On Foreign Language and Culture
Sep. 25th, 2008 08:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ste_noniI'm at the office this morning but I'm slightly irritated that I'm here and not quite ready to work yet so I'm passing time on LJ.
I've had a few interactions lately that have got me thinking a lot about speaking a second language and how much it affects how I view my work here. Yesterday, the immigration judge asked me something, in Spanish, along the lines of, "Is Julie out there?" And I answered, I forget in which language, that she was in the other court room. And she said, "No, is she still there?" and I said, "Her hearing is over." And then she said something, in English, about "I'm just asking because I have these papers for her" and then I offered to take them to Julie. But the whole thing was awkward because I thought I understood what she was asking me, but when she kept repeating it, I felt like I wasn't getting it.
A few days ago, one of the attorneys came up to me and asked me, out of the blue, "Que tuviste?" Now, when I write it like that, you know she was asking, "What did you have?" and as I discovered a few seconds later, she was asking me if I had a boy or a girl. But what I heard was, "Que tu viste?" meaning, "what did you see?" and I was totally confused. She repeated it twice and then switched to English.
I hate these sort of interactions in Spanish. If you ask me a specific question or tell me some specific answer, 90% of the time, I get it. But the casual, vague small talk throws me off all the time. And while in the United States I'm slightly proud of the fact that I, a 100% gringa from Minnesota, am speaking Spanish pretty well, here in Puerto Rico, I feel dumb because most of the educated people here are 90% bilingual. I was telling all this to Joe this morning and he says I'm letting my pride get in the way, meaning I guess, that I should be okay with being embarrassed occasionally and just accept that my Spanish isn't fluent. And I really try to do that.
But I don't get why people like the judge and this attorney, who know I'm from the States and have heard me muddle through trying to get my point across in Spanish keep addressing me in Spanish. It makes me feel like they are testing me or subtly telling me, "hey, you are on our turf; speak our language." (I suppose I should add that all this goes on in the immigration office/court where all official proceedings are in English but because Spanish is the first language for almost everyone, most of the casual stuff is in Spanish.) And I really try but it adds such a huge level of anxiety and discomfort to common interactions that I hate doing it. I suppose it's possible that they don't realize how uncomfortable I am, especially since I *understand* fairly well and speaking is my real weakness. So maybe I should be flattered or touched that they don't see this huge language chasm that I see.
Still, I long for an environment in which I can simply do. my. job. and not always have language be this huge barrier.
I've had a few interactions lately that have got me thinking a lot about speaking a second language and how much it affects how I view my work here. Yesterday, the immigration judge asked me something, in Spanish, along the lines of, "Is Julie out there?" And I answered, I forget in which language, that she was in the other court room. And she said, "No, is she still there?" and I said, "Her hearing is over." And then she said something, in English, about "I'm just asking because I have these papers for her" and then I offered to take them to Julie. But the whole thing was awkward because I thought I understood what she was asking me, but when she kept repeating it, I felt like I wasn't getting it.
A few days ago, one of the attorneys came up to me and asked me, out of the blue, "Que tuviste?" Now, when I write it like that, you know she was asking, "What did you have?" and as I discovered a few seconds later, she was asking me if I had a boy or a girl. But what I heard was, "Que tu viste?" meaning, "what did you see?" and I was totally confused. She repeated it twice and then switched to English.
I hate these sort of interactions in Spanish. If you ask me a specific question or tell me some specific answer, 90% of the time, I get it. But the casual, vague small talk throws me off all the time. And while in the United States I'm slightly proud of the fact that I, a 100% gringa from Minnesota, am speaking Spanish pretty well, here in Puerto Rico, I feel dumb because most of the educated people here are 90% bilingual. I was telling all this to Joe this morning and he says I'm letting my pride get in the way, meaning I guess, that I should be okay with being embarrassed occasionally and just accept that my Spanish isn't fluent. And I really try to do that.
But I don't get why people like the judge and this attorney, who know I'm from the States and have heard me muddle through trying to get my point across in Spanish keep addressing me in Spanish. It makes me feel like they are testing me or subtly telling me, "hey, you are on our turf; speak our language." (I suppose I should add that all this goes on in the immigration office/court where all official proceedings are in English but because Spanish is the first language for almost everyone, most of the casual stuff is in Spanish.) And I really try but it adds such a huge level of anxiety and discomfort to common interactions that I hate doing it. I suppose it's possible that they don't realize how uncomfortable I am, especially since I *understand* fairly well and speaking is my real weakness. So maybe I should be flattered or touched that they don't see this huge language chasm that I see.
Still, I long for an environment in which I can simply do. my. job. and not always have language be this huge barrier.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-25 03:29 pm (UTC)I get the frustration, though.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-26 12:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-26 11:20 am (UTC)So, if I feel this way in a class, I can only imagine how you feel in a court room. I agree that it's probably just that that's the language that they think in, so they speak in it unless they have to code switch. But, it forces you to code switch, and that's uncomfortable for you, which sucks.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-26 12:54 pm (UTC)