The Challenge to Americans

The results are in from the U.S. Census Bureau, in U.S. name count, Garcias are catching up with Joneses. "Even though Smith remains the most common surname in the United States, for the first time two Hispanic surnames- Garcia and Rodriguez - are among the 10 most common in the nation, and Martinez nearly edged out Wilson for 10th place." Hispanics make up nearly 13 percent of the total population pointing to just how pervasively the migration from Spanish America has permeated North American culture. It is this impact of numbers that has made the Spanish language so persistently present in the Northern Hemisphere. Due to its long standing economic hegemony in the region, the U.S. has appropriated the geographical title of America ,but it wasn't always understood that way. The name America is the feminine form of the name Amerigo who was an Italian explorer that made several voyages to the lands of South America and in 1503 published his accounts and impressions in a series of letters that were disseminated throughout Europe. Later, a german cartographer gave the "New World" that Amerigo described the name, America. But it should be noted that this New World has within it at least 6 Americas. There is Franco America, Anglo America, Spanish America, Portuguese America, Native America and Afro America. All of the peoples that make up this vast and varied land of the Americas came originally from somewhere else and have all contributed to creating a new culture or set of cultures. It is now the culture of the North whose identity is perceived to be in jeopardy of undergoing an unwanted change. To this nation of the U.S. have come different waves of immigrants throughout its history and these groups have for the most part been assimilated within one or two generations. So far Hispanics have not conformed to this pattern of assimilation mainly due to their sustained high-level of immigration. I would argue that because the bulk of immigrants that make their way to these shores from Mexico, Central and South America are largely made up of unskilled laborers, the Spanish that they are accustomed to speaking is of an uneducated variety and thus the richness of the language goes mainly unappreciated.
But let us now be serious minded about how we in the U.S. can benefit by learning Spanish, a language with a rich history that ought to be cultivated and recognized for its high cultural value. Discover Spanish offers an avenue for getting started on this quest for knowledge. Begin the voyage and you'll soon see what an exciting and enriching experience it really can be.
Hasta la próxima vez,
Ed