Hispanic-American Diversity

Hispanic-American Diversity

Hispanic American Diversity 1

Hispanic American Diversity Axia College of University of Phoenix

Hispanic American Diversity 2

Hispanic American Diversity Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Central and Southern Americans; the Latino heritage is widely recognized with- in these nationalities. When comparing these different ethnic backgrounds we find very similar backgrounds and challenges. All emigrated from their home countries to evade poverty, political prosecution and war, yet all looked to the United States as a new beginning to provide a safe and nurturing environment for their families. Languages: If you compare the linguistics of each nationality you find that the Cubans dominantly speak Spanish as their main language and according to Schaefer (2006) Spanish is still the dominant language for 51 percent of Mexican Americans and 21 percent of Puerto Rican Americans. However, we do need to take into consideration that 40 percent of the Puerto Rican American and 26 percent of Mexican Americans are now bilingual and use both English and Spanish as their main languages. Society is now recognizing a new language that is a combination of the two languages as Spanglish. Southern and Central Americans speak neither English nor Spanish; many have never lived outside their rural villages; many have lived their whole lives in the cycle of seasons. The adjustment has been difficult because they are mostly monolingual, speaking only Mayan languages (Cordova & Del Pinal, 1976). Politics: All of these nationalities find that they are relatively forgotten on a yearly basis until an election year. Evidence shows that younger generation of Hispanics are becoming more conservative and more likely to look at Republican candidates. Cuban Americans are also seeing a split between the traditional

Hispanic American Diversity 3 hardliners and a new generation of moderates (Marks, 2003). The concerns with the growing population and discrimination will increase politicians to...