"Musashi" <Miyamoto@Hosokawa.co.jp> wrote in message
news:7Si4d.2463$Nh1.276@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...

> > But none of this changes the fact
> > that it is still far more likely (and thus a safe assumption) that such
a
> > person (whether from Africa, Europe, North America, etc.) will be able
to
> > communicate in English as an alternative to Japanese. In other words,
once
> > it has been determined that the person cannot speak Japanese, making the
> > assumption that they can communicate in English is a safe one.
>
> Ah, now that's still an assumption.
> Japanese people tend to assume that if a gaikokujin does not speak
Japanese,
> then
> that person must speak English.

Right. But my point is that that is a perfectly reasonable assumption to
make, if for no other reason than that, except in rare circumstances, the
vast majority of non-Japanese who decide to travel to Japan had better be
prepared to communicate in either Japanese or in English. Again, this
doesn't change the fact that plain old good manners requires that you ask
the person if they speak English before proceeding to speak to them in
English.

Note, I am making the assumption here that these imaginary scenarios are
taking place in Japan. If your point is that Japanese who are in Rome, for
example, shouldn't make the assumption that the average Italian on the
street can speak English, I agree with you 100%. They may have no
alternative other than to seek out someone who can speak English (assuming
they can't speak Italian themselves) but they should always ask if someone
speaks English and not simply assume that they do.

Jeff