[ Bajo_cero2, on 17 December 2015 - 02:43 AM, said: I m not a native speaker, if you got offended, this is your problem.]
Apologies to the rest of the forum for diverting attention from this otherwise very important and interesting thread. I just feel the need to respond to Bajo's Personal insult and subsequent refusal to apologize, if you will all grant me this indulgence.
Bajo:
Ignorance of a language is not an excuse. If you accidentally insult someone because of your linguistic ineptitude, the only correct reaction is to say "I am sorry that I offended you through my own ignorance," rather than to say "I do not speak your language well, so if you were offended, this is your problem, not mine."
The people on this forum, for the most part, are not native Spanish speakers; we have our own problems expressing ourselves in another language, so we understand and sympathize with your ineptitude. But when you accuse a member of the forum of "vomiting hatred" and then, instead of apologizing for the offense, you say "I m not a native speaker, if you got offended, this is your problem," then I feel your own problem is one not of language but of basic manners. Allow me to help you.
When you insult someone, even accidentally, through ignorance of the language you are attempting to speak or for any other reason, it is incumbent upon you to apologize. Period.
A real apology must take the form "I am sorry that I _____."
A fake apology takes the form "I am sorry that you took offense."
A non-apology takes the form "If you were offended, this is your problem."
The above is a lesson provided gratis. For all future assistance, you will receive my invoice.
