Studying Spanish And Hispanic Culture

In America today, we are faced with several different minority groups arriving to the United States. The most common of all minority groups are the Hispanics. America is known for their language being English, but as the year's approach, that language has faded and a new face in English language has taken over, it's called Spanish. We as the people of America have become controversial over this major change, and due to that major bilingualism and political movements that have occurred from the government to the education departments. In this paper, I am going to talk about the four most common Hispanic groups in our country today and the political, social, linguistic, economic, religious, and familial conventions and/or statuses that they

In the United States, Spanish culture and language has a growing influence on Americans and American culture. Some aspects of this influence include Hispanics in the United States, bilingual education in the United States, politics related to Spanish speakers, and the thoughts of Americans on this growing influence.

Hispanic on Board: How does Hispanic experience gap in career promotion in comparison with American employee.

Spanish is a significant joining power in the Mexican American community. Mexican Americans will not forget their native tongue; though equally, English and Spanish are spoken in

“Language is power. If you cannot understand or be understood you have no power. You are at the mercy of everyone.” – (Rudat, 1994, Stow, Dodd 356) Should Americans be required to learn Spanish as a second language? The construction of our nation stands on documents written in English, however English is not our official language nor has it ever been. America is a “melting pot” in which English is the most prominent language, followed closely by Spanish. Requiring Americans to learn Spanish is a great controversy; I strongly believe that it should be a requirement, because it improves academic achievements, career success, and cultural and social understanding. The controversy has great counter arguments such as the double standard Americans are held to, and further division of the country. Regarding the counterarguments, I still firmly believe that it should be a requirement because the integration of a second language in our schools is more beneficial to our country’s success as a whole.

Cultural tendencies have a huge impact on the way children tend to participate in educational activities. The ethnicity of a child may change the way that teacher view a child. Suppose you had an Asian child in previous years who was quiet and reserved. You get a new child, you expect this one to be the same way, but he is not. We as teachers have to learn that each child is their own individual self, and they do not act the same way, no matter what race, gender, or social status they are.

The hispanic culture has many diverse, interesting, and unique views when it comes to the topic of death, dying, ghosts, and funeral arrangements. Because hispanic culture has many influences from not only modern day religious beliefs like the dominant religion of Roman Catholicism but also from ancient religions and culture such as the Maya and Aztec there is often times a mixed view on death. Similarly, because of the diversity in the history of hispanic culture there are many different cultural influences such as holidays like El dia de los muertos and long held folklore that makes the topic of death and dying in the hispanic culture very interesting.

The study found that bilingual students (in the bilingual school) spent 47% of class time speaking Spanish, the traditional schooling group only spent 25% of class time speaking Spanish, always to other Mexican American students. When looking at the students outside of the classroom bilingual schooled students 63% of their time speaking Spanish to their Mexican American peers. Traditionally schooled children spent 64% of their time speaking English to their Mexican American peers. Prior to the beginning of the study both groups of children reported themselves as speaking Spanish more than English, however according to parental reports Traditional schooled students were reported to use more English than Spanish at the end of the first grade while the Bilingual students were reported to be using more Spanish than English by the end of the first grade. The results of the study found that the language spoken by the parents does not have considerable statistical influence on which language the child uses more, or even whether or the child is in a bilingual or is traditionally schooled. Perhaps most surprising is the finding that traditionally schooled children still result in speaking more English than Spanish with their Mexican-American peers when compared to their counterparts in the bilingual programs. Perhaps because

Culture is according to Zimmermann (2015), “the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts”. One culture that I am not affiliated with and did not grow up in is the Hispanic/Latino culture. Today, this culture is one of the fastest-growing cultures in the United States of America (“Understanding the Hispanic/Latino,” n.d.).

I'm originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, where there is an abundance of Hispanic culture. Hispanics are often defined as people from Spain or any country that is Spanish speaking in Latin America. In this essay, I will share with you some affects that Hispanic culture had on me and how it opened my eyes to better understand diversity. Among the United States, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics according to The U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanics are estimated to be 48% of the total population of people living in New Mexico, which is the highest of any other state. Hispanicization is the process by which a place or a person absorbs characteristics of Hispanic society and culture.

My selected cultural group is the Hispanic/Latino community. “Hispanic” and “Latino” are interchangeable yet distinct terms used to describe this cultural community classified as the second largest (17 % - 57 million) minority population in the United States. With Spanish as the primary language and its gender connotations, persons of “Latino” (masculine) and “Latina” are specifically of Latin American heritage (southern U.S.A., Central and South America, inclusive of the Caribbean). Eurocentric in origin, Hispanic is a gender neutral term which delineates persons not just from Latin America but the Iberian countries (Spain, Portugal, and Andorra) as well. Hispanic is a modern term originating in the 1970’s and usage of both, Hispanic and

To some people the word Latino can be very confusing, in the sense that there are many definitions of what is a “true” Latino and what certain groups consider themselves. Latinos come in all different shades, and might not even speak the same dialect of Spanish. Whether it be Latinos originating from Cuba, Honduras, Dominican Republic or Brazil, one thing we can argue is considering or associating yourself with being black or with your Afro roots is something that is not taken well in the Hispanic/Latino community. There is always a negative connotation about embracing your black roots or acknowledging the fact that majority of Hispanic/Latinos come from some sort of black/afro descent. This is especially seen in older generations and even within the generation now. Many people will argue that they are either mixed with European and Taino and completely forget about the other major component in their history.

Anyone who studies Spanish will tell you it is an interesting foreign language. Not only because of the sound of it, pronunciations and the articulation but also because it is new to them. Spanish people do not study Spanish if they already know it. However, Spanish like other foreign languages has advantages and effects that are desirable and essential to a learner that one dare not ignore. Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the entire world. It has millions of native speakers and more in different continents.

Children gain great academics from learning Spanish in school. Many people are to limit what young non graduated students learn and impede them from being capable of learning Spanish. Why would they stop them from learning? Parents think that America should be an English only speaking country and wouldn’t appreciate a foreign language to be involved. I believe it makes you more intelligent in various ways. I say that for the sake of children learning Spanish at such a young age gives them a huge advantage in college. “ Studies on language development, however, show that the more exposure young children have to all languages actually gives them a distinct

Spanish is a wonderful language, and one of the most spoken in the world. The growing popularity is a factor of its geographically widespread demographics, the increasing economic influence of Latin America, the rich culture associated with its speakers and its popularity on the Internet (surpassed only by English). It is the second world language after English and the second most studied in the world. There are many reasons to learn the language of Cervantes. Here are a few for you to chew on.