Speaking japanese

[swe12]

Hi!

Do the japanese really understand when gaigins talk to them?
because I watch a tv program and when he talked to a japanese man,
he didn't understand him, although it was the correct japanese being spoken,
I just wonder if you have been in a situation where you have talked japanese and they don't understand.

Thanx

[Mamoru-kun]

It sometimes happens when I speak with my wife. One particle mistake in a long sentence, and without notice she understand my sentence with another meaning. It sometimes lead to weird situations... :okashii:

[GaijinPunch]

Do the japanese really understand when gaigins talk to them?

Some are better than others. Probably the further you get out in the sticks, the more misunderstandings go on. Even my sister in law gives me the tilted head from time to time, and she's lived in Tokyo for.... a very long time.

[Elizabeth]

Do the japanese really understand when gaigins talk to them?
because I watch a tv program and when he talked to a japanese man,
he didn't understand him, although it was the correct japanese being spoken,
I just wonder if you have been in a situation where you have talked japanese and they don't understand.

Thanx
The weirdest time I've had anyone pretend not to understand perfectly correct Japanese, and tried extremely rudely to physically escape my presense, was actually teenager in Tokyo on a crowded escalator. Very difficult to point to a motivation although the onus is definately on the speaker/learner to get things right -- one small slip and some people will absolutely have it in for you. :bluush:

If their English is good enough, of course they won't understand to continue showing that off...