Use of "rather" instead of "whether"

I would like to correct what I see as a frequent mis-speak from a friend of mine, but I first want to make sure that I am not the one in error.

I'd like to know whether the following use is correct, or rather if it is incorrect.

The above sentence uses both the words "whether" and "rather" as I expect them to be used, but this friend says things like "Rather you like it or not..." or "Rather you're black, white or Asian..."

I wonder if this is just a regional usage, or is it incorrect as I suspect?

'Whether' shows alternatives for example 'Whether it rains or not, we will go on a trip.' whereas 'Rather' shows preference for eg. 'I'd rather do this instead of that'. So the sentences you mentioned here should use 'whether' rather than 'rather'. :)