Mistaken for Latino?

[Vietmunde]

^true. Another thing, I think the reason I haven't experienced the hostility is because I speak Spanish, almost completely fluently. So after clearing up the mistaken identity with them, I get more of a "oh well that's cool you speak it........)". I've heard other stories similar to Teehee's from friends who've worked in retail or the service industry before in heavy populated Hispanic areas. In Teehee's case, I still think its silly and rude of her customers to assume/expect her older generation parents(especially her dad who's more Asian looking with accent) to be able to carry on in Spanish at first glance (though not impossible).

[juancarlos]

jpeezy said:

Although Jefe has some valid points regarding the large number of Spanish speaking people living in America as well as the fact that English was never adopted as the US's official language, it is important to note that the vast majority of Spanish speaking individuals are concentrated only in Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Northern states (those not in proximity to Mexico) virtually have little to no Spanish speaking communities, therefore if someone were raised, in say, Michigan or Ohio, then moved to Texas, they would experience quite a culture shock from the pervasive latin culture/community they would find there.

Actually, this is not true. Illinois, which is in the Midwest, has a large Latino population. Chicago alone is about 25% Latino. Some other Illinois cities/towns are now majority Latino. Also, New York State, which is in the north, is of course about 16% Latino.

[Ajeno]

This is what i was saying in the immigration thread a while back.Immigrants come here expecting people to know their language or learn it and i think thats bulls***..Im guessing this is more of a problem on the westcoast though because the latino- immigrants on the eastcoast from Mexico and various parts of latin America in my experience speak english or atleast know the basics to get by..The problem i do have sometimes with some spanish speakers is that many countries have their own dialect or way of saying things which makes it difficult to communicate.

[jefe]

teehee said:

for the record, my family was pretty much broke after the looting of our store in new orleans, not that that would matter at all to you

Of course we try our best to be sympathetic about what happened in New Orleans. Naturally, I cannot feel the same way as you do, but I have no intention of belittle it at all.

However, I do not think it was that relevant to my point.

some of these people who've reacted with such hostility to us, were able to speak english and therefore, still would've been able to hold a minimally decent conversation with us. but for whatever reason chose not to work with us just because of our lack of proficiency in spanish(even though we were friendly towards them)

Sorry if customers are rude, but English speaking customers will be rude also.

nor would i react with the same hostility that these people react to us when they see we're not proficient in spanish.

Yes, it is not nice for them to be rude to you if you are trying to be polite first. Actually, I have rarely encountered too many Spanish speakers rude to me personally, and I used to live in a majority Latino community in the USA before. But I encountered a gazillion rude English speakers in the USA, rude to those who do not speak English well -- Even rude to me -- making comments about my English even though my english was much better than theirs.. . .

I would basically try to make use of whatever common languages we may share instead of causing unnecessary ill will, makes life alot easier.

Well, set a good example for your customers, and they will either learn to behave better or they won't. But eventually, you will build your loyal clientele.

[jefe]

klacoste said:

I agree. I wonder why those customers feel a sense of self-entitlement in an English-speaking country.

Sorry, the USA is not a strictly english speaking country. In fact the latest census estimate in 2007 is that 53% of Californians speak a language other than English at home. Since when was the USA EVER as strictly English speaking country -- in fact, it is one of the most multilingual countries in the world.

[jefe]

vietmunde said:

Though Spanish is very widespread across the U.S., I find it odd as well, that some Latinos would attempt to communicate using Spanish as a lingua franca or common language with your parents, if your parents greeted them in English and the Hispanic customers knew enough English to get by(or enough to tell off your parents for not speaking Spanish), regardless of what region of the U.S. you live in.

Funny, but I do not find it strange anymore that people use Spanish in addition to English as a lingua franca in the USA. When I went to Miami last time -- Spanish was used as much as English as far as I could tell.

And when I went to New York city last time -- a line of Spanish speaking people ordered in Spanish from an English non-Hispanic vendor at the Staten Island Ferry. When it became my turn, I was wondering if I should continue in Spanish or switch to English. Each time I return to the USA , the more and more it feels like both Spanish and English are lingua franca in many areas.

[jefe]

jpeezy said:

Although Jefe has some valid points regarding the large number of Spanish speaking people living in America as well as the fact that English was never adopted as the US's official language, it is important to note that the vast majority of Spanish speaking individuals are concentrated only in Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Northern states (those not in proximity to Mexico) virtually have little to no Spanish speaking communities, therefore if someone were raised, in say, Michigan or Ohio, then moved to Texas, they would experience quite a culture shock from the pervasive latin culture/community they would find there.

This is completely not true. I have NEVER lived in California, Texas, or SW United States, yet I experienced many Spanish speakers spread across the USA. Where I lived in Queens, NY, Spanish OR English could be used at most of the stores. Ditto for the neighborhood that I lived in Washington, Dc. Miami is essentially a Spanish speaking city.

And I have even been placed into Spanish speaking situations in places like Denver, Atlanta and Salt Lake City. I read in the New York times a few months ago how Hispanics have been transforming small towns in North Carolina -- certain towns have become 20-25% Spanish speaking from 0% in 1990.

juancarlos said:

Actually, this is not true. Illinois, which is in the Midwest, has a large Latino population. Chicago alone is about 25% Latino. Some other Illinois cities/towns are now majority Latino. Also, New York State, which is in the north, is of course about 16% Latino.

Thank you for pointing this out.

[jefe]

ajeno said:

This is what i was saying in the immigration thread a while back.Immigrants come here expecting people to know their language or learn it and i think thats bullsh*t..Im guessing this is more of a problem on the westcoast though because the latino- immigrants on the eastcoast from Mexico and various parts of latin America in my experience speak english or atleast know the basics to get by..The problem i do have sometimes with some spanish speakers is that many countries have their own dialect or way of saying things which makes it difficult to communicate.

Spanish predated English in the USA, and has been spoken in what is now the USA (eg, Texas, New Mexico, Florida, etc.) long before Jamestown was settled. The English speakers were the immigrants who imposed their language on the others and expect others to know it or learn it.

[jpeezy]

I was referring to Teehee's story about being in Arizona and finding it difficult to communicate in English with the latino populace. I know full well that there are Spanish-speaking people scatted throughtout the US, however, they are not homogenous in every American city and I am sure many English speaking people have not experienced situations where they are in a fully Spanish-speaking community. When I experienced rudeness from a Spanish-speaking individual, I was not in a Latin area of town, nor did I live in a city with a high Spanish-speaking population, THAT is why I was offended. I was offended because someone looked at me and assumed I was something I wasn't then was insulting when I told then what I really was. I am equally offended when caucasian, english-speaking people tell me how great my english is, that I don't even have an accent, or ask me when I learned English, when I was raised in the US and have always spoken English extremely well.

My mother is from the Philippines and I find it very interesting that not only was she required to take English classes, but also had to pass an English proficiency test before being allowed to live and work in the US as a registered nurse.

I, for one, would NEVER go to a foreign country and expect others to speak my native language, no matter what it may be. If I visited France, I would not assume that the local population should cater to me by speaking english even though Britain is just a quick chunnel ride away.

[Ajeno]

jefe said:

Spanish predated English in the USA, and has been spoken in what is now the USA (eg, Texas, New Mexico, Florida, etc.) long before Jamestown was settled. The English speakers were the immigrants who imposed their language on the others and expect others to know it or learn it.

True true..If we take it even farther than that we can say spanish was forced on natives and now its coming back to bite everyone on the ass lol..

[juancarlos]

jpeezy said:

I was referring to Teehee's story about being in Arizona and finding it difficult to communicate in English with the latino populace. I know full well that there are Spanish-speaking people scatted throughtout the US, however, they are not homogenous in every American city and I am sure many English speaking people have not experienced situations where they are in a fully Spanish-speaking community. When I experienced rudeness from a Spanish-speaking individual, I was not in a Latin area of town, nor did I live in a city with a high Spanish-speaking population, THAT is why I was offended. I was offended because someone looked at me and assumed I was something I wasn't then was insulting when I told then what I really was. I am equally offended when caucasian, english-speaking people tell me how great my english is, that I don't even have an accent, or ask me when I learned English, when I was raised in the US and have always spoken English extremely well.

My mother is from the Philippines and I find it very interesting that not only was she required to take English classes, but also had to pass an English proficiency test before being allowed to live and work in the US as a registered nurse.

I, for one, would NEVER go to a foreign country and expect others to speak my native language, no matter what it may be. If I visited France, I would not assume that the local population should cater to me by speaking english even though Britain is just a quick chunnel ride away.

Those Latinos who do not speak English put themselves in a very disadvantaged position in the U.S. Studies have shown that Latinos who cannot speak English earn lower wages on average compared to English speaking Latinos.

I am no longer offended when people make assumptions about me. That's their problem, not mine.

The reason nurses are required to pass an English exam is because their profession is very delicate and any miscommunication could cause serious injury or even death. The Latinos we are talking about are not generally working in delicate occupations. Thus, it's their choice whether they should learn English or not, but they disadvantage themselves if they don't.

[2bob]

ive been mistaken for latino once

[halfbreed]

It works the other way, too. I just asked a Hispanic if he was EA. -.-

[Ajeno]

curlytop said:

Not sure if true, but I heard the American founding Fathers considered having German or some other language as the de facto tongue, I guess to distance themselves from the Brits. I suppose they were too lazy to learn a new language.

Really? That would've been tripped out had it worked out that way..It would still be nice if many of us could speak our native languages though.

[jefe]

kyuree said:

Jefe, you do know how to put posts together, don't you?...

If not I might suggest Firefox and the copy-paste function to help...

claudia,

Yes I do know how to do that. In fact, I did it with a couple of the reponses.

However, I separated the others on purpose as they are addressing different topics and are replying to slightly different subthreads. I hope that is not against the rules. Please advise if this is against the rules.

(For example, I would not put this reply to you with the replies to the other posters and combine in the same reply.)

Cheers.