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I live in the UK and English is my 2nd language. I feel awkward when I speak in my 1st language with someone in public. I feel like people hear us and feel disgusted by our ''ugly'' language. I feel like everyone is racist and hate to hear people talk in other languages than English.
Have you ever asked some English people what they think when they hear you speak your 1st language?
I know, since a lot of us ordinary Brits are limited to the English language, many of us have a kind of strange affinity for foreign languages. It's interesting to hear it.
Where I live in the UK at the moment, you very seldom hear any language other than English, so there's a novelty and an intrigue about it when I do hear another. In places where foreign languages are 10 a penny, like presumably where dappled dwells, I expect the novelty and intrigue wears off.
Anyway, you're actually being pretty presumptuous about people here in the UK if you think we're all racist. Racism is an aspect of virtually every society, but I'd suggest due to our history of integration it isn't a problem so entrenched in our culture to prove a significant issue in most areas of the UK. There are many countries far less tolerant of ethnic minorities. I think if you got to know most native English people here, you'd find in general we aren't xenophobic or racist :)
I live in the UK and English is my first language. Where I live and work, I often hear up to ten or twelve different languages in any given day. I like it. I like trying to work out what language people are speaking and I like listening to the different rhythms of speech in other languages.
I think most English people are quite ignorant of it, though, and wouldn't be able to tell the difference between Urdu and Farsi even though they sound as different as French and German.
Plus it depends where you live. I'm from a big city in the north, which really helps. If you were living in a town in say, Norfolk, I could well believe that people would be judging you on your first language and I'm very sorry that this attitude exists. Given where it exists, it kind of proves it's down to fear and a lack of familiarity.
What is your first language, by the way? You don't have to say if you don't want to.
Hear, hear! I also live in the UK and I also enjoy hearing the mysterious sounds of other languages.
I live in a small town in Lincolnshire. People are really racist here. They wanted to make a strike against foreigners in town centre, but it was cancelled. When I talk in my first language (it's Lithuanian, by the way) in public, people look at me strangely. I heard people passing by me saying ''f-ing foreigners'' few times. English students treat foreign students badly at schools.
I think that one of the reasons of people being so racist is high crime rate. It got higher since more immigrants were coming to town. I also see a lot of drunk foreigners in the streets. I guess people are tired of drunk and violent foreigners, but they are being too prejudice.
I'm so sorry to hear that. I know racism is still a big problem in some places in England and it always shocks me and disappoints me to hear it. I know it's not the same thing, but I've been discriminated against in some small towns because of my northern accent.
I had a friend in my city who was Estonian and her experience of Manchester was wonderful. People were open and welcoming and interested in where she was from. She lives in Florida now and says people are equally nice (although she says nobody knows what the Baltic states are).
Yes, difficult economic times make people more racist. They start looking for someone to blame and it's always tempting for them to blame foreigners. I find it very strange in your case because I barely think of fellow Europeans as foreign.
Finally, I can assure you that not all English people are like those in small towns. I feel bad that you've not had a better welcome. Up here in Manchester, you would definitely be welcomed. :)
Are you kidding!? Some people get turned on to the fact that you even speak another language...I am one..Just talk to me in some other language. I don't care if you're callin me a whore, I'll still want you to keep talkin to me Haha! .. Little much? sorry. It is true. It's exotic. I'm deffinatly not the only person that thinks this... I think you should talk away and never forget your first language. .
I'm a native UK English speaker and I often think out loud/talk to myself in Japanese or French and feel more comfortable voicing difficult emotions in either of those languages.
I LOVE foreign languages, but I do think there are a few who consider foreign lanugages bizarre. It's not your fault at all, it's their complete ignorance and/or lack of understanding for other people's backgrounds.
Oh, I'm from the UK and I love hearing people speak foreign languages. Listening to two polish people speak to each other in front of me on the bus was so fascinating that I'm surprised I didn't miss my stop:P!