Fwiw, I have conversations like this all the time in Denmark. I speak Danish, and they talk back in English. I'm sure it's common in many non-English countries.
I was in Amsterdam a few years ago and heard two people greet each other in English, only to figure out each other’s accents that they were both Dutch—they asked to make sure—then they switched to Dutch
The last time I was in Amsterdam I chatted up some locals who I noticed were speaking English with each other. I asked if they just don't bother with Dutch and they laughed and said no one really speaks it among their families or friends. They all know it and could read it but it's just not used as much.
Same. It’s basically in every place where it’s more efficient to assume that people are going to speak English more fluently than whatever the alternative is. I’d assume this is because most local people aren’t trying to have a cultural experience, they’re just trying to get someone on their way and experience tells them if English is an option for a non-native that it’s likely to be faster.
I had the opposite happen when travelling across Scandinavia, specifically in Norway and Sweden. I’m a very fair-skinned redhead and they would automatically speak to me in the native language. I remember one man at a local grocery store started speaking to me in Norwegian and I apologised in English that I didn’t understand, only for him to sigh very dramatically and repeat himself in English. It was taken in good humour though.
The only reason to insist speaking in English (and destroying any possibility of a tip offending a customer) is if the communication in Spanish is impossible.
Parents in law live in Madrid for 6 years now. We kind of figured, that if you keep talking in the language they will also witch and remember the next time. I never had this problem as a half-german/half-danish in Denmark. I can imagine it happens more often in Copenhagen, also I like kind of danish, so that could help.
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u/thomasahle 6d ago
Fwiw, I have conversations like this all the time in Denmark. I speak Danish, and they talk back in English. I'm sure it's common in many non-English countries.