As a child and a teen, I spent many, many summers in Europe due to having relatives there.
And yes, when I was in their countries, I did my best to always order in the language of the country. I had my English/French, English/German, English/Dutch and English/Italian dictionaries with me to help out.
I was always taught it was rude to expect the host countries to cater (demand) my language. If I was a guest in their country, I spoke their language. Or at least tried to.
So, yes. When people are here, I do expect the same respect to our country as I was taught to show the countries I visited.
It would be extremely arrogant for an American to go abroad and expect the host countries to be fluent in your language and to cater to you. Just as I find it extremely arrogant of some that demand our country cater to their language preferences.
If you are here, learn English. Or at least get a English/Whatever dictionary and try. I will bend over backwards for anybody who is at least trying.
This says it all, except I would add that you can buy very tiny electronic multi-language translators as well and they are an enormous help.
I am not fluent in any language other than English. Yet I have traveled to many countries where other languages are spoken and I've gotten along just fine. In a country like Belgium, you can find 3 languages in one single country.
I have never once expected anyone to speak English. If they do, that's a bonus for me. Before I go, I get a phrase book and learn the basics. Words like exit, ticket, train station, and stop are good ones to know. I look at the restaurant section to learn basic phrases. What's water, wine, bread, chicken, beef, potatoes, etc.? My first phrase is "mineral water without gas, with ice."
I also carry that small section with me or take the translator. I may not be able to figure out everything on the menu, but I can usually spot something. Yes, I occasionally get something a bit different than what I imagined, but that happens here too and it's part of the adventure. So far, the most languages we've had to cover the basics on for a trip is 5, but that was a month long trip.
When we went to Russia, I knew good and well we'd be out of luck expecting English. I taught myself the Cyrillic alphabet so I could at least sound out words and figure them out from there. DH and I successfully ordered food and drink, bought tickets and even navigated the subway system. All in Russian. And we even mastered their convoluted system of buying bread and pastries, with its multiple step system and little slips of paper, all the while understanding very little of what was spoken.
This is what you do when you
visit another country. If I chose to
live in another country, that would just be the tip of the iceberg. But at a minimum, one should be able to order simple food and drink with a "please," followed by "thank you" when it arrives, in the native language of the country you are in. This is
SIMPLE COURTESY. To expect a restaurant owner to accomodate various languages is discourteous. And in this case, it will definitely slow down his fast-moving line. DH and I have stood off to the side many times, figuring out how to order in another language, before we entered the ordering line. Again, it was simple courtesy. It is not arrogant of the restaurant owner to want orders placed
in English. It is arrogant for people to expect to be catered to in any language
other than English. If the owner wishes to take that extra step and help out non-English speakers as they work through an order, then as I said....It is not something owed to them, but is instead a bonus. You can always point to a picture of a sandwich or one that someone else is eating and say, "Please."
I contrast this to the travesty of what is going on in Texas, where we have restaurants in which you have a difficult time ordering food because the wait staff speaks such poor English. Not long ago, I had to add yet another drive-thru to our "don't go there" list because it took me four very long, slow, clearly enunciated attempts to try and determine whether or not the cheeseburger had anything on it other than meat and cheese. I finally had to say, "I....CAN...NOT....UNDER...STAND....WHAT....YOU....ARE....SAY...ING..." I eventually heard a word that sounded like "picka" and asked very slowly, "Are you trying to tell me that the cheesburger only comes with pickles and that it doesn't have any onions and tomatoes?" "Uhhhhh....Yeah....." It goes on from there, but I hate to relive the memory. The problem is especially acute at drive-thrus. If you haven't lived it, you may think I'm exaggerating, but I am not. When it gets to the point that you cannot
order in English (and I'm not even talking about a Mexican restaurant) when you're in an American restaurant, we have a serious problem. (BTW, it is not a predominantly Hispanic area. Businesses just hire them because they work cheaper.)
So I understand the business owner wanting people to order in English, just as I would order in French, Russian or Italian when visiting those countries. And I'd also appreciate being able to order in English in America. What a novel concept!
Filete con queso?
