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We're all familiar with the typical telesales call where they instantly launch into a sales script in high speed French jabber leaving you little opportunity to interject with a 'No thanks, I'm not interested in double glazing/solar panels/taking part in a survey to win a free kitchen'. 

Well, this morning, I had a call from one of the sales girls at my bank and as soon as we'd got the introductions out of the way, she mentioned that she knew a 'leetle beet of eengleesh' and would I mind if she had a go at continuing the call in English. As I wasn't busy and she sounded keen, I said OK.

Now, I rarely come across French people who want to speak to me in English and when I do, I find myself having to consciously adjust from automatically thinking and speaking in French.  In the case of my brave bank girl, she did struggle a bit, so I was also having to formulate my replies into simple English so as to help her understand what I was saying.  After a while, I found myself lapsing into French which, on reflection, might have seemed a bit impolite. 

Is it just me or has anyone else experienced this?

 

 

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Not in the same context, but sometimes in others. In the medical field I come across Doctors who are keen to try out their English. On one occasion I had to be rather insistent that the person concerned spoke French as it became clear that she didn't really have the vocabulary not so much technical as everyday because that is often crucial in Doctor/patient communication

As she was announcing the unexpected news that I had to have chemotherapy after my operation I preferred to be quite clear, but she twice said that she 'wanted to practice her English'

[:-))]

The surgeon who operated on me last year and I have a standing joke about his English since his wife is an English teacher and I am sure she has told him off...

Another breed are estate agents (since Ryanair...before they used to ask  people like me ) who launch into their pitch.

In fact sometimes I use English as a defence (against cold calls such as you describe) but once I was outwitted by a couple of beggars who replied to my 'Sorry I don't speak French' with 'Got any spare change mate' in an Essex accent..

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yes I often find French people want to speak to me in English and I say "fine, as long as I can reply to you and practice my French" so we have a sort of bilingual conversation. But earlier this week I had a coldcall and it was the first time that anyone had ever asked "do you speak French", normally they chatter away. We have a very English-sounding surname so were easily identifiable but it was still a first.

At my local Terres Du Sud the assistant there tries out her English and called out to me "see ya later" in a sort of London accent. Goodness knows who taught her that (I speak proper Home Counties accent English!)
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With some notable exceptions in our French friends, the majority who have some English struggle if you go at a normal speed, or use colloquiasms or such - only if you go at a slow speed (which I do) can they understand and reply in English.

But as I say, we are blessed with a considerable number of French friends who can speak English certainly as well as I can speak French (but you find they have either worked or lived abroad, or need English for their business). In quite a few cases their written English is poor compared to their spoken English - whereas I find my written French is on a par with their written English and often much better.

As for cold calls, I now answer with "hello" to all calls, which should give them pause for thought, but rarely does .... maybe the odd "do you speak French" , which elicits a rapid return to gabbled French on their part and a lack of comprehension on mine ... they never learn.

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Its very flattering SD that she should have chosen you as her guinea pig (victim?) and shows that she must think you are sympa and very patient which clearly you are.

It doesnt really happen to me as so few people speak any English and when we would have first we would have  communicated in French, there have been a couple of exceptions, always people not from the region, a guy and his wife at an AVF gathering (they had moved to Amiens from Paris) the first words they said to me were "would you prefer us to speak in english or French?" I was gobsmacked as its so rare, only once in 7 years, I chose French because it was better for me.

I have two friends (both women) who speak better English than I do French we usually only speak in French but there are times when I default to English to better explain myself, we have tried them speaking French and me English and vice versa but we both have the problem that you had, when you recieve in one language its difficult to think and respond in another.

Where I find it does work is via E-mail, if both parties write in their mother tongue the other has all the time in the world to digest it, look things up etc and learn a lot in the process without their expression being stifled.

That said the husband of one of my friends who I always suspected understood what was being said in English but didnt have the confidence to speak himself other than "thankyou" to my great joy one day sent me an E-mail in quite good English saying it will be good for me and my job if I write in English so with him uniquely he writes in English, me in French and we correct each others mistakes or suggest other ways of expressing things.

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A couple of years ago we were in a restaurant and there was a family at another table. The father spoke French and the mother English. I can only assume that they were different nationalities and that the children learnt which language was which by who was speaking.
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My grandchildren have parents who speak different languages to them, and it was exactly like that.

The one small problem for a few months was that the eldest at about 3 didn't like it when her mother spoke English to other people, as she never spoke it to her, and  I presume she found that confusing.

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