On a worldwide scale, Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world today. In fact, Spanish is spoken in areas of the world that people may have never thought of, such as the Philippines. Focusing on Southern California, Spanish-speaking immigrants have increased the use of Spanish language in the United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, Orange County inhabits approximately 770, 513 Spanish speakers in Southern California, compared to about 3, 948 Spanish speakers in Kent County, Rhode Island in 2016 (“Language Spoken at Home”). Comparing the West Coast from the East Coast, Spanish speakers retain their language despite the population gap between two separate sites of the U.S. Yet, the integration of Spanish …show more content…
While most schools teach Spanish to its students, the language is also commonly spoken by young generation speakers. However, there are linguistic constraints due to the social environment. When conversing with friends (refer to Figure 3), Areli Martinez states that “[their] default language is to speak in English with some Spanish thrown in here and there,” but “[with her] family [she needs] to speak Spanish” because “[m]ost of them mainly rely on Spanish as their primary language” (Martinez). Therefore, code-switching is popular amongst young age groups. As a Mexican immigrant, Martinez speaks Spanglish, the combination of Spanish and English, to establish a local norm with her friends in the U.S . By speaking like this, young Mexican immigrants conform to a new a identity, known as Chicano. On another note, Martinez speaks fluent Spanish with her parents because they are non-English speakers. Although her parents do not speak English fluently, they may understand some English terms as they are exposed to the English language and conform to the American culture and society. Referring to the email (see Figure 3), Martinez also illuminates that the Spanish language in Southern California is “similar to Mexico...since we do live in a country where English is a primary language and Southern California being really close to Mexico has an effect on that” (Martinez). Taking this into account, there is evidence that Spanish is not only spoken in the U.S., but generally accepted as well due to its close proximity to Mexico. Although immigrants may experience backlash from U.S. citizens, Spanish can be seen in public places like restaurants, shopping centers, and museums. Since California, a former part of Mexico, has cultural and historical influences, the U.S. is a multiethnic country that transforms the languages of immigrants. In that case, the Spanish language is continuously evolving as people
Bilingualism should be celebrated and encouraged, rather than stamped out. Anzaldúa recalls that a teacher told her, “If you want to be American, speak ‘American.’ If you don’t like it, go back to Mexico where you belong” (2947). The irony in her teacher’s statement is that Mexicans and Native Americans inhabited North America long before it was colonized; so, technically speaking, Anzaldúa belonged in America more than her teacher did.
As a child Anzaldua remembers being caught speaking Spanish, and being punished for that reason. In college Anzaldua and other Chicanos were required to take speech classes. Their purpose: to get rid of the accent that followed the Chicanos and other Hispanic-Mexican kids around. Anzaldua took pride in her language which was neither Spanish nor English, instead it was a mix of both. Meanwhile to be considered American you had to speak English as if it were your first language. And if you didn’t like it, you could jut go back to Mexico where you belonged. One fear is that Spanish as a language will be lost by the end of this century. Since French classes are going to be encouraged
Many linguists define CS as “the use of two different languages or language within a single conversation or written text” (Benson, 2001). We are using the term in a much broader sense to highlight how a speaker may express themselves in conversation. For the purpose of our research we will describe the phenomenon of code-switching (CS) as “the practice of shifting languages you use or the way you express yourself in conversation” (NPR, 2013). CS expands across many cultures as there is code-switching between languages, dialects, race, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. There are many factors that motivate a speaker to switch from one language, dialect, style, or register to another. Depending on the situation, a speaker may CS consciously
Another struggle for identity with Latinos is their struggle with the Spanish and English languages. While some Latinos may speak Spanish in their homes, the language may not be conversationally used in their schools. Some Lat...
First, the speakers of this language often use gestures in their conversations with others (USRA, 2010). It is a weakness because not many people are familiar or comfortable with the pattern and, therefore, many people find it difficult to communicate with Hispanic Americans. Secondly, the normal range of their voice pitch is normally narrow, and many usually mistake this for shyness. The pattern of this language always makes the Hispanic Americans believe that others like European Americans are arrogant because they speak loudly, and their voice pitch is not as narrow as the Hispanic Americans. The pattern of communication has made this particular group of people believe that others especially the European Americans are yelling at them and it often make them not comfortable in their conversation with other people who are not Hispanic Americans.
38 percent of all Hispanic parents only speak Spanish according to Pew Research center. In many cases this is why parents teach their children to speak Spanish for their first language. My parents learned English at a young age because they moved to the united states and were expected to know it. That was not the case for me. Growing up my family expected me to know English well. We lived in a small town called Fort Hancock, Texas with my grandparents. Everyone just spoke Spanish in that town and for that reason, I learned to just speak Spanish first. When we moved to Oklahoma City I was five. I had to transition to English, which was hard. I got made fun of, but luckily improved later on my literacy journey.
Many people immigrate to the United States from different countries to begin a better life. Once in the American territory, the first step for success is to learn the English language. Richard Rodriguez, the writer of "Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood" describes the language decisions he faced as a child: "Outside the house was public society; inside the house was private" (16). The English language is the primary language in the United States, and it must be learned to be able to communicate with the public world. The language that we speak at home is considered to be private because it is only used in the presence of the people we feel comfortable with, our family. Families immigrate to the United States from Mexico to find and give their children a better opportunity to succeed. The children of immigrants who have been raised or born in the United States were able to adapt much faster to the English language. The Spanish language, in the case of Mexicans, is part of our origin that most of us inherit from our ancestors although in the United States many, including me, seem to add a new language, which gives us better opportunities.
A large number of people in the Hispanic community whether Hispanics are not able to get the English literacy skills that they need not because they want to keep born in Latin America or the United States, speak Spanish primarily. This is basically because in present day time, Hispanics are more likely to pass Spanish to their kids now than they have done in the past. (Ortiz, P.149) This is seen as a social problem, especially because of the fact that there is an increasing demand that English should only be taught in public school and it should also be spoken within the Spanish community. Even though Hispanics do speak a lot of Spanish most of the time, they still do learn English also, especially the young. But, because of the large flow of immigrants, the use of Spanish is used more often because they are constantly encountering immigrants who speak no English. (Ortiz, P. 150) Before hand there has been said to have been lower achievements when Hispanics make frequent use of the Spanish la...
The Hispanic community represents many nationalities and ethnicities, including Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, 15 Central and South American countries, Spain, and the Dominican Republic (Cattan, 1993). Hispanic group are well known in the workforce, politics, education, social economic and religion. The Spanish culture influences a variety of areas such as music, food, language. Most languages are rooted in Latin. It is always good to learn about other cultures if we expect the same consideration when we visit other countries. Differences are what make life interesting. Majority of the United States is built on immigration, which has made this country the most diverse. And the Hispanic group contributes to that diversity.
When people in todays society code-switch, we enhance our character and overall roundness to ourselves. There are instances where people code-switch to communicate with others in a different language, or we change our tone with certain groups of people. Speaking multiple languages in a household, can lead to a lot of code-switching because you can have that one relative who can’t speak english, so you become a “translator” to help them with daily tasks. Even though code-switching can happen with different languages, the most common code-switching is used when speaking to different groups of people. Talking to an adult would have a different type of tone, rather than speaking to one of your friends. Code-switching is used to help strengthen
According to the 2011 census, over 20.8 percent of the United States population spoke another language other than English (www.us-english.org). Language barriers, cultural differences, and immigration have been a part of life in the United States for decades. Language is considered a vital tool in the construction of someone’s identity and an expression of culture. In the last 200 years immigrants have chosen to make the United States their home, but some proceeded with caution by slowly adapting to the English language and culture.
In Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood, the author Richard Rodriguez argues that since there is a lack of bilingual education taught in American schools, many students face a loss of intimacy to their native language, leaving them identifiable-less. He makes this claim by expressing that although native language can cause divisions in communication, it is the basis structure to a person.
English is common in business settings and by US retirees living in Guanajuato in Chiapas. About 1.2% of people do not speak Spanish at all, and around 7.1% of the people are monolingual or speak several indigenous languages.
There is some linguistic variation across Mexico, with the Spanish spoken in the state of Oaxaca and the Yucatan peninsula is vastly different from the Spanish in cities like Tijuana in the north
Even though the majority of Spanish speakers in California are of Mexican origin there are also many more races that also speak Spanish. Spanish speakers vary from their origins but there is a great majority of them in California which helped me find another native Spanish speaker from another region with ease. I am fluent in Spanish which helped me translate the phrases and help my volunteers whenever they had different phrasing from one another and with translation of words they might not be familiar with. I first encountered subject A when I moved into my new apartment and found out he was my roommate.