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It is mainly 1st-generation immigrants who don't assimilate as well in the U.S. That is understandable. By the 2nd (and certainly by the 3rd) generation, nearly everybody assimilates.
I don't know any 2nd-generation Americans who can't speak English.
But maybe it can also be seen as whether the second and third generation are still fluent in their ancestral language. There are parishes (counties elsewhere) in South Louisiana where over 20% of the population still speaks French, particularly in the areas around Lafayette. Spanish is still very prevalent in the Rio Grande Valley and Southern California and Miami. I've personally met Mexicans from South Texas and LA who still speak with a VERY pronounced Mexican accent vs an American accent. Many people in Miami also speak with a Spanish accent.
There are also elements like how they name their kids in the later generations. Most Asian Americans in the US who were born here have American first names. This is not the case in other groups, for example most Arabs born in the US still name names like Mohammed, Abdul, Saleem, etc. Same is true for many Indian Americans.
A lot of Hispanics in Miami are not really assimilated, however Miami itself is a weird case since you have a lot of wealthy expats from Latin America (ie Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, etc) who live there either part time or just own a second house/condo there for investment purposes and have no intention of moving into the US on a permanent basis.
Miami also lacks the kind of melting pot culture like New Orleans where everyone came together and created something new and unique. Miami is definitely the "tossed salad" where different cultures live side by side but remain separate. If you are a Northeast transplant/snowbird all of your friends are likely to be snowbirds. The Cuban community is also very insular and doesn't associate with the Haitians, though they do speak Spanish in order to do business with the transplants and tourists who are mostly English speaking.
With immigrants in general, the 1st generation tends not to fully assimilate, but their children always do.
I know some Mexicans from South Texas and they are most definitely NOT assimilated. They've actually told me that Mexican culture completely dominates that area and that white and black people are seen as "strange" and "outsiders". Mexicans have lived in South Texas for over a hundred years yet they are nowhere as Americanized as the Irish Americans, German Americans and Polish Americans whose ancestors came here 100 years ago.
I forgot about the Somalis in Minnesota, many of whom still engage in cultural practices like arranged marriages between cousins (Dearborn Arabs do this too). Even though these groups are more assimilated than the British Muslims and French Muslims.
In all of North America, the Quebec French are probably the least assimilated group given their numerical dominance which allows it to happen. The majority of Quebec French still speak French as their native language and have truly kept an authentic French culture. I think the Cajuns/Louisiana French should be up there somewhere too. I'm not sure, though, whether many Cajuns still speak English with French accents like they depict in the movies.
Miami also lacks the kind of melting pot culture like New Orleans where everyone came together and created something new and unique. Miami is definitely the "tossed salad" where different cultures live side by side but remain separate. If you are a Northeast transplant/snowbird all of your friends are likely to be snowbirds. The Cuban community is also very insular and doesn't associate with the Haitians, though they do speak Spanish in order to do business with the transplants and tourists who are mostly English speaking.
The Florida side of my family a mix of Northeast/Polish/Italian/Mexican/Cuban - Spanish just happens to be the predominant local language, even among native English speakers, but it is definitely a mix of cultures.
I know some Mexicans from South Texas and they are most definitely NOT assimilated. They've actually told me that Mexican culture completely dominates that area and that white and black people are seen as "strange" and "outsiders". Mexicans have lived in South Texas for over a hundred years yet they are nowhere as Americanized as the Irish Americans, German Americans and Polish Americans whose ancestors came here 100 years ago.
I forgot about the Somalis in Minnesota, many of whom still engage in cultural practices like arranged marriages between cousins (Dearborn Arabs do this too). Even though these groups are more assimilated than the British Muslims and French Muslims.
In all of North America, the Quebec French are probably the least assimilated group given their numerical dominance which allows it to happen. The majority of Quebec French still speak French as their native language and have truly kept an authentic French culture. I think the Cajuns/Louisiana French should be up there somewhere too. I'm not sure, though, whether many Cajuns still speak English with French accents like they depict in the movies.
You've got it backwards. The Tejanos were on that land before Texas became part of the US, so theirs is the truly native culture. No assimilation needed. The Quebec residents were there before the British, also.
Its sounds as if you are saying that the last arriving culture to an area should become the predominant culture?
And at least as of a few years ago, there were still many French-speaking communities in SW Louisiana, not just "accents" - I worked in the oil industry in the early 80s and many of my coworkers spoke a very colorful French.
The San Francisco Chinese are very rude & would appear to try & mow you down rather than move a step. This is troubling for older people who are a bit unsteady on their feet. Try walking down inner Clement St & see what I mean. They also put you to the end of the line if you try & buy something.
I know some Mexicans from South Texas and they are most definitely NOT assimilated. They've actually told me that Mexican culture completely dominates that area and that white and black people are seen as "strange" and "outsiders". Mexicans have lived in South Texas for over a hundred years yet they are nowhere as Americanized as the Irish Americans, German Americans and Polish Americans whose ancestors came here 100 years ago.
I forgot about the Somalis in Minnesota, many of whom still engage in cultural practices like arranged marriages between cousins (Dearborn Arabs do this too). Even though these groups are more assimilated than the British Muslims and French Muslims.
In all of North America, the Quebec French are probably the least assimilated group given their numerical dominance which allows it to happen. The majority of Quebec French still speak French as their native language and have truly kept an authentic French culture. I think the Cajuns/Louisiana French should be up there somewhere too. I'm not sure, though, whether many Cajuns still speak English with French accents like they depict in the movies.
French Canadians have no need to assimilate given that they were in Quebec first, in fact Canada as a whole used to be a French Colony until they lost the French & Indian War, however the French colonists were already so numerous in Quebec at that point that Britain had no choice but to let them stay and practice their culture. Same scenario with the Cajuns in Louisiana, although unlike their counterparts in Quebec they were more so forced to assimilate irregardless due to discriminatory practices by the state government in regards to discourage the French language from being spoken.
But maybe it can also be seen as whether the second and third generation are still fluent in their ancestral language. There are parishes (counties elsewhere) in South Louisiana where over 20% of the population still speaks French, particularly in the areas around Lafayette. Spanish is still very prevalent in the Rio Grande Valley and Southern California and Miami. I've personally met Mexicans from South Texas and LA who still speak with a VERY pronounced Mexican accent vs an American accent. Many people in Miami also speak with a Spanish accent.
There are also elements like how they name their kids in the later generations. Most Asian Americans in the US who were born here have American first names. This is not the case in other groups, for example most Arabs born in the US still name names like Mohammed, Abdul, Saleem, etc. Same is true for many Indian Americans.
Some Mexican-Americans have distinct Mexican-American accents, but that doesn't mean they're not assimilated. It's not the same as someone who speaks English as a second language having an accent.
Regardless of their nationality or ethnicity, Muslims who do not live in predominantly Muslim countries are the absolute worst when it comes to assimilation, and no other group of people is even in the same galaxy of non-assimilation as they are. It should be emphasized that proper assimilation involves much more than simply learning how to speak the language of the country you immigrate to. It also involves respecting the laws, customs, values and culture of the country you immigrate to, and many (most?) Muslims are openly, unapologetically and vehemently disrespectful of the laws, customs, values and culture of countries that are not predominantly Muslim. An increasing number are even violently disrespectful, as the steady increase in violent crime all over Europe in the last two decades (and especially this decade) has proven. Generally speaking, many (most?) Muslims believe that the laws of their Koran (Sharia law) take precedence over the laws of any country that is not predominantly Muslim, which is the primary reason why they do such a poor job of assimilating. It's willful disobedience. When in Rome, they refuse to do as the Romans do.
By comparison, Mexicans in the southwestern United States are easy to deal with. In fact, Mexicans are such a distant second at not assimilating that Muslims can't even see them in their rear-view mirror anymore. For example, there's comparatively little risk of Mexicans cutting your head off if you criticize their religion or values. With that said, aside from Muslims and (to a lesser extent) Mexicans, it seems like most nationalities and ethnicities do a generally good job of assimilating here in the United States. Europeans and East/Southeast Asians do the best job (Indonesians are a glaring exception). Africans, Latin Americans and South Asians are variable. For Africans, it depends on their religion (Christians assimilate far better than Muslims), and for Latin Americans, it depends on their nationality (Cubans and South Americans tend to assimilate better than Mexicans and Central Americans). It's harder to detect any pattern in South Asians, though. Some assimilate very well, but some don't.
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