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JZer
Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Location: South Korea
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 Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 2:39 am Post subject: Where in the world can taxi drivers speak English? |
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| Recently one poster, posted about taxi drivers in Malaysia speaking English. In what countries where English is not the first language can you easily find an English speaking taxi driver? Furthermore, countries like India where English is an official language don't count. Please don't include those places where English speaking taxi drivers go just to rip people off (i.e. Shanghai airport). |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 2:49 am Post subject: |
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| In countries too expensive to take taxis. |
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indytrucks
Joined: 09 Apr 2003
Location: The Shelf
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| Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 2:49 am Post subject: |
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| Philippines. |
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ajgeddes
Joined: 28 Apr 2004
Location: Yongsan
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| Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 2:52 am Post subject: |
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| Yes, taxi drivers in Malaysia speak English, but so do everybody else. It isn't just the taxi drivers, they use English on a daily basis with or without tourists. |
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JZer
Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 6:48 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Furthermore, countries like India where English is an official language don't count. |
indytrucks wrote,
Didn't I just write not to include countries where English is an official language.
As for places where taxi drivers can speak English, I would say Oslo is one of the best. Of course most of the taxi drivers are from Africa.
One place where taxi drivers really can't speak English would be New York City. |
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Njord
Joined: 12 Jan 2006
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 7:24 am Post subject: |
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| JZer wrote: |
| As for places where taxi drivers can speak English, I would say Oslo is one of the best. Of course most of the taxi drivers are from Africa. |
Same goes for Sweden. A couple times I tried talking to a taxi driver there in Swedish only to discover that they don't understand Swedish and could I please use English. One was from Afghanistan and had a son at university in the United States. Of course, both Sweden and Norway count as "countries where it is too expensive to take a taxi."  |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 7:24 am Post subject: |
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[quote="JZer"]
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One place where taxi drivers really can't speak English would be New York City. |
In Vancouver it would help to know Punjabi - especially when you have to give one directions to the airport. |
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Khunopie
Joined: 21 Oct 2003
Location: Fucking, Austria (pronounced "Fooking")
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| Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 7:37 am Post subject: |
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| Hong Kong, and the cabs are cheap |
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Homer
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| Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 8:31 am Post subject: |
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Khunopie,
You do realize that HK was a British possession until the end of the 1990's right?
British...English language....see the link?
Just saying this since the OP mentionned to exclude places where English is either an official language or a commonly used language....
My contribution: France. Then again they are close to the UK so that might rule them out of the OP's list! |
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JZer
Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 4:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| My contribution: France. Then again they are close to the UK so that might rule them out of the OP's list! |
Are you trying to make fun of me? I wanted to rule out countries where Engish is an offical language since it is obvious that taxi drivers in the Philippines speak English. |
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Homer
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 5:07 pm Post subject: |
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Well...last time I checked...in France English was not an official language....  |
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peppermint
Joined: 13 May 2003
Location: traversing the minefields of caddishness.
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| Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 5:22 pm Post subject: |
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| They did pretty well in Sri Lanka. I hired a driver for the day and it cost me about 30,000W |
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indytrucks
Joined: 09 Apr 2003
Location: The Shelf
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| Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 5:32 pm Post subject: |
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Tagalog or Pilipino are official languages in Phils, along with English. Not to mention the ten zillion local dialects scattered throughout the country. That's all I was saying.
What is the point of this thread, anyway? I've been in taxis in Brussels where the driver speakes perfect English, and in Vancouver where the driver hardly speaks any. |
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Mashimaro
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: location, location
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| Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 5:58 pm Post subject: |
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| I heard a lot of taxi drivers in thailand can't even read thai.. I thought having the name of my hotel written in thai to show to the drivers was a fool proof plan but apparently not. |
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memorabilis
Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Location: Seoul, Korea
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| Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2006 9:50 pm Post subject: |
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While India has English as an official language, that doesn't mean that English is the native language of the taxi drivers (in fact I can pretty much guarantee it's not). Most people in India can speak 5 or 6 languages INCLUDING English. And they speak English VERY well, even though they claim that they do not.
I travelled to Thailand, and I was shocked and horrified by the level of English there. The taxi drivers do not speak any English at all. none. And yet everyone claims to speak English there. When I returned back to India, the autorickshaw driver that drove me home from the airport spoke much better english than the "English"-speaking doctor who totally mistreated my stomach problems in Bangkok.
Anyways, if we rule in your crazy caveat, I would say Nepal. The Kathmandu and Pokhara drivers speak English very well. |
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