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I was wondering about the experiences of others. Do you find Spanish-speakers open to speaking Spanish with you? I'm pigment-challenged and live in a majority Latino neighborhood. I lived in a Spanish-speaking country for a while so I speak pretty well - people often assume I'm a native speaker with a short conversation (although with a longer conversation it's probably obvious I'm not).
The truth is I really enjoy living in an environment where another language is spoken and find it nice to be able to keep up the language. Many people in the neighborhood are happy to find out I speak Spanish and will always speak it with me. Others (mostly women) will never speak in Spanish with me, and look offended that I have spoken to them in Spanish, even if they have been speaking Spanish with everyone else. Why is this? Does anyone else experience this?
I get this alot in my neighborhood also. The presumption is I don't speak Spanish and I am not Hispanic, so they typically will speak english to me even when I speak Spanish, and yes it is irritating, and particularly offensive to me. Is the presumption that unless I wear clothes 2 sizes too big, and carry myself like a hood rat, I am not Hispanic or couldn't possibly be Puerto Rican?
Of course, many of these people live quite segregated, so their reality of what being Hispanic is constitutes this really dysfunctional version, and those outside of that narrow reality are "not really Hispanic", and this is particularly true with Puerto Ricans in these types of neighborhoods.
Sometimes people will speak Spanish to me, and quickly pick up I am Puerto Rican because of the words I choose and the relatively stereotypical manner in which I speak. Nevertheless, I get what you are saying and it can be irritating.
The truth is I really enjoy living in an environment where another language is spoken and find it nice to be able to keep up the language. Many people in the neighborhood are happy to find out I speak Spanish and will always speak it with me. Others (mostly women) will never speak in Spanish with me, and look offended that I have spoken to them in Spanish, even if they have been speaking Spanish with everyone else. Why is this? Does anyone else experience this?
It's possible that they, too, want to "keep up" with their second language and enjoy speaking english with someone who is a native english speaker.
I get this alot in my neighborhood also. The presumption is I don't speak Spanish and I am not Hispanic, so they typically will speak english to me even when I speak Spanish, and yes it is irritating, and particularly offensive to me. Is the presumption that unless I wear clothes 2 sizes too big, and carry myself like a hood rat, I am not Hispanic or couldn't possibly be Puerto Rican?
Of course, many of these people live quite segregated, so their reality of what being Hispanic is constitutes this really dysfunctional version, and those outside of that narrow reality are "not really Hispanic", and this is particularly true with Puerto Ricans in these types of neighborhoods.
Sometimes people will speak Spanish to me, and quickly pick up I am Puerto Rican because of the words I choose and the relatively stereotypical manner in which I speak. Nevertheless, I get what you are saying and it can be irritating.
That must be strange especially since you actually are Latino. I do suspect it's to remind you that you are different, but I've also wondered if people sometimes think that by speaking Spanish I'm making some assumption about their ability to speak English. I don't tend to think being hood or not comes into it in my case, since lots of Spanish-speakers here are really not - many seem just off the boat.
One thing I find interesting is when someone has what sounds like a Spanish accent when speaking English, to the point of rolling thier r's a little, and then you find out they don't actually speak it. This is a very common accent in the Bronx I guess.
Of course, many of these people live quite segregated, so their reality of what being Hispanic is constitutes this really dysfunctional version, and those outside of that narrow reality are "not really Hispanic", and this is particularly true with Puerto Ricans in these types of neighborhoods.
Hit the nail on the head.
And it's really annoying, IMO.
I have a marked Chilean accent and I don't look like a stereotypical U.S. Hispanic person, so when I speak Spanish to somebody I'm 100% certain Spanish is their native language and they respond back to me in a broken English, I wanna smack them on the head. And I don't buy that argument that says 'maybe they wanna practice their English too!'. If that was the case, they would attempt to speak English to everybody, including among themselves. Clearly that's not what happens.
I think some Hispanics of very low educational backgrounds and intelect, feel somewhat ashamed of speaking Spanish. Others are just in shock that a person who doesn't fit their small worldview is speaking Spanish to them so they instinctively resort to English.
It's sad, but that's what happens.
Practicing your Spanish in the ghetto will be difficult due to these issues. In addition, people in those places use way too many colloquialisms and slag expressions to make any interactions productive.
It's not that I go around trying to speak Spanish to everyone, but in many situations it just makes sense and would be kind of wierd to pretend that I don't understand what's going on or what people are saying, particularly people I see on a regular basis. But yes there is usually a look of complete shock on people's faces - it shouldn't be so shocking since Spanish is a very common language.
they're prejudice and you want to kiss
up to them in their languange? who
does that? no wonder they get offended
by you, because they know you're faking.
You should look into writing Haikus. I'm hoping to be able to teach my kids too. They will most likely have the opposite situation - most people would probably think they speak Spanish by looking at them.
I have heard that a single language works best...so I choose American English.
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