Is it polite or racist to say "Gracias" to a Hispanic worker?
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M$8 Answers
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M$
I live in a college town, and on weekends work at a popular local bar. This area is, traditionally, very conservative and “outsiders” are sometimes judged harshly. A few weeks ago, some Korean students were speaking with me, I thought they might have been Chinese (due to the large number of Chinese IDs Id been seeing lately) and said “Thank you” in Chinese. They smiled, laughed, and corrected me (until I got it right). More recently I ran into one of the students, and threw a few words at him I looked up. He seemed overjoyed that I made the effort.
From my experience, I would say that the effort will bring more positive responses than not. And, if you wish, you may pick up more and more of the languages your less familiar with.
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M$
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M$
Completely agree with you @keepontryin ¿How could you be treated for racist just by saying "Gracias"? It is a dumb assumption.
Saying "Gracias" is a polite as anything else you can politely said in other language... "Danke", "Thank You", "Merci", "Grazie", "Obrigado", "Spasiba", "Domo Arigato".... and off course, "Mahalo".
@anonymous ¿Do you think the owner of this site ever had a racist assumption when he chose this name? On the contrary, “Mahalo” was chosen because it implied a nice and polite Hawaiian salute to everybody in the world. A powerful word... just as "Gracias" is to the Spanish speaking culture.
By speaking in Spanish, you're making an assumption that the person does not speak any English, and you may not have any way of knowing if this is true or not. I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it racist, but it could be considered rude.
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M$
Agreed on your second point. I often try to speak the native language of someone who is not fluent in English, just to have fun and show them that I enjoy them bringing their culture to America - but every once and awhile there'll be someone that comes back at me in English. They're annoyed because they think I'm underestimating their English, or they're trying to practice their English and I'm not helping. It's the same when I try to go abroad and speak a foreign language and everyone hears my accent and comes back at me with English - I get frustrated because I'm trying to make an effort in their language and they're not accepting it.
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M$You don't need a source to answer this question. It is just common sense.
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M$
If you're not sure if the person(s) will take offense, your best bet is to ask before doing. I believe that is the most polite way to approach the matter.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
