Uh, I don't speak Italian...

[Pendraflare]

What do you do when you're faced with something of a language you've never learned? Like say a foreign person tries to start a conversation with you and you don't know what they're saying. Do you ask them if they're speaking some language you don't know, or what they're saying? What if you run into something on the internet of a language like that? Do you usually try to translate it? In other words, how are you with being shown languages you don't know?

Discuss.

 

[Sonata]

On the internet I will try to translate it to "I don't speak your language" but if it happens in person I have like a subconscious bank of every language and so I can understand basic conversation, but only in person. It's like an adrenaline rush in my head.

 

[Oryx]

Shake my head and shrug. They'll get the message that I don't understand them. Maybe say "I don't understand you" in English so they know what I speak in case they also speak English. I live in America though so I almost never have someone walk up to me and assume I speak any language other than English.

On the internet I only bother if it's in French because I have a working knowledge of French. Anything else and I leave it to other people because Google translate is useless.

 

[sh1nyzorua]

Depends on the language, I guess. I know a veeery small amount of Spanish just from where I live and by barely paying attention in middle school, so I would just tell them "I don't speak Spanish" in Spanish and hope for the best. I'm learning German though, so if someone came up to me speaking German I might have a chance at a conversation.
Last year my uncle got married, and my new aunt is from China. Her half-sister, my new half-aunt, was there too, and she's about my age, so we hung out, even though she knows no English and I know no Chinese. My aunt translated for us for a while, but when we were left alone I gave my half-aunt my DSi and we sat together playing games. Looking back I kinda wished I had set up Mario Kart because that would have been really fun but oh well. :>

 

[Hiatus]

When I get approached by somebody who doesn't speak English, I tell them something along the lines of "I don't speak your language; sorry." They might be able to understand me, but I do make movements with my hands to show what I'm trying to across, and that always helps. :]

 

[Rosehip]

There's a good reason I take interest in learning how to say "I only speak English" in a bunch of languages. That, or I say that I don't know their language. If they don't know English, then I'm doomed really. That, or I break out the non-verbal hand communication.

Ich spreche nicht gut Deutsch. Je ne parle Francais. I just..like to learn how to say I suck at their language, really.

Oh, and Google Translate is op.

 

[Cherrim]

I feel like I could manage to be helpful if it was in French, but I've never had anyone come up to me and ask me anything in French because anyone who speaks it here probably speaks English better than I speak French anyway, hahaha. If it was in Japanese, I might be able to fumble my way through a very basic conversation too? I remember almost offering to help a group of Japanese tourists once a few years ago who were looking confusedly at a map but I was too shy. :( If it were any other language, I'd stare blankly at them and then apologize in English about not speaking their language. I'm not even sure how well I'd be able to identify most languages spoken to me point-blank.

Via text, I can at least recognize most languages when I see words or script from them, but unless I know it's about something I'm interested in reading, I'll usually scroll right on past it if it's not a language I know.

 

[Starry Windy]

I'm reminded when someone was speaking to me in Portuquese in a certain battle server via PM, I relied much on Google Translate to know what does he say and how to talk with him in his language, and telling that I'm not quite good in that language, actually. Not to mention that the translation might be imperfect in some cases.

 

[Lord Kraith 2]

I would say in English: I don't know your own language.

If this person is in my homeland, I would say: Я не говорю ваше язык. Ты нужно говорить русский, извините друг. (Basically means: I don't understand your language)

 

[Rogue planet]

Most people speak English, when I'm approached every time they switch to English when they realise I don't get it. It's lucky the rest of Europe makes up for the UK's laziness.

The only time I've had to talk with people who don't speak it is in bars & restaurants, in which case three useful gestures of pointing, smiling and nodding have always sufficed.

 

[Fernbutter]

Funny though because I can understand technically a lot of languages because I do lots of personal research and stuff, also it was kind of a study thing that I had as a personal assignment, so I wouldn't really bother with it too much, but I can't speak any language back, well aside for some.

 

[Shining Raichu]

Why is somebody who doesn't speak English trying to strike up a conversation with me?

 

[Apollo]

If I'm lucky, that person could be speaking in Dutch or German, so I can try replying to them in a basic-ish conversation in Dutch or a very very basic conversation in German. I can also work my way through Spanish, French and the Scandinavian languages if the person speaking is really really slow at speaking. Otherwise, I'll try to signal them that I don't understand. I'll just shrug or something.

 

[Empire]

I look Australian, so nobody has ever approached me speaking another language.
Although if it did happen i'd probably make up some random mumbo jumbo.

 

[Poki]

I'll just tell them that I don't speak their language in English, and if they don't get that, I'll confuse them even further by speaking Bulgarian.

 

[Bellsprout]

yeah one time this happened to me in LA with a Hispanic man and when I told him I couldn't speak Spanish he said, "No Spanish?" "You're beautiful" grabbed my hand and kissed/sucked it. I then ripped my hand away and walked off and he followed me and tried playing with my hair and touching me until I walked towards the college we were outside of that had security around it and then he ran off. And that was my one experience with someone trying to talk to me in another language!!

 

[Sniper]

If I don't know the language, I would ignore that person. It's useless to start a conversation at someone you can't understand. lol

 

[Nick]

I don't bother with it if it's online. I don't read it, I don't bother translating. It's whatever. If a stranger came up to me and spoke to me in some other language, I'd try to communicate that I only speak English and don't understand what they're saying, but I do try to understand.

 

[Raine]

I'd like to think that I'm well acquainted with different languages enough to know which one is which, but I still wouldn't have any idea what people are saying unless it's Cantonese, Vietnamese, or English. Even in my mother tongue, which is supposed to be Vietnamese, I'm unable to completely understand whole sentences because it depends on the person. There are people who use simple words, and those who use the more difficult to understand synonyms \: That goes for Cantonese as well.

There haven't been many instances where I've come across people who have started throwing foreign words at me, but I would probably just give them an expression that say, "I have no idea what you're saying," or one that simply says, "I'm confused."

 

[Altairis]

Whelp, I'm going to Japan this summer and other than my exposure to Japanese through media I haven't formally learned it at all, so it'll probably be a lot of communications through hand gestures until I learn enough, haha.

If someone came up and started talking to me I would probably try to find out what they want but if that proved impossible I would probably just apologize since I wouldn't be able to help them any more.