"Teabagging inferno", maybe then?

Wrong kind of sacs bags.

I was trying to be imaginative

Depends on where you are drinking the tea from.

It is less aggressive but I have a feeling it is going to the dogs again.

Bummer ! I miss something here

You seem to have a rather weird definition of abusive. It was anything but that.
What's your hourly rate for psychoanalysis? I obviously need your supreme professional service.

How does mocking a person for being out of work rate on your moral standards scale?

Bear in mind that many people in Europe - especially people old enough to be police officers - tend to be extremely self-conscious regarding foreign languages and in particular English. Also, bear in mind that a police officer is an individual for whom precision in language is extremely important, particularly in the face of a potential emergency situation. Lastly, remember that you are calling a police officer while yourself under stress, which certainly does not make the situation easier for the officer.

We confronted the very same topic with the Zürich officers when our home was broken into, as well as with a medical emergency involving one of our children. Those two incidents are a big reason why I learned both German and Swiss German, you can complain about a country of more than 8 million people or you can adapt, that's your choice rather than the officer's.

Very high actually when the complacent person fully deserves it. I once criticized Chuff for doing exactly the same (when he was still on RAV) but now I changed my mind and have no problems about it.

OP, next time don't bother to call the police. Let people with perfect Swiss German do it!

OP, next time don't bother to call the police to help other people. Let people with perfect Swiss German do it!

Abusive or not, why would you PM someone? I personally never PM'd anyone unsolicited even though I regularly confront some here publicly.

Stick to the forum and let us see what you were saying to the OP and then we can decide if it was abusive or not.

Followed by Spanish. English is merely third.

Sorry if somebody else already mentioned that.

For me it’s simple: this isn’t an English-speaking country, so I don’t spect anyone to speak English. End of. If they do it’s a bonus, but it’s not an expectation.

There’s also a difference between being able to have a basic convo in another language and having to react to someone who is distressed to some extent or other, may not be coherent in what they’re saying and the ability to react to that in a language that is not their own. It’s funny to me how the thread starts with “my German wasn’t good cause middle of the night and I couldn’t express myself”, yet it’s expected that the person in the other end of the line is able to switch to English. They probably gathered themselves once what they heard made sense to them, and were then able to respond. People who aren’t perfectly fluent in another language also tend to translate in their head. That takes time and consideration. Not a good thing in case of a possible emergency, so very likely the “nein” was own apprehension and insecurity about one’s own skills to accurately understand what that rambling person is trying to say, and this is hardly a negative thing. Especially as depending on the “emergency”, not really understanding what was going on and not being able to adequately respond to it, could have had significant consequences. This wasn’t about a coffee order at Starbucks.

Also, in Zurich, I’m willing to bet the same would have happened with French and vice-versa with German in the French-speaking part. I rarely read of anyone complain about that, yet somehow for certain (!! Thankfully few) English-speakers, it’s somehow a personal offense or attack.

Welcome back you Crazy Gringo

+1

I dont think they managed...

You're writing all of these from Pittsburgh?

I have a question though - what if it happened to someone who's living here for only a short period of time. Or visiting this place, or on a student exchange programme.

Yes, we all got the idea - learn the language, it's normal if you decided to make CH your home or to live here for a longer time. But there are a lot more other situations and you guys know it damn well. I assume.
Can't deny you the pleasure of indulging in this holier-than-thou attitude though.....on a public forum, how brave. Have at it.


Not everyone is the same, Susie-Q. I can imagine you felt powerless and like couldn't manage the basic things such as helping out someone in danger, but hopefully all is good now. You did what you were supposed to do, and they too came around.
Deep breath. There's an ignore list you may want to use.

I can't be bothered to go back and read again but it's a pity. There was some colourful stuff there

I didn't read those posts but you must be the forum badass.

In general the Swiss people are speaking very good English but they are shy to admit it. If you ask them, they will say I speak a little bit and then they will be more fluent than any other non English speaking person!!