In the United States, Spanish is the second most spoken language in the country. Yet anyone who has spent time with it will have found that many Latinos prefer not to use it in their daily lives, even when they have mastered it. A curious phenomenon which … This disconcerts many a newcomer.
Spanish designer Teresa Furquet, who lived for more than two years in the United States, spoke on this subject. In one of the most viewed posts on his TikTok account, he wonders why there are Latinos who don’t speak to him in Spanish. And he makes it clear from the start that he is not referring to those who cannot speak it. “I have lived in the United States for two and a half years and this has happened to me several times,” she summarizes at the start of the video before recounting two examples which, according to her, were particularly brazen.
Spanish in the United States
The first happened at his job, in a cafeteria where virtually the entire staff was Latino. She went there with two Peruvian companions, she placed her order in Spanish and, despite this, the man who served her always responded in English. But with her classmates, she spoke Spanish without any problem. It wasn’t a misunderstanding either. He understood her perfectly, he simply responded in English and that was that. Teresa never asked him why, because it seemed like an uncomfortable situation, but she admits that she couldn’t understand it.
The second case occurred in the elevator of his building. He coincided with an entire Latin family. When they learned that she spoke Spanish, everyone started speaking to her in Spanish as well. Everyone except the mother. The conversation flowed naturally, five people speaking the same language, but every time Teresa spoke to her, the woman responded in English. The curious thing is that with the rest of his family, he spoke Spanish perfectly normally. Another situation that Teresa says left her completely confused.
From here, try to find an explanation. He says he’s met many U.S.-born Latinos whose native language is English and who don’t feel comfortable speaking Spanish. Even some who understand it, but do not master it. In these cases, he understands it and switches to English without problem. What they don’t understand is when the person has Spanish as their native language, speaks it with their family, uses it with everyone around them, and yet when they speak in Spanish they receive responses in English.
@teresafurquet Why are there Latinos who don’t speak Spanish to me in the United States? As much as I think about it, I can’t find a reason… I’m not saying that this is the general trend, in two years this will have happened to 4 or 5 people, but when it happens, I continue to think about the problem. Knowing different languages seems to me to be a real cultural asset. 🤔
♬ original sound – Thérèse Furquet
Teresa insists this isn’t about pride or correcting anyone. It just baffles him that two people whose native language is Spanish would deliberately switch to English for no apparent reason. “Yes, we are in the United States, but our native language, yours and mine, is Spanish,” he concludes.
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