Would you be offended if someone used a translator app to speak to you?

25 comments

1. Not at all. I think that translator apps and such, which have, as you said, come a long way, are a great invention. That said, I would respond in English, as would most Danes under the age of 60 is my impression, due to the high English profiency here, and the general distrust that many still have of translator-apps. If English doesn’t cut it as a shared language though, the translator app could then reenter the scene, and save the day.

   I don’t think any Dane would think that tourists not having learned basic phrases are put off by any “lack of effort” either. I’ve never met a single Dane working in the service or tourist industries, that expect foreigners to know a lick of Danish. A “thank you” is just as good as a “tak” in the minds of most, and as a general rule, it is better to communicate in a shared second language that both have at least a decent knowledge of, than communicating where one side talks in their native language, and the other struggles to keep up. The latter is a recipe for miscommunication, whereas miscommunication is more unlikely in the former scenario.

   Honestly, tourists, just speak English to us, it is the second language for most people here.

2. Offended,no

   Personally I would switch to English,if someone can’t speak enough Italian to make themselves understood.

   But if they can’t speak English either,why not?

3. Not in the least. I would consider it a sign of respect for the language and the country. But I cannot imagine a situation, where one would try that. Perhaps somewhere outside of Rīga that would be something to consider, but in the capital four out of five people would be able to communicate in English at some level of proficiency.

4. Depends on how the rest of your demeanor is, but probably not.

5. I don’t expect tourist to learn the languahe before travelling somewhere and I also don’t think translator apps are necessary for someone that speaks English. Just use that. Basically every young person and plenty of old people can speak English.

   Of course if I don’t share any language with someone then translator apps would be useful.

6. Good luck finding one. Honestly I’d be impressed at their ability to find a translator that can do Swiss German.

   Edit: I feel the need to clarify. I’d be impressed with a translator that can translate into Swiss German, some of the AI based translators out there do ok-ish with translating from Swiss German (but nowhere as good as they do with standard German).

7. No but it wouldn’t be necessary. Most Dutch people speak English so there’s no need to learn a few lines or use a translator app. Don’t feel guilty about that

8. No, I’d prefer if they spoke English to me. At least if they know English better than Norwegian.

9. >put off by the lack of effort travelers are putting in.

   Using a translator app requires more effort than just speaking their own language, so no I dont find it offensive

10. No, I don’t expect anyone to learn any Czech before going here for vacation.

11. No, not at all. If a tourist asks me something in the street I’d prefer it to be a quick experience though, so I’d rather just have them speak to me in English from the get-go.

12. Not really, but depends on the context. Random passerby tourist asking something or foreign client at work, I’m all ears though also willing to switch to English if needed.

    But I had somebody on a dating app back in the day use Google Translate and pretended to know Finnish through it. I thought he spoke Finnish okay because of it, GTranslate is not perfect with Finnish but can work in a pinch. This guy also didn’t speak English or Swedish, two of the other languages I kind of know, which I only found out on our actual date. Really annoyed me. It was a sort of catfishing.

13. No. And I can’t think of a reason why I would be. If you don’t speak English or the native language then it’s a perfectly good alternative.

    It’s a little bit different if you’ve lived here for several years since I do expect people who live here to at least make some effort at learning the language, but for tourists and recent immigrants it’s perfectly acceptable.

14. To be honest I’d rather people used translators instead of speaking their native languages.

    I work in a pharmacy and from time to time there are Russian speakers. I’m sorry, but just because I speak Polish doesn’t mean that I can understand Russian. If they try speaking Polish, it’s nice. If they show what they want, it helps. But if they try talking to me in Russian or show a blister pack of something and tell me to sell it to them, I’m not going to do anything. They don’t even try speaking English.

    So yeah, I prefer if people use translators.

15. Nope. I’d appreciate the effort. Then switch to english if possible

16. No in the slightest. People can’t be expected to learn the language, or languages, of every country they are planning to spend a few days or weeks in while on vacation. I personally don’t like the idea of learning a few basic words and travel expressions just for the sake of it. It’s not like they’re going to enable me to have conversations and be understood in most life matters, especially these days, where people’s English will most likely be better than my “basic phrases” in their native language anyway.

    That said, learning how to say hello, thank you and other courtesy words is generally considered common manners, although it’s not something that you’ll use to receive or get information across.

    Some people in the comments have said that you can just speak English to the locals and you’ll be good, but if you ever go to Russia, then absolutely *do* equip yourself with the app unless you wanna be going through a massive pain in the ass, lol.

17. No, I don’t blame anyone who doesn’t want to learn Hungarian lol. But I would say that I can speak english, so they don’t necceserily need the app.

18. I’d rather you speak English to me, those apps usually make a lot of grammar mistakes and stuff, and most Flemish Belgians are quite fluent in English

    But no I wouldn’t be offended if you do use a translator app

19. In case of tourists that speak no language I am proficient in I wouldn’t mind. But if there is any kind of common language I’d prefer to use that.

20. >But then I thought people in said country might be put off by the lack of effort travelers are putting in. Thoughts?

    Most people in Europe expect travelers to know one language: English.

    Anything else is a plus.

    You Will never be looked down for not knowing spanish over here. Though as Many have said It’s likely they’ll just switch to english (especially if they’re on the younger side)

21. I speak English as a first language and am working towards fluency in Welsh, but if a tourist tried to engage with the language, even through a translator app, I’d appreciate their effort.

    Most people would be really grateful for them trying and would be happy to help out with pronunciation etc. It’s a breath of fresh air when a tourist treats Welsh with a bit of respect, because a lot don’t bother learning a word because of these myths (largely propagated by England) that it’s impossible to pronounce, it’s a “dead” language spoken by around a million people, or it’s useless because “they all speak English anyway”

22. If they can’t speak any language that I speak, an app would be great. But if they insist in using that app while we both could easily fall back on english, that would be quite annoying.

23. Offended – no, inconvenienced – yes. I would prefer to talk in English, than try to understand broken Estonian. Online translators are hilariously bad at translating to Estonian.

24. Not at all. I understand that it takes years to learn a language. I would be fine talking either English or using a translator. The only situation I’d be offended is when people that are clearly not native Spanish speakers try to speak Spanish with us. They might have the best of intentions, but I, and most Portuguese, really hate it.

25. I and a french guy did this once in college while hammered. Easily one of the funniest events of the night is a group of French lads and Irish lads watching us try and converse while typing completely cut.