This is actually VERY widespread in Japan. Just look for "no foreigner" signs and you're sure to find them. Which makes little sense when people with Japanese passports but foreign heritage get rejected from say a nightclub or bathhouse... But that's another story.

I do sympathise partially with those putting these signs up - it can be very awkward if you're talking to customers who refuse to speak your language, and its not exactly uncommon at times (I can imagine many English speakers go to Japan expecting EVERYONE to speak English).

I personally don't like the idea of putting up a "English Only" sign, but I wouldn't naïvely put it straight in the category of "racism". How on earth does one perform business with their customers if they can't even communicate? Really, in any country, it should be assumed knowledge that you speak at least some of a common language there if you want to order at anything that isn't McDonalds. Otherwise your wasting your own time and the business' time, and time = money, and money = survival. If anyone wants to change this whole "Please speak our language here" model, change the very foundations of human economics first

I hope this doesn’t open up a can of worms, but haven’t we read about similar attitudes in Quebec, for just one example? An antagonism towards English, therefore the locals don’t understand it -- or they understand only enough English to make the sale? It is more common than you may think and probably for a variety of reasons.

And qwertz, I mean absolutely no disrespect to you or your country, but I think Germany is a much more authoritative society than ours in the US and Canada. Stories of your government’s antipathy towards homeschooling, for example, chill me to the bones.

ceigered:This is actually VERY widespread in Japan. Just look for "no foreigner" signs and you're sure to find them. Which makes little sense when people with Japanese passports but foreign heritage get rejected from say a nightclub or bathhouse... But that's another story.

I think it is a matter of practice. I've seen such signs in Japan and ignored them. I have NEVER been refused service in any establishment in that country. Although, I do speak Japanese and have never expected to order at a restaurant in English. Maybe that is the key.

At the same time, I do not read or write well in Japaanese. There are times when I have asked for help reading a menu. I'm sure this slows the waiters down, but they have never refused.

I have often been referred to as "gaijin" (foreigner, literally "outside person"), but that is something I've gotten used to. I understand many ex-pats in Japan feel the word is used with malice, but I disagree. It can be a pejorative, but I've rarely encountered it being used as such.

Hi,

in countries where I have lived and where English was not an official language (France, Germany, Austria), I often met people who completely refused to learn the local language (even some basic words and phrases) and thought that speaking English is the duty of everybody.

The next step is that some of these people think that people who speak the local language have to support them, anyway (translating texts, come with them to places where English is not spoken ...).

I am certainly a helpful person, but after some time such behavior really bugs me. After several months a foreigner should know the basic words of the local language (especially, if he/she wants to stay longtime) and be willing to learn that language.

Gerald

"English only" (or "German only", or "Japanese only", or whatever) will not force people to learn the language, who are otherwise too lazy to do so. Those people will simply patronize another shop.

Maybe I'm a liberal softie but I dislike the creation of rules like this. I definitely think that if you move to another country, you have a duty to try your best to learn that country's language. But if you own a shop, how do you distinguish between a tourist and a person who has been living there for 10 years and still hasn't learned? Are you going to be unwelcoming to the tourist, just so you can punish the one who was lazy?

So I can speak a couple of languages, and I have a basic grammar and vocabulary in a couple more, just enough to get by as a tourist. But seriously, if I go to Hungary and someone refuses to communicate to me in anything but Hungarian, even though they share another common language with me, what gives? And more importantly, to take the capitalist angle, if I can't communicate with them, I will take my money elsewhere. So I don't really think businesses gain much by being snotty about languages. You don't know how much money this person was ready to spend at your establishment, you are only sending business to your competitors.

i don't understand this attitude at all. If I'm in business, I want to maximize my profits by selling as much as possible. If my restaurant was in a neighborhood where many people spoke a foreign language I didn't understand, I'd come up with some way to assist them in ordering. Perhaps I'd number the items on the menu so that they could order by number. But I wouldn't care if they ordered by pantomiming or playing charades, just so long as I make the sale. The idea of being in business, after all, is to maximize profits. That's the first lesson in Finance 101.

I wonder: Would this guy sell to a deaf mute who can't speak at all???

69UM24OSU12:But I wouldn't care if they ordered by pantomiming or playing charades, just so long as I make the sale. The idea of being in business, after all, is to maximize profits. That's the first lesson in Finance 101.

I wonder: Would this guy sell to a deaf mute who can't speak at all???

Well I sincerely doubt a deaf mute would go there and order alone, but anyway that's beside the point.

You're right in that it's important that you make a sale, but consider this:

You have a line up, people want to get their food right away, and some guy's making hand signals to the person at the counter and neither can understand each other. Because of this, 5 or so customers go "Oh well, it's too busy here, lets go to Bob's down the road" (provided there is actually a business called "Bob's" ). Lets say everything you could order here is $10 (and you can only order 1 thing). That's $50 out the door all for a $10 sale.

Additionally, even if those customers do stay, it'll take longer to serve them - You might only be able to serve 10 customers thanks to 2 customers who can't even communicate with you, when you could have served 20. That's $100 vs $200.

As for tourists, they should at least check a phrase book before they go. "English Only" only means you have to be able to order and say "thanks" in English (even if you have to write it on a piece of paper before you get ordered), it doesn't mean you have to show them a certificate saying you speak fluent English. If you want to be surprised and order something new, it's best to have a more fluent speaker with you, lest you get yourself food poisoned or have an acute allergic reaction.

And, finally, if we're talking about areas that have say a high amount of Spanish or Italian or Chinese speakers, if the boss can't understand the other language, I doubt he'll want his Hispano-Italo-Chinese workers serving customers in a language that goes straight over his head. And things will get a lot more complicated if he suddenly realises that some of his workers have been doing "mates'-rates" deals and been giving unauthorised discounts (who's the manager going to suspect first? Probably the people serving others in their own language, even if it's actually Billy Mono-Lingual Jones, the assistant manager). So, monolingual ordering in a largely monolingual society makes things easier on everyone - less suspicion from xenophobic employers/customers, less time needed to serve people/be served.. It seems cruel no doubt but it's something you have to look at from multiple angles and from a realistic point of view.

jawq81: And qwertz, I mean absolutely no disrespect to you or your country, but I think Germany is a much more authoritative society than ours in the US and Canada. Stories of your government’s antipathy towards homeschooling, for example, chill me to the bones.

I believe that this is not a Germany only topic. But trust me, I take an awake eye at the west-germans "achievements". And I'm still very disappointed that the "Wende" wasn't used to change anything in Western Germany. Okey, the right turn on red arrow is now used in Western Germany, too. But anything else? That's the main reason why I feel like a German-European and can not feel simply like a German. To many crusted matters left which I still know from the former GDR. (Sometimes I think: "the GDR is still alive". I don't wanna have coming back this time. Truly not!)

erinja:"English only" (or "German only", or "Japanese only", or whatever) will not force people to learn the language, who are otherwise too lazy to do so. Those people will simply patronize another shop...
...You don't know how much money this person was ready to spend at your establishment, you are only sending business to your competitors.

I agree.

ceigered:You have a line up, people want to get their food right away, and some guy's making hand signals to the person at the counter and neither can understand each other.

Hhm, probably depends at the local mentality and how often this situation is happening in this shop. I assume in Berlin they would make some loudly "reclaiming about noises", in Munich they will wait quietly. Maybe in Italy the impatiently mentality will let the "shaked sparkling water bottle" explode. I like the italian mentality, because you know what's going on inside the people and after some time all sparkling will be off the bottle. And they are smiling at you like the sun in the morning.

ceigered:
...As for tourists, they should at least check a phrase book before they go. "English Only" only means you have to be able to order and say "thanks" in English (even if you have to write it on a piece of paper before you get ordered),...

I did that in France Before I found out that lot's of french people can speak english if you ask them before: Excusez-moi, parlez vouz anglais? Okay, mostly they were not happy about. But they gave me a chance after this short opening phrase means giving them some time to switch the language.

ceigered: And, finally, if we're talking about areas that have say a high amount of Spanish or Italian or Chinese speakers, if the boss can't understand the other language, I doubt he'll want his Hispano-Italo-Chinese workers serving customers in a language that goes straight over his head. And things will get a lot more complicated if he suddenly realises that some of his workers have been doing "mates'-rates" deals and been giving unauthorised discounts (who's the manager going to suspect first? Probably the people serving others in their own language, even if it's actually Billy Mono-Lingual Jones, the assistant manager). So, monolingual ordering in a largely monolingual society makes things easier on everyone - less suspicion from xenophobic employers/customers, less time needed to serve people/be served.. It seems cruel no doubt but it's something you have to look at from multiple angles and from a realistic point of view.

Hhm, okay. I agree that excluding of a people from a conversation by using a language which this person doesn't understand will let that person think that the conversation contains blaming about this person. In the most employer-employee situation there will be no 100% trust means that the employer or the employee can be sure that the other person isn't doing some "hidden" blaming about each other in a non-understand language.

So how to manage monolingual ordering or make good business across Europe without blaming somebody onsite due to missing language capabilities? Signuno? At the The last of the Mohicans story the pathfinder did the same to start communicating with the native americans. We should try that in Europe, too.

qwertz:So how to manage monolingual ordering or make good business across Europe without blaming somebody onsite due to missing language capabilities? Signuno? At the The last of the Mohicans story the pathfinder did the same to start communicating with the native americans. We should try that in Europe, too.

Maybe, to make things easier, things should be assigned a number on a menu - e.g. "#1 Coca Cola. #2 Big Mac' et cetera, and then people can hold up the fingers for what they are ordering (or say them in the language if they know - maybe we can all use Latin numbers, they're fairly common these days). Of course, that fails when we get to "#245.3333 Crab burger with Angus beef and goats milk cheese". Unless we see someone with 245.3333 fingers.