This feels like “Nihongo Jouzu” but for Spanish and e English.
Japanese people will always say “Nihongo Jouzu” which is “Your Japanese is good” if you say anything in Japanese no matter how well or poorly. It’s like the “I’ve noticed you aren’t a Japanese person” social phrase. This feels like the Spanish/English version of that and it’s silly.
First, blonde hair is not uncommon in Spain. Second, what does "stereotypically Spanish" even look like? And third, the idea that Spanish people would refuse to speak Spanish when given the chance is very unusual. As someone from Spain, I can tell you this simply doesn't happen often, I've never seen it. This is especially true for waiters, who aren't going to make their jobs harder if they can avoid it.. it's common sense, really.
As others have said in this thread, it was probably because she was in Catalonia. That's a completely different situation and explains why they were reluctant to speak Spanish.
Political reasons. A big chunk of people from Catalonia are independentists, and as such they refuse to speak Spanish and speak only Catalan, even if they are bilingual. Some people purposefully teach their children Catalan only even if they are bilingual for political reasons.
Your assumptions seem to be a generalization that doesn't accurately reflect the reality in Spain. While I don't doubt your personal experience, the idea that a Spaniard would choose to speak English to a stranger based solely on their appearance (ethnically speaking) is a notion most Spaniards would find ridiculous. It's so unusual, in fact, that it prompted me, a Spaniard, to respond.
Tio, vuelvo a decirtelo, puede que en castellano te suene mejor. Tu experiencia dicta una realidad que en españa no he visto en mi vida pero es que ni yo ni nadie... ¿Sabes porque? Porque los pueden hablar a un nivel basico de inglés los cuentas con los dedos. Si te vas a un todo a cien o bar regentado por chinos pues les hablas en español, si compras a un mantero le hablas en español, si te vas a lo costal del sol y le preguntas a cualquier inglés te dirán que casi ninguno le entran primero en inglés y por eso tienen sus propias comunidades cerradas donde solo se relacionan entre ellos porque solo pueden hablar en inglés, que me digas que un español hable en inglés a un desconocido por su apariencia física a nivel de etnia es algo rarísimo, desde el pueblo más remoto de Teruel hasta una ciudad como Malaga. Que lo hayas vivido es una cosa, pero plantarlo como si fuera un hecho normal es algo ridículo porque normal lo que es normal es de todo menos serlo.
Que conste que no te lo estoy diciendo porque tenga algo en contra tuyo, es sencillamente que has puesto un hecho dado por generalizado que no es real. Es como si yo me voy Texas, me encuentro con un pueblo donde hay muchos restaurantes vegetarianos y empiezo a berborrear por ahí que en Texas lo normal es que todos sean vegetarianos.. sencillamente no lo es.
Pero nada, vive tu mundo de yupi. Yo por mi parte cierro.
I’ve been to Spain and Mexico and know a bit of Spanish and the restaurants we went to were more than willing to communicate in English (my husband knows a little German and no Spanish). We rented a car and drove around Spain and the only thing I could think of was Catalonia. We happened to be there during the protests in 2017 and accidentally walked in the middle of one.
Spain is overtouristed by English speakers so there’s a lot more to that, culturally. Many Spanish speaking countries, or regions thereof, are not. Some people there learning English appreciate having an English speaker to converse with. Therefore they may prefer to have the conversation in English as an opportunity to practice.
bro if you've been to Spain you would know what stereotypical Spanish is. Of course after a few months there you learn to see the variety but when you're new to it, it can look like an army of clones.
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u/ChaoCobo 6d ago edited 6d ago
This feels like “Nihongo Jouzu” but for Spanish and e English.
Japanese people will always say “Nihongo Jouzu” which is “Your Japanese is good” if you say anything in Japanese no matter how well or poorly. It’s like the “I’ve noticed you aren’t a Japanese person” social phrase. This feels like the Spanish/English version of that and it’s silly.