There’s More to Spanish Than the Lingo

You’ve always wondered what that souvenir vendor in Tijuana said when you turned down his offer to buy one of his cute little clay frogs.

You hate it when Mexican boys dressed in ragged clothes wipe the windshield of your car as you sit waiting at a stoplight, ignoring your waving arms and shouts of “No!”

Well, learning a little Spanish will certainly help you to communicate better with Mexicans. The trouble is, learning the language is only a start. You’ve got to know a little about culture, body movement and psychology, too.

That knowledge is especially important to businessmen, according to Tom Webber, who teaches Spanish to the employees of American corporations that have maquiladoras --manufacturing plants--in Tijuana. In addition to providing instruction in grammar and vocabulary, Webber tries to instill an understanding of the cultural differences between Americans and Mexicans.

His classes include field trips to Mexico and an overview of Mexican history, and are spiked liberally with insights that he has gained from more than 20 years of doing business in Mexico.

“We work on culture right from the beginning of the classes,” said Webber, 42, “because Mexicans are particularly sensitive to what other people demonstrate they know about Mexican culture.”

In addition, cultural differences between Mexicans and Americans are sharper than many people realize and can lead to serious misunderstandings, Webber said. In business, “it can lead to tension so thick you can cut it with a knife. The Mexican employees become uncooperative,” he said.

In his courses--which typically are taught twice a week for four months at a company’s factory site--Webber, who has a master’s degree in Spanish from Middlebury College in Vermont and has worked as a farm supervisor and clothing importer, emphasizes that “it’s important for Mexicans to work for someone they respect.” Learning how to greet someone or give instructions in Spanish goes a long way toward building that respect, he pointed out.

It might also help lower your cab fares. Mexican cabbies often offer lower fares to people who negotiate with them in Spanish.

For businessmen, maintaining a cordial but formal relationship with employees is also important. Mexicans may interpret a boss’s efforts to be “one of the guys” as a sign of weakness, Webber said.

On the other hand, it’s common in Mexico to place a friendly hand on the shoulder of the person you’re talking to.

“Even when you’re criticizing someone, it’s crucial to make it clear that you’re more interested in the personal relationship with them than the problem you’re discussing,” Webber said. Knowing and acting on such unspoken traditions “shows the Mexicans that you’re aware of their culture,” he added.

“When Mexicans see Americans making an effort (to understand their language and culture), they look at you differently. They’re more responsive,” agreed Brenda Schuller, personnel administrator at Information Magnetics, a San Diego corporation that manufactures computer components at a factory in Tijuana.

Tension between Mexican and American employees at the factory had risen to an uncomfortable level when Schuller recommended that Webber be brought in to teach Spanish to 50 American employees last October. Two months’ worth of classes “helped in establishing a better rapport between the two groups, and for that alone they would have been worth it,” Schuller said. “Culture is an important part of the classes.”

Field Trips

As part of his classes, Webber usually leads students on field trips to the Tijuana Cultural Center and the nearby outdoor market. At the cultural center, “they learn about the Aztecs and find out that Mexico is not just a tourist trap for Americans,” Webber said.

The outdoor market is a kind of controlled introduction to the sights, sounds and tastes of Mexico.

“It adds perspective to their concept of the country, demystifies it a little,” Webber explained. The field trips “sound like the simplest thing in the world, but a lot of my students walk away from them saying, ‘I can’t believe it.’ It’s a real eye-opener for them.”

As for getting those boys to stop wiping your car’s windshield while you sit waiting for a stoplight to turn green, it’s easy--if you know how to say no.

Instead of waving your arms frantically, simply raise your forefinger and waggle it as if you’re cautioning someone, Webber suggested. That’s how Mexicans say no, and the gesture will usually stop any unwanted actions immediately.

“Unspoken language--gestures, tone of voice, even how you stand in relation to the person you’re speaking to--is at least as important as spoken language,” said Webber. The Mexicans in particular perceive such things “as a way of demonstrating that you know something about their culture--that you care.”