I never talked much to people that use a lot of expressions, and the usage of Spanish terms, like “nada” or “amigo”, as I could observe from the outside, felt inconsistent. And upon thinking on that, it got me curious, is it common to use such expressions or not?
Partly depends on where you are. Southwestern states that have a border with Mexico tend to have more native Spanish speakers (not just immigrants, but also Chicano folks who were on the land before the US took it), so even the native English speakers tend to pick up a little Spanish.
Interesting. ¡Muchas gracias!
Now it makes me wonder if US states near Quebec use French expressions in a similar sense. "<.<
I’ve heard Americans use “Je ne sais quoi” for when they like something, but cannot articulate why.
“I love it, it’s got that je ne sais quoi”
We do! Although now I think about it, I haven’t heard many people say it ever since “vibe” got really popular as slang in recent years. More likely to hear “it’s got some kind of vibe” for the same purpose.
That makes me wonder, since I’ve heard things like “Je ne sais pas” shortened to “je pas” do people shorten “je ne sais quoi” to “je quoi”?
Not that i’ve ever heard as a resident of Kansas. But “je ne sais quoi” doesn’t come up in my life often.
I grew up in maine which has a large french population. People use quebecois swears like “putain” and “tabernack” but mostly use english. I can’t think of many french phrases that are used commonly. Just swears.