Are you Anglophone?

[GoodTaste]

Anglophone means English-speaking. But if you inquire a person you come across on the streets with "Are you Anglophone?" Would it sound odd as to invite the person to think "Are you nuts"?

I know only one way to ask such question: Do you speak English?

Are there more ways than this?

 

[tedmc]

Nobody uses the word in ordinary conversation.

Ask a person, not enquire a person. You can say enquire with a person(formal).

 

[GoodTaste]

Ask a person, not enquire a person. You can say enquire with a person(formal).

Are you sure?

Enquire is specifically used in UK. Normally we use "inquire", which means "to ask for information."

 

[tedmc]

Are you sure?

Enquire is specifically used in UK. Normally we use "inquire", which means "to ask for information."

The spellings are different but the usage is the same. It cannot be used as a substitute word for ask.

 

[GoesStation]

Anglophone is the wrong word.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Anglophone means English-speaking. But if you ask a person you come across on the street, "Are you Anglophone?" would it sound so odd that the person would think you're nuts?

I know only one way to ask the question: Do you speak English?

Are there more ways than this?

There's just one way that's natural: Do you speak English?

To most people, Anglophone sounds like a type of telephone.

 

[Tdol]

You can talk about Anglophone countries, but asking someone if they are Anglophone would be weird.

 

[GoesStation]

In Quebec, people are Anglophones, Francophones or allophones (people with another first language). The last time I was in Montréal I had a conversation in French with a charming woman who eventually told me she was Anglophone by birth but had committed to mastering French as an adult. I would not have asked her if she was an Anglophone, though, as a substitute for asking whether she spoke English.

 

[probus]

Anglophone is pretty commonly used in Canada since we are a bilingual French/English country. I would not be in the least surprised or offended to be called an anglophone, but I think the word is very rare outside of Canada.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Anglophone is pretty commonly used in Canada since we are a bilingual French/English country. I would not be in the least surprised or offended to be called an anglophone, but I think the word is very rare outside of Canada.

Yup. Here in Maine, which is practically Canada, I've never heard it.

 

[emsr2d2]

Although Anglophone can be an adjective, it sounds very odd to use it that way in your original question. If you really feel the need to use it, use it as a noun: Are you an Anglophone?

With reference to tedmc's comment in post #2, we don't use "enquire/inquire with". You can "enquire/enquire of someone".