Visitors at the house-dialogue

[chris49]

15 hours ago, skyskyper said:

Even though I have lived in Saudi Arabia for a number of years now, I haven't enrolled in any Arabic lessons. 

I learned to speak some Arabic through my everyday dealings with people here. The funny things is, I feel more confident speaking in Arabic than English. I don't have any qualms speaking Arabic though I know that my Arabic may not be correct at all :) 

I was in Riyadh 1981-2006. Al Khobar briefly later.

It was natural due to the work environment to speak Arabic. My kids learned a bit here and there inasmuch as we can talk to each other in English/Arabic/Singhalese and that definitely excludes some.

[Sander Martin]

8 minutes ago, chris49 said:

I was in Riyadh 1981-2006. Al Khobar briefly later.

It was natural due to the work environment to speak Arabic. My kids learned a bit here and there inasmuch as we can talk to each other in English/Arabic/Singhalese and that definitely excludes some.

25 years? Id expect you to be fluent in Arabic.

[David B]

I'm happy to be left out of conversation that is of no interest to me. No offense taken whatsoever.  I will learn the language over time and still not engage.  My wife, friends and family should be comfortable in their land.  Who am I to impose rules on adults? Hospitality is either genuine or not and one knows which is which. These guests may not need your invitation and if you are rude, even passively, your reputation will precede you. 

[Tukaram (Tim)]

The friends and family do it here all the time.  I use it as part of my excuse why I won't go to the province with her.  I told her the last time we were there not one person spoke to me for days - even she speaks Kinaray-a while there.  It does not really bother me too much.  (I just realized it has been a year and a half since I went to the province. Don't miss it a bit ha ha)

At our Rotary meetings it was the same. There are 2 Americans, and the rest are locals. The meeting starts in English, and after 20 minutes... not a word of English.   I would just pull out a book to read. They would stop and ask how I vote - I would look the President dead in the eye and tell him I had not understood a word in over 30 minutes so it must not apply to me. How can I vote?   It never helped... and I quit the club.

Give up, learn to live with it, it is their country anyway.  At someone else's house I usually just leave the house and take a walk.  The beach is nice.  At my house I turn on my music and they go outside.

[Jack Peterson]

6 minutes ago, David B said:

These guests

There is the Operative word

 

[chris49]

15 hours ago, Sander Martin said:

25 years? Id expect you to be fluent in Arabic.

I am.

And my daughter works in the field of linguistics.  Her job is classified, but she is paid according to her command of 3 dialects. Classic Arabic usually called Gulf Arabic, Farsi, and the Iraqi version of Gulf Arabic. She works for the US Gov't so it's easy to figure what she does.

[Nephi]

1 hour ago, David B said:

I'm happy to be left out of conversation that is of no interest to me. No offense taken whatsoever.  I will learn the language over time and still not engage.  My wife, friends and family should be comfortable in their land.  Who am I to impose rules on adults? Hospitality is either genuine or not and one knows which is which. These guests may not need your invitation and if you are rude, even passively, your reputation will precede you. 

I too am happy to be left out when it's just the family members (wife and kids) that live here. That way I can do my own thing and don't tune in unless it's English. But when there are invited guests having dinner in my home I expect to be included in some of the conversations. After all, it's my home and I'm paying for the food etc, they had better show some interest in me being there or it will the last time they are..

[MikeSwede]

1 hour ago, chris49 said:

...so it's easy to figure what she does.

Ayubowan Chris, someone will not like you telling it out loud like this though

To the topic; I so far did not host any guests, we did, and they are all Pinoy, chattering away gladly. Neither do we have any beer at home, so visitors are there for some familiar reason or to discuss some subject in particular. A good way for me to learn the language.

As it happens I never felt left out, but I can see they do at times, when I quickly say something in English to R.

Edited June 5, 2016 by MikeSwede

[Kuya John]

Like Jack said they married English speaking partners.

I have no objection to people speaking Tagalog in Philippines, sometimes offended when I am ignored or left in a corner on my own. But to feel uncomfortable in the UK when people visiting each other want to speak in Tagalog yet their employment commands the ability to speak English to me is not nice not polite and inconsiderate.

All I ask is in my company speak English ( unless of course they dont.  In which case I understand their position and will attempt to communicate  with them with gesture and politeness)

Edited June 5, 2016 by Kuya John
To clarify

[Queenie O.]

Majority rules local language wise I guess..