Something I Don't Understand

CasperSlides said:
My apologies, perhaps if x-amount had used some punctuation I'd have got it.
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You needed punctuation to see the sarcasm? Where, pray tell, would you place punctuation to make that easier to 'ucking read?

CasperSlides said:
Maybe 99.9% is an exageration but certainly a large amount of Brits walk into my bar demanding a "pint of lager mate" assuming that although it is a Spanish looking bar with Spanish staff everybody will understand. This is the worst as "Lager" isn't understood by most Spaniards being a word used uniquely in the UK to describe a beer. How hard is it to learn to say "Una Cerveza"?
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Yeah. and my tennor says you have all your external advertising in English, and you don't hire people unless they can speak English?

How hard is it for Spaniards to learn "1 lager"? Maybe everyone doesn't want that cultural extravaganza that your bar supplies? Maybe a thought, no? It doesn't take a GNVQ in Leisure and Tourism to realise some people want different holidays.

What is the name of the bar, and where is it?

Oh, and Spanish looking? What the hell does a "Spanish looking" bar look like, apart from one which has sold it's soul slaving for the English tourist dollar?


CasperSlides said:
Despite their lack of adventurousness linguistically
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CasperSlides said:
though I have to take my hat off to the British
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CasperSlides said:
British who are the politest and best behaved of
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Can anyone hear that?

CasperSlides said:
of all the nationalities that we get in.
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Careful mate, you meay get your trousers caught in your bike chain with all that BACKPEDALLING

;)
 
just a point exey, i had no idea your original post was said sarcasticly. how could i and how could anyone else?
 
silvia said:
x-amount said:
How hard is it for Spaniards to learn "1 lager"?
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Same hard as for a british to learn Una Cerveza and Gracias
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5 bar staff learn a few English words (which is easier to "pick up" through fims/music/reglanity of interaction)of Brits OR 5,000 (or whatever)English Customers learn Spanish, just for their week in the Sun?

They work in the tourism industry, love. In a bar. I think they'll have problems if they get snooty about learning a few foreign words.
 
x-amount said:
silvia said:
x-amount said:
How hard is it for Spaniards to learn "1 lager"?
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Same hard as for a british to learn Una Cerveza and Gracias
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5 bar staff learn a few English words (which is easier to "pick up" through fims/music/reglanity of interaction)of Brits OR 5,000 (or whatever)English Customers learn Spanish, just for their week in the Sun?

They work in the tourism industry, love. In a bar. I think they'll have problems if they get snooty about learning a few foreign words.
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I don't think it's about how many are here and how many are visiting, in my opinion is about having a bit of interest and respect for locals. In my opinion are two kind of tourists, those who expect everybody to understand them and those who don't speak the local language but at least are polite and don't expect everybody to understand their language. Really, I deal with tourists all year long and is like this

It's obvious we have different perspectives, yours is definitly as a visitor who's mother language is dominant, and my perspective is as a local with a minority language. It's exactly the same with catalan and spanish or basque and spanish.
 
Hi
You see, I understand people is not going to learn a language just because their are going abroad for a week or so, although is nice that they learn just a few of words like, hello, bye bye or thanks or please and ofcourse beer etc, for me this is not the point, the point is the actitude, the way they get into the bar and they just say hey a lager, expecting people to understand them, or starting a converstation in english or german without even asking if that person understand them or not even an apoligize for not knowing the language, surely if I go to germany and I have to ask something and I do not know german I would have to do it in my language or in english and i will apolagize for that or try to point a german dicctionary and I will excuse myself, but I wont expect anybody to understand me. In mallorca , in the interior most of the villages are non touristic resorts and english and german complaint because the workers don't know how to speack english, why should they?ofcourse I will say that not everybody is like this, there is many people that ask if you speack english, or apoligize for not being able to understand spanish. Ofcourse the apoligize is symbolic, is just a matter of politness, there is anything wrong with not knowing a language diferent than yours.
I seen people getting really ungry because a waitter in his own country doesn't know his language, i must say it wasn't a british.
Ofcourse i like a lot english people because my mother is english and in some way I feel a natural bond.
Ofcourse i repeat not everybody is like that, but the ones they are like that gets me really ungry.
This is I think what people dont like, the actitude.
 
I try to learn a couple words whereever I go so as not to be one of those annoying tourists who expect everyone to speak English.

Here's a sampling from some of the countries I've been to:

Russian - pivo (beer), eshe odno (one more)
Kazakh - cyra (beer)
Czech - pivo (beer), eshte yedno (one more)
German - bitte, ein bier (one beer please)
Dutch - Amstel (ok... cheating, I know... but it taste fresh in Amsterdam :))
Spanish - una cerveza, por favor (one beer please), una mas (one more)
American - please bring me a beer and keep them coming at 10 minute intervals

See? It's easy

X-man - I think you're off. It's not too much to ask of someone to pick up some basics. Yes, English is the closest we have to a universal language (no. 1 second language in the world) but you're still a guest. Remember that. Yes, you're bringing in tourist dollars- but you're a guest.
 
To answer x-amount, I'm not back pedalling, just trying to show a fair perspective on the argument.

For some reason you seem to assume that Ibiza is here purely for the British tourist. Sure a good proportion are British, but each year we also get Germans, French, Italians, Swiss, Austrians, Belgians, Greeks and now more and more Russians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Serbs, Czechs, Scandinavians and surprise, surprise, Spanish tourists.

Are you suggesting that in Spain the staff in bars and restaurants should learn all those languages or is it just that the British are a special case? If a Russian can learn to say "Una cerveza" and "Gracias" when their language has a completely different alphabet to Spanish then I am sure that the average British tourist can too - it isn't brain surgery. The waiter will nine times out of ten respond in English anyway and then he/she will probably give you better service because you had the good manners to speak their language. At the end of the day you are in a foreign country and it is just polite to try to learn and use a few basics.


To answer your question about what a Spanish looking bar is like.... well for starters it has a Spanish name (Liquido - which means "Liquid" in Spanish), it doesn't have Union Flags hanging outside, doesn't sell any British beers, has all the menus in Spanish maybe with a translation in English for the tourists who can't afford a phrase book, does not show sky sports, plays mostly music by Spanish d-jays, does not sell egg and chips, does not get its sangria in a carton from the supermarket, does not sell alco pops, but does give proper sized spirit measures using decent branded spirits and ensures that its staff are either Spanish or can communicate in Spanish so that our hosts (who make up a large proportion of our custom throughout the year) do not have to learn English in order to drink there.

We are closed now but re-open at the end of April next year, if you want to come down and have a drink I can assure you that we will speak English and that we will understand when you ask for a pint of lager. Sadly though if you want a British lager or a roast dinner you will be out of luck! ;)

BTW that was an exclamation mark at the end of the last sentence followed by a wink.... that indicates that I am being sarcastic.
 
couldn't have put it better mysef mikak and casper. Its something that never ceases to amaze me 8O seeing (some) tourists arrogantly expecting everyone to understand them and speak their language, its disrespectful and rude. A tiny bit of effort goes a long way. :P
 
Wow I didn't expect my thread to turn into this! 8O :cry:

Anyways, just to ease the tension, the point of my post was to fulfill my curiousity of the language and cultural differences from one side of the island to the other.

But case in point, I had my shot at the Spanish when speaking to locallers and when they found me struggling, they'd throw the English in and I'd still try to speak to them in Spanish. You can definately tell that they appreciate you trying in some instances.

The same was throughout my time in Paris the week before I was in Ibiza. I speak a decent amount of French, but nowhere near the same amount as Spanish. :(
 
monkeon said:
I'm British myself, and even I hate the British tourist.
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I have to agree with you here........think it just comes down to respect, like this american tourist in paris a couple of years ago who was shocked when they couldn't pay for a boat trip in US dollars, frenchwoman ended up talking the money probably at a loss (when exchanged) just to shut them up.

We brits have got serious attitude/respect issues amongst each other let alone when we go abroad

Some delboyisms:

"creme de menthe"
"chateux de neuf"
 
grego said:
monkeon said:
I'm British myself, and even I hate the British tourist.
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I have to agree with you here........think it just comes down to respect, like this american tourist in paris a couple of years ago who was shocked when they couldn't pay for a boat trip in US dollars, frenchwoman ended up talking the money probably at a loss (when exchanged) just to shut them up.
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American tourists can be quite the nightmare. There's the dollar thing, and the "don't you all speak English" thing, and the "WE'RE AMERICANS!" thing. In most cities where I've visited, I can pick out my countrymen mile away (tell tale signs: baseball cap, backpack, fanny pack, khaki shorts and plaid shirt).
 
Morbyd said:
, fanny pack,
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theoffice_keith_215.gif


"Because in America fanny means your bum................not your minge..."
*bites into scotch egg*
 
Morbyd said:
American tourists can be quite the nightmare. There's the dollar thing, and the "don't you all speak English" thing, and the "WE'RE AMERICANS!" thing. In most cities where I've visited, I can pick out my countrymen mile away (tell tale signs: baseball cap, backpack, fanny pack, khaki shorts and plaid shirt).
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morb, i have to agree but spotting the tourist in general is quite an easy thing to do, i think its just with americans they tend to be louder, so u can hear them as well.

i suppose its partly respect and partly ignorance...........like some can't understand or have not had to understand that in other countries people don't speak english or use US dollars. My favourite though has to be when I went to NYC in March 03. That d1ck bush had just invaded Iraq and all over the news was this issue of 'regime change, regime change'..........I must have heard at least 20 people in 5 days say something along the lines of "what is a regime, anyways" and this after saying they supported the war.
:lol: :lol: :lol:

have to say though that NYC for me, especially new yorkers are a totally different species than what the rest-of-the-world may consider a typical US tourist. more european, more cosmopolitan, more open minded, great city :D :D
 
x-amount said:
Buckley said:
Morbyd said:
, fanny pack,
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theoffice_keith_215.gif


"Because in America fanny means your bum................not your minge..."
*bites into scotch egg*
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Does he not bite into the scotch egg after the "Guarantee at least one orgasm..." line?

I could be wrong.
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That's the Christmas Special ;) ..

*Note to self: Need to get out more*
 
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