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Obama speaks Spanish
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=-DZIwklOWEE
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=R2T2kNxpLuE
Must be pretty important in the USA if even the (probable) President endorses it.
In fact, the USA is the second most Spanish speaking country in the world, with more speakers even than Spain. What do you think?
Many people say it will eventually die out and not be passed on, but that only happens when it is a marginalised language. If the President is speaking it it's not really marginalised.
<<Many people say it will eventually die out and not be passed on, but that only happens when it is a marginalised language.>>
No, this happens globally to all immigrant minorities all over the world, and is simply a result of natural assimilation to the dominant language of the host country; it has nothing to do with "marginalization" or any form of repression.
Spanish, is disappearing faster than that it ever has before. Theres almost no intergenerational transmission; even in places where hispanics are the majority, the children of immigrants (most of them at least) simply do not speak spanish with any facility, and are native english speakers.
Not necessarily. The loss of language in the fashion you describe is more of a recent phenomenon and is by no means an axiom. For example, the Jews maintained their language Yiddish for hundreds of years in Europe. The Sefardi in Israel have maintained their Spanish dialect. The Welsh in Argentina, and so on and so forth, and most of these communities are much smaller than the present Spanish speaking population of the USA. I think it needs to be analysed more closely before we can say that always one thing is going to happen.
<<For example, the Jews maintained their language Yiddish for hundreds of years in Europe.>>
The jews (like all immigrant populations) inherited the language of whatever country they migrated to, none of which were the native languages of their original afro-asiastic ancestors (Hebrew). "Yiddish" is just a fancy name for a dialectical variation German spoken by jews in Germany, and "Ladino" is Spanish spoken by the jews in Spain.
George Bush speaks Spanish about as well. Jeb Bush is even better.
And unless the president wanna-be is in business (like George Bush, to a very slight extent, and Jeb Bush were, and unlike Obama), knowledge of Spanish is probably more pandering to potential voters.
<<George Bush speaks Spanish about as well. Jeb Bush is even better.
>>
Isn't Jeb Bush a whole heck of a lot better (at speaking Spanish)?
Barack Obama pide a los votantes latinos (en español) que se sumen al sueño americano
Según fuentes de la campaña de Obama consultadas por 'The Washington Post', se trata de la segunda ocasión en la que el senador se dirige en español a sus votantes.
La primera vez fue durante el proceso de elecciones primarias del Partido Demócrata, y el vídeo fue emitido en Puerto Rico con el objeto de conseguir apoyos para lograr la candidatura a la presidencia.
Con estas palabras inicia Obama el mensaje electoral con el que espera afianzar el voto latino, crucial para obtener la victoria en el disputado estado de Florida y para arañar delegados en otros estados.
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2008/10/24/internacional/1224883086.html
Según la 'Enciclopedia del Español en Estados Unidos', este es un país con más de 44 millones de hispanos y el segundo en número de hispanohablantes del mundo por detrás de México.
Las estimaciones indican que en 2050 habrá en torno a 132 millones de hispanoparlantes en este país, con lo que podría convertirse en el primero del mundo.
Estos dos idiomas son los más usados en comunicación internacional, y el español, además es compartido por más de 450 millones de habitantes de 22 países.
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2008/10/21/cultura/1224553747.html
Yes, Spanish is going to be the most important language of the world. English language is stupid.
I don't think Spanish will "disappear" in the US because unlike immigrant groups that move to a certain country an end up being a small minority, Spanish speakers are a growing large minority. With a larger community, it's easier to maintain the native language.
There is enough Spanish television, radio, advertising, and strong hispanic communities that show Spanish won't disappear anytime soon. Not to mention that Spanish remains the most popular language in schools, most importantly in universities. Most of my friends who are 2nd generation hispanic speak Spanish.
English will always be the dominate language in the US and I want it that way. But Spanish is the 1st first strong minority language and will become more common over time.
<<Las estimaciones indican que en 2050 habrá en torno a 132 millones de hispanoparlantes en este país>>
No. Herein lies the misunderstanding. These estimations are for the number of "hispanics" (which just means people of hispanic origin, irrespective of what their native language is), and not the number of spanish speakers.
<< Spanish speakers are a growing large minority.>>
No, the number of "hispanics" is growing, but the number of Spanish SPEAKERS is disappearing faster than they are coming.
Even If in 2050, there are 132 million "hispanics", the vast majority of them will be native born anglophone Americans, and you'll be lucky if even 5% of them speak spanish.
Can someone tell me why languages like Ladino survived in Israel, or Welsh in Argentina, or Yiddish with Jews? Why is it impossible that Spanish could survive similar to this?
<< No, the number of "hispanics" is growing, but the number of Spanish SPEAKERS is disappearing faster than they are coming. >>
I see the point you are trying to make in you post, but can you support this above statement with any facts, figures or studies. Or is this just your "assumption". You seem to think that people just dump Spanish for English. If immigrants and especially their children end up bilingual, they are still Spanish speakers.
I agree that the actual speakers may dwindle with each generation, but like I said in my experience, many 2nd gens still speak Spanish, and I don't even live in an area known for its large hispanic community. So if that's the case up north, I'm sure Spanish is surviving in the south.
Plus, because hispanics and "Spanish speakers" (mono or bilingual) are a large growing minority, the community grows, Spanish grows and becomes more and more common (among people, jobs and media), and the language is more likely here to stay. That's my theory anyway.
<<I see the point you are trying to make in you post, but can you support this above statement with any facts, figures or studies.>>
Every study ever done on the subject, confirms the near complete anglicization of hispanics in just 2 generations - a trend that continues.
Look up the language shift studies done by demographer Calvin Veltman if you're in doubt.
<<You seem to think that people just dump Spanish for English.>>
Nobody "dumps" any language. The children naturally speak english because thats the dominant language of their environment. Its not as if its forced or conciously chosen because of some kind of negative atitude or abandonment of spanish.
All this talk of "losing" spanish because of "marginalization", and other such phenomena implying insidious intent are complete bullshit. The language shift happens naturally.
<<Every study ever done on the subject, confirms the near complete anglicization of hispanics in just 2 generations - a trend that continues.>>
I am not sure. It is not the same 20 years ago, where the Hispanic culture was marginalized than nowadays, that is in fashion. Spanish is, probably, the second most important World language and the most studied language in USA.
You can see:
- Por un lado, "el español no es una lengua extranjera en EE UU", en cuanto a que, por ejemplo, "más de la cuarta parte" de la población de Nueva York tiene raíces hispanas.
- "EE UU asiste a una segunda latinidad", ante el "cambio de actitud" ante los inmigrantes latinos y su "reafirmación" en la sociedad estadounidense.
- Es importante la potente industria hispana en EE UU, que ha pasado de percibir ingresos de 30.900 millones de dólares en 1982 a 245.600 en 2002. Otro factor económico es que las personas que hablan español e inglés ganan aproximadamente 17.000 dólares anuales más.
- "Hay hispanos profesionales, políticos, empresarios... Hay gente emprendedora y muchos doctorados, sobre todo mexicanos y cubanos", afirmó el profesor, considerando que en EE UU "lo hispano está de moda".
- En definitiva, puede ser verdad que en 2050 haya 132 millones de hispanohablantes en Estados Unidos, y eso, en un pais de unos 400 millones ya sabemos lo que significa.
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/cultura/Nace/Enciclopedia/espanol/EE/UU/elpepucul/20081013elpepucul_8/Tes
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