Do most non Hispanic people assume we don't speak English?

[Anonymous]

Next time some white person does this to you, compliment their English and tell them you were expecting them to speak Russian. Or Armenian. They will be pissed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a "moderate" Hispanic? I assume anyone in the US speaks at least rudimentary English.

Obviously you know what I meant but this is a forum hardly anyone takes serious not an English class from college.

I actually don't know what "moderate Hispanic" means. Does it mean only 1 Hispanic parent and 1 white parent? Does it mean 2 Hispanic parents but not culturally Hispanic? You don't speak Spanish, or not well? Seriously - what does it mean?

Didn't it mean moderate as in political views? But it didnt say political views...

Who knows? I’ve never heard this before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Next time some white person does this to you, compliment their English and tell them you were expecting them to speak Russian. Or Armenian. They will be pissed.

There is not an epidemic of these occurrences. You are creating comebacks about something that may have never happened.

I’m Hispanic and this has never happened to me in DC. This has never happened to me in the US, period.

[Anonymous]

I would say this is an area where I'm open-minded, and just wait to hear what comes out of their mouths. I've engaged with my niece and nephew's nanny who speaks about ten words of English, and other Hispanic people who are as fluent as I am, even if they were born in a Spanish-speaking country.

[Anonymous]

I always wondered whether it’s better to assume someone speaks English or risk embarrassing them when they don’t. I know when people assume I speak Spanish I’m often embarrassed to admit I don’t understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I always wondered whether it’s better to assume someone speaks English or risk embarrassing them when they don’t. I know when people assume I speak Spanish I’m often embarrassed to admit I don’t understand.

I think, when in the US, assume they speak English, unless you hear them speaking another language. I got lost in the US, but in a neighborhood in a city that was predominantly Hispanic, and I asked for help in Spanish to men I overheard speaking Spanish before I walked up to them. We proceeded to speak in broken Spanish (me) and broken English (them).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wondering as a moderate Hispanic born in DC with family who has been here since 1965. I encounter way too many people who assume we don't speak English even when my English is clearer than theirs. I got annoyed at one and she said , well you never know nowadays.

No. If I assume anything it would be that they speak some English especially those who he have been here for decades. I have not found this to be true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I speak Spanish as a foreign language. I always ask in English, "do you speak Spanish, by any chance?" before switching (and only if the speaker seems to be struggling with English).

I would not switch to Spanish with a person who was speaking English well enough for me to understand them, though at some point if the conversation progressed, I would mention that I speak a little Spanish.

This is what I do.

And the reverse, when I’m in a Spanish speaking country. I start in Spanish, but then ask them if they’d prefer I speak English instead, since my Spanish is probably not as good as their English.

[Anonymous]

I just assume everyone i meet speaks English unless they indicate otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wondering as a moderate Hispanic born in DC with family who has been here since 1965. I encounter way too many people who assume we don't speak English even when my English is clearer than theirs. I got annoyed at one and she said , well you never know nowadays.

Are you not speaking English properly, or do you have an accent?

Most people never even know I'm Hispanic because I grew up speaking primarily English, as my parents didn't want me to have an accent growing up here, so we told to speak mostly English even at home.

[Anonymous]

I am not Hispanic but evidently look Hispanic to some. Loads of Spanish speakers speak to me in Spanish assuming I understand and when I apologize that I don’t speak Spanish, they immediately switch to English without skipping a beat. So maybe that’s what’s happening to you? They’re just guessing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m Latina and this never has never happened to me once in DC.

OP is trolling.

Uhhh it happens to my husband and he is Asian, but people assume Hispanic. His name is like John, but gets called Andres, Pablo and Diego.

People we assume are Hispanic also do speak Spanish to him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m Latina and this never has never happened to me once in DC.

OP is trolling.

Uhhh it happens to my husband and he is Asian, but people assume Hispanic. His name is like John, but gets called Andres, Pablo and Diego.

People we assume are Hispanic also do speak Spanish to him.

Well there it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m Latina and this never has never happened to me once in DC.

OP is trolling.

Uhhh it happens to my husband and he is Asian, but people assume Hispanic. His name is like John, but gets called Andres, Pablo and Diego.

People we assume are Hispanic also do speak Spanish to him.

The only people who do that IME are Latinos, not white people.

[Anonymous]

I assume they speak English until proven otherwise.

The only time I think they might not speak English is when I hear them speaking Spanish with others. I also speak Spanish (majored in it) and am never sure which language to approach them with.