Of course, in Britain we only speak English[1] and have problems with Americans who only speak American (this is a joke, of course; in actuality we get so many American programmes on TV these days that most of us understand American with no problem; this wasn't however the case when I was growing up in the 60s when there were a number of problems with American terms and pronunciation not being understood).
But in general the English tend to be monoglots, almost as much as U.S. Americans, in spite of being so close to countries speaking other languages. Other European[2] countries tend to be better, with the Dutch in particular taking pride of place at speaking whatever language the tourists speak (and often better than the tourists speak their own language). Although away from tourist areas this is less common, I found parts of Germany where even English wasn't generally understood at all (and some parts where German wasn't spoken; Schwaebisch is effectively a different language).
[1] Apart from the Welsh, for many of whom English is a second language, and Scots and Geordies and Scousers who speak dialects which are not always mutually intelligible.
[2] Many Brits still don't accept Britain as being part of Europe. There was the famous British headline "Continent cut off" (by bad weather), and a lot of British people still refer to 'Europe' meaning the non-British part of Europe.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2009-08-14 12:52 am (UTC)But in general the English tend to be monoglots, almost as much as U.S. Americans, in spite of being so close to countries speaking other languages. Other European[2] countries tend to be better, with the Dutch in particular taking pride of place at speaking whatever language the tourists speak (and often better than the tourists speak their own language). Although away from tourist areas this is less common, I found parts of Germany where even English wasn't generally understood at all (and some parts where German wasn't spoken; Schwaebisch is effectively a different language).
[1] Apart from the Welsh, for many of whom English is a second language, and Scots and Geordies and Scousers who speak dialects which are not always mutually intelligible.
[2] Many Brits still don't accept Britain as being part of Europe. There was the famous British headline "Continent cut off" (by bad weather), and a lot of British people still refer to 'Europe' meaning the non-British part of Europe.