Aaaaw :D I just received the kudos notification. Thank you kindest <3
More people would speak Swedish if there was an actual point in learning Swedish ;) It takes time and effort to learn a language and Swedish (spoken by about 10 million) isn't really worth the time when you instead can learn Spanish, French, German, Chinese or Arabic. I don't think people switch to English because they don't want their language butchered but it's rather a way to make the conversation as efficient as possible. In a lot of say retail or restaurant environments you don't really have the time to be a place for linguistic development because you need to get to the next customer or guest. In other environments, like healthcare or education it's crucial to make sure that you're not misunderstood.
I can get the frustration of not "being allowed" to practice in everyday situations, but I've lived in a country where no one spoke English (or Swedish, but that's a given) and just getting through the day-to-day life was exhausting in the beginning. I couldn't even ask for directions, and it wasn't even to think about asking for help once I finally found the place. And in the end it wasn't in the forced situations that I learned the language, it was at dinner tables with friends in calm environments. That's why I speak English with people in professional situations, to give the opportunity to make themselves understood in a language that they are more likely to know. If you would hang in there and keep going with the not-English, I assure you most people will go back trying to speak their native language with you :) And if it's a private situation "We don't have to speak English" works wonders :)
Så som i himmelen is actually filmed just a short drive from where I'm currently living :) Låt den rätte komma in is a pretty good Swedish film, but that's about as far as I'm willing to go ;) The Danes are pretty kick-ass when it comes to TV series, I've heard.
I've been doing some snooping (which I'm terrible at), but can't seem to figure out what part of the world you're from? Time zone math and the English-check offer has me thinking UK or Ireland, but I'm not going into guessing, because that will lead me wrong ;)
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More people would speak Swedish if there was an actual point in learning Swedish ;) It takes time and effort to learn a language and Swedish (spoken by about 10 million) isn't really worth the time when you instead can learn Spanish, French, German, Chinese or Arabic. I don't think people switch to English because they don't want their language butchered but it's rather a way to make the conversation as efficient as possible. In a lot of say retail or restaurant environments you don't really have the time to be a place for linguistic development because you need to get to the next customer or guest. In other environments, like healthcare or education it's crucial to make sure that you're not misunderstood.
I can get the frustration of not "being allowed" to practice in everyday situations, but I've lived in a country where no one spoke English (or Swedish, but that's a given) and just getting through the day-to-day life was exhausting in the beginning. I couldn't even ask for directions, and it wasn't even to think about asking for help once I finally found the place. And in the end it wasn't in the forced situations that I learned the language, it was at dinner tables with friends in calm environments. That's why I speak English with people in professional situations, to give the opportunity to make themselves understood in a language that they are more likely to know. If you would hang in there and keep going with the not-English, I assure you most people will go back trying to speak their native language with you :) And if it's a private situation "We don't have to speak English" works wonders :)
Så som i himmelen is actually filmed just a short drive from where I'm currently living :) Låt den rätte komma in is a pretty good Swedish film, but that's about as far as I'm willing to go ;) The Danes are pretty kick-ass when it comes to TV series, I've heard.
I've been doing some snooping (which I'm terrible at), but can't seem to figure out what part of the world you're from? Time zone math and the English-check offer has me thinking UK or Ireland, but I'm not going into guessing, because that will lead me wrong ;)