Will Spanish become an essential skill for Americans (generations, legal, lawyers)
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Of course, Spanish will never become legally mandatory. But, will it become an essential skill for those working with the general public (health care, relators, retail, lawyers, social workers, call centers, etc)?
The use of Spanish has grown over the past 30 years in the US as the Hispanic immigrant population has grown rapidly.
At the same time, surveys show that 2nd generation Hispanics switch from primarily speaking Spanish to being either Bilingual or English dominant. They maybe speak Spanish with family and with some other Spanish speakers, but primarily use English at work, the store, the doctor, and watch English media.
Will the growth in active Spanish language use (not necessarily knowledge) level off as the Hispanic population becomes more 2nd/3rd/4th generation? Spanish services will remain primarily for immigrants, while the later generations use it basically as a 2nd language (if at all). Similar to other immigrant groups.
Or will Hispanics become more like the French-speakers in Quebec where they increasingly retain Spanish as their primary language for general communication. Society will have to become bilingual to adjust. If you want native-born Hispanic viewers, consumers, church goers, or voters, you will need to address them in Spanish?
Sincerely doubtful. It is far more likely that Spanish speakers will learn English and adapt to native English speakers. I'm sure more people will learn Spanish as a means of business communications for the older Spanish speakers who refuse to adapt.
Soon enough that generation will be gone and we'll be left with more bilingual speakers as opposed to Spanish only.
Of course, Spanish will never become legally mandatory. But, will it become an essential skill for those working with the general public (health care, relators, retail, lawyers, social workers, call centers, etc)?
The use of Spanish has grown over the past 30 years in the US as the Hispanic immigrant population has grown rapidly.
At the same time, surveys show that 2nd generation Hispanics switch from primarily speaking Spanish to being either Bilingual or English dominant. They maybe speak Spanish with family and with some other Spanish speakers, but primarily use English at work, the store, the doctor, and watch English media.
Will the growth in active Spanish language use (not necessarily knowledge) level off as the Hispanic population becomes more 2nd/3rd/4th generation? Spanish services will remain primarily for immigrants, while the later generations use it basically as a 2nd language (if at all). Similar to other immigrant groups.
Or will Hispanics become more like the French-speakers in Quebec where they increasingly retain Spanish as their primary language for general communication. Society will have to become bilingual to adjust. If you want native-born Hispanic viewers, consumers, church goers, or voters, you will need to address them in Spanish?
You'd need a full-fledged Spanish-first education system from kindergarten to university in order for that to happen.
I agree the future generations will speak English more dominantly than Spanish. If anything Chinese might become a more essential language skill for Americans than Spanish.
I think more immigrants (especially the child of someone who was an immigrant) will be bilingual. We will probably continue having a lot of foreign immigrants coming into this country who have no intention of learning English for the foreseeable future.
In the sunbelt states, employers definitely look for Spanish-speaking candidates. In other states, it's not in as high of demand. As Chava stated, future generations will be speaking English.
I think bilingualism - English and Spanish - is the way of the future. But I don't think that Spanish will ever dominate outside of the Southwest, southern Florida, and obviously Puerto Rico - but even there bilingualism is becoming more and more common.
Studies have shown that Hispanics are learning English at the same rate that the Germans and Italians learned English when they immigrated here. Therefore, I hardly see society becoming bilingual. It frankly doesn't make sense when eighty something percent of the population speaks English and English alone.
I think bilingualism - English and Spanish - is the way of the future. But I don't think that Spanish will ever dominate outside of the Southwest, southern Florida, and obviously Puerto Rico - but even there bilingualism is becoming more and more common.
Do you think non-Hispanics in places like TX and CA will have to be bilingual or just Spanish speakers will need to be bilingual? I have heard in Miami for example you almost have to speak Spanish if you want to serve the general public.
Studies have shown that Hispanics are learning English at the same rate that the Germans and Italians learned English when they immigrated here. Therefore, I hardly see society becoming bilingual. It frankly doesn't make sense when eighty something percent of the population speaks English and English alone.
Yeah, that makes sense to me. I guess the two most cited reasons for why Spanish is different is that:
1) there is a much larger critical mass of speakers- Unlike southern and eastern European immigrants in the past or contemporary Asian, Latin American immigrants all speak one language. If you speak Mandarin or Russian good luck trying to get by (outside maybe NYC and a couple other enclaves). If you speak Spanish, lots of places have Spanish accommodations. This creates a market for Spanish products and services, that doesn't exist for other speaks.
2) Latin American immigrants will not stop for the foreseeable future- German and Italian immigration eventually stopped. Hispanic immigration has declined somewhat, but it's unclear how much is due to long term trends and how much is due to a weak economy. This constantly replenishes the pool of Spanish-dominant speakers.
I agree that Hispanics will be fluent in English by the 2nd generation. But, I wonder if in places like TX and NYC, everyone will still need to know Spanish if you want to work in retail or health care for example?
Seems in Miami that has happened. Many English speakers have left or avoid the city, which has heightened the use of Spanish and lessened the social norm that English is the de facto language. The perception is that 2nd generation Hispanics in Miami probably speak English, but are far more Spanish-oriented than Hispanics in other parts of the country. (I could be wrong in this perception) Is Miami just an outlier or could this eventually happen in all of the border states?
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