lunes, 30 de abril de 2018

Aggressive or Direct? Spanish Communication, by Liz Dohrn


After living for quite a while in Spain, I've come to notice that Spanish communication styles tend to be a lot more forward than what I am used to. For example, when walking into a shop, I'm used to being able to just browse for a little while before the store owner finally asks, “How can I help you?” In Spain, however, I’ve noticed that store owners will notice you immediately (especially if their shop is empty) and start with, “Dime.” It’s less roundabout than what I am used to and-for a lack of a better term-blunt. Shop owners get right to the point and ask what a person needs in their store before going to help them.
This trend seems to continue with regular conversation. When talking about “sensitive” subjects, Spaniards seem to get right to the point. If someone is fat, they’ll just call them fat. If they think a government leader is corrupt, they say so. Even the men when trying to catcall or flirt with ladies on the streets will say exactly what they want from the ladies rather than trying to “woo” them first. A foreigner may find this style very aggressive. Instead of treading lightly or being careful about other’s sensibilities, a Spaniard may instead just broach the topic immediately and continue on from there. A lot of Spaniards may even talk over one another to try and get their opinions in. Though this seems aggressive to many outsiders, I believe this communication style is more direct rather than “aggressive”. A majority of Spaniards simply wish to get to the point of the conversation so that they can either best help you or figure out what you would like to say. They don’t spend extra time on formalities.
Some may wonder why does this happen? Why is it so much more common for Spaniards to speak so directly? It could be because of the type of culture they live in and how their language functions. Spain as a whole is a blend of an individualistic and collectivist culture. While it definitely leans more towards individualism, the collectivist aspects come out with Spaniards focus on family. Because of this focus on family along with the individual, Spanish culture tends to be more informal on the whole. Instead of putting a barrier between oneself and the store owner, a store owner may instead treat you like a friend and use the informal version of you, tú. The fact that Spanish as a language has this distinction between the informal and formal language makes it easier for a speaker to get across their intent. Thus, Spanish communication isn’t “aggressive”. Rather, it’s simply a more direct style of speaking that focuses on getting to the heart of the conversation rather than muddling through pleasantries.

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