Hablan Español? Do your kids speak Spanish?

By Claudia Sermeno, Being Latino

That is a question that we as Latino Americans are used to asking of representatives of educational, community, political, service and other societal entities. But is this a question that we now have to ask our own children, our own youth, and our own counterparts?

It is a common occurrence that children of “Americanized” Latino families are not proficient, let alone fluent in the language of their previous generations, Spanish. Whether or not this reality is created purposefully or not is a variable factor for families. Some parents unknowingly establish a monolingual environment by not using, not exposing children to the Spanish language either verbally, written or in the media that is prioritized in the home, namely television programming, radio, and Internet.

For others it is a choice made in what is believed to be the best interest of children, meaning for parents cultivating an English only household translates to guaranteed access to societal equity and reduces the likelihood of experienced prejudice and racism. With documented and historically accurate instances of implemented marginalization of Latinos in the 30s, 40s and alongside the civil rights movement, the emphasis of raising English only speaking children may have been a key strategy for parents to ensure that their children did not experience racial and cultural prejudices like they may have.  I have to believe that Latino parents who do choose to raise monolingual children do so with good intentions.

Regardless of why or how it’s done the fact of the matter is that children who would otherwise multiply their opportunities in life, such as in jobs, internships, even relationships sometimes experience negative consequences because of their lack of Spanish language skills. Such consequences are not limited to careers, education, workplace constituents and thus can also mean experiencing alienation and prejudice from within the Latino community itself. A Latino youth who does not speak Spanish is often accused of not being “Latino” enough, of leaving his roots, labeled as “white washed” or coconut and treated as neither Caucasian American nor Latino American.

We, as adults share the responsibility of recognizing the implications of both, raising monolingual and bilingual children. Especially with the ever increasing presence and power of Latinos in the U.S., it is a call for action for the adult generations to clarify that though being bilingual in English and Spanish doesn’t necessarily establish authenticate one’s being Latino, it does provide greater opportunities and is valuable in maintaining a connectedness to the Latino culture; moreover, that being monolingual English only doesn’t deny one’s cultural or ethnic heritage either.

Rather, because language is fluid and dynamic it is an aspect of one’s being, not a definitive of one’s being. The beauty of language is that it can be learned at any age, so for any Latino youth out there whose parents for whichever reason did not encourage bilingualism, becoming proficient and or fluent in the Spanish language is attainable! And in a culture where more is better, having access to two languages can only be better for our Latino children.

This article was first published in Being Latino.