Hispanic Culture: Meeting and Greeting People
Hispanic Culture: Meeting and Greeting People via The LEAF Project
Hispanic Culture: Meeting and Greeting People
Knowing how to introduce people will give you added confidence, both professionally and socially, when dealing with host-country nationals. One advantage that Spanish-speaking people enjoy in making introductions is that they do not need to remember the name of the person who is being introduced. They can simply say “un amigo,” thus avoiding the embarrassment of forgetting someone’s name; it is then up to the person being introduced to give his/her name. When introducing two people, it is customary to introduce the younger person to the older person, the man to the woman, and the person of lower rank to the one of higher rank. Upon introduction, it is also customary with both men and women to shake hands. When giving their names, some people may add polite phrases, such as a sus órdenes or para servirle (“at your service”), or su servidor or un servidor (“your *humble* servant” – used by men).
Vocabulary:
a sus órdenes : “at your orders”
para servirle : “at your service”
Questions:
Is it always necessary to remember people’s names in Hispanic culture?
The LEAF Project
www.leaflanguages.org
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