Politics and Spanish By: Carmen Jaramillo

Keeping the Culture

The Decline "On the one hand, the number of Spanish speakers is projected to grow to about 40 million by 2020 (from 37 million in 2011.) This reflects Hispanic population growth and a large number of non-Hispanics who will also speak Spanish," said Mark Hugo Lopez, director of Hispanic Research at the Pew Research Center.the number of Spanish speakers is projected to grow to about 40 million by 2020 "But, even though the number of Spanish speakers is projected to grow, among Hispanics, the share that speak Spanish is projected to fall from about 75% now to 66% in 2020," Lopez said.among Hispanics, the share that speak Spanish is projected to fall from about 75% now to 66% in 2020 Click for full story

What is Everyone Speaking? It begins at home Hispanics are forgetting their roots and letting their language die By 2020 the amount of Spanish spoken at home will fall from 74% to 66% With English rising from 25% to 34%

Statistics Show...  Most Hispanics use Spanish, but use of English rises through the generations. The survey finds that 38% of all respondents are Spanish dominant, 38% are bilingual and 24% are English dominant. Among U.S.-born Hispanics, more than half (51%) are English dominant.  Hispanics believe learning English is important. Nearly nine-in-ten (87%) Hispanics say adult Hispanic immigrants need to learn English to succeed in the U.S.  Hispanics also want future U.S. Hispanic generations to speak Spanish.Fully 95% of Hispanics believe it is very important (75%) or somewhat important (20%) for future generations of Hispanics in the U.S. to be able to speak Spanish. identity/

What Does it All Mean? “As a former college professor of Spanish, Slick says traditional language training leaves many ill-prepared for workplace needs. “At the end of two years of high school college Spanish, you can read Don Quixote, but you can’t help someone open a bank account. You can’t arrest someone in Spanish. You can’t start a hospital IV” This means that students are losing opportunities and in places where Spanish is a dominant language.

Minutemen Project Began in April 2005 Group of about 800 civilians grouped together to monitor the Mexico/U.S border Was a controversial topic that some called “racist” and who others classified as a “vigilante effort”

The Effects: SB 1070 “What impact did SB 1070 have on Arizona's Hispanic population? One Mexican bank is out with a study claiming Hispanics have fled the state by the thousands. Call it fear of SB 1070 or a plummeting Arizona economy, It's not clear exactly why Hispanics are leaving the state, But the reality is they are. "They may be cheering, but this is not a good thing for Arizona," said Kat Rodriguez with Derechos Humanos.” “Fewer Hispanics in the state could actually hurt the economy. A study released by the Arizona chamber of commerce says Latino buying power is expected to boom. The Tucson Hispanic chamber of commerce says the impact of Latinos is clear. Despite an economic downturn across the state, Latino-owned businesses are expanding.” For reasons like these, Hispanics have become scared and, I believe, leads to them wanting to fit in.

Speaking from Experience Living on a border state, I have experienced the consequences and negative connotations that come with being Hispanic. There is an effort among the Hispanic youth to try and fit in and be more “American”. For this reason, many young Hispanics are leaving behind their cultural ties and conforming to the norm. There is nothing wrong with being a part of a country that provides a lot of opportunities, but people forget to keep the best of both worlds. In Arizona, Hispanics deal with various obstacles that have sprung from political efforts to minimize illegal immigration such as SB 1070 and the Minutemen project of So in an effort to “blend” in we (Hispanic youth) forget about our culture and develop/adapt the “American way”. I feel that politics and the way that some people portray illegal immigration has caused Hispanics to let go of the Spanish language.

Works Cited identity/