Paul, at 08:24 on May 17 1995, you wrote to Bill Grimsley...

BG> Not in either Germany OR France, Bob.  My stupid brother and his 
BG> wife toured through France (on bloody bicycles, would you 
BG> believe!), and in some of the smaller southern villages, he 
BG> reckons that nary a soul spoke English.  This was around 10 years 
BG> ago, but I doubt things have changed too much since then.

PE> They do know English, they just refuse to speak it (they reckon
PE> that everyone else should learn French).  Whilst my wife was

That's probably the truest thing you've ever said, Paul.

PE> working in some restaurant or something in China, a French woman came in, 
PE> and my wife spoke to her in English, and she snarled, "I'm French, not 
PE> English" despite her English being perfect. 

Yeah, that'd be right.  The bastards still have this strange arrogance
which makes them presume that everybody should speak French, even some of
the younger people too.  Theirs is a rather unique society in many
respects.

PE> My wife told her that no-one around "here" spoke French,
so no-one could 
PE> help her, and she decided to speak English after all. 

I take it she couldn't speak Mandarin then?  Anyway, why bother speaking
any language at all in a Chinese restaurant?  She should have just ordered
a number 27 with two side serves of number 133.

PE> I have heard the same thing happen in East Germany, at a restaurant they 
PE> will make you look up each word in a dictionary, and the next day you can 
PE> catch them speaking perfect English to someone else (maybe from Hungary
PE> or something).  BFN.  Paul.

ROFL!  I wonder though, is that arrogance or altruism?

Regards, Bill
@EOT:

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