Could you speak English?

[Rosario]

Hello everybody,

I worked for a foreign embassy here, so I ever received a phone called from their people who didn’t speak English but speak their mother tongue. Then I replied to her like this sentence:

I’m sorry; I couldn’t speak (the language’s name). Could you speak English?

Is that correct?

Thanks in advance.

[Skrej]

"Could you speak English?" is fine, but the first part of your sentence should be "I'm sorry, I don't speak/don't understand (language name). Could you speak English?"

An alternate phrase would be 'Do you speak English?'.

If you're not sure what the language is they're speaking, you could also say something like "I'm sorry, I can't understand you. Do you speak English?"
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[Rosario]

Hello Skrej,

Thank you very much for the answer.