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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Ummmmm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Ummmmm.

Whatever. There’s cultural DC whites and there’s Spanish speaking Latinos. I’m Latino and in the middle of those two camps. Call it what you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think they assume that, I think they prefer to speak Spanish if they think you know Spanish.

So most non-hispanics prefer to speak Spanish to me huh

Yes, why not. Chance to practice it without having to fly anywhere. They are showing off their Spanish. It's not about you.
I practice Russian with anyone who I think may speak it based on their accent and/or look. Many people from former SU and from EE can speak some Russian.
Americans practice their German with me at work without asking if I speak it. They assume I do based on where I work and/or how I look.
I never know which language they are throwing at me. I speak several. I have only seen Spanish speakers get upset over someone trying to speak Spanish to them. I don't expect a Spanish speaker to know the amount of languages I expect from an Eastern European, but I do expect English.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Ummmmm.

Whatever. There’s cultural DC whites and there’s Spanish speaking Latinos. I’m Latino and in the middle of those two camps. Call it what you want.

Just saying Hispanics can be "white". In fact many are considered to be white. Don't be racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would expect it to be rude to have an expectation either way - that you do speak fluent English or that you don't. As you say, plenty of people have English less clear than yours, so why should I expect based on skin color that someone is or isn't fluent?

I don’t think it’s rude to have the assumption that someone living and working in the us speaks English.

It should be a normal assumption but alas…. Press 1 for Spanish.

para espanol, marque el numero uno

[Anonymous]

If I meet someone and haven't heard them speak and they are obviously Hispanic, I might deliberately enunciate more clearly and use smaller words for the first few sentences. There are many recent immigrants here. But then when I hear them speak English well, I'll talk to them like anyone else. I would do the same for anyone who is a tourist here from a country where English is not the first language. I want people to be comfortable and be able to communicate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I meet someone and haven't heard them speak and they are obviously Hispanic, I might deliberately enunciate more clearly and use smaller words for the first few sentences. There are many recent immigrants here. But then when I hear them speak English well, I'll talk to them like anyone else. I would do the same for anyone who is a tourist here from a country where English is not the first language. I want people to be comfortable and be able to communicate.

What makes them obvious? people use the Hispanic and Latino/Latina words interchangeably but isn't it actually Hispanic for those from Spain, or of Spanish roots and Latino for those claiming Latin America their home (yes, we know we all came from somewhere) - educate others.

[Anonymous]

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

You would be incorrect based on my experience (I teach English language skills to new immigrants).

[Anonymous]

Ok - what about at a taco place where you were already speaking Spanish to the waiter. I asked another lady which salsa was the most spicy (in Spanish) and she told me (in English) thats the mildest one. Really took me down a notch - hahaha.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would expect it to be rude to have an expectation either way - that you do speak fluent English or that you don't. As you say, plenty of people have English less clear than yours, so why should I expect based on skin color that someone is or isn't fluent?

I don’t think it’s rude to have the assumption that someone living and working in the us speaks English.

Agree!

It’s normal to assume that someone permanently living and working in USA speaks, reads, and writes well in English.

Why wouldn’t that be the case??

It probably depends where you are. I’m a teacher and very few of the Spanish speaking parents speak any English. In my neighborhood it’s a mix, some do some don’t.

[Anonymous]

Maybe you're just easily annoyed by little things and blow them up in your head.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would expect it to be rude to have an expectation either way - that you do speak fluent English or that you don't. As you say, plenty of people have English less clear than yours, so why should I expect based on skin color that someone is or isn't fluent?

I think if a person is in the US the default should be to assume fluent English. If it is clear there is a communication issue then you deal with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Ummmmm.

Whatever. There’s cultural DC whites and there’s Spanish speaking Latinos. I’m Latino and in the middle of those two camps. Call it what you want.

Just saying Hispanics can be "white". In fact many are considered to be white. Don't be racist.

Why quotes? Of course Hispanics can be white. Ethnicity =/= race. Just like you can be British and black.