Hello everyone, I am working at a Japanese restaurant and I have been wondering if foreigners come to Japan would prefer us (your server) to speak to you in English or Japanese?
I heard some stories said that people get offended when they try to speak in Japanese but their server keep answering in English.
I always speak to them in both English and Japanese. Mostly well know phrases that people hear in restaurant to keep their experience in Japan as authentic as possible and if I will explain in detail in english if they don’t understand Japanese.
But Idk if I should speak English or Japanese toward foreigners who trying to speak Japanese to me?
Has anyone experience this before?
26 comments
Personally I don’t care so much. Though sometimes the assumptions are annoying or funnily awkward.
For example the other day I ordered in Japanese then went back again and she decided to flip the menu to English.
The safest is to talk in English to tourists and people who have trouble speaking.
Offer menu to people struggling
Don’t make assumptions based on face.
I prefer Japanese menus because I want to practice, blend in and sometimes English menus are bad and not clear.
This question would be better asked in a sub like r/JapanTravel.
Maybe it’s different for tourists, but I’ve been here long enough that hearing Japanese in a restaurant is pretty low in my authentic Japanese experience list. And for me both Japanese and English are foreign languages, so if it is easier for the staff to speak English then I have no problem with that.
Think of it this way: If you tried to speak English abroad but they only replied to you in Japanese, would you like that situation?
I’d recommend copying whichever language they use. If they really seem to be struggling then ask. If you need to speak first use whichever language seems appropriate but be prepared to switch.
Personally I don’t think authenticity is why people get annoyed – it’s being treated like a know nothing tourist in a place where they have settled down, lived for years and gone out of their way to learn the language. To some extent this is unavoidable and I appreciate this is probably difficult for people who haven’t experienced it to understand so I’m not blaming anyone, but it does get frustrating.
First Japanese and if the person replies in English or broken Japanese, switch to English.
Communication should happen in the language people share the most of. It not about authenticity, it’s about assumptions, and if you are in Japan it’s not unreasonable to start out with assuming customers speak Japanese. I go for starting out in Japanese and if it seems like the customers and I share more English than Japanese, switch to English.
I honestly think it’s rude if customers who don’t speak Japanese well insisting on using it when they and their server speak English, because it wastes everyone’s time, and I feel the same when servers/dentists/whoever who have less English than I have Japanese insist on practicing their English on me.
Default to Japanese is safest.
Just be careful about speaking a particular language based on appearances….
Have witnessed attempts at launching into English to euro appearance people who weren’t English speakers….based on the “must be ‘american'” type assumption….
And, different topic, be careful about asking Australians which part of America we come from….
If they use Japanese, so should you.
I think people being offended comes down to being ignored despite speaking Japanese due to some mental block some people have. But you do seem to care a lot for 900 yen/h?
I agree with most of the comments saying to reply in the language the guest is using. I would just add: if the guests’ Japanese abilities aren’t great to the point it’s difficult to communicate, I would recommend asking if English is ok before just switching to English. I personally don’t mind or get offended if someone assumes and speaks English to me, but I think a lot of people would appreciate being asked before switching so as to avoid feeling stereotyped.
Not every foreigner’s native language is English. To a lot of us, including me, it’s just as much a foreign language as Japanese is. Since the main language in Japan is still Japanese, I’d say go with that first.
Default to Japanese and only switch when you are being talked to w/ non-Japanese languages
Just talk in english because not many foreigners will speak Japanese.
Everyone else saying Japanese is one of those weebs haha
>Idk if I should speak English or Japanese toward foreigners who trying to speak Japanese to me?
>
>stories said that people get offended when they try to speak in Japanese but their server keep answering in English.
Seems like you answered your own question.
Also worth noting that not every foreigner knows English.
Open with Japanese, and if they clearly don’t understand, use English. Being bamboozled by Japanese is all part of the experience that tourists are looking for.
If they speak first I’d try to go for whichever language they use. If your menus are in both languages you can always ask which menu they prefer in Japanese and go from there.
I would default to Japanese unless it looks like the recipient is struggling.
Responding to the title only: HTTP
In general, “offend” is one of those words that suggests someone has misunderstood the issue believed to be causing offense. I’ve never been offended if someone talks to me in English first. I don’t like it, but unless I’m having a completely horrible day, I’m not going to think of it for longer than 10 seconds.
But if I speak perfectly comprehensible Japanese and the other person blanks me and switches to English, then I might get angry. Not because I am offended, but because they denied my genuine and perfectly serviceable communication. It almost always results from people who listen more with their eyes than with their ears.
So I say just listen with your ears and you won’t go far wrong.
Personally I think the correct thing to do in any country is to default to the local language, then switch to English if they don’t understand.
i.e. Open in Japanese. If they respond in English, or it’s clear they don’t understand you then switch to English. If they’re responding in Japanese but it’s very broken and they are struggling then ask them if it’s okay to switch to English.
It’s not about having an “authentic Japan experience”. Those of us in this sub aren’t tourists.
It’s about not making assumptions based on appearance. It’s impossible to tell just by someone’s looks what language they can speak. There are plenty of foreigners who can speak Japanese well, and plenty of foreigners who can’t speak English. There are people who “look Japanese” but don’t speak Japanese, and people who don’t “look Japanese” who were born and raised here so speak Japanese natively.
In countries that have a good balance, I see people start in the local language (Japanese) and then switch to English if the other person speaks English. If the customer wants to try Japanese, then let them. Cause another thing is, even if they’re white, it doesn’t necessarily mean they speak good English – they could be from a non-English speaking country and actually not speak it that well. So, start in Japanese, then continue in whatever language they respond in.
I want my server to use whatever language they are most comfortable with. Ordering food shouldn’t be a complex process and Im not going to be offended if they aren’t perfect language wise, just don’t be rude.
Many visitors don’t speak English so if they are trying to speak Japanese to you then I would speak Japanese as well. If they are really struggling, and mixing English with their Japanese, then I would offer to speak English
If I’m greeted in English, my first thought is “this is a tourist trap.”
From my point of view, I prefer if servers speak in Japanese and try to stick to it as much as possible. Sometimes someone might just not understand one particular word (usually because of Keigo/non-Keigo words) and then having people suddenly switch to all-English instead of, like, trying to use the non-Keigo word, is a bummer.
However if someone obviously does not speak Japanese or their reaction after being talked to in Japanese shows that they don’t understand, switching to English for this particular customer is fine.