Misconceptions about Texas's border towns? (Houston, Dallas: home, high school, living)

[aab7855]

Originally Posted by Foamposite

True, but does El Paso have so many Mexican shoppers that it would make you hear more Spanish than English?

I´ll be there at the end of June, I´ll let you know what I find.

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by aab7855

Very true, but you won´t find Mexicans with work permits crossing the bridge to their day jobs in Charlotte. San Antonio is about the farthest north you can get where droves of monied Mexican shoppers come to spend money, sometimes entire tour buses of them. The border culture is going to make the place feel much more "foreign" than better off places with their migration patterns ever could.

Yes. This is very true.

[Bob Buford]

Originally Posted by Foamposite

As for your last statement, I'm in agreement. Proximity to the border isn't really a deciding factor in immigration anywaymore, many Mexicans move to the Midwest, Northeast, and non Texas South these days.

Having worked in construction all over the US especially the midwest and now Texas I disagree and the explanation is easy. Lazy people stay near the border after they cross and the ones who are harder working move on to other parts of the country.

Originally Posted by Foamposite

True, but does El Paso have so many Mexican shoppers that it would make you hear more Spanish than English?

Laredo and McAllen have more Spanish speaking people than English. Too many times it's taken us 20 minutes to get seated at a restaurant because no one spoke English. Another patron had to come over and translate. Trying to get any business done is even harder.

[DanielWayne]

I find it fascinating how some people expect the border to be some kind of hard cultural delineating factor. Don't forget Texas history. All the Mexicans didn't pack up and leave (taking Spanish with them) after Texas gained independence. In fact, if I remember correctly, Texas was always a mish mash of more than one culture. I have lots of relatives born in SE Texas that learned Spanish first. I'm sure that same phenomena still happens all the time all across the state. In Houston you can find large neighborhoods where all the signage is in Spanish. Again, I am sure that is not something unique.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Foamposite

Interesting observations. Though Mexicans and other Hispanics are becoming more and more common in "Americana" type places like Grand Rapids and Beloit, for instance.

I'm also a (nearly) bilingual gringo, and I have found that some Latinos (mostly US born in my experience) would get annoyed at me speaking Spanish, perhaps because they view it as a secret code.

And foreign borns would reply in English sometimes just because my Spanish isn't that great (I don't make terrible mistakes or anything, but from my accent I'm obviously nowhere near a native speaker).

.

I have always gotten the impression that by speaking to them in Spanish you're reminding them (often unwittingly but they feel it anyway) that they're not fully American. A touchy issue for many of them.


I can speak basic Spanish and try to use it in heavily Hispanic parts of the U.S. and it seems like any Latinos who have at least one foot planted on U.S. soil (either as a citizen or a resident) are extremely hesitant to answer back to me in Spanish. Some are even a bit hostile.


The only people who answer me back in Spanish in the U.S. seem to obviously be tourists from Latin America, often with English skills that are shaky to nil.


On the other hand, my Spanish is at least good enough that in countries where it's the official language even people with English skills will continue in Spanish with me about 90% of the time.

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I have always gotten the impression that by speaking to them in Spanish you're reminding them (often unwittingly but they feel it anyway) that they're not fully American. A touchy issue for many of them.
.

Really? I dont get that at all when I speak my limited Spanish to people who are bi-lingual.

[Acajack]

While Laredo and Brownsville are certainly different and feel way more Hispanic than, say, Burlington, Vermont, one can't be very well-travelled at all if you think that in terms of "feel" they're basically interchangeable with a random Mexican city.


I have always said that when I go to these places, what surprises isn't how much Spanish is spoken, but how much English is spoken.

[jcp123]

Laredo is very much an American city with quite a bit of Spanish being spoken. I’ve only been to Brownsville area once. It also felt very American, but less so than Laredo in some ways. I didn’t get as much Spanish speaking there either.

El Paso definitely feels the most American of all. It’s actually a really overlooked place, I quite like El Paso. Having that Latin twist on a good-size American city gives it a pretty neat vibe. Not unique, maybe, but El Paso certainly deserves some credit for being a well-rounded city.

[aab7855]

Originally Posted by Bob Buford

Having worked in construction all over the US especially the midwest and now Texas I disagree and the explanation is easy. Lazy people stay near the border after they cross and the ones who are harder working move on to other parts of the country.

Lazy in the sense of not wanting to learn more English and become more "American"? I guess I don´t get what you mean. What would be some examples you could give after all these years of experiences?

Originally Posted by Bob Buford

Laredo and McAllen have more Spanish speaking people than English. Too many times it's taken us 20 minutes to get seated at a restaurant because no one spoke English. Another patron had to come over and translate. Trying to get any business done is even harder.

Reminds me of when I lived in Puerto Rico, I started to say that English speakers on the island were like cops...they were never around when you needed one, but always around when you didn´t want them to be Seriously though, it seemed like I couldn´t find one if I was struggling, but when I got better I just got answered in English all the damn time.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by aab7855

Reminds me of when I lived in Puerto Rico, I started to say that English speakers on the island were like cops...they were never around when you needed one, but always around when you didn´t want them to be Seriously though, it seemed like I couldn´t find one if I was struggling, but when I got better I just got answered in English all the damn time.

Though contrary to anywhere in the 50 states, asserting your right to be spoken to in English is on shakier ground in Puerto Rico. (Not just for practical reasons.)