"Slylingual"
 
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"Slylingual"

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Living in Southern California I often encounter immigrants who are bilingual but feign ignorance of English went it suits them. Β There are also manyΒ localsΒ who appear to be stereotypical English-only speakers who are also fluent in 1 or more foreign languages but rarely get the opportunity to use them. Β I refer to such folkΒ as "slylingual".

A friend of mine is married to a very nice blonde "wasp" lady who also happens to be fluent in Spanish. Β One time the couple was dining at a family-owned Mexican restaurant. Β Two young men waiting tables were openly chattingΒ in Spanish aboutΒ her physical endowments and what theyΒ would like to be doing to her in the most explicit terms. Β At the end of the meal when she paid the bill she toldΒ the proprietress in perfect Spanish how offended she was byΒ the men's graphic sexualΒ comments. Β The owner, who had not heard the men's earlier conversation, was appalled by her sons behavior and apologized profusely. Β As the couple walked out the door they heard Mama "tearing her sons a new one".


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Hadn't heard that term, and I live in AZ where many people speak, try to speak, or don't speak Spanish. So I looked it up in the Urban Dictionary. As you can see, their definition varies slightly from yours, but I think it's the same basic idea.

Closest thing that I've experienced was back in 1991 when I traveled south to Cabo for the "Great Eclipse." We flew in and out the same day, as the eclipse was near noon on a Thursday and we were only able to get that one day off work.

I speak very little Spanish, so I learned what few phrases I thought I might need ahead of time with the assistance of a Spanish teacher from my school. After the eclipse, we went to a local bar where we intended to order champaign to celebrate the event. So we sat at the bar, and when the bartender approached, I struggled in my "best" Spanish to first greet him, then order a bottle of champaign with two glasses.

He patiently waited as I recited, stopped, started over a few times, and finally finished my request. When I was done, the bartender, smiling, spoke in perfect English saying "So you and your wife would like to celebrate with a bottle of champaign?" Some of the other patrons, hearing the exchange, broke into laughter. I was only slightly embarrassed, but now, in retrospect, I think maybe I was being slylingualized for the enjoyment of the staff.

Martha (if you're reading this): This is my 821st post. I just passed your post count. What do I win? Wait ... I just realized if you do respond, we'll be tied again. Never mind. :)


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