Somehow it gives me the impression that in most cases they do it on purpose.That one is so good it seems suspicious as to whether it's really really real.
You may be overestimating real Belgians.No real Belgian could have made such a hash out of two languages in a dozen or so words
I have only met one German-speaking Belgian, but I'd bet that's more than most people can say. It was in my hitch-hiking days, when I was going from York to Berlin, and the most sensible way to get across the Channel appeared to be to buy a ticket to 'any Belgian station' from London, so we chose Welkenraedt, if memory serves. The chap who went out of his way to take us to the German border was quite pleasant and spoke a variety of languages, as I imagine most other German-speaking Belgians would. They'd have managed better than I did in Leeuwarden.Even if few, those German-speaking Belgians exist. So "no real Belgian" is inaccurate.
Lol. That reminds me of my teenage years ... I played Counterstrike on Dutch servers and in a Dutch clan (mainly because I thought Germans are stupid). I had no trouble understanding the Dutch chat, but I always responded in English because I couldn't speak any DutchIt was also in Leeuwarden that I met a German artist living there who spoke to the locals in English, although they would respond in Dutch. She admitted that she was too lazy to learn to speak Dutch properly, although she had no problem understanding it.
Which reminds me of one of my first linguistic disasters in the Netherlands. I assumed that, since I could understand Dutch if it were spoken very slowly and clearly, anybody I spoke to in German would understand me, if I spoke very slowly and clearly, even if they hadn't learnt the language. Furthermore, I thought that this would be more respectful than assuming they spoke English, as everyone does.
Tip for visitors to the Netherlands: do not do this. Ever.
The person I was speaking to said in no uncertain terms that he didn't speak German, in a tone that implied it was the last thing he'd ever do. Also, he assumed I was an arrogant German, and therefore contemptible. WWII is not entirely over.Lol ... what happened?
Do they really think that? I've seen a guidebook for Germans that advised them to learn a few words of the local language and not rely on English.