Diversity in Language and Experience: Latino Subgroups in the United States

• In Event: The Role of Critical Language Policy Analysis in the “Post”-Civil Rights Era

Abstract

While a large portion of the Latino population in the U.S. may speak Spanish as a native language, there is no one combination of language, educational backgrounds, cultures and countries of origin, and immigration experiences. This paper examines the six major Latino subgroups in the U.S., namely Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central American, and South American, as identified by the U.S. Census. Based on a sociohistorical review of these six subgroups, their patterns of immigration, the linguistic characteristics of their countries of origin and communities in the U.S., this paper demonstrates the degree to which diversity has been the norm within the Latino population for decades (Lee McKay & Wong, 2000).

Further, the author draws on data analysis conducted using the 2010 American Community Survey (ACS), which further illustrates subgroup variance, specifically regarding Latino bilingualism, literacy, employability, and income levels. There is a long history of presumed lack of English proficiency among immigrants to the United States framed as the proxy for becoming ‘good Americans.’ Drawing from research framing the immigration debate in the United States, the author argues that attempts toward framing the Latino immigrant population as falsely homogenous and non-English proficient (Suarez-Orozco & Suarez-Orozco, 2006) is an attempt at dehumanizing and thus in some cases functions to further inhibit access to basic Civil Rights for Latinos.

Specific research questions for this study involved the extent of bilingualism and biliteracy attained by immigrants from the major Latino subgroups and as an extension, working toward an understanding of the relationship between bilingualism, bilteracy, and Latino immigrants’ (by subgroup) positionality in the U.S. labor market and economy. Therefore, data was also collected and analyses conducted regarding levels of both employability and income, and then broken out by subgroup.

Findings demonstrate significant variance across the major Latino subgroups as well as clear trends with regard to outcomes from the labor market analyses. Some findings were anticipated, including, for example, that Cubans and South Americans are most employed and enjoy the highest earnings. However, interesting anomalies emerged including, for example, that Dominican women are more likely employed and make more money than men regardless of literacy levels. Generally speaking, higher levels of literacy lead to higher employment and earnings. However, this study provides a valuable example of the intrinsic diversity, even beyond country of origin and an often shared native language, among Latino immigrants in the United States. This paper contributes to further scholarship in the field because the author uses findings regarding linguistic and economic profiles to support arguments against the same cases claiming homogeneity that also undermine immigrants’ access to human and civil rights.

Author

• Molly Fee, Center for Applied Linguistics