Many Entering US Display Other Languages Native to Mexico, Not Everyone Speaks Spanish Jean-Paul Salamanca - Latinos Post
go to original November 30, 2012

More Mexican immigrants coming to U.S. soil don't speak Spanish, but primarily speak languages native to Mexico, such as Chinanteco. (Reuters)

If recent figures are correct, it looks like Spanish might not be the primary language of a growing amount of Mexican residents in the U.S.

An analysis from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey done between 2005 and 2009 showed that the number of Central and South American Indian language-speakers in the U.S. was roughly 13,500.

However, Leslie Martino-Velez, associate director of CUNY Institute of Mexican Studies, told NBC Latino that those numbers are most likely higher, though it's difficult to precisely decipher them.

"It's hard to pinpoint numbers, because one of the challenges of the indigenous Mexican community is that there's a lot of stigma of being indigenous," she says. "So when they come here, they may not say they are indigenous or teach their kids their language and culture."

According to the Associated Press, more and more Latin American immigrants who have come to places like New York in recent years speak only indigenous languages found in their countries.

"In Staten Island, many Mexicans speak Chinanteco. In South Bronx and Astoria, some speak Otomi. Nahuatl can be heard all over the city. A community speaking primarily Trique lives in Albany. In Trenton, N.J., some Guatemalans speak Quiche. Peruvians who speak Quechua live in Queens and Paterson, N.J. Hondurans and Nicaraguans speaking Garifuna live in the Bronx," the Press writes.

Many say that creates problems for such immigrants equal to that of not knowing English - which was a reason why experts told the Press that the number of indigenous Latin Americans taking Spanish-speaking courses in order to communicate with their fellow Latino immigrants.

Martino-Velez has been studying the Mexican indigenous community for nearly a decade.

David Escobar, an indigenous activist in northern California, says he's seen a lot of indigenous Mexican people coming to U.S. soil in recent years.

"You're going to have an increase of indigenous languages and enclaves," says Escobar regarding that trend. "So, the next time you think you see a 'Latino,' keep in mind he or she may or may not even speak Spanish."

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