Spanish As a Heritage Language in the United States: an Overview

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Spanish As a Heritage Language in the United States: an Overview Spanish as a heritage language in the United States: An overview FECHA DE RECEPCIÓN: 20 de octubre de 2014 FECHA DE APROBACIÓN: 10 de noviembre de 2014 Por Pp. 31-52 Eulises Avellaneda Duarte* Abstract Day by day, the Latino cultural influence in the United States becomes more significant, so the importance of Spanish language has risen considerably. This study analizes the possibilities that new generations of people born in North America and brought up in a Spanish-speaking household have regarding their culture and language. The document provides an overview of the language programs that have become a necessity in many states due to their high number of Latino residents, and how these programs influence the Hispanic community, as well as the increasing importance that the community is taking since Latino vote is now an objective for most US politicians. Keywords Brought up, hispanic, spanish-speaking, program. El español como lengua de herencia en los Estados Unidos: Una vision general Resumen Día a día, la influencia cultural latina en los Estados Unidos se hace más significativa, por lo que la importancia del idioma español ha aumentado considerablemente. Este estudio analiza las posibilidades que las nuevas generaciones de personas que han nacido en América del Norte y han sido criadas en un hogar hispanoparlante tienen con respecto a su cultura e idioma. Este documento ofrece una visión general de los programas de idiomas que se han convertido en una necesidad en muchos estados debido a su elevado número de residentes latinos, y cómo estos programas influyen en la comunidad hispana, así como la creciente importancia que la comunidad está tomando desde que el voto latino se ha convertido en un objetivo para la mayoría de los políticos estadounidenses. Palabras clave Criados, hispano, hispanoparlante, programa. ____________ * Doctoral ABD, University of South Florida. Comunicación, Cultura y Política Spanish as a heritage language in the 32 Revista de Ciencias Sociales United States: An overview Le patrimoine de la langue espagnole aux Etats-Unis: un aperçu complet Résumé Jour après jour, l’influence culturelle des communautés latines implantées aux États-Unis devient plus significative, et l’importance de la langue espagnole s’est considérablement accrue. Cette étude analy- se les opportunités dont disposent les nouvelles générations de personnes nées en Amérique du Nord et ayant grandi dans un foyer hispanophone à l’égard de leur culture et de leur langue maternelle. Le document donne un aperçu des programmes linguistiques spécifiques devenus une nécessité pour de nombreux États en raison du nombre élevé de résidents Latino-américains, et de la façon dont ces pro- grammes affectent l’importance croissante prise par la communauté hispanique du fait que « le vote latino » est désormais une cible pour la majorité des hommes politiques américains. Mots clés Race, hispanique, hispanophones, programme. O Espanhol como língua de herança nos Estados Unidos: uma visão abrangente. Resumo Dia após dia, a influência cultural latina nos Estados Unidos torna-se mais significativa, por isso a importância da língua espanhola aumentou consideravelmente. Este estudo analisa o potencial que a nova geração de pessoas nascidas na América do Norte e criadas em famílias de língua epanhola têm em relação à sua cultura e língua. O artigo fornece uma visão geral dos programas de línguas que se tornaram uma necessidade em muitos estados por causa de seu alto índice de residentes latinos, e como esses programas afetam a comunidade hispânica, e também a crescente importância que a comunidade está tomando já que voto latino é agora um alvo para a maioria dos políticos americanos. Palavras-chave Criados, hispano, hispano-falante, programa. Eulises Avellaneda Duarte Vol.5-No.2: Julio-Diciembre, 2014 33 1. Introducción nown as a country of immigrants, the melting pot, and more recently the Ksalad bowl, the United States continues to be shaped and reshaped as new cultural groups become ubiquitous. Among the many cultures present in the American tapestry, Latinos lead the minority population growth and thus their cultural influence has become more preponderant. Latinos continue to be one of the fastest growing cultural groups in the United States, and it is estimated by the US Census Bureau that this minority group could become the majority in 2042 (Aemisegger, 2014). Latinos have traditionally populated states such as California, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Florida, New Jersey and Illinois. However, recently this cultural group has shown considerable growth in states such as North Carolina, Georgia, and other traditionally White states such as Tennessee and Kansas. This population growth has contributed to the notoriety of this cultural group at the national level. Particularly education and politics have seen how Latinos moved from the background to the front page. Spanish speaking students challenge the mainstream American educational system with their bilingualism and biliteracy. The K-16 educational system grapples with Spanish heritage speakers as their needs differ from those among monolingual English speakers. Heritage language (HL) programs have become a must in those states with high number of Latino students for their needs are particular and differ from those among foreign language learners. With high numbers in a group, political power may become a reality. The Latino vote is now an objective for most politicians in the United States and its significance was particularly evident during the 2012 presidential election when 7 out of every ten Latinos voted for president Obama, compared to 2 out of 10 for candidate Romney, according to López and Taylor (2012), researchers from the Pew Institute. Politicians in American counties make education- related decisions they deem are best for their constituents, regardless of how much they know about their real needs. Education is commonly used as a way Comunicación, Cultura y Política Spanish as a heritage language in the 34 Revista de Ciencias Sociales United States: An overview to attract voters and therefore minorities may be appropriately represented in such decisions. In states where the Latino presence has been a constant the fight to implement or eliminate bilingual education has divided people and their political representatives. 2. The Latino presence in the United States Even though the term Latino is rather recent, the Latino presence in the American territory is older than the country itself. The thirteen original colonies included people who spoke languages such as English, German, French, and Dutch among many others. To the south and the west of these territories, Spanish was the official language in what is today Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California and parts of Utah. This continuous Latino presence in the American territory, added to the growing numbers of people who identify themselves as Latino or of Latino descent create new realities in the American life style, particularly in education and politics. 3. Latinos: a definition The word Latino is supposed to cover a variety of people under the premise that they speak Spanish or have been brought up in a Spanish-speaking household. It is usually interchangeable with Hispanic, although originally these two words meant two different things. In a country where race permeates every aspect of society, individuals are classified according to a race or ethnicity. People with Latin American/Spanish ancestry or origin challenge this American way of categorizing people since they do not fit the descriptors assigned to the other races. Thus, a person from Argentina may look White but does not speak English and has not been brought up in a Caucasian household. People from Latin America and Spain are already a mixture of races and cultures and therefore the easiest way for the American system was to label them Latinos or Hispanic. Eulises Avellaneda Duarte Vol.5-No.2: Julio-Diciembre, 2014 35 The U.S. Government defines a Latino or Hispanic as “persons who trace their origin or descent to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central and South America, and other Spanish cultures” regardless of their race. Thus, Latinos are a mix of racial and ethnic groups from 22 different countries of origin and any assumptions made about them will most likely be inaccurate. Four decades after the United States governmental mandate implementing the term “Hispanic” or “Latino” to categorize Americans who trace their roots to Spanish-speaking countries, a nationwide survey of Hispanic adults in 2012 found that these terms still haven’t been fully embraced by Hispanics themselves. A majority (51%) say they most often identify themselves by their family’s country of origin; just 24% say they prefer a pan-ethnic label (Taylor, Lopez, Martínez, & Velasco, 2012). Identifying with a label perceived as not appropriate contributes to the confusion among Latino students. Many of these students were born in the United States and grew up speaking English as their first language while Spanish was only the language to interact with grandparents. However, when these students enter the American education system, they are classified as Latino due to their physical appearance. There have been cases of students who were placed in English as a second language classes even though English was their first language. 4. Latino students in the American educational system Many Latino students are classified in the American educational system as Spanish heritage language (SHL) speakers if they have achieved a level of proficiency in Spanish that allows them to interact with other speakers of Spanish. The term heritage language (HL) had its origins in Canada when the Ontario Heritage Languages Programs started in 1977. In the United States the construct only became part of the American scholastic community in the late 1990s (Kagan & Dillon, 2008). It has been both widely adopted and criticized by many scholars. According to Beaudrie and Fairclough (2012), on the one hand the term evokes the idea of ancient, past, or even going back to colonial times, and a detriment of great gains during the civil rights era.
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