-
1.English-speaking.“the population is largely anglophone”
-
1.an English-speaking person.
Travelling broadens your horizons, but when you’re like me and speak one and a half languages ( I speak, read and write English fluently and I understand Twi – a language spoken in Ghana – but I can’t speak it well) you’re more likely to suffer from what I call the ‘anglophone attitude’:
- Expecting everyone and their mother’s mother to speak English in a country where English is not a native or official language.
I found myself displaying this in Berlin – luckily, Germans in Berlin, especially in the tourist areas spoke English very well, but I found myself thinking ‘why didn’t I learn a few phrases in German before flying?’
Considering I was there for less than 24 hours I didn’t feel the need to, but it would’ve been nice to speak a little German. I also assumed everyone in Berlin knew how to speak English – Anglophone attitude.
From now on, I’ll make it a point to have some basic knowledge of language wherever I travel to.
Do you speak another language or learning to speak one? How do you kerb the anglophone attitude?
Tiffany Afia
