I'm from Massachusetts and will be visiting Los Angeles for the first time in a week. Here in MA everyone speaks English, but I heard people only speak Spanish in southern California. My friend visited there recently and was able to get by, but he learned Spanish in middle school and high school. I made a major mistake and chose French to learn. Should I learn some survival phrases before traveling?
Allison
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You feeble attempt at making a RACIST joke isn't funny. I thought all you Massachusetts liberals were supposed to be so damn tolerant of racial, and ethnic minorities. Apparently not.
Marion R
It is not racist to point out that there are a LOT of illegal aliens who come here with no respect for our culture and have no interest in speaking English. Having said that, your biggest concern will be learning how to drive in our driving culture. We stop at signal lights here usually a little before they turn red. Not 6 seconds after. YOU CANNOT JAYWALK HERE. You have to wait for the walk sign (which is a symbol of a guy looking like he's walking, in case you only speak French). If you cross on the red and the coppers catch you. It's a $110 ticket. NO JOKE. Although the cops don't give a rip if you get mowed down by a drunk illegal, there's a lot of revenue in making people with jobs pay fines. Double parking is done a lot in Boston. Your car will be towed, or someone will come in an tow YOU back out to your car to move it before they beat you if you try that on any street, not just major ones. There's a bunch of other stuff too, like using your turn signals and not driving drunk that may prove difficult for native Bostonians... (heh-heh) Hope I gave you enough s h i t. Come on out. The weather is wicked bitchin'
Mad Dog
You don't have to learn Spanish to visit Los Angeles.
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Most Spanish speakers speak it at home. They speak English in public, or at least can speak English. You will be find. Expect street vendors to offer you a Mango Salad.
Dances With Mops 2 - Mop Bucket Boogaloo
Don't worry. At least 30% of the L.A. area population speaks a variation of English. Some of their accents may take a few minutes to comprehend, especially those upper midwesterners.