Etiquette-Please explain!
So one thing I've noticed as a white girl approaching people when attempting to practice my spanish outside of my work place is either the person I'm speaking to will be impressed that I've taken the time to learn spanish so I can speak to them in their own language or I get cut off really abruptly and told, "Mam, I'm not ignorant, I can speak English too." I always apologize in this situation. And say something like. "I didn't mean to offend you. I am learning spanish and I like to practice it." But since I'm already a really shy and non-confrontational people-pleaser type of person, I turn really red. It is really kind of a set-back for me because it's really discouraging me to interact with others. And I do understand that not every hispanic person speaks spanish so I always make sure that whoever I am approaching is speaking to someone in spanish first to avoid the afore-mentioned situation as much as possible. (I'm really sensitive) I really just kind of want to know why exactly this is offensive to some people if spanish is their first and preferred language? I don't mind if a hispanic person speaks to me in English??? Or is greeting someone in spanish improper etiquette if you don't know them?
25 Answers
Realmente no tengo idea de cuál pueda ser la causa. Sólo se me ocurre decirte que imagines por un momento que tú estás en sus zapatos. Por ejemplo, supón que vives en Francia, y que hablas perfectamente francés. De pronto, en tu oficina alguien se dirige a ti en inglés, porque sabe que eres americana. Quizá podrías pensar que está siendo un poco condescendiente, o que piensa que como eres americana no sabes el idioma.
Pero te repito, desconozco totalmente cuál sea la razón, porque nunca he vivido en Estados Unidos ni fuera de México.
Saludos.
Most of the other advice here is pretty good. I think if you´re in America, in most circumstances, it is rude to talk to strangers (presumably people who look Hispanic) in Spanish unless it becomes obvious they don´t speak English, or you tell them first in English that you want to practise your language skills.
I have the same problem in South America. People who speak English very badly will often address me in English even when I´ve spoken to them in Spanish. Unless the English of the person is at native-speaker level and clearly better than my Spanish, it´s very, very annoying.
I was in an Argentine hotel recently and the receptionist would ask me things in English, and when I replied in English, he didn´t understand a word. The conversation was becoming excruciatingly long for something so simple - checking into the hotel. So I switched to Spanish. To all my Spanish responses, he responded in his bad English. Utterly pointless and very irritating.
If you have sufficient language skills, it´s generally best to stick by the rule where you speak English in an English-speaking country and Spanish in a Spanish-speaking country. Unless it becomes obvious that the speaker has no English or no Spanish, or you make it clear in English that want to practise your language skills, best to stick to the language of the country.
Loren, from my experience I have found that most people who have ever tried to learn a foreign language know from,experience, how daunting/scary it can be trying to find the courage to practise their limited or developing language skills with other people especially natives.
It is more common and becoming increasingly so for people from other countries like Spain, France Italy and South America, especially young adults, to travel abroad and need people with whom they can practise their new skills so they usually understand better than most what it feels like to reach out and ask for help
I have to say the vast majority of my experiences practising and using Spanish with natives from Spain and South America have been positive and met with varying degrees of success.
From my experience I would say that great wisdom and sensitivity is needed in choosing who to ask for help in practising language skills: whatever the language: both with regard to the temperament /personality of the person and the timing. Build relationships with people/natives in other countries and you should hopefully develop an inner sense of peace in relating to some people more than others that is, you will feel more comfortable/at ease chatting to some people than to others. You will find you can ask them questions without fear of being made to look stupid and the body language will naturally include smiles and open handed gestures
I have successfully built up friendships with a family who own a hotel in Pineda de Mar near Barcelona and a restaurant owner in the Calella area on the beach I have had great chats with them in Spanish and can practise Spanish with them and ask about the Spanish culture and traditions and be well received.
My advice would be to any person wanting to practise with natives;
1 Choose people who are naturally friendly with whom you can chat easily even in English Bilingual natives are best if you are beginning so that if you do say something out of place they will more likely understand and correct you with gentleness and you can explain and apologise in English if necessary I would advise against approaching complete strangers in the street unless you are facing an emergency even then asking for help in a shop would be better.
2 Choose the timing of your request with respect and sensitivity so that you do not interrupt an important conversation they may be having with a potential client/customer. Show the same respect you would do to someone you would consider very important eg friends, family, a potential employer at an interview
3 Ask the question along the same pattern that Heidi showed in her thread: with respect although I would advise you to express it more simply so that peeple would not think that your Spanish is more advanced than it actually is.
¿Le importa,si practico un poco de espanol con Ud? Muchas gracias
I hope that helps
I am open to correction as usual 
lorena, I no longer attempt to communicate with Spanish speaking people in the manner you have described, with the exception of the lady at the local fruit stand. I have discovered that, in my area, people will only speak to a "stranger" in Spanish (or any other language, for that matter) if it is to their advantage to do so. That is a definite disadvantage for those of us who need to practice our Spanish, but that is the situation.
This is how I have handled the situation.
First, I volunteer at a free clinic that offers health care services to low income patients. Our "Spanish-speaking only" patients are more than happy to converse with me in Spanish, since we are providing a service for them. After a few visits, they are happy to help correct my grammar and pronunciation, and even ask me some questions about English.
Second, I attend a bilinqual church. We have services in both languages, and provide groceries, clothes, etc. to all sorts of people. I've been able to participate in services in English and Spanish. This community has been most helpful to support and correct me during the development of my language skills. But, even in this environment, substantial social elements still prevent consistent interaction. For example, I noticed one of our Spanish speaking members had a tire go flat in the parking lot. I went to the member and advised them of the problem and inflated the tire for them. Then another member came out and "dismissed" me from the service saying "some of the Hispanic people would handle it".
My point is this. Use the resources in your community to discover socially acceptable avenues of practicing your Spanish speaking skills. There are likely churches, civic or charity organizations that would love to have someone capable of speaking Spanish, even at a very low level of expertise.
Best wishes in your efforts!
Bombera says:
Well, I must say that I cannot agree with what you have just offered. I think that each of foreign language students has to go through the difficult phase of "slow communication" with native speakers. One of the reasons for that is to make them see that good command of a second language is necessary to communicate. Once they realize it, they will be possibly encouraged to put more effort in their studies.
It all depends on the circumstances. It is never a clear cut, one answer fits all sort of situation.
If we're talking about a social situation, a relaxed environment, a restful moment, when a Spanish learner approaches me and lets me know that she/he wishes to practice, that's one thing. Most of the time, under those circumstances, I don't mind spending some time helping the other person out. Having kids has taught me lots of patience. 
But if I am rushing to the supermarket to get a few things quickly, and somebody stops me and starts talking to me in broken Spanish, asking how to get to point X, which is rather far from where we are (this is a real example) - then I am sorry, I am not going to waste time and effort making something that is already complex even more difficult for the sake of the other person's interest in practicing. In cases like that I go straight to English, tell them quickly what they need to know, and we are each on our merry way to get what needs doing accomplished. In those cases, I have almost always encountered that the other person is actually grateful that he or she found someone who was able to provide them with the information they needed in their most familiar language.
I have been on both sides of the coin. My first experience in an all-English environment was in a Summer camp in the US when I was a young kid. It was a mixed experience, but in terms of the language, I got no concessions: I had to make myself understood with the amount of English I had at my disposal at the time, and I had to understand the instructions given to us in regular Upstate New York English, just like any other US kid. It wasn't easy, and it wasn't always a happy experience, but I had no choice but to make the effort, I learned a lot, and I survived the adventure.
How good is your Spanish?
When people approach me and talk to me in really crap English, I'll usually just keep talking to them in Spanish. This is not to be rude rather for sake of efficiency. If, and this is very often the case, it is obvious that someone is talking to me with the end of practising then I will engage them in slow English.
If it is not obvious to the people you approach why you are talking to them, they could be a little confused and if their English is miles better than your Spanish then it would probably be more natural for them to respond in English. And, if you are coming out with 'hello nice day you talk me' they may well take you for a mentalist .
Without delving into cultural differences, if your approach is perceived as unambiguous and non-threatening, then I'd reckon that the average person, so long as they have nothing pressing to do, would give you the time of day.
I knew enough Spanish to at least express my needs and wants before I ever attempted to 'practice' with someone in pubic. I have never had anyone treat me rudely or acted like I was imposing on their time. However, I try to evaluate the situation before I open my mouth. Many times I have asked the person I want to chat with if it's ok to speak in Spanish, and I've never been turned down. I have always thanked them for their patience with me when I left though. There's always the rude person in any language or country I suppose. I know a few Mexicans that flat will not speak Spanish in public, it's the strangest thing to me. In this same company one of the guys is Puerto Rican and he'll talk your ears off, in Spanish, it's a cultural thing I guess.
Having said all that, I've heard Americans 'trying out' their Spanish on some unlucky Hispanic that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, my God, if I had to endure too much of that my head would have exploded, even I couldn't stand that level of Spanish torture.
I was talking with a group of Mexican field workers in a restaurant one time, and admittedly I struggled at times because I had four people talking to me at once. One of the group kept trying to talk to me in English, but it was impossible, he just made no sense. What was quite funny to me, the waitress told this one guy, "speak Spanish, he can understand you, just talk a little slower".
I try to be sensitive of other peoples time, and I certainly don't want to make their ears bleed with my Spanish. Thankfully I've made enough Hispanic friends I don't have to impose myself too much on people that I don't know.
I am not sure. I think you are braver than me lol. But most people are thrilled when I try to speak spanish. To bring things in to perspective I was at the store with my non-english speaking buddy and he asked the latino cashier in english:
"You speak spaneesh?" The cashier laughed at him and was like, "Pffft. No."
I thought it was ironic... lol.
so I wouldn't let it get to you.
To Cristalino...I work in a small dental office! I wish! My co-worker is Puerto Rican and speaks no spanish. She says poquito and that's it! My "Mexican" neighbors are a second generation family and although they are bilingual they refuse to speak spanish. Furthermore they only speak to their kids in english. Which is kind of sad because when Maria's mother comes to visit (Her mom is from Mexico) she can't speak to her grandchildren. And the grandchildren can't speak to her. Then my "Venesuelan" neighbors speak only spanish in their home and know a little english. But I've found that their spanish, my spanish, my husband's spanish, and the "Mexican's" spanish are all a little different. This results in confusion! They have really strong accents, too! And speak fast! They are in the process of learning english as well! So a lot of times when I start off speaking spanish they start speaking english. (They want to learn, too lol) We have an "unspoken and understood" agreement that I'll speak to them in spanish and they will reply to me in English but it isn't very helpful. I much prefer to hear it spoken. Hear the way it's phrased. And neither of us correct each other! That's probably our second problem lol. Very good point though. I think I feel less embarassed when I approach a stranger because I know I'll probably never see them again! So if they laugh or make fun of me it's okay! I don't know them!
