Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Pete
I still brought the place after the Notary had done the changes , and well pleased with it i am as well 
The translator was recommended by my SOL Bank Lady . not connected to the German estate agent . hmmmmmm well i dont think so anyways unless it was all a scam and even the Sol Bank lady was to get a cut 
On the Hasta not Asta , Chris i knew that ,its just i had a cold at the time 
Chris your theory on the Germans with the lots of languages isnt right sorry ,
My neighbours are German and they dont speak any English and no Spanish ?? And they have lived there some 8 years !
I however know a small bit of German and we sort of communicate with a mix of our tiny Spanish my little German and her tiny English which she derived from our English songs 
So as you can imagine we do have a laugh in chatting its like a game of charades a lot of the time
Anyways
Gutten acht  |
Moin junge!
Pete like I said MOST of the Germans
I know are multilingual. But they are folk of a similar ilk to me - so are communicators and travellers by nature. And as I say all from high formal education professions. Everybody I've ever worked with in Germany was at least bi-lingual.
Age & exposure is a factor too - My German landlords in '90 were simple farmer folk and were uncomfortable outside their Hessen dialect. I worked in Mannhein/Heidelberg are and there was a HUGE US base so exposure to 'merkin was high and most youngsters were comfy in English.
Their school system IMPOSES multilingal learning. However I did French at school and would not like to say I can speak French. Many folk even if they can use another language - are nervous about errors. Beer helps forget nerves.