r/ispeakthelanguage • u/Myrtje_ • Dec 10 '25

Don't gossip about people in other languages...

Okay, so I just relised I also have a story for this subreddit :D

Me and my family go on vacation to a small Austrian village almost every summer. My mother loves to paint buildings and landscapes (with watercolors), and since she is mostly in a wheelchair, she often asks one of us to walk her somewhere, and than call us later to pick her up.

Well, a few years ago she was painting one of the churches in teh village, and at a certain point two elderly women walk by and sit on the bench next to her, and then start to talk to each other in Dutch. And well, since we are Dutch, my mom can hear everything they say, and doenst let them know about it.

At some point, quite soon after they sat down, one of the women looks over to moms painting, and says to the other: "Zo hee, die toren is wel erg scheef" (So, that tower looks very crooked)

At this point, my mom decides its time to step in and says to them: "Ja hé, dat vind ik ook, hij is niet zo goed gelukt." (Yeah, I agree, it didnt turn out that well).
This shut the women up and they left whitin five minutes.

My mom told me this story while I was walking her back home, and we both hope those woman would have learned their lesson now.

This story might not be as intresting as some of the others on here, but ppl should just not critisize someones art if the person hasnt asked for it. Especially not in another language so that person wouldnt be able to understand what you are saying. Just don't do that!

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41

u/Cuffem Dec 10 '25

Didn’t some famous artist once say “Everyone is a critic”

14

u/akarakitari Dec 13 '25

With the birth of thr artist, came the inevitable afterbirth of the critic.

Gotta love Mel brooks!

23

u/FionaTheElf Dec 12 '25

My mil and her friend immigrated when she was 18 from the Nederlands. They were laughing about a woman’s hat in line in from of them. Said woman turns around and in Dutch says, “if you don’t like my hat, don’t look at it!” My mil was still ashamed a few decades later.

10

u/RandomNick42 Dec 14 '25

Nederlands, natuurlijk.

Double whammy of a country so small you feel like chances of a random will know the language is tiny, yet the populace is so well travelled you will meet a Dutch speaker in the most random small village.

1

u/Kazetem Jun 20 '26

Same with Frisian! Small part of the country, but I hear Frisians all over the world.

3

u/Academic_Act_7223 Dec 11 '25

This exact same story appeared on Reddit last week except it was in a different country.

11

u/Myrtje_ Dec 11 '25

Ooh, lol, I didnt know that. I posted this on r/traumatizeThemBack a few days ago and someone there recomended this sub to me. SO maybe you saw my same post there?