HOW TO SPEAK SPANISH?

How do Latinos judge Latinos who speak limited Spanish?

• I have a friend who is Mexican-American who moved here when he was young, but was never taught Spanish. He grew up not being able to communicate with his family often, as well as other Latinos in his school and community. He has also been insulted by other Latinos who claim that "he isn't one of them" since he knew little to nothing of the language. He began teaching himself a while back (2006), and within a few months afterwards, he was able to converse in Spanish to his family much better than he did before he started teaching. By all means, he is not fluent, but was able to learn quite a bit in a short amount of time (probably due to his exposure to Spanish at home with his family, who spoke Spanish first). Fast forward to today, his Spanish has improved greatly, albeit he does make minor mistakes on occasion, plus he has also become proficient in two languages: French and Portuguese. He, however, still has problems with being disrespected by other Latinos because his Spanish is only fluent and not perfect (I don't believe in this term, anyway), while at the same time, he's made friends with countless of other Latinos from various South American countries who don't seem to mind that his Spanish is limited. Question is: Is it fair that other Latinos can judge him because of where he grew up and what language he spoke? I myself am Bolivian-American (and my Spanish is far more "fluent" than his) but I've come to greatly respect him for the effort he's put in to learn the language of our region (Latin America) and to understand the history and culture of Mexico. When we were little, we couldn't say anything to each other in Spanish, but nowadays it's the only language we talk in. He claims that he doesn't care about those who don't respect him because of his limited Spanish, but I have seen the insults get to him often... How do Latinos generally react towards Latinos who speak limited Spanish, but is eager to learn more?

• Answer:

  Only idiots would insult or disrespect your friend for his "limited" Spanish, especially since he can now converse fluently in it. In general, it should not be a problem.