While backpacking in Europe I spent a week in France. I got in the habit of starting conversations with “parlez-vous anglais?”
Next stop was Germany. After getting off an early train and trying to book the next leg, I asked the ticket attendant, “sprechen sie anglais?” She stared at me for a moment and responded in crystal clear English, “You mean, do I speak English?”
For anyone like me who doesn’t speak German, and thus were unable to follow the implied humiliation: the German word for English is “Englisch” not “Anglais”
While backpacking in Europe I spent a week in France. I got in the habit of starting conversations with “parlez-vous anglais?”
Next stop was Germany. After getting off an early train and trying to book the next leg, I asked the ticket attendant, “sprechen sie anglais?” She stared at me for a moment and responded in crystal clear English, “You mean, do I speak English?”
For anyone like me who doesn’t speak German, and thus were unable to follow the implied humiliation: the German word for English is “Englisch” not “Anglais”