This summer I noticed two things on the Lake. Firstly that it was quite common for English-speaking tourists to address bus drivers, train ticket officers, shop keepers, in English as though they would be understood. Particularly at train stations. And then they would become frustrated if they weren't responded to quickly and courteously. Nor did they try and sandwich their request between at least a couple of words like buon giorno and grazie. I live most of the year in Glasgow. It wouldn't occur to me to expect the ticket officer at Glasgow Central to speak Italian.
The other thing I noticed was bus drivers asking the tourists to direct their question to their smart phone for a google translate version in Italian. Then the bus driver would direct the answer back to the smart phone to be translated into English. Made for some interesting listening!
I am not sure what all this means, but a bit of language learning might be an option.
The other thing I noticed was bus drivers asking the tourists to direct their question to their smart phone for a google translate version in Italian. Then the bus driver would direct the answer back to the smart phone to be translated into English. Made for some interesting listening!
I am not sure what all this means, but a bit of language learning might be an option.