When the Cashier Begins Speaking in Spanish (best, insurance, problem)

[pcity]

Doesn't bother me in the least.

So what if they are talking about me in Spanish? Is it going to affect me in any way if someone says something rude in a language I can't understand? No.

As long as the cashier and I understand each other enough to make the transaction efficiently, I don't care whether they're an English major or someone who just got off a raft from Cuba. The language barrier only matters when it inconveniences me.

[nancy thereader]

Don't ever get your mani-pedi in one of those strip-mall nail salons then either. Same creepy feeling

Remember on Seinfeld when Elaine went into the nail shop with George's father who just happened to speak Korean and found out what the girls had been saying about her all along?

[ivanabacowboy]

So what if they are talking about me in Spanish? Is it going to affect me in any way if someone says something rude in a language I can't understand? No. As long as the cashier and I understand each other enough to make the transaction efficiently, I don't care whether they're an English major or someone who just got off a raft from Cuba. The language barrier only matters when it inconveniences me.

I agree with pcity. That said, I live in Phoenix. We have a lot of Spanish speakers here. I am Caucasian, but I am fluent in Spanish. Of course a native speaker could most likely tell it wasn't my primary language because some of the intonations and inflections would be obviously English-ized because I have serious issues with properly trilling the R's in Spanish recalling horror stories of one of my Spanish teachers spitting when she did it lol, but I could hold my own in a conversation.

If they approach me in Spanish, I respond in Spanish. If they approach me in English, I respond in English. If I initiate the conversation, it is in English. If they get a really quizzical look on their face that they do not understand, I ask them in Spanish if they speak English-and proceed accordingly. Doesn't bother me in the least. As long as we can communicate to do whatever it is needs to be done.

I find different cultures fascinating. And isn't that supposed to be one of the great things about the US that we are a "melting pot"?

That said, and this is in NO WAY intended as a racial "put down", just a cultural observation. But I originally lived in Cleveland. Hearing many of the black folks (which there are surprisingly few of here in Phoenix) and of course the white folks pretending to be black speak in whatever you call the "street" language of "yo" and "dis" and all that mumbo jumbo was far far more annoying than hearing anyone speak Spanish. I never knew English could be butchered so badly-it sounded more like a foreign language than Spanish does.

PS People say plenty of rude things in English too lol!

[Indurain]

Originally Posted by eggalegga

What I hate is when the cashier at the checkstand I'm in line at, and the two cashiers on either side of me, and all the customers being waited on are ALL speaking spanish. I feel like I'm in the twilight zone and wonder, "What the hell happened to my country?"

learn spanish you lazy ba..........................

[big daryle]

Originally Posted by miamiman

No. Maybe you should learn some Spanish so you won't get so uncomfortable. There are plenty of people who feel more comfortable speaking in their native language. That's fine. If you don't like it, leave their business.

I would tell you what to do with your opinion, but I would probably get censored by the PC police, so I won"t.

[desert sun]

I dont get mad when people speak in Spanish, that is their language and if they wanna speak it then let them, I do get mad though when they expect you to speak some Spanish cause you have a Spanish last name. They are in America.

I also dont get mad when I hear Asians speaking their language or Native Americans speaking theirs. They can do as they want. If I went to Japan to live, I would speak English to my fellow Americans.


there was this one time in Phoenix that made me mad, our waiter kept talking to us in Spanish, he could tell we didnt know it when we wouldnt respond, but I guess he thought it was funny cause he kept on ,untill his manager told him to knock it off.

[DFWgal]

Originally Posted by Exitus Acta Probat

Does anybody else get annoyed when a store employee is the one who starts speaking to a customer in Spanish? It's bad enough when customers begin jibber-jabbering in non-English, but when a store employee is the one who starts it all, that's really pushing it for me.

Yes. Here is pretty common.

There is an asian buffet about 10 min from here and even the owner (asian too) offers "agua" and other things. Sonic, about 5 min from here, has a pakistani manager certain days and he tries to speak in spanish too.

I can't understand people living in a country for years and not learning the language. I guess I can understand people visiting and not being able to communicate in english, but why if you are ordering in english are these people answering in spanish. Am I in the US or not?

Originally Posted by plaidmom

If, on the other hand, someone is using another language in an attempt to be helpful and friendly? I have no problem with that.

Yes but that's completely different. I guess the OP is talking about people trying to impose the foreign language.

IMHO, it's not about knowing another language or being against another culture at all. It's about facing rude people.

[Read Culture of Critique]

Perhaps the next time I hear a cashier speaking in Spanish, I'll try paying with pesos.

[GloryB]

I live in a highly Latino populated area in an already highly Latino populated city. The other day I actually DID have a grocery store clerk tell me the cost of my groceries in Spanish. She just wasn't paying attention and most of the people in there can speak both Spanish and English fluently.

Truth is, there are a whole lot of shoppers out there who do not speak English. I don't mind this at all. There are clerks who speak both. I don't mind this at all either. My youngest son not being able to get a job because he isn't bilingual....now that one does bother me!

I have days where I get a little annoyed, and then I remind myself that letting it annoy me isn't going to change the way things are.

[JetJockey]

Originally Posted by Read Culture of Critique

Perhaps the next time I hear a cashier speaking in Spanish, I'll try paying with pesos.

I usually just speak back in German or French. Then when they ask me something in English, I just look at them confused. .