Can any native Spanish-speakers answer this question?

[Anonymous]

My feeling is that the US is effectively a bilingual country in some places. So discouraging Anglo Americans from speaking Spanish is really counter-productive and does not help at all. Yes it would be crude to expect someone to have a prolonged conversation with you ... but it would be crude to expect someone to have a prolonged conversation with you for no reason, in any language. I just don't see speaking a few phrases in Spanish as offensive; it's totally different from grilling your Asian-appearing coworker about kimchi.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Money = Peseta. Chavo. Plata. Peso. Dinero. Dolares.

Different social classes and different generations in each individual Spanish speaking country are going to say money differently.

Yes, but I would say, as a native Spanish speaker, that we would know what the other person is referring to. Each country/social class/town/region might have different words for the same thing but ( and especially here in the United States ) we understand each other.

And to the poster who is belittling the Asian American who chimed in, that person knows exactly what it’s like to be a speaker of another language having somebody else practice with them. Korean/Spanish, same feeling.

A non native Spanish speaker will not know.
Learning online or in a class does not give someone first hand knowledge.
They will always be outsiders.

[Anonymous]

lol

[Anonymous]

I have been on both sides of this as a Caucasian American who speaks fluent Spanish. When in the US, I rarely speak Spanish unless it is very clear that the other person does not speak English, as I find it insulting to presume that they don’t speak English. And by the same token, when in Latin America, which is frequent, I speak only Spanish, and get annoyed when hotel or restaurant workers or random people on the street try to speak to me in broken English. In those cases, I usually just answer respond in Spanish, which I can tell sometimes results in hurt feelings. Yes, I know they are trying to practice or show off their English skills (just like OP here), but like many of the PPs have indicated, I’m not their language teacher and I prefer to communicate in the native language, whether in the US or Latin America.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been on both sides of this as a Caucasian American who speaks fluent Spanish. When in the US, I rarely speak Spanish unless it is very clear that the other person does not speak English, as I find it insulting to presume that they don’t speak English. And by the same token, when in Latin America, which is frequent, I speak only Spanish, and get annoyed when hotel or restaurant workers or random people on the street try to speak to me in broken English. In those cases, I usually just answer respond in Spanish, which I can tell sometimes results in hurt feelings. Yes, I know they are trying to practice or show off their English skills (just like OP here), but like many of the PPs have indicated, I’m not their language teacher and I prefer to communicate in the native language, whether in the US or Latin America.

I guarantee you are not as fluent as you think you are. I have seen native Spanish speakers say "Que? What? Huh?" when traveling to certain countries and trying to communicate with locals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been on both sides of this as a Caucasian American who speaks fluent Spanish. When in the US, I rarely speak Spanish unless it is very clear that the other person does not speak English, as I find it insulting to presume that they don’t speak English. And by the same token, when in Latin America, which is frequent, I speak only Spanish, and get annoyed when hotel or restaurant workers or random people on the street try to speak to me in broken English. In those cases, I usually just answer respond in Spanish, which I can tell sometimes results in hurt feelings. Yes, I know they are trying to practice or show off their English skills (just like OP here), but like many of the PPs have indicated, I’m not their language teacher and I prefer to communicate in the native language, whether in the US or Latin America.

I guarantee you are not as fluent as you think you are. I have seen native Spanish speakers say "Que? What? Huh?" when traveling to certain countries and trying to communicate with locals.

And you would be wrong. 95% of the time the issue never comes up, but there’s always that 5% or so that wants to show off by trying to speak English, but they get the hint very quickly when I respond in Spanish. And ironically, it’s always the worst English speakers that try it. Much like those Americans who insist on speaking Spanish in the US. So it goes both ways.

[Anonymous]

I am an early retired white guy who majored in Spanish in college and has lived in and traveled extensively throughout Latin America. While no native Spanish speaker would ever mistake Spanish for being my first language I am often asked if I am Brazilian because native Spanish speakers are not used to white Americans who speak Spanish as well as I do.

I always speak Spanish to native Spanish speakers, Weather here in the United States with workers who I hire or when traveling abroad in Latin America. I have never once detected any resentment or unhappiness from anyone about this. I am not speaking Spanish to native Spanish speakers so I can “practice,” but because I’m tired of the notion that everyone needs to learn and speak English.

[Anonymous]

PP here so for the typos. Dictated but not read . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been on both sides of this as a Caucasian American who speaks fluent Spanish. When in the US, I rarely speak Spanish unless it is very clear that the other person does not speak English, as I find it insulting to presume that they don’t speak English. And by the same token, when in Latin America, which is frequent, I speak only Spanish, and get annoyed when hotel or restaurant workers or random people on the street try to speak to me in broken English. In those cases, I usually just answer respond in Spanish, which I can tell sometimes results in hurt feelings. Yes, I know they are trying to practice or show off their English skills (just like OP here), but like many of the PPs have indicated, I’m not their language teacher and I prefer to communicate in the native language, whether in the US or Latin America.

I guarantee you are not as fluent as you think you are. I have seen native Spanish speakers say "Que? What? Huh?" when traveling to certain countries and trying to communicate with locals.

And you would be wrong. 95% of the time the issue never comes up, but there’s always that 5% or so that wants to show off by trying to speak English, but they get the hint very quickly when I respond in Spanish. And ironically, it’s always the worst English speakers that try it. Much like those Americans who insist on speaking Spanish in the US. So it goes both ways.

I was talking about Native Spanish speakers trying to communicate with other Native Spanish speakers. You are not as fluent as you think you are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been on both sides of this as a Caucasian American who speaks fluent Spanish. When in the US, I rarely speak Spanish unless it is very clear that the other person does not speak English, as I find it insulting to presume that they don’t speak English. And by the same token, when in Latin America, which is frequent, I speak only Spanish, and get annoyed when hotel or restaurant workers or random people on the street try to speak to me in broken English. In those cases, I usually just answer respond in Spanish, which I can tell sometimes results in hurt feelings. Yes, I know they are trying to practice or show off their English skills (just like OP here), but like many of the PPs have indicated, I’m not their language teacher and I prefer to communicate in the native language, whether in the US or Latin America.

I guarantee you are not as fluent as you think you are. I have seen native Spanish speakers say "Que? What? Huh?" when traveling to certain countries and trying to communicate with locals.

And you would be wrong. 95% of the time the issue never comes up, but there’s always that 5% or so that wants to show off by trying to speak English, but they get the hint very quickly when I respond in Spanish. And ironically, it’s always the worst English speakers that try it. Much like those Americans who insist on speaking Spanish in the US. So it goes both ways.

I was talking about Native Spanish speakers trying to communicate with other Native Spanish speakers. You are not as fluent as you think you are.

I’m not sure what your point is, or what you’re trying to prove, but it is entirely irrelevant to my comment and the thread in general. Yes, of course individual words and slang can be different from country to country, but it certainly does not impede communication in any meaningful way or require that a fluent Spanish speaker such as myself switch to English in any Spanish speaking country. So I’m not exactly sure what your friend were trying to tell you, but you certainly didn’t get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am an early retired white guy who majored in Spanish in college and has lived in and traveled extensively throughout Latin America. While no native Spanish speaker would ever mistake Spanish for being my first language I am often asked if I am Brazilian because native Spanish speakers are not used to white Americans who speak Spanish as well as I do.

I always speak Spanish to native Spanish speakers, Weather here in the United States with workers who I hire or when traveling abroad in Latin America. I have never once detected any resentment or unhappiness from anyone about this. I am not speaking Spanish to native Spanish speakers so I can “practice,” but because I’m tired of the notion that everyone needs to learn and speak English.

If you speak Spanish slowly and correct enough there should not be a problem with any native Spanish speaker in all 20 Latin American countries (I know PR is a USA territory) understanding what you are saying.

The problem is understanding what they are saying. The young people, the middle aged people and the elderly people in each individual Latin American country all speak it differently. Then there are the different social classes who also speak it differently. There are also various speeds of delivery. Some are extremely fast. Different words depending on the country. To pretend that you have it all figured out is delusional on your part.

They will all immediately be able to tell that you are an outsider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am an early retired white guy who majored in Spanish in college and has lived in and traveled extensively throughout Latin America. While no native Spanish speaker would ever mistake Spanish for being my first language I am often asked if I am Brazilian because native Spanish speakers are not used to white Americans who speak Spanish as well as I do.

I always speak Spanish to native Spanish speakers, Weather here in the United States with workers who I hire or when traveling abroad in Latin America. I have never once detected any resentment or unhappiness from anyone about this. I am not speaking Spanish to native Spanish speakers so I can “practice,” but because I’m tired of the notion that everyone needs to learn and speak English.

If you speak Spanish slowly and correct enough there should not be a problem with any native Spanish speaker in all 20 Latin American countries (I know PR is a USA territory) understanding what you are saying.

The problem is understanding what they are saying. The young people, the middle aged people and the elderly people in each individual Latin American country all speak it differently. Then there are the different social classes who also speak it differently. There are also various speeds of delivery. Some are extremely fast. Different words depending on the country. To pretend that you have it all figured out is delusional on your part.

They will all immediately be able to tell that you are an outsider.

Not really a huge problem in practice. Just like the English spoken in Scotland differs from that in New Zealand, with a little time and patience all is understandable if you speak the language well enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been on both sides of this as a Caucasian American who speaks fluent Spanish. When in the US, I rarely speak Spanish unless it is very clear that the other person does not speak English, as I find it insulting to presume that they don’t speak English. And by the same token, when in Latin America, which is frequent, I speak only Spanish, and get annoyed when hotel or restaurant workers or random people on the street try to speak to me in broken English. In those cases, I usually just answer respond in Spanish, which I can tell sometimes results in hurt feelings. Yes, I know they are trying to practice or show off their English skills (just like OP here), but like many of the PPs have indicated, I’m not their language teacher and I prefer to communicate in the native language, whether in the US or Latin America.

I guarantee you are not as fluent as you think you are. I have seen native Spanish speakers say "Que? What? Huh?" when traveling to certain countries and trying to communicate with locals.

And you would be wrong. 95% of the time the issue never comes up, but there’s always that 5% or so that wants to show off by trying to speak English, but they get the hint very quickly when I respond in Spanish. And ironically, it’s always the worst English speakers that try it. Much like those Americans who insist on speaking Spanish in the US. So it goes both ways.

I was talking about Native Spanish speakers trying to communicate with other Native Spanish speakers. You are not as fluent as you think you are.

Well, to play Devil's Advocate here, a non native speaker who has spent 20+ years living and working in multiple Spanish speaking countries might even be more attuned to these nuances than a native speaker who hasn't had much exposure outside of their neighborhood of people from the same country. I've seen some native speakers absolutely bomb classes and daily interactions with people outside of what they're used to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spanish speaker here. I think most Spanish speakers will like and appreciate the effort you are putting. Most of them won't find it condescending, in my experience.

I am also a native Spanish speaker and I agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am an early retired white guy who majored in Spanish in college and has lived in and traveled extensively throughout Latin America. While no native Spanish speaker would ever mistake Spanish for being my first language I am often asked if I am Brazilian because native Spanish speakers are not used to white Americans who speak Spanish as well as I do.

I always speak Spanish to native Spanish speakers, Weather here in the United States with workers who I hire or when traveling abroad in Latin America. I have never once detected any resentment or unhappiness from anyone about this. I am not speaking Spanish to native Spanish speakers so I can “practice,” but because I’m tired of the notion that everyone needs to learn and speak English.

Why do they think you are from Brazil and not from Spain?
There are Spaniards who were born in Europe living all over Latin America.
Many of them are just as white if not whiter than you.
Are you traveling to mostly poor and impoverished areas?