In an attempt to avoid offending my Spanish speaking clientele......
Yesterday I was trying to stumble through a Spanish conversation and needed to use a word that means "neighborhood." I almost went with "barrio," but even though I know this word translates to "neighborhood," I heard that it is more synonymous to an area that we would consider "the ghetto," or "the hood."
I really don't want to offend anyone by referring to their neighborhood as a hellhole. My Spanish is already offensive enough just through its sheer crappiness (there's a good made up word for all of you native Spanish speakers).
Any advice on whether my assumption is accurate, and if so, what you would recommend for a replacement?
5 Answers
Simple: De que vecindad/lugar/colonia/pueblo/ciudad eres? You never said where you are located. Some times it is good to know the origins of your clientele before using the above words. For example, if people used to live in the city before, saying barrio should be ok. In some countries, cities are divided in colonias. A bit complicated because of your diverse clientele.
Colonia or Pueblo. Although Barrio may not be PC in the US it is fine here in Mexico.
At least here (Arg) we say "barrio" and there is nothin bad but do you want something safe? say Vecindario. Me mude a un barrio de buena gente ¿De que barrio sos?, etc.
Barrio de Recoleta (is not a "ghetto")
When you feel uncertain about what term to use in such situations, it's a good practice to use neutral words. In this case, I'd probably use vecindario. Overall, when one is concerned about possibly offending others, one could develop a list of such "neutral" words. Then you won't always be worried about offending others when you are using a 2nd language.
In my (limited) experience, when people want to refer to the ghetto, they just say "ghetto" or specifically say the neighborhood is bad.
The best way to sure though, is to simply ask your friends about whatever it is you have doubts about.
