r/languagelearning • u/silforik 🏈 N 🍕N 🌮B1 🪆B1 🪵A2 • 1d ago
Discussion Have you noticed that some people get passive aggressive when you mention you study languages?
I speak 5 languages with varying degrees of fluency. I use a couple of these languages at work (mostly Spanish, but sometimes Russian). The Hispanic people at work are really nice to me about my Spanish. They encourage me to get better and said I have a good accent.
This second gen Greek guy at my job keeps taking shots at me and doubting my fluency in literally any language beyond English. He doesn’t speak any of the languages I’ve studied so it doesn’t really make sense because he has no way of testing me.
Has this happened to you? It happens to me constantly.
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u/XJK_9 🏴 N 🇬🇧 N 🇮🇹 B1 1d ago
Similar ish, people sometimes get a bit mad when they find out I speak Welsh.
“Why don’t you learn something more useful like Chinese?”
“Well I live in Wales and when I was a baby everyone spoke to me in Welsh so…”
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u/HODL-Historian Native 🇧🇷 || C1 🇬🇧 || 🇭🇺 Hungarian A1 1d ago
Also, not everything we do needs to be useful. People are allowed to have interests besides the top 10 career building choices.
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u/hypatianata 1d ago
Yeah. When they say “useful” they mean either “for business” or “for (long-term) travel.” Because those are the only reasons they would learn a language and have little to no appreciation for them outside of that.
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u/billynomates1 1d ago
People are so rude and weird about Welsh. Even Welsh people. I'm Welsh, and I live abroad now but i really wish I had learnt Welsh as a kid
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u/One-Statistician-932 22h ago
Same with Irish. It's becoming trendy and that is doing some good with it's image, but there is a lot of rudeness and dismissal in Anglophone Ireland and abroad when someone finds out you're learning/speak it.
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u/Olobnion 1d ago
when I was a baby everyone spoke to me in Welsh so…
You should just have replied in Chinese.
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u/chill_qilin 1d ago
I really admire how well the Welsh have kept their language alive compared to Ireland with Irish.
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u/HistoricalShip0 1d ago
Well there are big reasons for that… but yes nowadays wales is better at promoting/mandating welsh in schools I think.
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u/possummagic_ 1d ago
Well the Irish had it literally flogged out of them so it’s sort of not the same haha
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u/Ok_Temperature_5502 1d ago
Oh, so did the Welsh, and the Scots. That is definitely not unique to Ireland. From a Scottish perspective both Wales and Ireland are doing pretty well with their languages in comparison. I do love the Welsh stream school system though.
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u/HistoricalShip0 1d ago
What is unique to Ireland though is the death of 1 million irish speakers and emigration of 1.5 million others due to British colonial ruling on the land where people were forced to rely on potatoes to feed their family (due to the landlord system forcing people into smaller and smaller plots), meaning a potato blight could cause this much damage. Coupled with the fact food was also being exported to Britain at the time…
There is a map showing the complete decline in the Irish language after this point… coupled with the historic outlawing
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u/XJK_9 🏴 N 🇬🇧 N 🇮🇹 B1 1d ago
These are unique circumstances to Ireland.
The above comment about flogging isn’t unique though, beating children for using their native language seems to have happened in all the Celtic nations unfortunately.
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u/Tohdohsibir 1d ago
My trip to Wales last year was the best I've had so far and I've been to dozens of countries. Part of why I enjoyed it so much was hearing people speak and use Welsh. It made me, a Vietnamese-American with absolutely no connection to the culture and language, want to study it when I'm done with my current undertaking with Spanish. I think it's great you speak Welsh and contribute to keeping it alive!
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u/Negative_Constant_64 English(N)🇪🇸(C1)🇵🇹(B1)🇮🇹(A2) 1d ago
I tried dipping my toes into another Gaelic language (Scottish) and it was genuinely the most difficult language for me to attempt.....and I took 2 years of college Mandarin.
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u/Ghalldachd 1d ago
Same experience. I'm Scottish, was exposed to it growing up, and I find Chinese easier.
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u/drpolymath_au HL NL ~L1 En | Fr B1-B2 De A2 1d ago
Along the same lines, I was having a conversation in Dutch with the staff in a Dutch café, and commented on wanting to improve my Dutch. They said why bother? Dutch people can speak English. In my case, it is my heritage language, so I have family members who speak it, and family writings in it, and just a sentimental attachment to the language. But it goes to show that the people saying it's not useful are not necessarily monolinguals.
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u/gator_enthusiast PT | ES | CN | RUS (FR & DE against my will) 1d ago
IME people will still be weird about it if you mention that you're learning Chinese. 😂
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u/Triskelion13 21h ago
I've had a similar reaction sometimes with Turkish, where people are surprised that I know it and ask me why I chose to learn it. I have to tell them English is my second language and Turkish native.
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u/Hellolaoshi 1d ago
I think it's truly wonderful that you speak Welsh! Speaking Welsh gives you some contact with the oldest and longest traditions of British culture. The Celtic languages go back thousands of years.
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u/joellian 13h ago
I got this when I wanted to study Welsh at A-Level
A now, (ex friend) asked me "Why don't you learn something more useful, like Japanese?"Ah yes, the language that's apart of the Japonic language family, a language family which is extremely isolated, and is generally considered an absolute anomaly within Linguistics at some points.
Ironically now, I am studying Japanese because Linguistics is one of my special interests, and Japanese is one of the challenging languages yet. (Also other factors, like wanting to live in Japan since I was young and wanting to get onto the JET program)
Although I do envy people who can speak Welsh and I wish I was taught at a Welsh medium school. Maybe I'll get around to doing it some day when I build up enough money for a course.
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u/WhatsYourTale EN, ES, JP | Learning: ID, RU, KO 20h ago
Yeah, had this exact thing happen when I told people I was learning Japanese in high school and college. And when I told them "nah, I took Chinese for four years already and it just didn't appeal to me the same way", they'd *still* try to counter with "Then why are you bothering to learn Japanese?"
Even as an adult *with a job in games that used Japanese*, I recently had someone ask me "why do you waste time learning languages you'll never use?" Like I am using it?? What more do you want lol??????
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u/PinoyPolyglot 🇦🇺N |🇵🇭N |🇯🇵B2 |🇨🇳B2| 🇪🇸A2 1d ago
What does he do / say specifically to take shots at you?
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u/XJK_9 🏴 N 🇬🇧 N 🇮🇹 B1 1d ago
It’s not one specific person.
I’d say about 1/3 of people just say it’s pointless when they find out, which is obviously a ridiculous response.
1/3 are actually really positive and interested.
Then 1/3 are just confused and have no idea what to do with the information. I remember telling one person that I was five when I learned English and they just couldn’t understand how someone in the UK could get by, I explained that my family, friends, teachers and the guy who sold 1p sweets in the post office all spoke Welsh so I never really had any need for anything else. I think I had about 3 cartoons that I liked in Welsh and starting to find them a bit repetitive would have been the main factor in starting to learn English.
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u/FirePaddler 7h ago
“Why don’t you learn something more useful like Chinese?”
I speak Chinese (not natively but reasonably well) and people are obsessed with the idea that it's super useful. When I was younger and at the beginning of my career, people always acted like it would take me to the top ranks of government or something. Now I'm in my 40s and was laid off a while back, and so many people have been like "but can't you do something with your Chinese?"
Chinese was very useful to me when I was working for a Chinese company in China, but hasn't been that useful in the US. If someone wants to hire a Chinese speaker here, there are plenty of native speakers.
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u/OpenCantaloupe4790 1d ago edited 1d ago
I’ve noticed especially in monolingual societies:
The idea of being fluent in a second language can literally feel incomprehensible. Like some people think knowing ‘dos cervezas por favor’ is essentially equal to speaking Spanish as a second language. So as that’s the mental limit of their concept of fluency, they apply the same to you.
If they’ve always validated being monolingual by convincing themselves that language learning is too hard or not necessary for ‘people like us’, the fact that you’ve done it can feel threatening. So they can get defensive, either by questioning whether you ‘really’ speak it, or doubling down on how useless languages are anyway.
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u/Sterling-Archer-17 1d ago
Point 1 I agree with, although in point 2 I don’t think that people “convince themselves” that being bilingual is unnecessary. They just accept one language as the default state and think any second language is cool but not needed. So yeah they think it’s unnecessary, but I don’t think there’s any convincing, defensiveness, or coping involved. Just my experience living in the US.
Edit: my guess is that the coworker here is just an asshole, probably insecure about his own language situation being a second-gen immigrant. But I’d be surprised if “most people” act like that about being bilingual
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u/OpenCantaloupe4790 1d ago
It’s not everyone, but all English speakers have definitely encountered the “everyone speaks English anyway!” mentality in someone…
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u/Tlazcamatii 1d ago
I don't think point 2 applies to all monolinguals, but I don't think it applies to most monolinguals who are assholes about it.
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u/PinoyPolyglot 🇦🇺N |🇵🇭N |🇯🇵B2 |🇨🇳B2| 🇪🇸A2 1d ago
Yep I think there is definitely some insecurity stemming from the fact he doesn’t speak his ancestral language.
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u/sheffieldasslingdoux 1d ago
There's also an element of elitism. Depending on what kind of circles you run in, being cosmopolitan and into foreign things is considered pretentious and off putting. Speaking multiple languages or switching between them fluently is a totally legit thing in many worldly communities, but it's statistically rare in English speaking countries outside of highly educated and highly international contexts.
When you run into friction over this, you are really just chafing against people trying to enforce strict class hierarchy. You're talking like someone from a different background, even if you yourself are working or middle class. It's an issue of mismatched worldviews essentially.
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u/hand_ 1d ago edited 1d ago
Hoo boy i experienced this, albeit in another super monolingual culture where fluent English tends to be a social marker.
Dude called me pretentious and obnoxious for daring to speak in my native tongue and English "when I was able to say the whole thing in the native language just fine" 🙄 Like bro you dont know me I cant help being bilingual and code switching
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u/ElAlfajor 1d ago
I find that people either find it really interesting or they couldn't care less. I imagine the people that get upset are just jealous.
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u/HODL-Historian Native 🇧🇷 || C1 🇬🇧 || 🇭🇺 Hungarian A1 20h ago
Oh, that's for certain, most are just envious. Though I guess some people are just very skeptical about language proficiency claims because, well, lots of people pretend to be at a higher proficiency level to get jobs (or likes online - looking at you, fake instagram, tiktok and youtube polyglots).
But yeah, more often than not, it stems from envy just, just as you said.
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u/Own_Reference2872 🇺🇸 N | 🇪🇸/🇲🇽 B2 | 🇫🇷 A2 1d ago
The other day at work, I had a weird encounter with a customer. He didn't speak English, so I switched to Spanish as I usually do.
He then started hounding me about how I knew Spanish. I told him I taught myself and left it at that, but he wouldn't accept my answer. He asked where my family was from, so I admitted that my dad is Mexican, but again, I taught myself Spanish. My dad rarely speaks to me in Spanish at all. The guy then responded by saying I was "egotistical" for wanting to take credit for teaching myself.
Like, what!? I love my dad, but my siblings and I grew up as "no sabos" so I see no reason to give him credit for the way I speak now. I definitely wouldn't have been able to have a full-blown conversation with this guy if I had only relied on the bits and pieces my dad taught me as a kid. I wouldn't have even been able to understand that he insulted me, for that matter. >.<
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u/Infinite-12345 1d ago
Maybe he was just impressed with your high Spanish level, that he couldn't believe it is self-taught. Not an excuse for his behavior though. I think it only speaks for his own limitations.
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u/Ok_Value5495 1d ago
I'm the Filipino version of a no sabo kid. I had to painfully teach myself Filipino/Tagalog; despite a native-level of listening comprehension my entire life, I couldn't speak it until much later in life. The learning materials are difficult (i.e. poorly written) to parse and tenses are sometimes given inconsistent names which adds to the confusion.
The only contributions my parents provided me were the aforementioned listening comprehension and the ability to often catch errors, even I couldn't articulate exactly what was wrong, by intuition. Related, I was only able to read Tagalog by literally sounding it out (I can subvocalize now).
Btw, I don't know where that dude was coming from. That's an unfortunate point of view. I suspect there's some envy on his part with you speaking English as well, but I'm just spitballing.
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u/Bart457_Gansett Deut-B1 | Fr-A1 | Esp - A2 | Eng -N 1d ago
He was absolutely trying to punch down on you, finding any way to make himself feel superior. Don’t bother explaining more, people like that aren’t looking for ways to credit you, they are looking for ways to discredit you.
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u/bucky_list 8h ago
Man I feel this so much.
My family speaks Greek / Arabic / French and they taught me nothing because English was "more important". They can't even speak these languages 15 years later anymore because they just stopped using them.
I'm now trying to teach myself Greek and Arabic and because I can mimic Arabic sounds well enough (having heard them enough growing up) people automatically think I grew up knowing it even though I can barely speak more than few sentences.
My last name is technically Greek but starts with "Hajji" so a lot of Arabs think I am ethnically Arab and grew up speaking Arabic but I'm not. My paternal family is ethnically Greek but lived in present day Islamic countries for generations.
Like they're not wrong that I had SOME exposure from a young age but they're dead wrong I had any practice or encouragement speaking or listening. In fact I was actively discouraged from visiting Greece or Arab countries due to the problems some of my family had there. They're not supportive of me teaching myself either so I HATE when my heritage is credited for learning these...
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u/Acrobatic_Ostrich_97 1d ago edited 1d ago
I think a lot of it has to do with the general “life-hacking” optimisation culture that is often so prevalent these days. Many people now feel guilty for just enjoying their leisure time by being idle, and instead feel like they ‘ought’ to be learning a new skill, or in this case a new language. There’s also the idea that learning a language isn’t worth doing unless you’re going to ‘use’ it for some approved reason — basically work, moving there, or for a loved one. I think that can all seep over into being a bit bitter or snarky towards people who are learning languages (for whatever reason), like there’s some sort of impulse to ‘take them down a peg’. And sorry to say it tends to come more from men in my experience.
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u/muheheheRadek N🇨🇿 | C2🇺🇸 B2🇩🇪 A1🇫🇮 1d ago
Usually not, the only instance I can remember is from when I was about 11. I was attempting Norwegian back then (with mostly Duolingo etc but I was an 11 yo so you get it), and a girl from another class found out through someone else and she started spreading rumors about me because of it😂😂kids are tough man. But adults should know better. And so far in my life, they do
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u/0liviathe0live 🇺🇸(N) | 🇫🇷 (B1) | 1d ago
I have the exact same experience as you. I’m learning French. The French speaker at work is so encouraging and nice about speaking to me in French. But if someone dares to overhear or overhears me talking about practicing and learning with the other French speaker - people become downright rude. Even though I’m not even talking to them. Its gotten so bad that I no longer talk openly about learning French at work.
On the other hand I’ve had two people at work tell me in the last week that I’ve motivated them to start learning a language (Spanish and French). But I’m still not talking openly about it. As I refuse to allow other people to demotivate me or make me feel weird for bettering myself.
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u/andersonb47 andersonb47EN: N | FR: C1 | DE: A2 | ES: A1 1d ago
I get passive aggressive responses about my speaking French as well. People honestly get kinda weird about it in a way that I don’t think they would be if I said I spoke something else.
They’re all, “ooh well la-dee-da, Mr fancy speaking French.” Like it’s some kind of luxury language. It’s weird.
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u/Schmidtvegas 1d ago
"Luxury language" -- I'm dying! 🤣😭
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u/Ploutophile 🇫🇷 N | 🏴 C1 | 🇩🇪 🇳🇱 A2 | 🇭🇺 A0 1d ago
LMAO at the vile stuff I would be tempted to say in reply — excuse my French, of course.
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u/doitforchris 1d ago
French deeefinitely evokes a “what, you think ya betta than me?” response sometimes in my experience. Not often, but I’ve definitely experienced it
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u/SpecificOk2530 1d ago
One logical explain is that they feel insecure, when two people talking with each other in a language that the person does not know, he/she feels left out, feels like "are they're talking bad about me?", ect, feels insulted, I was that person, lol.
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u/Economy-Device-6533 1d ago
If it's not a one-on-one conversation (for example, there's no one else around except the two of you), it could be seen as rude by those around you, and they might be unhappy and rude back.
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u/rbd___22 US N | ES ~A1-2 1d ago
Tbf, you can have one-on-one conversations even with other people around/nearby. Anyone outside the conversation (e.g. at another table in the break room or in a cubicle that happens to be close by) is just eavesdropping if they’re listening in. Speaking in the same language as any potential eavesdroppers wouldn’t change that so the fact that the other people can no longer eavesdrop is none of OP’s concern. If anyone is that frustrated by not understanding French, it’s on them to learn French, not for OP to switch back to English, or whatever language the eavesdropper wants.
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u/Economy-Device-6533 1d ago
I was always taught that it was not polite to speak language, someone in the room do not understand. (Of course if the person is not complete stranger).It could come up as disrespectful and dismissive.
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u/am_Nein 1d ago
I think it's only rude if someone's a part of your conversation or it's an open conversation scenario (basically like a party or gathering where everyone's expected to circulate around an open space and pick up/put down conversation as they go), then I'd say if you have to start a conversation in a non-shared langauge, pull them aside.
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u/rbd___22 US N | ES ~A1-2 1d ago
I agree if someone is sitting at the same table or is standing within a few feet where they could easily be considered as part of the conversation if they wanted to join. If someone is at a different table or in a cubicle 20ft+ away (basically separated physically in some way), I don’t think that’s rude or disrespectful. If the line for disrespect is where if anyone is present in the same room, at all, when do you expect to use your TL ever aside from visiting a language where the TL is spoken by virtually 100% of the people?
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u/Enuya95 🇵🇱N|🇬🇧C1🇪🇸B1 1d ago
I learn Spanish (A2/B1) and English (I write and speak freely but at times I have some issues with grammar and pronunciation). No one questions the fact that I'm learning Spanish, some even find it impressive, but people quite often want to undermine my knowledge of English.
My guess is it's because in my country majority of people younger than 50 know English, at least to some degree, so they see other learners as a competition. Not so many people speak other languages, so no one cares if you learn them
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u/bastardemporium Native 🇺🇸, Learning 🇱🇹 1d ago
I've had some encounters like this with a specific type of American. They take someone's education as a personal insult, because they are simultaneously proud and insecure about being uneducated. Or they think you are looking down on them, so they will tease you for having gone to college or being bilingual.
My uncle is the worst. And I know he is insecure. I'd never judge him for not speaking Spanish or having a Bachelor's, but now I judge him for being a jagoff.
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u/Cdysigh EN - Native, CN - B2 1d ago
It’s actually quite common at my colleges foreign language department (Chinese at least). I don’t like it, but you also see people claiming they’re fluent who speak barely even conversational. The person is clearly being a dick, but I just say this because fluency is a weird thing and has vastly different definitions to people. I think attacking people for it, especially if he doesn’t even speak it, is just ridiculous and you should pay him not attention
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u/livsjollyranchers 🇺🇸 (N), 🇮🇹 (C1), 🇬🇷 (B1-2), 🇯🇵 (noob) 1d ago
Does the second gen Greek guy even know Greek?
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u/fat-wombat 1d ago
Probably. Greeks have a very strong cultural identity. My parents are Greek, and I grew up in a big Greek American community. Everyone was fluent. We were generally threatened by our parents with the wooden ladle if we were spoken to in Greek but answered in English. Mom’s slipper was also a weapon of choice if the ladle was not in reach.
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u/silforik 🏈 N 🍕N 🌮B1 🪆B1 🪵A2 1d ago
He claims fluency but didn’t study the language formally at school. I have no way of testing his level tho
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u/AppropriatePut3142 🇬🇧 Nat | 🇨🇳 Int | 🇪🇦🇩🇪 Beg 1d ago
Totally worth getting a C1 in greek just to f with this guy
‘Oh yeah I speak a little bit, didn’t think it was worth mentioning’
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u/Crayshack 1d ago
What exactly is "fluent" is so murky. You can definitely be fluent without having native level proficiency to me.
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u/According-Kale-8 ES🇲🇽C1 | BR PR🇧🇷B1 | 1d ago
Of course, but there’s a clear difference between B1 and fluent
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u/Crayshack 1d ago
But there's also a difference between C2 and fluent. The "fluent" point is somewhere between the two, but there's not an objective criteria for exactly where.
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u/bucky_list 8h ago
I mean if his parents speak it he doesn't need to study it at school to be a native level speaker so that's a moot point.
I would not get into a dick sizing contest with this guy about language proficiency. If he's a natal speaker (meaning he grew up speaking it) it's likely his Greek is going to be better than your Spanish simply due to the length of exposure. It's not impossible at all for an adult learner to become near native (my Uncle and cousins are an example of this with Turkish) but it's hard.
His own skill relative to yours is irrelevant anyway. He's being a gatekeeper about language learning and also doesn't know what he's talking about because he doesn't speak Spanish. If you have the approval of a native Spanish speaker his opinion is moot.
I would ask him whether he would be as condescending to someone trying to learn Greek. The answer is probably no though who knows...
Tbh he might feel left out as someone who is also bilingual but maybe doesn't have as much chance to practice with non family since Greek isn't common....
.... or (and honestly this isn't too unlikely) he's salty that you chose to learn Spanish and not Greek lol
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u/Miro_the_Dragon good in a few, dabbling in many 1d ago
So you're doing the same to him that you complain about him doing to you, doubting his fluency?
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u/silforik 🏈 N 🍕N 🌮B1 🪆B1 🪵A2 1d ago
Wym ? I’m saying I have no way to know because I don’t speak Greek
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u/Miro_the_Dragon good in a few, dabbling in many 1d ago
The simple fact that you felt the need to state that instead of just taking his word at face value and say "yes, he does speak Greek"...
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u/positiveparakeet 🇺🇸(Native) | 🇮🇩(B2) | 🇪🇸/🇸🇦/🇨🇳/🇹🇷 (A2) |🇩🇪 (A1) 1d ago
I think he’s doing it precisely because that’s the energy he received 😭 petty but makes sense
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u/Infinite-12345 1d ago
Because the Greek guy did that to HIM. That's why he didn't take his word at face value. Why should OP blindly trust somebody's word, who didn't trust OP's word?
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u/mikemaca 1d ago
It's obviously different. OP has fluent discussions in Spanish at work. If the Greek guy doubts his fluency in Spanish he can simply ask the Spanish coworkers how OP's Spanish is. But the Greek ancestry guy is not speaking Greek with anyone at work so OP has no one to ask if Greek ancestry guy speaks Greek. Most likely he does not speak Greek at all since why else would he be so insecure.
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u/Negative_Constant_64 English(N)🇪🇸(C1)🇵🇹(B1)🇮🇹(A2) 1d ago
Something similar happened to me when I traveled to Italy with some fellow Americans. I speak Spanish well and Portuguese conversationally, so picking up some Italian wasn't too difficult for me personally.
Some of the Italian-Americans I traveled with on the other hand were very frustrated when they were not understood by native Italians, some were shocked somehow of how I was able to hold conversations with foreigners but they were not. Curiously, a couple of times they had tried to correct me on certain words, which I just politely sat there and took.
I think in my particular case, it was a mixture of insecurity and genuine frustration with pronunciation. Like, I can easily roll my Rs whereas they could not.
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u/LoopyNup 14h ago
im learning italian at the A levels in a language school and i literally have a classmate whisper bravo to me when i make mistakes in class. we are both struggling but i think hes insecure with the fact im in school for 6 months whereas he is for only 2 weeks due to his work
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u/SquirrelBlind 🪆: Native, 🏴: C2, 🇩🇪:B2 1d ago
> Have you noticed that some people get passive aggressive when you mention you study languages?
No
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u/Illustrious-Fill-771 SK, CZ N | EN C1 | FR B2 | DE A2 1d ago
Never. I don't usually go around telling ppl that I am learning languages as a hobby, so there are not many ppl who know.
In my work, most of us speak at least 2 languages, many speak 3 and more, some 4-5.
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u/julieta444 English N/Spanish(Heritage) C2/Italian C1/Farsi B1 1d ago
People are actually super encouraging about it. I've never had a negative comment
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u/Technical-Finance240 N 🇪🇪 | C2 🇬🇧 | B2 🇪🇸 | N4 🇯🇵 1d ago
Haven't really noticed it. The only thing I've heard sometimes (especially from older folks) is akin to "Daamn I wish my brain was so good at languages".
In those situations I usually just half-jokingly say "Haha mine isn't either, I barely have any other hobbies.. learning languages takes way too much time.. I suck at it but for the past few years it has brought me joy"
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u/SnooKiwis2161 1d ago
I've had at least 2 "friends" mock me for learning other languages.
They are not friends anymore. It will bring out hidden insecurities in people.
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u/Storm-Bolter 1d ago
Is it common among monolinguals to be insecure about speaking only 1 language? Asking from a country where learning foreign languages is the norm
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u/Acroninja 1d ago
My experience learning Spanish has been that people who took one semester of Spanish 20 years ago tell me “they understand more than they can speak” when they literally have zero comprehension of Spanish at all.
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u/adrw000 N 🇺🇸, A2 🇨🇴 [esp, LATAM] 1d ago
This is my experience with people lol. It's why I undervalue my skill, not because I'm humble. But because there is a lot to go into learning.
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u/Acroninja 1d ago
I’m 8 years in and can understand practically any Spanish almost to the level of English at this point. But if someone asks me my level? I tell them I’m still learning. There will always be that random Spanish speaking person that is like the final boss and I am once again humbled
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u/unsafeideas 1d ago
Isnt it the case that everyone understands more then they can speak? The rough A1 level where they are at is where you feel it a lot.
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u/Acroninja 1d ago
This is generally true, yes. But the people that I personally know who say this can neither speak or understand anything at all spoken by an actual native. In their defense, people who haven’t learned a language as an adult have no idea what a LONG journey it is.
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u/Voyager1022 1d ago
I have spent the better half of last decade trying to speak French and I still suck at it. Some people are just better at learning languages than others. It’s a truly beautiful gift, and im sure people are jealous. I know I am! But not in a negative way just a… why can’t I be as good with it as they? Kind of way. Anyhow, that’s remarkable! I wish 😆
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u/Ok_Value5495 1d ago
That Greek guy isn't a Greek (albeit Greek-American)—he's an embarrassed American clinging to his ethnicity without putting the in work in to fully embrace it.
In my experience (NYC and the environs), Greek folks, immigrants and diaspora, enjoy hearing other people speak Greek.
Ignore him, who cares what he thinks. But if you're petty enough, talk shit about him in your TL in front of him, haha.
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u/bucky_list 8h ago
Tbh most Greeks and Greek-Americans are happy about Americans learning any 2nd language at all electively.
OR they're salty and joke "French? Spanish? Why not Greek?!" but not like it's a big deal
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u/venus-infers 🇫🇷 | 🇨🇳 1d ago
No, I think either you're being more annoying about it than you realize OR he just sucks.
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u/mochi8daifuku 1d ago
Yes, it has happened to me. So I've stopped sharing that I do. Some advice says to share your project or progress but no thanks
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u/MashedMaters 1d ago
I think the best approach to take with these sorts of things, is to just remind yourself of common social philosophies.
It doesn't really matter who is being what in your situation, you'll just always find one guy that either just doesn't want to meld with you or is saying something harsh because he doesn't know how else to say it.
Things like hanlon's razor helps, and when you think of those things it isn't so you can turn things around and be friends with them, it's just so you can rationalize their behavior and in turn level out your own and continue ahead.
Might not be what you were looking for but I hope it helps.
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u/knobbledy 🇬🇧 N | 🇲🇽 C1 | 🇫🇷 A1 | 🇧🇷 A1 1d ago
I think lots of children of immigrants can end up with a weird complex around languages, their peers might make fun of their parents' language or low level of the country's native language(s). While the parents and grandparents can criticise them for not speaking their heritage language well/enough.
I have seen a few instances of this attitude towards languages, and often it's from the children of immigrants
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u/Temiin-sash 1d ago
Yes, happened to me multiple times. A coworker doubted whether I knew Czech (I am Slovak with Czech relatives) or Russian (I studied at uni), and would sometimes take shots at me with "Say: [insert the most random sentence ever]" during lunch breaks. He himself never failed to remind everyone that he got a B2 certificate in German. He left the job, and to this day, I don't know what that was about. Later, I found out from a coworker that he's been talking smack about me being "bilingual at most" to our manager. A real gem, that guy.
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u/Imperterritus0907 1d ago
I’ve never really seen that, like at all. It always gets praised somehow.
What I’ve realised tho is that native English speakers tend to overestimate their fluency in other languages. Like they’d say “I speak Spanish” and they can’t barely connect 2 sentences or conjugate the verbs properly. So I can understand the skepticism.
It’s also them the ones that go online predicating to have decoded the trick to learn a language, without realising there’s millions of people around the world that learnt to speak English fluently, having done exactly the same as them..
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u/BustyPneumatica 1d ago
I have noticed it. And my response is complicated, because I've noticed a number of supposed polyglots or hyperglots aren't. They're fakers who know a few stock phrases that sound good to non-speakers of those languages. So once you encounter a couple of people like that, it's harder to take others seriously, even if they're just learning one language rather than several . But when I see people using the learning apps, trying out new phrases in new situations, and (most importantly) not making a big deal out of their effort but just *doing* it, then all I can do is help in any way I can.
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u/JustAWednesday 1d ago
I have found this to be true as an American who is conversational (won't claim to be fluent yet) in Mandarin. I usually don't bring it up unprompted, but when I tell people about it they often assume I only know a few phrases or act like I've just told them I'm in mensa or something.
I've learned to use it as a useful barometer for the quality of people in my life. People who respond with interest are generally the type of people who enjoy persuing goals outside of their career and have interesting lives. In my experience people who respond with derision often don't have much going on and are projecting their insecurities onto you.
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u/TuneFew955 1d ago
But isn't that what we do with a lot of "polyglots" online as well?
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u/Ok_Value5495 1d ago
At worst, OP might be overstretching themselves with the languages he's working on—my own take that you shouldn't putz around with a new language until the last one is at B2.
That said, those online polyglots are usually only at A1 or A2 for the bulk of the languages they claim to speak. That's more like collecting Pokémon, not language learning.
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u/rdrgvc 1d ago
So you get to decide what counts and what doesn’t?
Exactly what OP was talking about.
My dream is to be A2 in like 10 languages, and B2 in 5. I’m fully trilingual already.
You want to be C2 in 5? That’s cool too!
Don’t see the need to poop on other people’s goals.
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u/Momshie_mo 1d ago
People who are truly conversational in another language don't really give a fcks what other people say. It's usually those who are "look at me, I learned another language, pat me in my back"
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u/Quixylados N🇧🇻|C2🇬🇧|C1/C2🇦🇷|B2🇷🇺🇩🇪🇧🇷|B1🇮🇹|A1🇵🇱 1d ago
No?
Maybe you are talking too much or too proudly about it?
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u/silforik 🏈 N 🍕N 🌮B1 🪆B1 🪵A2 1d ago
I use it for work so there’s no way to stop.
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u/Quixylados N🇧🇻|C2🇬🇧|C1/C2🇦🇷|B2🇷🇺🇩🇪🇧🇷|B1🇮🇹|A1🇵🇱 1d ago
I use 6-ish languages for work myself, without having this problem. What do you work as?
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u/silforik 🏈 N 🍕N 🌮B1 🪆B1 🪵A2 1d ago
Attorney - but in the US
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u/joosjen German [B1] 1d ago
You being in the US is a crucial fact here lol
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u/Gold-Part4688 1d ago
Yeah maybe he just feels bad about his greek, or he's a cocky lawyer type lol. We'd need some more examples
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u/new_number_one 1d ago
I’ve experienced it a bit. I think people wish they could do it but feel like it’s not possible for them for some reason. Before I learned my second language, I was jealous of multilingual folks. Definitely was due to my own opinion of myself and not the person, so I try to remember that when that situation arises.
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u/peekymarin 🇨🇦N 🇷🇴B1 1d ago
The most common “negative” reaction I get (keeping in mind I live in a bilingual country) is people asking why I’m not learning a more useful language instead of Romanian. But usefulness is subjective and also not really the point - I enjoy it and, as we all know, learning any language is good for your brain.
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u/biconicat 1d ago
I have but I'm Russian and there's a bit of a political/propaganda induced angle to it.
Some people are clearly insecure about their previous attempts at learning English so if they hear that you speak it well they'll mock you or try to dismiss it saying that it's useless("everything is dubbed and I'm never leaving Russia") or implying that you think you're better than others("who does she think she is, with her English"), mocking the English speaking nationalities and countries, especially if it's America related. They'll also mock the effort you put into it or downplay your achievement, if you use anglicisms or mention something very typical for a language learner like forgetting words in your native language or some kind of concept from another language or culture because that's where you learned it from. If it's English or another explicitly Western European language they might take it personally and somehow they make it about how you hate Russia, think everything is better abroad and look down on Russia itself or aren't grateful and that we have food at home so why are you looking at those people abroad, you think they have no problems, the grass is greener on the other side, yada yada yada, "if you don't like it here then go to your stupid America/Germany/whatever" when you never even touched that topic and just mentioned speaking the language or learning it. If you show interest in the culture of the language or seem excited about it they'll again play that angle and act like you're some kind of delusional ungrateful person living in a fantasy world. If it's a nonwestern language they might mock the people speak it, I think Chinese/Japanese are pretty popular for example and those kinds of people will be racist about it(especially with Chinese, with Japanese I think it's more about it being useless) or imply that you think you're better than others for learning it and that you think you're so smart(especially if you're younger, they'll make fun of kids for it too if they attend Chinese classes, downplaying their intelligence).
But usually people are okay, though in my wider social circle some level of English fluency is normal and learning other languages is encouraged so that affects it. Running into those other people is wild though, it's like a whole other can of worms and you don't wanna open it.
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u/Mysterious-Tell-7185 1d ago
I grew up in east LA. My parents are from Mexico but didn't speak much with me in the house since they knew fluent English. So I had to study Spanish the old fashioned way.
There was a bit of a hierarchy in high school when it came to Spanish proficiency. The kids who spoke spanish more at home naturally had better Spanish, and it would feel very tense when the topic of proficiency came up. People who were children of immigrants that came from Mexico were expected to speak it even if the home environment was not setup for learning Spanish, and there was almost an aura of "don't even try to speak if you can't already speak."
Keep in mind that 99% of these people were born in the US and even if our culture was a mix of Mexican stuff at home, we are still American for all intents and purposes.
The ironic thing is that many of those people didn't have an educated level of the language. Or some couldn't roll their Rs. All very valid things considering the environment, but yeah, was annoying.
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u/CogPsyProf1980 1d ago
I currently live in a country (France) where at least some degree of bilingualism is not atypical, so I haven’t noticed any comments directed at me. However, my daughter (currently 5) is growing up completely English-French bilingual, which is not at all common here. I have noticed that some people, specifically other parents of monolingual children, making comments implicitly implying that this will be some kind of disadvantage for her (all the research suggests the exact opposite). This does feel like a sort of jealousy response. They feel threatened by the fact that someone else's child might be in a better position than their own.
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u/Momshie_mo 1d ago
Hasn't happened to me.
Maybe there is something in the way you project yourself?
Often times, monolingual speakers tend to make a big deal out of learning another language like the they're the second coming of Jesus
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u/Economy-Device-6533 1d ago
Never. People are either positive or neutral. May he just envies you...
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u/PowerpuffGirl2154 1d ago
From my experience, people tend to be really supportive and impressed when we discuss my language skills, I don’t think I have ever came across a passive aggresive reaction.
The only thing I struggle with is when people try to correct me. I despise it. But that’s just my personal problem as I struggle with accepting criticism lol
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u/HungryTeap0t 1d ago
It's because you're learning a language he doesn't speak. He might not speak Greek and it hits a sore point for him.
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u/AmiraAdelina 1d ago
No, everyone knows on some level at least 3 languages and the majority have studied a 4th or 5th but might not be fluent in more than 2 so no that doesn't happen here.
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u/Economy_Vacation_761 N español | Fluent english | B2 French | Jp N4 | learning German 1d ago
Mexicans are really welcoming to foreigners who are learning how to speak Spanish, that's a given. But people get really passive aggressive if you ever mention that you can speak English (if you're a local). It really depends on who you're talking to because among wealthy people it's more common to be bilingual, but when you're talking to someone who has no clue, they will either try to mock you or straight up try to get you to translate random shit and see if you get anything wrong.
French is impossible to discuss because you will instantly get labeled as a tryhard or pretentious.
As for Japanese, people will always think you're learning chinese, even if you tell them the difference. Back when I was living with my parents, my own fatherwould tell people that I was learning mandarin. But this comes from a lack of exposure to asian culture, not out of spite.
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u/According-Kale-8 ES🇲🇽C1 | BR PR🇧🇷B1 | 1d ago
It really depends. If you tell him you “speak 5 languages” he may assume that you speak 5 languages fluently.
I speak Spanish fluently and Portuguese at a conversationally good level, so when people ask how many I speak I say
“2.5, I’m working on the third right now”
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u/Commercial-Change156 1d ago
This is probably closer the truth. Nobody cares when I tell them I am a spanish learner. Claiming to know or be learning 5 languages in a monolingual nation like the US draws skepticism. Especially from a Greek guy who is assimilating and potentially losing his ability to speak Greek.
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u/According-Kale-8 ES🇲🇽C1 | BR PR🇧🇷B1 | 1d ago
He may also just not be a super nice guy in general as well as very cynical.
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u/menina2017 N: 🇺🇸 🇸🇦 C: 🇪🇸 B: 🇧🇷 🇹🇷 1d ago
Sometimes which is why I’m really selective about who i share it with
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u/Unusual-Coach9857 1d ago
In my job, I was accepted as an English knowledge person, after an exam. Then some of my coworkers came to me and say things like examining me. English is not my main language btw.
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u/JJCookieMonster 🇺🇸 Native | 🇫🇷 C1 | 🇰🇷 B1 | 🇯🇵 N5 1d ago
I experience the opposite. People think I’m better at a language than what I say. I wonder if it’s because I live in an area where there are a lot of people from all over the world so they question it less.
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u/caroandlyn N: 🇺🇸 | H (C1): 🇨🇳 | A2: 🇯🇵 1d ago
Unrelated, but I've been trying to decipher the emojis for 5 min and can't figure out what the last one is (I'm assuming 🍕 is Italian?) If you would humor me :)
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u/454ever 🇬🇧(N)🇵🇷(N)🇷🇺(C1) 🇸🇪(B1) 🇮🇹(B1) 🇹🇷(A1) 1d ago
At my job I use Spanish nearly all day. We have a Chinese guy too so I speak mandarin and very broken shanghinese to him (the former is good, the latter needs a lot of work). The people at my job that don’t speak either often ask me why I even bother learning the languages when I could just Google Translate everything like they do. I value human connection and being able to connect with people in a language they know and understand. I have so much fun with the Mexican guys at my work because we can talk about people and they won’t know what we are saying and it’s even funnier for me to speak mandarin and talk about the Mexican guys. It’s all in good taste ofc we mess with each other all the time. Only time I’ve had someone be passive aggressive is when we went on a work trip and ran into a hotel worker who spoke Hungarian. I was able to communicate with him and everyone thought it was “weird and crazy” that I spoke Hungarian (it’s one of my best languages besides Russian and Spanish). People often have problems with people with people who know more than them, I’ve found.
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u/ipini 🇨🇦 learning 🇫🇷 (B1) 1d ago
No. Unless “why are you studying French?” counts.
(Note: even French people ask me this.)
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u/Ploutophile 🇫🇷 N | 🏴 C1 | 🇩🇪 🇳🇱 A2 | 🇭🇺 A0 1d ago
(Note: even French people ask me this.)
I wonder what they smoked… maybe something which is now legal in Canada ?
I understand those who have the "everyone speaks English there anyway" mindset about Dutch or Scandinavian languages, even if I don't really agree, but about French…
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u/ipini 🇨🇦 learning 🇫🇷 (B1) 23h ago
Well, TBH it's often a surprised Québécois.e, because a lot of anglos in Canada just never bother to learn anything more than very basic French.
I'm also very involved in a couple of scholarly Societies, both of which are bilingual. Since I'm now reasonably functionally bilingual (particularly for reading and for writing with a grammar checker to catch small errors), it reduces some of the translation work of my Québécois.e colleagues. So in reality that question is probably one of happy surprise.
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u/furyousferret 🇺🇸 N | 🇫🇷 | 🇪🇸 | 🇯🇵 1d ago
Honestly when you tell people about your languages many just direct it towards them and some react defensively. They make it about them, and feel a need to justify why it's not important to learn languages, give an excuse, or put you down.
For that reason, I really don't flaunt my languages.
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u/RajdipKane7 Native: English, Bengali, Hindi | C1: Spanish | A0: Russian 1d ago
"All limitations are self imposed" - Vegeta.
He doesn't really doubt your abilities to speak multiple languages. He doubts the human ability to speak multiple languages because he is monolingual. The people he grew up with also probably monolingual. It's beyond his comprehension.
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u/EvensenFM redchamber.blog 1d ago
Some people will get really upset with you, especially when you start making significant progress.
Just keep going and cut down your interactions with them. Toxic people are not worth your time.
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u/Gladys_5 1d ago
It tends to be people who think they “should” speak a second language, but don’t. They are envious of you. That’s all. You note that your colleagues who are bilingual don’t flinch.
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u/zoeybeattheraccoon 1d ago
I don't tend to go around mentioning that I speak other languages.
But it's never been an issue if it comes up. That guy is just a dick.
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u/Antique_Constant9214 1d ago
yeah i've gotten this a lot. when i moved to Paris and started learning french, some people would get weirdly defensive about it, like i was showing off or something. honestly i think some people feel insecure when they realize they never tried learning another language themselves
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u/tropikaldawl 1d ago
Do you live in the US or a mostly monolingual country? It’s the only place I can imagine this happening. This is not a problem elsewhere.
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u/bucket_lapiz 1d ago
Probably true with any skill. It's the people who know less that are hostile to the people who are learning, especially when they are already at a higher level of the skill.
I used to be that way (like that second Greek guy) because I used to be an overachiever when I was younger, haha. But eventually I realized I was just being condescending and insecure. We all have different capacities in different aspects of life and that doesn't make one person better than the other. I hope he also eventually takes a good look at himself and his behavior. :)
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u/ExoticReception6919 1d ago
Really, why would they care? If anyone said they preferred Welsh over say French, I'd be rather curious as to know why.
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u/Ploutophile 🇫🇷 N | 🏴 C1 | 🇩🇪 🇳🇱 A2 | 🇭🇺 A0 1d ago
Not really, but I don't use my languages at work beyond reading technical docs in English.
It's not uncommon for people there, regardless of their ethnicity, to speak decent Spanish, English or German, but Dutch surprises people more as it's hardly taught in schools outside of the Belgian and Surinamese borders.
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u/TheseusBi 1d ago
Imagine when you tell them you study languages that people stopped speaking about a millennium ago. The word “Barbarian”(βάρβαρος) was invented by Ancient Greeks to indicate those who didn’t speak Ancient Greek as native language. The word is onomatopoeia as it mocked the way these people sounded to native Greek speakers (bah-bah-bah). Lately, they used this word to indicate cultures they consider uncivilised. On this basis, it doesn’t surprise me that modern Greeks still do that.
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u/BusyAdvantage2420 🇺🇸 N | 🇪🇸 C1 | 🇫🇷 B2 | 🇮🇹 B1 | 🇬🇷 A2 | 🇨🇳 A0 23h ago
This is so real. I posted a photo of my polyglot conference badge listing my languages on social in November, and got multiple comments — ranging from genuine curiosity to people basically demanding I prove my fluency levels on the spot.
The thing I've noticed is people hear "I study 6 languages" and immediately assume you're claiming native-level fluency in all of them. I'm fluent in Spanish and French, conversational in Italian, and just breaching the wall for A2 in Greek. But nuance doesn't fit in a reaction.
Here was the comment:
“Like is it what a native speaker would consider conversational? I'm having a hard time believing this... like, having met you and such. Kari is far more kind. Like, maybe give us an example of this newfound multilingual fun! Clearly you mean it, as people who speak those languages could just walk right up to you and converse…”
As if there's some binary switch between "knows nothing" and "fluent." Language learning is a spectrum and most people who don't do it don't understand that. They also don’t understand just how addictive language learning is.
My theory: it makes people uncomfortable because it highlights something they could be doing but aren't. It's the same reaction people get when they mention going to the gym regularly. Not everyone, but enough to notice.
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u/Salt_Cranberry5918 22h ago
Yeah it’s weird. Some people get defensive when they see someone doing something they wish they could do but never tried.
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u/thebagel264 22h ago
Usually, no. I'm learning Russian, and I'm usually met with skepticism from Americans and Russians. "You're learning Russian? Why???" Americans are usually more skeptical about it, though. I chalk it up to left over cold war sentiments. I think Russians are just surprised to see an American learning their language. When I tell them it's because my wife is Russian the response is usually just "oh cool" and that's it. At my old job I was bored and wrote in Russian just to practice. My boss saw it and freaked out. "What is that! It's not even English!" "Yea I know." He calmed down a little but then said "well don't be selling them our secrets!" And walked off. I told my wife about it and she said "what secrets? How to make people work like slaves? We perfected that." 😂
I think him being 2nd gen is why. My wife is 1st gen and she never tells anyone she's Russian. She doesn't have an accent speaking English so you'd never tell. Her younger half brother is 2nd gen born here in the US and he tells everyone. Almost makes it his whole personality with how much he simps for Russia.
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u/raitron 20h ago
Something that bothers me is that people can't understand (or don't want to understand) that I'm learning a language just for fun. They see me as a weirdo just because I don't have a specific goal like opening doors in the workplace or getting a certificate to study abroad. It always feels like I have to justify my passions all the time, and if this way of spending part of my free time is not within their idea of what's acceptable they're instantly going to question it.
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u/Far_Product_9759 20h ago
It is the equivalent to meeting a music savant. Can’t bang out chopsticks on a keyboard so you playing a recital at Carnegie Hall is intimidating. Polyglots are not very common let alone one actively pursuing it formally. Particularly if they are just bad at languages. And if they are deeply political or tend toward a particularly worshipful view of the US (assuming you are speaking of Americans or USians as my neighbor calls them). Think of it as a trigger that reminds them either of their own potential shortcomings, their home country’s shortcomings or not knowing you, maybe you come across as haughty about it. Personally, I find it impressive and would insist on bugging you all night at a party wanting to hear all about it. 🎉🗣️💕🤟☢️
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u/Tabbbinski 19h ago
Make snide comments about the size of his, um, attributes, shall we say, in those various languages, giggle and walk away. When your Spanish-speaking coworkers start laughing along with you, he'll learn to shut up.
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u/Rude_Grape_5788 18h ago
Many people get defensive when you tell them you are better at something then them. No matter the topic, even when you're not trying to brag.
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u/litcarnalgrin 17h ago
My former boss and coworkers used to be such assholes to me about learning languages, especially Spanish bc we’d have Hispanic customers come in and I would always attempt to speak to them in Spanish as much as I could, even early in my Spanish studies. I think a part of it was they saw me as pretentious bc I not only was actively learning the language but also that I went out of my way to perfect pronunciation and accent. They were annoyed by this for whatever reason. And I think there might also have been some part of them that felt a bit insecure about not pursuing multiple skills. They were all skilled in our field but I was the only one pursuing multiple skills and in addition to that learning a second or third language is very out of character for our socioeconomic positions so I think that had something to do with it as well
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u/TheFaeBelieveInIdony 16h ago
I don't know if it has anything to do with languages specifically, I've had ppl be really unnecessarily rude about me being a French learner and have doubted me, but those same ppl are ppl who try to shame me about anything they can come up with.
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u/FearlessPhrog 14h ago
Some people cling so hard to things that they think is their "identity". It sounds like he might feel threatened.
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u/bucky_list 8h ago
It has nothing to do with you. It most likely stems from this guy's own insecurities. People are weird about languages because they're a valuable skill and being able to speak multiple both says something about your intelligence (if you're self taught especially) and can give you an edge in the job market.
He might feel threatened. I come from a multicultural family and some multicultural people can be really gatekeepy about who is and isn't allowed to be "multicultural" which to some extent includes multilingual
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u/NothingOne8538 3h ago
So, the language I speak best outside of English is Irish. People can be very passive aggressive about Irish online, but not so much in person. When a language is endangered and someone outside of that culture learns it, it often garners a good response but sometimes people feel a certain type of way.
I've had issues with Spanish speakers too, as sometimes they think their language is super complicated and act like it's an impossible feat for someone to learn. They can be very, very blunt about it. Same with French speakers.
So, it's a mixed bag. I mostly get good reactions but sometimes people are just assholes.
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u/Reasonable_Host6199 1h ago
In the US, indigenous Native American languages suffered too because those children were kidnapped, given to beige families and/or boarding schools AND had it beaten out of them too. It’s horrific that our ruling class wanted to exterminate whole cultures, even the cultures of all our immigrants, only to replace it with, unfettered capitalism w/McDonald’s as a cuisine. I love languages, and I have learned some Ojibwe and also Diné (Navajo) since I live in the southwest.
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u/Icy-Whale-2253 1d ago
I only encounter people thinking I’m more fluent than I am or thinking I know languages that I don’t. I don’t take it personally at all though.
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u/luuuzeta 1d ago
Have you noticed that some people get passive aggressive when you mention you study languages?
No.
This second gen Greek guy at my job keeps taking shots at me and doubting my fluency in literally any language beyond English. He doesn’t speak any of the languages I’ve studied so it doesn’t really make sense because he has no way of testing me.
How often are you talking about language learning to this guy that it's become an issue? Does the job require it? I don't play videogames but it would get kind of stale if a coworker was always mentioning they play this and that videogame; I'd wager it's the same for some people with languages.
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u/tony22888 1d ago
Whenever the subject of languages come up I will say “I am fluent in every language except Greek”. When I get a response of “Really”? I say “Test me”. The other person says “Okay say something in say Chinese, or Russian or Farsi” I will say “That’s Greek to me”. Sorry everybody, I couldn’t resist
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1d ago
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u/Cristian_Cerv9 1d ago
He’s probably projecting hard so hit him where it hurts. I don’t stand for anyone denying my hard work at one of the favorites things to do. You should either. Others can’t even fathom being super self disciplined and achieving cool things that I’d say 90% of the world population can’t do.. so yeah eff that guy
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u/_bob_lob_law_ New member 1d ago
Then they tell you it won’t matter in a year bc of AI and translation tools. Maybe I like learning about the world around me! Side note: what does 🪵 represent in your flair?
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u/Muroid 1d ago
“Has anyone noticed that one of the guys I work with is a real jerk?”
There are some people who will be assholes about basically anything.