Having just had some experience with this (having traveled with my wife's family in Spain), some observations:
-e usually spoke in English except when talking to a pure Spanish speaker. This includes times when other non-English speakers were in the room, and I (the only non-Spanish speaker) was not.
-e's mom (a native Italian speaker who learned English as a child and Spanish later on) almost always spoke Spanish, even when around English speakers. She would switch to English to speak to me.
-e's dad was the most interesting (he's a native Spanish speaker who learned English in his 30s). He would often switch back and forth in the same sentence, and speak English to Spanish speakers (and vice versa) without noticing. Generally, what he spoke depended on what language he had just heard (not necessarily addressed to him).
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momijizukamori
no subject
Date: 2006-02-27 05:46 pm (UTC)-e usually spoke in English except when talking to a pure Spanish speaker. This includes times when other non-English speakers were in the room, and I (the only non-Spanish speaker) was not.
-e's mom (a native Italian speaker who learned English as a child and Spanish later on) almost always spoke Spanish, even when around English speakers. She would switch to English to speak to me.
-e's dad was the most interesting (he's a native Spanish speaker who learned English in his 30s). He would often switch back and forth in the same sentence, and speak English to Spanish speakers (and vice versa) without noticing. Generally, what he spoke depended on what language he had just heard (not necessarily addressed to him).