Germanic people incline to speak English towards foreigners?

>>When I meet people who speak German fluently and they want to speak German, I speak German. However, some people does,'t have a good command of German so I speak in English. But I know that in China it is similar. one person who speak Chinese but if the chinese knows English, even being the "laowai"'s chinese is good, they try to speak in English<<

Hmmm, wie gut muss man denn Deutsch können, damit du dich nicht an Englisch wendest? Hoffentlich würdest du mit mir bei Deutsch bleiben, auch wenn ich ein paar Fehler machen würde ;)

Guess it's true, most people who complain about natives not speaking with them in their own language are usually people who aren't as fluent as they think they're.
Some people even think pronunciation is not important, but guess what, not everyone cares enough to try decoding your (many times autistic) speech.

<< Intelligent people incline to speak English towards foreigners. >>
-- Pakistanis and Nigerians do... I don't count them among the wisest peoples on planet Earth.

<< There is a very strong correlation between a nation's prosperity and it's English proficiency. >>
-- If this were true Philippines wouldn't be the poorest country in the Asia-Pacific area and Zimbabwe wouldn't be the poorest one in the world.

<< Northern Europeans have the highest GDP per capita in the world and the highest English proficiency as well. As you go further south and east in Europe where English proficiency is much lower, the GDP per capita is also lower. >>
-- You are confusing with another fact, which is that the regions with the most widespread multilingualism are also the richest ones in Europe — especially Luxembourg, Switzerland and the Brussels region.
Of course, the more languages a large part of the population speaks, the higher the probabilities that English will be involved too. But a proficiency in the English language is not necessarily a prerequisite in those cases.

<< There is a very strong correlation between a nation's prosperity and it's English proficiency. >>


I think what is meant here is that those countries that have prosperity have high proficiency in English; however, that does not mean that becoming proficient in English necessarily guarantees prosperity...

Japan does not have high proficiency in spoken English, imo, even though they have multiple English Conversation schools, English conversation practice in school in addition to grammar practice. Japan has the highest standard of living I have seen outside of the US and Canada. It is certainly prosperous.

<<Guess it's true, most people who complain about natives not speaking with them in their own language are usually people who aren't as fluent as they think they're.
Some people even think pronunciation is not important, but guess what, not everyone cares enough to try decoding your (many times autistic) speech.>>

Why do Germans think their English is so good? Listening to a German for 30 mins is about all I can tolerate. I'm sure Germans feel the same way about English speakers speaking German. But, German English is not that pleasant to the ears. Hardly polite.

How about the Chinese? For all their bluster on "tones" and refusal to speak Chinese to a non-native, they can never seem to get English "tones" right.

I think English speakers have a much lower standard on spoken English by a non-native. Their L2 skills are held to a native fluency standard, leading to criticism as being lazy or being replied to in English. However, they tolerate a far lower standard.

I think it's because Germans overestimate their language skills. Germany is a leading country with one ot the highest levels of education in the world so naturally they think their English skills are bound to be better than anyone else's German skills. QUite often that turns out to be a misconception.

Most people in corporate Japan speak English, K.T. Let us also not forget that the USA built modern day Japan and South Korea for that matter.

<<-- Pakistanis and Nigerians do... I don't count them among the wisest peoples on planet Earth.>>

What's your point? Only a minority of Pakis and Nigerians speak English at anywhere near advanced proficiency.The vast majority are illiterate and can barely write out their mother tongues. Not to mention, you have other factors. A backwards culture, a backwards religion(Islam), etc...

I don't dispute that the USA helped out Japan, Germany and other countries based on what people who were alive at that time have told me and what I have read, BUT English conversational proficiency remains low. I have talked to hundreds of Japanese people, maybe thousands, and only rarely do I find a talented speaker of English who did not live overseas. Of course, most Japanese can READ some English.

Of course, the distance is great between Japanese and English.

I think some Germans do overestimate their English ability. The thing is English is very easy for them when they start learning it. It's a Germanic language, therefore familiar in many ways, but the grammar is obviously vastly simplified. As such at first they can make progress very quickly and no doubt they think to themselves what an easy language it is and therefore they must be good at it. However once they get to a certain level their rate of progress starts to slow down. There are some aspects of English which seem to be difficult for native German speakers to grasp. The greatest of these difficulties seems to be when to use the prgressive tense. They might not think it's a big deal, but it really jars to hear the progressive tense used when it should be the simple or vice versa. They also overuse the present perfect, as German uses this much more than English. Also in general German has a more rigid structure than English and this seems to worm its way into their English so that they just don't seem to get the flow of the language, although this is partly to do with the accent as well. This doesn't apply to all Germans, I know many who speak excellent English, but it does apply to some I have met who seemed to think they spoke extremely good English when they really didn't.

Is it just me or do Germans tend to have notably strong accents? You can tell a German a mile away the second they open their mouth in most cases (although some are really great). Not that other races don't have accents, but it seems their accents are more subdued and less immediately identifiable.

<< Is it just me or ... >>
-- I think it is just you.
Strongest and most immediately identifiable accents are to be found in the Anglo- and Hispanospheres.

<< I think what is meant here is that those countries that have prosperity have high proficiency in English; however, that does not mean that becoming proficient in English necessarily guarantees prosperity... >>
-- Right. Let's say that higher prosperity is a result of better education, and that better education implies better access to foreign languages, English in the first place.
But to assume there is a direct link between English proficiency and higher social/economic development is just a misleading syllogism.

Most people in countries like France, Spain or Italy just don't speak English proficiently, or simply refuse to speak it. Mostly because of supposed cultural superiority, chauvinism or anti-Americanism. Harsh, but the truth.

This will make other countries look better.

Guest:
>>I think it's because Germans overestimate their language skills.<<
A poster:
>>Why do Germans think their English is so good? <<

How many Germans did you ask for their English proficiency? Is your statement a fact?



>>Listening to a German for 30 mins is about all I can tolerate. I'm sure Germans feel the same way about English speakers speaking German.<<

I know they really do.

"There is a very strong correlation between a nation's prosperity and it's English proficiency."

...the British Isles excluded, of course.