![\"Itchy](\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/1HLMIym.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nMy brother lives in Bangkok, Thailand. He contributes to Itchy Feet by writing comics on an expat’s Asian perspective – he’s lived in South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and India, and dabbled a bit in all those languages. But Thai is the language he’s fluent in. Thailand is his home. And sometimes, understanding what’s being said around you – particularly if you don’t look like a local – can be something of a burden.<\/p>\n
It’s not just shopkeepers, though he’s certainly had his share of experiences in the marketplace. He hears when the food sellers talk to each other about upselling him on the price, not realizing he’s not just another tourist. He knows what the girls are giggling to each other about when they point at him. And he hears insults being thrown his way by the person standing right next to him, not realizing they’re speaking about someone who understands perfectly what he’s saying.<\/p>\n
Funnily enough, I have a similar problem when coming back to my native USA from my current home in Germany. In Europe, although English is practically everywhere, particularly in the cities, it’s still safe to mutter under your voice to other native speakers about the people around you. And in the countryside, well, you can say pretty much whatever you please, and no one will understand! But living this way for several years has made me grow complacent. When I return to the States, I get off the plane and start mouthing off: “wow, check out that weird-looking dude.” Cue the weird-looking dude turning around to give me the stinkeye (maybe I should just stop making fun of people in public, huh? That’ll teach me).<\/p>\n
But surprising locals with the ability to speak their language can come in handy for my Bangkok brother. When approached by sellers of trinkets or tours or tuk-tuk rides, who can sometimes\u00a0pester tourists for blocks on end, he just has to say “nah, bro” in Thai and they immediately understand their hooks won’t work on him. With a wink and a thumbs up, they’re off somewhere else.<\/p>\n
As for me, I have the opposite problem, because I’m a blonde-haired blue-eyed carbon-copy of every other German on the street: Germans assume I’m German, and they assume I speak German fluently. This has gotten me into trouble – or rather, public embarrassment – a few times as I’m talking and the locals screw up their faces, trying to puzzle\u00a0out why their countryman speaks like a ten-year-old.<\/p>\n
What’s been your experience? What burdens, benefits or complications arise from being able to speak fluently without looking like a local – or looking exactly like a local?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2016\/10\/1HLMIym-350x291.png\")
When visiting or living in a foreign country and speaking a foreign language, if you don’t look like a local, fluency can have its downsides. It can also have some great upsides. My brother lives in Bangkok, Thailand. He contributes to Itchy Feet by writing comics on an expat’s Asian perspective – he’s lived in…<\/p>\n