Yes you have to listen, but.............

Question

Here's a typical conversation I hear in San Antonio. No corrections. This what I hear.

Hi Mami, how ya doin'
Cansado

Hay vamos

That's right baby. Hang in there.

Don't get me wrong. I'm happy to hear anything resembling Spanish. I'm happy to understand that by "Hay vamos" she's basically conveying "we're still breathing." But the pickings are slim, and if you want to interact in Spanish you have to really step outside the box. I should point out, also, that in any given location in any given language conversations don't get much deeper unless you look. Then you have to talk them ito putting down there phone.

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Answer 1

You sure it's not "ahí vamos"? Sounds similar, but I think this would make more sense in context.

I'm pretty sure. I asked around. It's apparently an idiomatic expression of survival. - LaloLoco, Jul 24, 2011

Yes, gintar, you are right, it is: Ahí vamos. But some people just ommit the tilde of the í when they speak. ( A vice of diction). - Agora, Jul 24, 2011

¡Gracias, Agora! - gintar77, Jul 25, 2011

You are correct. I clarified this at work. - LaloLoco, Jul 25, 2011

Answer 2

Hay vamos = we're still living, we're just keepin' on or a hundred other ways to express just hangin' in there. It seems perfectly appropriate for this type of conversation.

"Hay vamos" is incorrect. "Ahí vamos", is the usual expression, but it is pronounced so fast, that the tilde of the "í " is lost in the pronunciation by many Spanish speakers . - Agora, Jul 24, 2011

That makes sense Agora, thanks very much :~) - Jack-OBrien, Jul 24, 2011