Spanglish in Brownsville, Texas (Houston, San Antonio: fit in, high school, camp)

[misshannajo]

Hi,
I recently moved back to the valley and I've noticed an interesting phenomenon and wanted to see if there was anyone else out there that had experienced the same thing.
I work in an educational setting and I have noticed that it is difficult for me to connect with my coworkers and the students. After receiving some feedback, I was told that it might be due to the language I choose to speak on a day to day basis. Although I know Spanish, I primarily speak English. I don't use both languages (Spanglish) in conversation and if I do it's very rare.

If I am speaking with a person who ONLY speaks Spanish then I too will speak Spanish. I don't mind speaking Spanish, but I think in English and it is just an easier language for me to use, especially at work.

It was brought to my attention that people do not speak to me because I only speak English even though I know Spanish, and that it can be misinterpreted as being disrespectful (especially because I myself am Hispanic). Although I respect the culture here and understand that speaking Spanglish is a part of the culture, I am having a hard time finding solutions for the issue. Other than speaking Spanglish, which I will admit I have started to do more of in order to fit in.

I also have a hard time speaking Spanglish because I don't feel there are many other places (even in Texas) that you could do that, especially in an educational/professional settings.
Has anyone else experienced this? And if you did, how did you handle it?

[hellpaso]

It is what it is. You might prefer working in Harlingen or McAllen. It's also a non-issue in El Paso.

[NewTexico76]

I also notice that people in far south Texas really switch in a way that is jarring even for someone from, say, New Mexico or El Paso. In those other places, its more a case of switching now and then, or occasionally using a Spanish word, especially in a family or social setting - especially a Spanish word that has no easy English translation. But there, I see people order food in both languages or do official business in both.

Personally, I find it hard to switch: I have to set my brain on either English or Spanish.

[hellpaso]

NewTexico--I totally agree. That's what I'm used to. My kids, who grew up in El Paso, are the same way. They can speak proper Spanish, but the El Paso version of Spanglish was just using occasional words--not necessarily in sequence. In the RGV (esp Brownsville), it's a whole "pidgin" style of English/Spanish, & can be hard to follow for those not raised with the dialect.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by NewTexico76

Personally, I find it hard to switch: I have to set my brain on either English or Spanish.

I had to deal with that in San Antonio
My first language is Spanish and I always made sure that I only spoke one language at a time

I get to San Antonio and people drove me crazy zig-zagging between English and Spanish.

[madrone2k]

This is an interesting topic, but what's surprising to me is that the OP says she noticed this after recently moving back to the Valley. Which begs the question: is this a new phenomenon or is it a case of someone not noticing a behavior that one has grown up around, until one moves away and comes back?

Emotionally, I would fall in the camp of wanting to speak both languages well, but not mix them. (English is my first language, my Spanish is so-so.) My best friend is from northern Mexico and has a prejudice about mixing languages. But ... at the same time, I'm not sure if that attitude is a fair one. After all, languages are dynamic and evolve over time. English and Spanish (whether spoken here or elsewhere) reflect many influences from other languages and cultures. In light of that, I have to ask: is mixing things up so bad?

[madrone2k]

Another thing I wonder about is whether or not people are more likely to speak a sentence (or at least a thought fragment) entirely in one language, even though the next sentence might be in another.

The comment about El Paso - style Spanglish reminded me of a young woman from Laredo I once knew, who would speak entire sentences in Spanish, but would also insert an English word into those sentences from time to time, with an English pronunciation only for that word. That was interesting. Could the RG Valley be relatively unique in the US for that behavior?

Another memory, albeit only peripherally related, was when I discovered that more Anglos (than I expected) from the RV Valley were pretty fluent in Spanish. Often with an accent, but still fluent. That was nice, but I wonder if that is becoming a thing of the past.

[Itsprettyhot]

The problem that I have with spanglish is that people tend to not dominate either language. If they stick to just one language their proficiency is quite poor. Typically.

[tstone]

East/SE Houston & the burbs in that direction, same story. Also same goes for DJ's talking on the Tejano radio stations.

[Blackscorpion]

Originally Posted by misshannajo

Hi,
I recently moved back to the valley and I've noticed an interesting phenomenon and wanted to see if there was anyone else out there that had experienced the same thing.
I work in an educational setting and I have noticed that it is difficult for me to connect with my coworkers and the students. After receiving some feedback, I was told that it might be due to the language I choose to speak on a day to day basis. Although I know Spanish, I primarily speak English. I don't use both languages (Spanglish) in conversation and if I do it's very rare.

If I am speaking with a person who ONLY speaks Spanish then I too will speak Spanish. I don't mind speaking Spanish, but I think in English and it is just an easier language for me to use, especially at work.

It was brought to my attention that people do not speak to me because I only speak English even though I know Spanish, and that it can be misinterpreted as being disrespectful (especially because I myself am Hispanic). Although I respect the culture here and understand that speaking Spanglish is a part of the culture, I am having a hard time finding solutions for the issue. Other than speaking Spanglish, which I will admit I have started to do more of in order to fit in.

I also have a hard time speaking Spanglish because I don't feel there are many other places (even in Texas) that you could do that, especially in an educational/professional settings.
Has anyone else experienced this? And if you did, how did you handle it?

In high school, i would see the foreign language teachers talk in spanish or french all tbe time with each other, so whats the problem