Post #1646137 · Elektrine

2026-04-21 14:46 UTC

Tbh, I tend to do that sometimes. The number of languages I can somewhat understand outnumbers the number of languages I can attempt to speak. Especially when it comes to reading: it's a lot easier to see a bunch of cognates and understand the jist of the sentence than it is to come up with those words and conjugate, order, and pronounce them correctly. On multiple occasions, I've tried to use my limited knowledge to order food or something in another language, only to have the person on the other side look at me confused until I restate myself in English. I like to think of it like Star Wars where everyone just speaks and responds in their own language.

Replies (3)

@kambusha@sh.itjust.works 2026-04-21 16:21

That's actually a legit technique to improve your understanding in a language. They speak theirs, you speak yours. It does depend on both people having a good understanding of each other's languages though.

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@Valmond@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-04-22 11:23

Yeah but in Paris it was sure done on purpose 😁!

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@RBWells@lemmy.world 2026-04-22 00:48

Kind of the opposite for me but ONLY with ordering food in Spanish - I speak awful Spanish, can read it better than speaking or listening, but food - all my life, foods here are labeled in English and Spanish, and often I order so confidently that the person at the counter thinks I only speak Spanish. In absolutely no other situation would anyone mistake me for fluent. It helps that Spanish is so phonetic, and that in the US there are people from so many different places there isn't one accent.

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