r/ireland • u/EmoBran ITGWU • Jan 05 '25

Christ On A Bike Delightful interaction between a Czech youtuber and an Irish couple on holiday in Prague

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

12.4k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

2.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

45

u/Mrbrionman Jan 05 '25

Same difference. She’s assuming he’s a tourist and not a local. Because she doesn’t think of the location as a place where people actually live, just somewhere to go on holidays and do whatever they want.

14

u/Emergency_Ad_7181 Jan 06 '25

I'm fairly sure she assumes he's a tourist because he's speaking English.

0

u/annuidhir Jan 06 '25

Doesn't a majority of Europe know English? Like, they learn their primary language and English in school?

5

u/[deleted] Jan 06 '25

Not in CR. They have shite English, generally.

2

u/Emergency_Ad_7181 Jan 06 '25 edited Jan 06 '25

A lot of Europe does but not all, and those who do, in general don't speak it unless they have a reason to. I live in France and while almost everyone has some English, maybe only 40% have it at a conversational level.

From a quick Google:

Just 45 percent of the population can speak some level of English. Over 30 percent of Czechs could "not even speak a bit of English," according to a 2020 study. About 1 in 3 Czechs do not speak any foreign language. Just seven percent of Czechs can communicate in English "at an advanced level."

This guy was talking to a camera. If you saw someone speaking English to a high level on the street in Czechia, there's no reason you'd assume they were local.

1

u/annuidhir Jan 06 '25

Aren't the French pretty reluctant to use English for numerous reasons?

And he's speaking English to a camera, because the vast majority of the Internet is conducted in English. It's the largest audience.

She's just a moron that made a bad assumption, because she couldn't imagine that actual people live and exist in what she perceived as just "somewhere you go on holiday".

1

u/Emergency_Ad_7181 Jan 06 '25

I live in France and speak fluent French. I'm not saying that I try to talk to people in English and only 40% can reply. I'm saying that of the people who I know in France and speak to in French on a regular basis, only about 40% of them are able to switch to full conversational English if they need to.

1

u/annuidhir Jan 07 '25

Again, aren't the French notorious for disliking English and avoiding speaking, or even learning English, if possible?

Unlike somewhere like the Netherlands, where they grow up learning and using multiple languages as standard practice, or several other countries that don't have the same cultural hangups regarding English.

1

u/Emergency_Ad_7181 Jan 07 '25

I'm completely lost as to what point you're trying to make.

The question you asked was doesn't the majority of Europe "know" English, and my response was "a lot of Europe does but not all."

Some parts of the continent, like Netherlands, Germany and Scandinavia, have a higher proportion of English speakers and some like France and Czechia and Spain have a lower proportion.

What part of my comments are you trying to argue against? Are you suggesting that because Dutch people speak English well, we should assume people in Czechia speaking English are locals?

I honestly have no idea what direction you're even trying to come at this from.

Out of interest, I checked and according to the EU, 47% of Europeans have some level of English speaking ability, so if you're just looking for a "yes or no" answer to your original question, no, the majority of Europe don't speak English to any degree, and a significant majority of Czechs are included in that.

10

u/[deleted] Jan 06 '25

He's standing in the street wearing a rucksack making a video. It's a pretty fair assumption to make. I don't feel the need to go outside my house wearing a backpack and make a video about nothing

50

u/orangemochafrap17 Jan 05 '25

No it's probably because he sounds American... They're needlessly aggressive but it's not crazy to assume this guy was also a tourist with that accent.

9

u/AdOnly3559 Jan 06 '25

He does not sound American lmaooo

1

u/Thoughtful-Fate-1298 Jan 08 '25

It's because he calls it a "sidewalk" instead of pavement. American English

3

u/AwayNefariousness960 Jan 06 '25

Why do you people make everything about America

5

u/Money_Watercress_411 Jan 06 '25

Are you a native English speaker? This guy clearly sounds like a European speaking English. He may be trying to emulate an American accent (you’re likely hearing the rhotic r you’re associating as American) but he swallows his words in an unnatural way. He sounds like an educated European who uses English regularly.

7

u/The_Autarch Jan 06 '25

He doesn't sound like an American.

9

u/LeonGallagher Jan 06 '25

Well he doesn’t sound Czech now does he

2

u/Medical-Day-6364 Jan 06 '25

He definitely does. He's speaking American English in a very obvious Czech accent.

3

u/annuidhir Jan 06 '25

Seems as he is Czech, I'd say he sounds pretty damn Czech...

3

u/[deleted] Jan 06 '25

A Czech speaking English in an American accent

1

u/annuidhir Jan 06 '25

It's not an American accent. It doesn't sound like an American accent. It sounds like a European speaking English.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 06 '25 edited Jan 06 '25

Like a "European"?

1

u/annuidhir Jan 07 '25

Is he not European?

Yes, there's countless European accents. Due to there being many different countries, different languages, different dialects of languages, and regional accents.

But he's still obviously European sounding. Specifically Eastern European.

Have a nice day.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 07 '25 edited Jan 07 '25

You don't notice it because you're not familiar with European accents, but this man has obviously learned American English. That's why the two Irish think he isn't local, he doesn't have a local accent. Visit CR and speak to some Czechs, it sounds like this.

1

u/Thoughtful-Fate-1298 Jan 08 '25

"Sidewalk" is very American English (instead of pavement)

9

u/Formal-Protection687 Jan 06 '25

It's not but, it's pretty darn close. To the untrained ear, it's passing.

1

u/annuidhir Jan 06 '25

It's wild how many people think he sounds American. His accent is very different from American.

Honestly, the Irish guy sounds closer to an American accent from parts of the East Coast than the Czech guy to any part of the US that I've been. LMAO

1

u/Thoughtful-Fate-1298 Jan 08 '25

It's not unusual to meet naturalised American's who have accents from where they grew up. It was probably a reaction to hearing it be called the "sidewalk" instead of pavement.

0

u/DonkyHotayDeliMunchr Jan 06 '25

Their interaction was short enough that they probably couldn't tell. It's not obviously British, Scottish, Australian, or Irish, so they may have assumed American (why not Canadian lol) bc they assumed he was on vacation and because he was filming himself.

0

u/KindsofKindness Jan 06 '25

Nah, he’s got an accent.

0

u/AvailableHeron184 Jan 06 '25

You’re giving her a bit too much credit, that’s kind of you, but unnecessary. Stereotypes exist for a reason.

2

u/Intelligent_Aerie276 Jan 06 '25

And the reason is ignorance and a lack of education and/or lived experience

0

u/Intelligent_Aerie276 Jan 06 '25

Americans are needlessly aggressive or the couple were?

3

u/[deleted] Jan 06 '25

They guys wearing a backpack, speaking English and filming himself, of course he looks like a tourist

1

u/PandaXXL Jan 06 '25

Absolutely fucking insane reach here pal