I was raised speaking two languages, Spanish and English. I say Spanish first because I was born in Ecuador, my roots and heart lie within my beloved country. Although it is my first language it has been super helpful to have learned to speak English as a young girl too. The people of Ecuador either live along the coast where the Spanish accent is much fluent and much less heavy from the people who speak Spanish along the north side of the country, which some individuals name it the mountains. There seems to be quite some stereotypes revolving around the kind of Spanish we speak. Whenever I come across someone new and they ask where I am from, the second I say Ecuador, they assume my accent is funny, heavy and rare. They refer to me as a “girl from the mountains”. Not that it necessarily bothers me because they’re ignorant most of the time but for instance…if I were to live and Ecuador and someone categorized me as a girl from the mountains, it would be of an offence to the individuals who live along the coast. There’s this stigma that implies that Serranos (Spanish word to describe the people who live in by the mountains) are often mean and poor. Meanwhile along the coast, we have large quantities of money due to the seafood and restaurants lined up by some of the most beautiful beaches. This makes some of the people feel completely superior.
To be completely honest, looking deeper into the way outsiders perceive Ecuador and the way my own people perceive each other is completely unnecessary and most importantly rude. Language is unique to a country and the way civilians choose to express and demonstrate their ability to speak it is more than awarding.
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