the exception of football hooligans, but they generally doesn't travel for touristy reasons)

 

Ditto, I've mostly heard Americans do that. I've heard the odd English person do it, but mostly Americans.

 

What really gets on my nerves about Americans is that they expect you to speak like them and use their slang even though they're visiting your country. I had one ask me once to 'speak American'. My response to that was 'Sorry, but this is the way I speak.' What I wanted to say was "For FFS woman, you're in England, we're going to have British accents and there's NO SUCH THING as the American language."

 

Next time someone says that, learn a few phrases in Spanish with a proper accent, and then point out that Spanish is the language spoken by most americans

[Moon Sedai]

What really gets on my nerves about Americans is that they expect you to speak like them and use their slang even though they're visiting your country. I had one ask me once to 'speak American'. My response to that was 'Sorry, but this is the way I speak.' What I wanted to say was "For FFS woman, you're in England, we're going to have British accents and there's NO SUCH THING as the American language."

 

When I lived in Germany, I actually heard a person say "The Germans should just all learn English, I mean, they do live near an American military base, so you'd think they'd learn it for business purposes."

A friend of mine tried to learn German, but her Arkansas Accent was so bad that her German was nonsense. And, at a restaurant, she once asked the question:

"How do you say Fettucini Al Fredo auf Deutsche?"

When the German waiter said "Fettucini al Fredo" she said, "Yeah, but how do you say it in German?"

 

Next time someone says that, learn a few phrases in Spanish with a proper accent, and then point out that Spanish is the language spoken by most americans

 

Actually, that's 1) regionally based and 2) Not completely correct. Spanish is the second most common primary language in the U.S., but English is still primary.

In Texas, where I live, state docs have to be avaliable in Spanish as well as english to help spanish-primary speakers.

There are parts of Texas that are heavily Spanish-speaking.

 

When I hear people say the "Mexicans in Texas should learn English" My response is "Why? The Spanish were here before Americans!"

A friend of mine (my godsons' mother) has stated that she doesn't want her sons learning Spanish "on principle" and I asked if she was TRYING to make her kids socially retarded. By the time these boys are full grown, there will be more spanish speakers in Texas than english speakers.

[Majsju]

 

 

Next time someone says that, learn a few phrases in Spanish with a proper accent, and then point out that Spanish is the language spoken by most americans

 

Actually, that's 1) regionally based and 2) Not completely correct. Spanish is the second most common primary language in the U.S., but English is still primary.

In Texas, where I live, state docs have to be avaliable in Spanish as well as english to help spanish-primary speakers.

There are parts of Texas that are heavily Spanish-speaking.

 

 

 

Care to tell us which continent the US is on?

[Moon Sedai]

I've known some Canadians and Mexicans who HATED being thought of as American.

 

If you're gonna lump North Americans into a category, you should probably specify "North" Americans.

 

 

 

That being said, when people find out I'm from Georgia (the state) THey often get confused because i don't have a "southern accent."

When I ask what that means, they say "You know, like Scarlet O'Hara Gone with the Wind."

Bah.

VIvien Leigh was a British woman trying to do a Southern Accent, and badly.

I've never in my life known someone to sound like that.

 

Moon- hating Gone With the Wind since 1978.

[Majsju]

I've known some Canadians and Mexicans who HATED being thought of as American.

 

If you're gonna lump North Americans into a category, you should probably specify "North" Americans.

 

 

Actually, I am thinking of both north- and south america, as it is a double continent known as...wait for it...The Americas.

 

And that people from the other nations on those continents does not want to be called Americans does not mean they approve of the US trying to kidnap the word. After all, they are just as much American as you lot are, they just had a bit more imagination when it came to naming their nations.