Question:

Do American's know Spain is a European Country?

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I overheard a man tell a girl (Spanish) that he loved Spanish girls, and asked what kind she was.

She said - "Huh? What do you mean?"

He said - "Mexican, Cuban...you know, from where..."

She said - "I AM SPANISH. If I were from CUBA or MEXICO, I would have said I was CUBAN or MEXICAN."

I am also of Spanish decent, my grandparents are from there, and I am 2nd generation American. And I have run into the same thing often though I am light olive w/ hazel eyes. But when people say "What are you?" and I reply "Spanish" - its amazing how many ask "from where?"

Does anyone else find this - sad / funny / strange? When did being "Spanish" become ambiguous?

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  1. When I lived in New York, I noticed that a lot of people used the term "Spanish" to mean "Hispanic" or "Latino."  Hence the confusion regarding people who are actually Spanish from Spain.


  2. No, no one is aware of this fact. It probably began when people who refer to themselves as hispanic began misusing the term.

  3. yes.  Would you please explain it to all the latinos in here who do not realize, most of them are of european decent too?  Time and time again, they are bashing the europeans in America, but fail to realize, they too, have roots in europe!

  4. derrrrr - had no idea

  5. I DO! I have even been there. I have also been known to ask "from where?" as in Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, etc.

  6. Oh those nasty Americans, what more can they do wrong?

    Cute.  One answer stated: "yeah, Americans are basically retarded. And it's Americans without an apostrophe."

    Now that's worth a chuckle, ain't it.

  7. you could always reply "i'm american". some thick people out there, no doubt.

  8. You are confusing citizenship with ethnicity.

    Someone whose ancestors came from Spain is ethnically Spanish, but not necessarily a Spanish citizen unless they came from there.

    A person of Chinese ancestry in the US can say he's Chinese, even though he was born in the US and has never been back.  He can also say he's American.  One is ethnicity, the other is citizenship.

  9. I, for one, know the difference.

    Others, however, are confusing Spanish and Hispanic.

  10. In my experience the majority of (not all) Americans have not much of a clue about anything that is outside their own borders.

    So, in answer to your question, No, in general Americans DONT know Spain is in Europe.

    Here come the thumbs down.

  11. Spanish = From SPAIN

    Spanish speak a different language than Latin, as most Latin American countries have different words for the same thing.

    Why people don't know this is beyond my knowledge, could be the lack of improvements on America's educational system.

    I had some idiot tell me South American countries are in North America hence the name "South America."

  12. There are a lot of ignorant people in the world including American Born. Actually it became Politically Incorrect to call Latinos by their nationalities or Latino about 15 years ago but it did not stick so the use of Spanish to id people who are native Spanish speakers never caught on. Are you aware that if Arabic is your native language then you are an Arab? Same idea was pushed by the PC crowd but it never caught on. Be glad very glad.

  13. I don't think it's that terrible, it's the people from the US who don't know their congressman's name or who's running for president.

  14. So your judging an entire nation based on one idiot.

    From what I have seen, the rest of the world knows nothing about Americans and insults them out of jealousy.

    Wow.

  15. i know that and im sure many other americans do but there are a lot of dumb people here as looks can get you buy in the states

  16. Especially, nowadays when people have mixed racial marriages and kids, it's kind of hard to tell your background.  Most people think that all spanish-speaking people are the same, but they're really not.  It's just the common language that they share.

  17. well i'm colombian...

    and i live in the us...

    they probably so know they just confuse the word spanish and think it means people who speak spanish instead of people who are from spain.

  18. "Americans" know this.  I'd suggest that you not form sweeping opinions based on overheard conversations between strangers.  It's typically not a good judgment call and rarely accurate.  (And apparently, you had no idea of the nationality of this stranger either.  You were making an assumption.  It's a big leap.)

  19. Of course, we realize Spain is in Europe. It's a lovely nation and I enjoyed visiting there. It was quite revealing to hear Spaniards discuss the use of the word "hispanic" so broadly in the world. For many of them, the term is theirs and abused by others in the world and they find that insulting.

  20. yes, in the 5th grade some 30 yrs ago

  21. Maybe they are confusing "Spanish" with "Hispanic."  Also, maybe because the language most Hispanics speak is referred to as Spanish, not Mexican or Cuban or whatever.  But, yes, I think unless you're a moron, most people recognize that Spain is a country in Europe.

  22. Not everyone studies where everyone is from.

    I find it fine.

  23. its sad isnt it

  24. You seem to be a bit confused yourself, you're an American if you're a U.S. citizen. Your grandparents may have been Spaniards, but not you.

  25. yeah, Americans are basically retarded. And it's Americans without an apostrophe.

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