19 May 2012 10:19 AM:

There are some well reasoned arguments on here - which makes a refreshing change from many of the threads on this theme which often degenerate into a slanging match.

I agree with much of what summer70 says although I think there is a third group of ex-pats too. The ones who try to find the balance of living in a small Spanish community and try to learn thelanguage but also take advantage of what the large ex-pat communities offer so that they can speak their mother tongue too. Like summer70 says, it can be very isolating never hearing your own language.

Like midasgold I'm in the older category and find it difficult to get the vocab to stick - possibly because like luckycat I am going deaf and find it hard to hear what everyone says. The big problem I have is that I'm told my accent is quite good so when I speak to people they rattle back at me and I don't get to hear it all!  Hmmmm

As midasgold said, it is just bad manners not to learn to speak the language of the country in which you live. The locals round here really do appreciate it when you at least try - even if you're not always perfect.

One other point too - it's not just the Brits who exhibit this sort of behaviour. Near us on the Coasta Blanca there are a number of large Dutch communities. I have a number of Dutch friends who complain about "whingeing Dutch" too.

 

Thread: No Brits please!

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