Egypt Section: When is it polite or rude to assume someone speaks English

Question

How does someone know when to guess that someone speaks english...I am slowy learning Arabic, but in the meantime I seem to upset people about English...the bread baker gets upset when I speak english to him (because he doesn't understand my Arabic pronounciations) but the dentist gets upset when I didn't assume he speaks enlish..what is the "pc" way to do that? even when you ask if they speak english it seems to upset people...because I have tried that also.

Answer 1

i understand what you are facing.

look ppl who work in some jobs are not assumed to speak english, like the bakery man, grocery store cashier, head dresser, sales men in shops in general, also police soldiers and sometimes officers. however some of them will be delighted to still understand you and help you like police officers.

and on your side, try to learn some arabic words for your daily needs, like numbers, asking for time, some grocery items you regularly need, or choose to go a  market where things are just scanned not typed, taxi negotiations talk, and so on. to deal in situations with ppl who don't know proper english to deal with you. and just don't give me an impression that you disrespect them for that, deal with them as you are happy to. they just want you to respect them

ppl who work as engineers, doctors, academic professors, customer services, sales men, are expected to talk proper english for daily life needs..

but i find it immature behavior to be upset because someone assumed i don't talk english well. so it is not your fault actually, they just have to deal with it in a simple way with some kind of self-confidence

Answer 2

Perhaps ask if they understand English instead of speaking it may help. Try different approaches.

I find it strange that people are upset by this. I'm learning Arabic too & find that the locals love it when i try to interact with them, afterall it is a compliment to them & their country. On the whole i find they want to speak English & ask me to translate various words for them or tell them the correct pronunciation. It is sad that you have not met the same people as i have. What part of Egypt are you talking about? Sounds quite remote to me.

Well keep smiling & persevering i'm sure one day u'l find someone who will be impressed your trying to speak their language, who knows you may be able to give each other some lessons.

Answer 3

I sometimes start out with a "Hello!" or "Hi!". If they do not respond in a similar fashion then I figure they do not speak english.

The baker is just being rude. Try pointing with that character.