Sometimes getting schooled about things can get a bit frustrating…

This guy shares how his grandad asked him to fix his accent but he got sad about it.

AITA for telling my Russian grandfather not to critique how I spoke to a doctor while translating?

For context, I (21M) am Russian American and have been living in the US since childhood. I speak perfect English and perfect Russian, which was my first language.

My dad’s parents also moved here from our hometown in Russia, but barely speak the language. They can read and interpret some words, but cannot hold any meaningful conversation in English.

This is where things get tricky…

My grandmother unfortunately has multiple health issues, so my father or I are frequently driving her to appointments and translating whenever the doctor isn’t Russian-speaking.

Today, I visited them as usual, to help my Grandmother with a video call. The doctor was American and obviously didn’t speak a word of Russian, so I was the median.

It went fine, but there were some connection issues. The doctor herself was this older matter-of-fact woman who spoke pretty fast.

So, I was making sure to say “okay, understood, thank you” as she was giving instructions, just to make it clear that we heard and understood what she was saying.

UH OH…

She also wanted to schedule my grandmother for an in-person visit, so I had to clarify various details and be 1000% sure about the logistics.

At least for me, it’s pretty common in English/the US to politely periodically say “mhm, yes, understood, good” while nodding to make it clear to the other person that you are actively listening.

Well, my grandfather (who sat out of view) thought otherwise and made sure to let me know of it after the call ended.

He thought my “yeps; good; makes sense; thank you’s” along with clarifying interjecting questions, and me occasionally pausing my grandmother during her long sentences to ensure translation accuracy was socially incorrect.

That’s INSANE!

He comes from a Soviet/Russian military background and can’t fathom that I would interject or slightly interrupt the doctor during the conversation.

His argument was “You often talk too fast and your interruptions can cost you at work and with your friends, etc.”

I was getting mad that he was lecturing me about cultural speech mannerisms he has no clue about, and decided to let him know of it politely at first.

I tried to explain the doctor’s older age/temperament required clarifications/interjecting questions on behalf of my grandma.

He was being so unreasonable!

It’s a brief call and I need as much info as possible, as we can’t simply talk to her forever or call her 10 mins later if we forgot to ask something.

So yes, sometimes I need to politely interject when an important question comes up.

This led to a pretty stiff back and forth where I ultimately told him “you don’t speak a lick of English and don’t understand the cultural difference, so please just respect my skills and leave this to me.”

Ultimately, we dropped the matter and ate lunch together peacefully.

Things got heated up between them…

Still, I was maybe too harsh in my response and wanted to know if I was wrong.

He’s an old Soviet dedushka and can get super stubborn/holier than thou sometimes, and it drives me nuts.

GEEZ! That sounds so annoying!

Why would the grandpa not be thankful for all the help?

Let’s find out what folks on Reddit think about this one.

This user knows this guy probably wasn’t being disrespectful.

This user knows this guy did the right thing!

This user believes the grandfather cannot complain here!

This user knows the grandfather would respect this guy for standing up for himself.

This English teacher understands the struggle of learning the language!

Somebody here sounds offended.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.