That is all I wanted. To spark that desire to learn Spanish and be more dedicated to that goal. Oh my friend Torr I liked every single thing you said in defense of yourself. I truly did.....got you thinking didn't it? I am a cultural anthropologist....and love every human culture on the planet. I also happen to be a translator in more 3 languages and am trying to acquire two more. If I am tough and mean with you Torr it is to get you to be committed to Language Acquisition. I do not mean to sound arrogant and venomous to you. But I did get you riled. And the thing about Sapir-Worf and Boas.....those theories have held up for many decades all because the linguists such as Chomsky and others have seen it work consistently....it is theory of course as all science is....vaccinations are based on theory, yet people keep believing in the effectiveness of it because it works! Same for those theories on culture and language. And De Niro will be the first to admit he is not 100% Italian nor ever will be....he is norteamericano with some Italian influences.
And I wish I looked more African like my great-grandmother. But no....I look more like a Greek or an Italian with light skin and mediterranean features...lol....and I love my first cousins a whole bunch....they are half Puerto Rican and half Italian and don't speak a lick of Spanish like you (and very good looking)...and they cry and whine every time they go to PR for a visit cuz they can't communicate with their Jibaro Cousins in the mountains....and I give them grief too....I think one of them got tired of my grief and finally started studying it in his 30's.Lol. Now he thanks me for being a "b" with him about it....but if you don't like my insistence. I apologize sincerely Sr. Torr. And I believe in acceptance of stateside PR's in Puerto Rican society. But they do have to be open-minded enough to see value in learning Spanish and seeing Puerto Ricans as they are, and respecting the island culture enough to learn Spanish fluently (sin excusas) Smile. The intellectuals, the artists, the statesman, the good ones, the bad ones and the ugly ones. For any society is a whole world. Not just a little piece of a world Torr but a whole world. And that world is big enough for you Torr and for all the other lovers of Borinquen. Just don't want to change Puerto Rico feisty Torr into a mini Chicago, or mini New York or Mini Des Moines Iowa...no. The island already has enough pressures to drop its traditions and "melt away" what it needs are people who love her uniqueness and want to preserve what is truly different about it all.....not make it just another extension of USA dominant culture. I do not think southerners for example, New Orleaners want to be New Yorkers and vice versa. Puerto Ricans do not want to be other than what they are either. And by speaking Spanish with them you help in that process. It is a basic form of respect....especially towards a small country of not great wealth. Good Luck companero on your language quest.
Suki.