She seems like she's coming off a bit arrogant to me? Like she's too good to speak their language which is incredibly rude. Calling a language ugly is just downright disrespectful.

Yep, she's insulted the language, the people who speak it and the country, itself. I'd be more than a bit put out by that tbh. I've been to Italy. I've been to Netherlands, and although I'm half Italian and can understand a fair bit (without necessarily speaking it) I'd rather hear Dutch, which is a little like Scots (which is my other half). Italian meanwhile sounds like a pneumatic drill.

You'd be surprised. I've been in Japan for more than 10 years. My wife speaks almost perfect English, and her family all speak English to some degree as well. My job is entirely in English, and use of Japanese is discouraged most of the time. I had to go out of my way to learn Japanese, and it's really not as good as it should be.

Easy in a country where most people speak multiple languages. Most European countries learn English as their first official second language at school. Sometimes they start even in preschool. Why do you think so many non native english speakers frequent the english side of the internet? I knew an English teacher in Hamburg (Germany) who did not speak a word of German. He was sad about it too. You see, he didn't get a chance to learn German because everyone automatically spoke english to him.

Hi Bi-Polar, indeed you’d be surprised. People from other countries that don’t speak a word of Dutch after living in the country for 30 (yes, 30) years. Children doing the talking and translation for the parents. Personally, I think it’s a sign of respect to at least try to speak/learn the language of the country you’re in. I try so, for example on holiday. But not everyone thinks like that. I once had a colleague, she was about 28 yrs old and born in the country (so, her parents had to have been there equally long). The daughter had to make the calls to the doctor on behalf of her mother, bc the mother didn’t speak Dutch well enough to make the calls herself. I know this to be a major issue in the Netherlands and many people are enormously irritated by this kind of behavior from expats. Also, can you still call someone an expat after living in the country for that long? It’s the reason why I personally won’t talk in English anymore to expats. I will talk Dutch, but slower so it’s easier to follow for them. That way they can learn the language and it will help them in the future.

Oh shoot forgot something: by preschool I meant Elementary school but my son had English in German Kindergarten (which is what the US calls preschool), so the sentence above is still correct.

Easily. I've lived in Romania for 11 years and while i can read the language decently, i'm literally (not f*cking figuratively) half deaf, so understanding it and getting pronunciations correct is very difficult for me, especially since just like with every language, regional dialects are very much a thing here. I know some basic phrases and words to say, but there's really not much point. Out of 8 billion people, 17 million speak romanian (in a country of nearly 20 million mind you) almost everyone under the age of 40 here speaks at least some english, translator apps are only getting better and quite honestly given the quality of people in our city and my inability to tolerate rude or stupid people, being able to communicate more freely would only create problems. My wife speaks english so often and fluently that she struggles with her NATIVE language. Every time i start making another attempt to learn the language she insists that it's not worth it.

I've known a German guy that has been in Poland for 20 years, married to Polish, and didn't speak the language.

I have learned all of the Spanish I speak (even though I did take it in high school and college) from my parents and children in the last 25 years. One parent told me,"You work on your Spanish and I work on my English and help each other." I guess I can't imagine not even trying. I know a little bit of Vietnamese, Punjabi, and Tagalog for the same reasons.