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Agreed. It'd be akin to saying "hola amigo" to an American scientist.

wyldfire 9y ago
Are you agreeing with Amir or Cacti? "Hola amigo" is an expression that many US Americans understand and do occasionally use to greet one another.
- mfoy_ 9y ago
  I think that answers your question. He's just drawing a more familiar parallel.
- totalZero 9y ago
  With Amir. Given the context of an intelligence officer knocking on an unfamiliar person's hotel room door unexpected and asking them to defect, I think "salaam habibi" would strike most Farsi speakers as a bizarre and malapropos greeting. "Hola amigo. I’m from the CIA, and I want you to board a plane with me to the United States." I see it as an indicator of careless journalism that the author is citing an unnamed source "familiar on the matter" about a 10-year-old conversation that he seems not to have transcribed into the right language. I put it into the same category of people who ask what part of Mexico the Puerto Ricans are from.
  - mikeash 9y ago
    I get what you're saying, but "hola amigo" is a really bad example of it. There are 40 million Spanish speakers in the US and tens of millions more use Spanish phrases routinely as a personality quirk. "Hola" and "amigo" are both words that I'd expect most Americans to understand, and I wouldn't bat an eye if a CIA agent greeted my in that way, assuming the context wasn't too formal. Maybe a better example would be... well, if they put their hand over their heart and said "salaam habibi" to an American scientist.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
    - mason55 9y ago
      Yeah, maybe I watch too many movies, but "hola amigo" feels like a totally appropriate greeting before you're about to do some shady spy shit. I think that it's actually a good greeting because it indicates to the other person that this interaction is about to be a bit informal.
- mitochondrion 9y ago
  >"Hola amigo" is an expression that many US Americans understand and do occasionally use to greet one another I suppose that depends on your definition of "US Americans".
  - CoryG89 9y ago
    Americans that live in the US? How many valid definitions are there?
askdufuga 9y ago
Actually my fellow comrade, people say that kind of stuff fairly often.

Are you agreeing with Amir or Cacti? "Hola amigo" is an expression that many US Americans understand and do occasionally use to greet one another.

mfoy_ 9y ago
I think that answers your question. He's just drawing a more familiar parallel.
totalZero 9y ago
With Amir. Given the context of an intelligence officer knocking on an unfamiliar person's hotel room door unexpected and asking them to defect, I think "salaam habibi" would strike most Farsi speakers as a bizarre and malapropos greeting. "Hola amigo. I’m from the CIA, and I want you to board a plane with me to the United States." I see it as an indicator of careless journalism that the author is citing an unnamed source "familiar on the matter" about a 10-year-old conversation that he seems not to have transcribed into the right language. I put it into the same category of people who ask what part of Mexico the Puerto Ricans are from.
- mikeash 9y ago
  I get what you're saying, but "hola amigo" is a really bad example of it. There are 40 million Spanish speakers in the US and tens of millions more use Spanish phrases routinely as a personality quirk. "Hola" and "amigo" are both words that I'd expect most Americans to understand, and I wouldn't bat an eye if a CIA agent greeted my in that way, assuming the context wasn't too formal. Maybe a better example would be... well, if they put their hand over their heart and said "salaam habibi" to an American scientist.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - mason55 9y ago
    Yeah, maybe I watch too many movies, but "hola amigo" feels like a totally appropriate greeting before you're about to do some shady spy shit. I think that it's actually a good greeting because it indicates to the other person that this interaction is about to be a bit informal.
mitochondrion 9y ago
>"Hola amigo" is an expression that many US Americans understand and do occasionally use to greet one another I suppose that depends on your definition of "US Americans".
- CoryG89 9y ago
  Americans that live in the US? How many valid definitions are there?

askdufuga 9y ago

Actually my fellow comrade, people say that kind of stuff fairly often.