this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2023
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Languages in the EU (lemmy.world)
submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

I'm about to sound like the ignorant American I am, so I apologize in advance! We're looking at a trip to Germany, and possibly Prague, and we've noticed that a lot of the hotel names are French and a couple hotels that aren't named in French have replied to comments with things like "Bonjour! etc etc" What's up with this? Is French just the most commonly spoken common language, even in Germany and Czechia? (I know that Germany and Czechia have their own languages, of course.) Or is it something else?

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[โ€“] [email protected] 26 points 9 months ago (18 children)

You're American. Marketing data says that you like all things French and Italian.

Guess what happens next in this salesforce driven industry?

:)

East of Munich you're best bet is German, but English is also spoken widely. West of Munich you're more or less fine with English. In the northern countries we are used to the fact no one speaks our language so we all speak English, a lot of people French and a lot of German because it's close to our own.

Italians try English. As do most Spanish. Try is the magic word here, it's like your Spanish after high school or my French. :)

French don't try. They speak French. Period. In hotels etc. (tourist spots) English is spoken by few employees. But they are there. :)

In the balkans the situation is mixed. Some parts English, some German, some French, some Russian. I get by with an English/German mix in Croatia. my German is better then my French... But not a lot). Here in the Netherlands my level of German is widely called "steenkolen Duits" (coal German) because it's course, harsh, hard and dirty)

Anyway you'll be fine. Have a great vacation.

[โ€“] [email protected] 19 points 9 months ago (7 children)

French don't try. They speak French.

This is not true anymore it's the boomer generation that do this, most of the time people know a bit of English, which they will try even if you attempt to talk to them in French.

Unless you're in Paris, but that's just a general Parisian trait, based on a something hated for tourists.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Nope, it's not just Paris, although Paris is worse than the rest of the country.

Compared to the level of English that people in other European countries speak, the French are probably among the worst.

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