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You are doing the correct thing. In Spanish tell them that you want to practice your Spanish. They are just trying to be helpful.

A lot of the Puerto Ricans have spend time in the states, so they are used to switch languages, some were born in the states from Puertorrican parents so English is natural to them just like Spanish. Don't fret, stick to Spanish and fall back to English when absolutely necessary. Watching Spanish channels on TV and Spanish news will also help you.

I think it’s wonderful that you want to emmerse your family in the culture. Some may  switch to english also to avoid any misunderstandings when providing a service like taking a food order.

Give it a little time. You will start to become a regular in your area and locals will know you aren't a tourist just passing by. I spend most of my time in a smaller neighborhood in Camuy where many don't speak English so it was a must to continue to work on my Spanish daily  just to be able to communicate with anyone besides my wife. After the first few months  of seeing me repeatedly around town I could see the locals in my area were starting to pick up my accent and I started to receive much praise for practicing with them.  We are now  in the process of getting a place in Isabela to be closer to the water for our son and weekend getaways for us and it's like starting all over with getting to know the locals and letting them know I'm not with the military, and not with FEMA etc but its been a great way to practice and get to know them better because now my Spanish much improved from when I arrived here a few years back....but it's  still a work in progress.

If you want to continue to work on your Spanish I wouldn't switch when someone answers you back in English, but rather  politely  let them know you are working on it and most will be glad to oblige and help....especially if done with a smile.  I think soon you will find that  a far  greater amount of people will be willing to talk Spanish with you and very appreciative that you are attempting to speak it than those in opposition and insisting to just speak English with them.

Speak Spanish whenever possible, explaining why you want to do so, but switch the English when they want to or clarity demands it.

I'm with Rey. I think they speak English back to be polite and courteous, knowing it is a struggle for English-speakers. I just tell them I would like to practice my Spanish and would appreciate it be corrected if I'm sayihng something wrong. This request puts us both at ease and let's them know I am serious about wanting to be part of THEIR culture.

I think you might be starting in the wrong place. We have some of the hardest to understand spanish, and broken spanish between Latin America

Perhaps they would also like to practice their English since they realize it's vital for business.. Give them a chance as well! Bilingual goes both ways.

As mentioned above, it's tougher learning Spanish in PR, no doubt, for two reasons at least: (1) the Spanish is spoken very quickly, and (2) so many people speak good or even perfect English. I learned in Panama, where few people spoke English, where the accent is quite neutral, and where the speed is not too fast or too slow. Perfect for Goldilocks, in other words. Colombia is good too although the accent moves further away from neutral there than it is in Panama.

That said, don't give up. Just bull through it, don't fear sounding silly (it's inevitable), and in my opinion, don't do a long preamble about why you're trying. Just jump in with two feet and roll with it.

Some people are very good at speaking Spanish back to you even when their English is excellent. These people are in the minority, though, in any country.

The biggest issue for a new language learner is the lack of words. It's hard for you to practice speaking when you run up against the wall of not knowing any more words to add to a sentence or conversation. This is my big struggle with learning Arabic, where I can't fall back on some rudimentary bastardized Latin to try and fill a blank.

To address this problem as efficiently as possible, I suggest reading the local newspapers line by line (they're pretty entertaining in you don't let the news depress you). Don't stop just because you don't understand a sentence or even a paragraph and look up the words you notice that seem to be key to the story. Have your dictionary next to you.

As Spanish is 99% pronounced the way it is written (well, in PR, maybe it's 90% overlap due to the occasional switch of an "l" for an "r"  and the "a'o" in place of the "ado"), sound out the words in your head when you read and then use one or two the next chance you get when speaking. It's all about building a chain of words that you can eventually rearrange in expanding iterations.

Honestly, nothing will make you learn a foreign language faster than a love interest who doesn't speak your native language. But when that's not the case, we make due with the motivation that we've got.

The official language  of Puerto Rico is listed as; English and Spanish, according to the PR constitution.

mac00677 wrote:

The official language  of Puerto Rico is listed as; English and Spanish, according to the PR constitution.

I just went thru the constitution and could not find anything about English (Ingles) being an official language. It does state that you can not be a member of the senate or the representatives unless you can read and write both English and Spanish, but that is the only section that I found that mention English. --"Section 5. No person shall be a member of the Legislative Assembly unless he is able to read and write the Spanish or English language and unless he is a citizen of the United States and of Puerto Rico and has resided in Puerto Rico at least two years immediately prior to the date of his election or appointment. No person shall be a member of the Senate who is not over thirty years of age, and no person shall be a member of the House of Representatives who is not over twenty-five years of age."

(Spanish)

PR gov official version (in Spanish)

On January 4, 1993, the 12th Legislative Assembly, with the support of the newly elected PNP government of Pedro Rosselló González passed Senate Bill 1, establishing both Spanish and English as official languages of the government of Puerto Rico.

-Nancy Morris (1995). Puerto Rico: Culture, Politics, and Identity. Praeger/Greenwood. p. 62. ISBN 0-275-95228-2.

mac00677 wrote:

On January 4, 1993, the 12th Legislative Assembly, with the support of the newly elected PNP government of Pedro Rosselló González passed Senate Bill 1, establishing both Spanish and English as official languages of the government of Puerto Rico.

-Nancy Morris (1995). Puerto Rico: Culture, Politics, and Identity. Praeger/Greenwood. p. 62. ISBN 0-275-95228-2.

Yes, so it was not the constitution, just a law. Cool.
Funny US does not have an official language.

In my humble opinion it's not rude....You have to learn another language you need the practice...They would understand....Try to switch to Spanish channels or read Spanish news to get accustomed to the language . That's what I did to learn another language...and did work for me.......exito....

Many do not mean to be rude; it's just the same, as if you were trying to learn another language, and were afraid to look or feel stupid... insecurity is what it is, but it is, what it is! You could learn Spanish from Rosetta Stone, or any of the competitors, but come to PR, and try that stuff! They speak Puerto Ricani here!, (which a fluent Spanish Speaker could understand; but they go at 78rpm, when we are used to the newer 45rpm records... now that's a blast from the past!).

LOL, The more you hear it, the more your ear is in tune. Even I miss a word or two from time to time and have to figure out the word from the context. Just tell them to slow down, they will understand.

I interact with people that speak Spanish from all over the world and can tell you that Spanish is Spanish. Each country has their "Sayings / idioms" and has some native words, and some made up words, but they are not that many. Then there are common choices of words like Cake in English can be Torta or Biscocho depending on the country, or Bug is called Bicho in some countries which is the slang word for the male organ in PR, it is a mater of conversation context. Another example of common words is Car in English is Coche in some countries and Carro in Puerto Rico, both are correct words but it is a choice of the people as to which they natively use, but either way we understand each other regardless of which you use. It takes time to know them all, but it is the same in English, there are many made up words, Sayings and choices of words in each state. A. Spanish dictionary is your friend. I remember reading the English dictionary from cover to cover multiple times when I was learning English, I found many words not in common use that made my vocabulary grow and grow, or like they say in the use "Grow by leaps and bounds".

Mac I liked the analogy about the record speeds, I found it funny.