...
(People are even more impressed if you can write in the script - which is funny to me since speaking fluently is actually more difficult.)
in most cultures prior to universal education the scribe was considered a respected and privileged position, in some cultures this respect may have lasted longer; also, speaking their language would not have been as impressive as they all did it. many of them probably speak more than one language or dialect anyway.
they are likely impressed with us speaking some of theirs as it is respectful and most english/american do not bother. learning their script would be a step further, most europeans and other 'western' countries use a latin alphabet easily convertible between their languages. even the cyrillic ones are latin based, and thus they may be impressed with someone who makes the effort to learn theirs.
i remember signs in sri lanka way back when i visited, in both english and their own script that advertised letter writing in english, and there would be a scribe typing away at his manual typewriter in a stall under the sign for his client who was dictating. i also was told they wrote letters in sri lankan for those who could not do it themselves. even some who could would use them for their superior penmanship and wordsmithing. i imagine this has all changed and been modernised now as that was almost 40 years ago.
speaking only my own dialect of english and a bit of german, and only writing middling well in english and even worse in german, i know
i am impressed with y'all out there that have made the effort to expand yourselves by learning another language with a willingness to respect the mores and culture that goes with it. in my travels i was even more impressed with the number of people i'd meet who spoke english, some in the most unlikely settings, some even more fluently than myself...
anyway, make the effort, it's worth it in it's own right.
i wish you luck in your journeys, may your horizons be ever expanding.
