Molesta

[poli]

I was in a cab in Mexico, and the driver asked me approximately this: ¿Te lástima si deje (o dejo) la ventana abierta? I know that in the Spanish I usually hear molesta would be used instead of lástima. Is the use of lástima in similar cases commonly used in Mexico or other parts of Latin America?

[Tomisimo]

In my experience I think it would be more common to use "¿te molesta?" for this.

[aleCcowaN]

I agree with David. ¿Te molesta que deje abierta la ventanilla? is what you'd hear here.

And I suppose it was lastima (hurts) and not lástima (pity).

Wouldn't he be one of those cheeky taxi drivers that wouldn't close it no matter you asked, hence the "juego de palabras"? There's no meaning of lastimar within the Diccionario de Mexicanismos that can be applied to this context.

[poli]

Thanks David and Alec. This confirms my suspicion that it was the driver's unique use of the language. Alec, you are right. The driver used lastimanot lástima.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

If the driver didn't say "te molesta", it was definitely his own personal way of talking. I have never heard a cab driver ask if it hurts to leave the window open. The other question they usually ask is "¿está bien si dejo abierta la ventanilla?"

Also, when the passenger complains about the cold or they don't ask the driver explicitely to to roll the window up, he might ask: "¿Quiere que le cierre?" "¿Le molesta el aire?"
And thinking about it... if you were coughing or pollution was too bad, he might have used the verb "lastimar" for such a special circumstance.

[poli]

No coughing was involved, although it's no secret that CDMX air may provoke a cough. It was definitely the driver's unique use of a word.

[aleCcowaN]

...or the driver was talking "Touristese". I forgot we evaluate the language proficiency by the accent and speed of talking and not by the vocabulary. Phrases like "¿No le/te molesta que..." are tricky, because of the "no" and its use of third person conjugation. Besides, it's very similar to "no te molestes, que...". I can attest for English speakers not perceiving "the opening ¿" because we don't change the word order in interrogative phrases.

Maybe that "lastima" was the drivers attempt to avoid international conflicts, based in his life experience. He certainly "se hizo entender", didn't he?

I have that problem because my accent is either too bad, or too British, or too American, always thick because lack of practise. English speakers start treating me like I am a three-year old, until after a while and several adjustments they invariably end up telling me "your English is very good!" (what you get for starting with the lowest expectations in their minds).

[poli]

Not in this case. The driver was talking quite a bit with a real seasoned CDMX accent.