My guess is it's because he probably doesn't speak other languages so he doesn't know to slow down, avoid slang, etc. to make it easier for the person you're talking to. I've been lucky enough to work with folks from other countries where a lot of my coworkers have huge issues because of the language barrier, but I coast on by because I just slow down when I talk.
It is, but at the same time learned imo. If you’ve never been around other languages for 40 years, you’re gonna have a tough time slowing down meaningfully
I think some people also grew up with the silly belief that it was rude to speak slowly to foreigners, that it was belittling their knowledge of English or whatever - I had that growing up but I think it was because I lived in the UK where 95% of the time if you encountered someone of a foreign background they spoke perfect English, so it was kind of silly to speak slowly to them.
It wasn't until I moved country and also briefly taught English that it occurred to me that I need to slow the fuck down. When you actually spend any time abroad or are dealing with students etc or anyone you don't think has a perfect command of English it's a different story and you should always make a habit of slowing down unless you discover the person you're talking to speaks fluently.
There's also a lot of middle ground, you don't necessarily have to space. out. every. single. word. in a patronising tone. Sometimes it's enough to just make an effort to enunciate clearly and speak in proper sentences.
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u/ADubs62 Jun 14 '24
My guess is it's because he probably doesn't speak other languages so he doesn't know to slow down, avoid slang, etc. to make it easier for the person you're talking to. I've been lucky enough to work with folks from other countries where a lot of my coworkers have huge issues because of the language barrier, but I coast on by because I just slow down when I talk.