Why You No Speak German?

(A reflection from a lakeside hostel in Switzerland)

So here I am — day one (or two?) in Switzerland — in a quiet little village called Leissigen, tucked beside a stunning lake. I’m staying at a small hostel, the kind where conversations over shared dinners and bunk beds come easy. One of the joys of solo travel is meeting people from everywhere.

Last evening, I met a fellow traveler — a Swiss woman cycling across the region. We struck up a conversation. Somewhere early in our chat, she asked, casually, “Do you speak French or German?”

I smiled and said, “No, just English.”

She didn’t flinch. She didn’t apologize for not speaking English. Instead, she simply said, “Ah! It would’ve been so nice if you spoke German or French.”

We still managed to understand each other — a mix of gestures, smiles, and simple English. But what stayed with me was how unapologetic she was.

Growing up in India, this felt… unusual.

Back home, not knowing English often comes with shame. From school interviews to job applications to restaurant menus, English is seen as a marker of success, intelligence, and class. We’re taught — subtly and explicitly — that English is the passport to upward mobility. That without it, doors close.

And here I was, in a country where English isn’t even a default, and yet, people live with such confidence in their own language. It was strange. Strange… but freeing.

I couldn’t help but compare.

Both India and Switzerland are multilingual, multicultural. Neither are English-native countries. But our journeys with the English language are wildly different.

Switzerland was never colonized. India was.

Switzerland never had to learn English to be taken seriously.

India inherited English as a colonial leftover, but made it the gatekeeper of opportunity.

One chose not to center English, and thrives.

The other made English the center — and somewhere, started doubting its own languages, its own people, in the process.

It made me reflect:

What are the colonial spillovers we still carry?

How much of our sense of worth is tied to language?

And how often have we judged someone — or ourselves — for not being “good enough” in English?

Language is more than a skill. It’s identity, culture, history, access.

And sometimes, a simple hostel conversation can remind you of how deep those layers run. And that's what makes traveling worthwhile.