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I dont speak spanish, Im not from south of the border matter a fact my dad is from North of the Border and he is Native Canadian, I live in LA and alot of Spanish people get angry when they speak to me in spanish and i dont know what to say cause i only can speak english. Why do people mistake me as spanish? Im 50% native Canadian and 25% French and 25% irish. I dont think i look spanish but why does everyone in LA think i am?

2007-01-19 17:46:25 · 12 answers · asked by Reagan is a humanitarian 1 in Society & Culture Cultures & Groups Other - Cultures & Groups

12 answers

I agree that I don't think anyone is mistaking you for latino, spanish is just a dominate language in that area (besides english of course). I can relate to the idea of people thinking you are something that you are not. I used to have people come up to me all the time, trying to speak to me in spanish. (I lived in SoCal), I would politely explain,"no habla espanol", and those people would find someone else to translate for them. It used to irritate me, but then I thought about it-are we so arrogant as to believe that everyone else needs to learn english, yet I won't make the effort to learn spanish?" Most countries teach english and their native tongue to students, why can't america do the same? From that point on, I made it a goal to learn spanish.

I am very open to hearing other people's opinions but just to answer the previous post, about what our country is becoming. Well, techniquely speaking, this country originally belonged to Native Americans. So, if it's anyone's country, it's theirs. Accept the fact that excluding a very small percentage of people, we all have family history that suggests we come from immigrants. Most caucasion families have families that settled here, much as the immigrants of today are struggling to acheive. In fact, If I am to believe what I was taught at college, to be Mexican, is to be both NATIVE AMERICAN and Spanish. You figure out what that implies. But, I hope that at this point, everyone of all races can just come together and be one race, American. I don't want to sound cheesy, but America is about diversity and embracing all languages and cultures. In fact, that is what our country's beliefs are built on. Our forefathers before us spent a lifetime achieving this. Consider yourself lucky that you live in such a great country that people would risk their lives to be here. So, I suggest to broaden your mind, and fatten your wallet-learn a second language, it isn't that hard.

2007-01-19 18:18:10 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

People in LA probably don't think your spanish.

In LA there are many mexicans, many of them are illegals. The thing is many mexicans have a standard (mainly the ones that only can speak english), they believe that we americans should learn to accomodate them and learn spanish, even though they should since they're the ones coming from our country. I may get a lot of heat about this, i'm not racist, but its very true. Look at jobs in LA, many of them require you to speak both Spanish and English. I know at my job it's not required and many people come in (i work at a portrait studio) and some only speak english. The daughter was translating for me one time and she said "my mom said everyone in american should learn spanish so that we could talk to the mexicans". I think it's ridiculous but that's what the world has become

2007-01-20 01:51:42 · answer #2 · answered by beth3988 3 · 0 0

Not knowing what you look like, take it with a grain of salt. When someone speaks to you in a language you do not know, just simple say, "sorry, I am an American, and I speak English" They may not like it, but it is the truth...okay, you may say, I am a Canadian...but I suspect you live in the US now so you might be a citizen. Good luck; enjoy your own heritage, not one that others might want to push on you!

2007-01-20 01:53:16 · answer #3 · answered by Randy W 3 · 0 0

It happens to my friend, her father is Chinese and she has long black hair so people think she speaks Spanish. Just say "Lo siento, no soy latino y no hablo español" (Low c-en-to no soy la-te-no e no a-blo es-pany-ol). Or if these people know English well you can say "I am offended because I am not Latino and I don't speak Spanish." Well, as you know it does get annoying when people assume things, but I think it would be best to say it in Spanish.

The one poster that said "Me lo siento" that doesn't make sense, the phrase is "Lo siento". :)

2007-01-20 01:59:31 · answer #4 · answered by Scott 6 · 1 0

Why don't you just learn Spanish, and then you will have a much easier time living in LA?

2007-01-20 01:54:55 · answer #5 · answered by trueblue88 5 · 0 0

Because the majority of Americans never traveled outside beyond their home state except neighboring states or countries if they live near Mexico or Canada or if they're serving in the military. They think the Mexican Indians that they see working in people’s roofs, front lawn, farmhands, bag boys in Filipino American grocery stores, cooks in Chinese American and Greek American (Hellene) restaurants are "Hispanic" or "Latino" since they have Spanish names, are mostly Catholic, and speak the Mexican version of Spanish. I know European and middle eastern Christian Mexicans (called Criollos-Spanish Mexicans, French Mexicans, Lebanese Christian Mexicans, Welsh Mexicans, German Mexicans, Irish Mexicans) but the majority of the Mexicans that are crossing our borders illegally are Meso-American Indians of Mayan, Aztec, Oaxaca, Nhutal ancestry. They have zero to very distant Spanish ancestry that it does not count anymore. The real Spaniards only made a small minority in their own colonies in the Americas compared to the hordes of British and Dutch colonists, merchants, craftsmen, and indentured servants that immigrated to the east coast of present day United States. The Spaniards were only interested in getting the gold and other exotic foods (pepper, tomatoes, potatoes etc) to bring to Europe as well as converting the Native Heathens into Catholicism. They got kicked out during the Napoleonic Wars. They did not cause a huge genetic change in Mexico and most of South America. Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Pre-Castro Cuba, and Puerto Rico is the only former Spanish colonies where they have a large white European population (via the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815 for Puerto Rico and Cuba http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Decree_of_Graces_of_1815 ) Some of the Cuban Americans, Puerto Rican Americans, and a Chilean American that I grew up with or know in Chicago wouldn't look out of place in Spain, France, Italy, Ireland, or Germany which is where some of their immigrant families were from in the 19th and early 20th century.
Even the real Mexican Indians from Mexico and other westernized Native South Americans Indian whom I interact with in other forums get annoyed by that American term "Hispanic" or "Latino". They do not claim to be "Hispanic" or "Latino". It's the brainwashed Mexican-Americans that think of themselves as “Hispanic” or “Latino”. The real white Spaniards (who are part Celt-Iberian, Lusitanian, Visigothic German, and Swabian German) are also very annoyed with the term “Hispanic” or “Latino” being placed to the Mexican Indians because of the Americans like President Richard Nixon and French Emperor Napoleon III. Go to Spain or Mexico, you’ll hear an earful from both peoples on those two American terms ("Hispanic" and "Latino").
All of this is because of President Richard Nixon who created the term “Hispanic” for Affirmative Action to describe the growing number of spanish speaking Mexican AmerIndians in his home state of California and French Emperor Napoleon III who came up with the term “Latin America” hence “Latino”. French Emperor Napoleon III created the term as an excuse for his empire to colonize Mexico and posibly the rest of South America and Central America. He also renamed Vietnam as "Indo-China" when his army invaded their country.
The real Hispanics are Spaniards from Spain (who are Celt-Iberian, Lusitanian, Visigothic German, and Swabian German). The real Latinos are Italians specifically central Italians from the Lazio region or Latinium whose ancestors spoke Latin, founded the city of Rome and the Roman Empire.

2007-01-20 02:57:48 · answer #6 · answered by James 2 · 0 0

Be gracious and say "Me lo siento, soy un juero y no hablo espanol"
I am sorry I'm a white guy and I don't speak spanish.

2007-01-20 01:50:49 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Don't get angry. be proud as a human being south of rio grande is not all coyotes amigo! mi nombre es garcia!

2007-01-20 02:02:57 · answer #8 · answered by ari-pup 7 · 0 0

dont know it might br because theres some people from the same race that dont want to speak there LANGUAGE.thats why they might think your trying to do.

2007-01-20 01:52:13 · answer #9 · answered by rutts12 2 · 0 0

Maybe if you put that all in a pot and mixed it together, you get a latino?????!!!!!

2007-01-20 01:49:01 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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