George Costanza
A Friendly Liberal
Consider this hypothetical: An American-born and raised Hispanic person who speaks flawless English. If you were talking to this person over the phone, and did not otherwise know him/her, you would think you were talking to a caucasian who spoke perfect English without the slightest trace of an accent.
That is, until the person came to a word of Spanish or Mexican origin. Then, in speaking that word, they suddenly slip over into heavy, Hispanic pronunciation.
Here, in the Los Angeles area, there is a helicopter radio traffic person by the name of Jorge Jarrin. Jorge delivers his daily traffic messages without the slightest trace of accent until he comes to the names of streets with Spanish or Mexican origin. Then he suddenly becomes Senor Espana.
I see this a lot at work. The vast majority of the people in my office and in my court, are Hispanic. Not all of them do this, but many of them do.
I submit that this is racist. I am offended by it. I view it as saying: "I'm happy to speak your silly little language in the same way you do, but when it comes to words from my native country, let's never forget that I am from that country and you are not!" Quite often, the (Spanish origin) words are spoken in a clearly superior tone, with a clearly smug, superior attitude on the part of the speaker.
That's how I see it. How about you?
That is, until the person came to a word of Spanish or Mexican origin. Then, in speaking that word, they suddenly slip over into heavy, Hispanic pronunciation.
Here, in the Los Angeles area, there is a helicopter radio traffic person by the name of Jorge Jarrin. Jorge delivers his daily traffic messages without the slightest trace of accent until he comes to the names of streets with Spanish or Mexican origin. Then he suddenly becomes Senor Espana.
I see this a lot at work. The vast majority of the people in my office and in my court, are Hispanic. Not all of them do this, but many of them do.
I submit that this is racist. I am offended by it. I view it as saying: "I'm happy to speak your silly little language in the same way you do, but when it comes to words from my native country, let's never forget that I am from that country and you are not!" Quite often, the (Spanish origin) words are spoken in a clearly superior tone, with a clearly smug, superior attitude on the part of the speaker.
That's how I see it. How about you?