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In the shop that I work, foreign exchange students come in for lunch quite regularly. The come from all over; Brazil, Italy, China and so many more! I fine it really interesting to talk to these people about where they’ve come from and what they are doing in the UK. I’m also always really impressed with how well they speak English (or at least how hard they try!). As someone who (sadly) only speaks one language, I am in awe of people who are multilingual!

However, today, after some students came in, my work-mate came out with a phrase that I have heard from some many people in the UK and always annoys me; “Why can’t they just speak English?” She wanted these students, after placing their order to continue speaking in English while only having a conversion between each other.

A lot of people in Britain seem to think that if someone comes to the UK, they should already speak English perfectly, they should always use English in front of other English-speakers and that, when meeting someone else who speaks their mother tongue, only speak English. It infuriates me! More so, as the level of British people that go to other countries and still expect those people to speak English.

Know, at this point I’d like to say that, not all British people do this; to say so would be a gross exaggeration, but the number of people I’ve met who believe this is upsetting, and there is a part of me that can understand why other languages make people uncomfortable. The fear of not understanding can really affect people. That, however, does not give you the right to force a specific language onto someone, especially during a private conversation.

Pisses me off!