Anyone on this board Hispanic but doesn't speak spanish?

[NY Disney fan]

Just curious if anyone on this board is or knows someone who is Hispanic but doesn't speak spanish. (fluently).

 

[CathrynRose]

Yeah - my kids, and their Dad.

My ex-h is 1/2 Puerto Rican, and doesn't know a word of Spanish.

 

[LisaNJ25]

My kids

 

[Mrs.Toad]

Yes, I know several Hispanic people who don't speak spanish.

 

[scottishduffy]

Me!

My mother is cuban, my father is american.

My mother speaks fluent spanish and came here when she was 7 yrs old. I just never learned. My mother says she tried to teach me but gave up when I was a small child. Apparently I would throw massive tantrums if she tried to speak to me in spanish. Add to that we lived in a fully american area, my dad didnt speak it, and all my hispanic relatives were all fluent in english and I had no real reason I had to know it.

I have learned some spanish as an adult (I married a hispanic man), but am by no means fluent. I usually never tell my patients that I am actually cuban because the elder cuban generation is *seriously* offended by the idea of a cuban child losing their language. I will get stern lectures about this if they find out. The younger generation it doesn't matter, but for the older one it does.

I do not look hispanic at all, so just don't admit I am. People are much nicer to me if I am just a 'gringa girl' who is trying her best to learn spanish as opposed to a girl who lost her culture. I know the basic and get by with what I know. I can communicate with my patients and understand much of what they say (in a hospital setting). I have only picked this up since moving to Miami and needing it.

 

[glitterkittyy]

My kids. They are half Peruvian and speak only a few phrases. I blame DH who doesn't have patience to teach them!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Yes, currently my neighbors. She is Mexican (coastal) and her kids are in their 20's. She said they do not speak Spanish, she did not teach them.

My dd's BF can speak and understand Spanish, however he is not 100% fluent. He is Mayan/Mexican descent.

 

[Thumper_Man]

I am hispanic, and am not fluent in speaking spanish. When I was a kid, my grandparents would speak in spanish when they didn't want us to know what they were saying about us. They never took the time to teach my mom or the grandchildren, so my mom was never able to teach me. Everyone I knew spoke english, so naturally that is the language I learned. Now that I'm older, I know a lot more than when I was a kid; but I wouldn't be able to carry a conversation. I can understand spanish pretty well. The hard part for me is talking back to someone in spanish. I have to think of the words before I can talk back. Thinking of getting Rosetta Stone so I can learn it better, but in this economy; can't really afford it at the moment. Yo no tengo dinero por un programa. I have to save for my disney trip next year.

 

[pandora174]

I came from Cuba when I was 5 months old & I speak "Spanglish" but I can communicate quite well in Spanish though I know it's not proper Spanish. DH came from Honduras at 5 & his Spanish is much better.

DS (6) can count to 10 in Spanish, that's it. We speak in English at home & in Spanish when we don't want DS to understand

My DH has 2 nieces both born here, one is 27 & speaks Spanish, the 17 year old understands it but does not speak it

 

[Mysteria]

My husband is Puerto Rican and doesn't speak Spanish. Some words and phrases. All the curses of course.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Why do you ask?

I grew up not speaking Spanish. My parents would use it when they didn't want my brother & me to know what they were talking about, so I started taking it in 8th grade, all through college. I'm now fluent in it, so no more being out of the loop with family. lol

My kids, however, don't speak Spanish fluently. It's hard to remember to speak it when you're thinking in English.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

I'm curious as to why you asked as well.

And to add, I also know Chinese people who don't speak Chinese, Korean people who don't speak Korean, Vietnamese people who don't speak Vietnamese, Italians who don't speak Italian, Swedes who don't speak Swedish, etc, etc, etc.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

Me. I'm 1/4 Mexican. My Mom is half and half Filipino (and does not speak any Filipino dialect). She speaks fluent in Spanish, but really has no one to speak it with. She didn't teach it to me.

I understand most, but I don't speak it very well. I try to, but I get self-concious. My DBF and his family speak fluent Spanish (they are full Mexican) and speak it at home. I learn from being around him and his family, but like Mary Jo said, it's hard to speak it when you're thinking in English.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

As most people in the US aren't Native American, they came from somewhere else... I can assume most of them don't speak the language of their respective heritage be it German, Greek, Swedish, Russian, etc...

Americans don't even technically speak English, we speak American, since we don't use words like loo and bloody our friends across the Atlantic do.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Does my DH count?

He's 1/2 Mexican in origin, and we have a very Hispanic last name. The other 1/2 is Scottish. The full extent of his Spanish knowledge is, "Por favor mantegase alejado de las puertas." He took Latin in college.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

I'll flip the coin, DD and DS both have absolutely no Hispanic blood but speak Spanish fluently....

 

[NY Disney fan]

Why do you ask?

I asked because I am Hispanic (and look Hispanic) and do not speak Spanish. It is very embarrassing. My parents and grandparents (who were born and raised in the Carribbean) spoke to me in English b/c they believed I should know English. But as an adult, the English-only policy has backfired on me in my working life as well as personal. I feel like when a spanish speaking person asks me for directions I cannot speak to them. It makes me sad. I have tried to learn Spanish many many times but I just don't have enough opportunity to speak it b/c everyone in my family speaks English. Just wanted to know if there were others like me.

 

[NY Disney fan]

*blank*

 

[freckles and boo]

Our next door neighbors are Puerto Rican. There are four generations in the house. Grandma only speaks Spanish. Grandpa recently passed away and his English was poor but he always practiced by chatting with me. Mom (in her fifties) is fully bi-lingual and is a teacher who uses both languages every day. Her daughter speaks just enough to Spanish to communicate with Grandma but even I can tell her grammar is poor. She wants her little girl (now three) to learn Spanish much younger than she did so they have been using both languages in the home.

 

[NY Disney fan]

I swear I must be the only Hispanic person whose "off the boat" grandparents spoke to them in English.