Criticism 2: Latinidad & Indigenidad

The United States has been known to be a melting pot of diverse languages, cultures and practices. English has long been its dominated language, following with Spanish as the second most commonly spoken language in the United States.

According to the United Census Bureau (2016) the US Hispanic population numbers 56.6 million or 17.6% of the total of US population, becoming the country’s largest ethnic or racial minority. Estimated by 2050, there will be 138 million Spanish speakers in the United States, making it the biggest Spanish-speaking nation on earth with Spanish, the mother tongue of almost a third of its citizens.

Transnational migration and dispersion movements from around the world are changing the diverse language and culture of the US. For example, more than 800 languages are spoken in queens New York alone. The linguistic dominance for English in the US and Spanish in Latin America, not only causes/encourages conflict and social exclusions, but can also cause ethnic and cultural erasure. Forcing the supremacy of one language and one culture will have a negative impact of preservation of indigenous and minorities languages and cultures. It’s common routine, where indigenous and minorities language speakers are forced to speak their native language less to favor the dominated one. Typically, this comes with pressures to leave behind part of their cultural identity and practices in order to simulate quickly within their new society. This event can tangle with cultural retention versus simulation pressures. It doesn’t help that indigenous immigrants also struggle with identity negotiation; how can minority communities have a sense of belonging if they can’t even be appropriately recognized? For instance, indigenous communities are frequently wrongfully categorized as Latinos or Hispanics. The New York Times (2014) reported on a survey that 16 different indigenous Mexican languages are spoken within their jurisdiction. These languages included Nahuatl and Mixtec being the most common.

The US Census Bureau’s most recent data indicate there are more than 8,700 central American immigrants over the age of four, who speak their indigenous language, but speak little to no English. While Spanish could be a possible form of communication for them, however it is invalid to assume that Spanish is their dominant language just because they are Latin American.

The US census Bureau is unable to make distinctions so unfortunately, for the time being all immigrants coming from Latin America have to be considered Latino or Hispanic.