I am what one would classify as an “English-only” Latino; meaning, I do not speak Spanish fluently. I am a third-generation American Citizen and when I was younger my parents spoke only English at home because at the time they believed it would help me assimilate and would help me academically to learn English at home as well as in school. When they were young their parents only spoke Spanish and thus both of them were placed in ESL classes and they had to struggle academically. Unfortunately, their belief that teaching me and my siblings only English was misguided and as we grew up we realized that our inability to speak Spanish left us culturally alienated. There is a sizable minority of Latinos/Hispanic Americans that do not speak Spanish, but the subject is taboo to talk about even amongst other Latinos. Here are just some of the struggles English only Latinos have had to suffer with because of our unique cultural situation.
Not White Enough for White America
Unlike others of immigrant ancestry (e.g. polish, Italians, etc.) Latinos that lose their ability to speak their native language within three or so generations are not considered “white.” Therefore (for better or worse) they are (at least on paper) buttonholed into claiming the racial designation of Latino even though they only speak English and largely are considered “white” and/or “sellouts” by other Latinos, which causes a crisis of identity. If I am not white enough for my birth country and I am not brown enough for my ancestral country, what then am I?
Intercultural animosity
Simply put, Latinos themselves are frankly, disgusting in their treatment of English-only Latinos. The sheer amount of negativity and harassment within the Hispanic community toward their brethren is unbelievable. I personally have been: insulted, assaulted, had my name, my background and my parents attacked because I couldn’t speak Spanish. This isolation that one feels is almost unbearable. You live in constant fear that you will be “outed” as being unable to speak Spanish fluently. It is akin to being a closeted homosexual in that you wonder what friends you will I lose? Who is going to judge me? What will people say behind my back? The worst part of this is the fact that other Hispanics will attack you BUT NONE WILL EVER OFFER TO TEACH YOU. Essentially you are a pariah to everyone who looks like you.
Job insecurity
If we are being honest with ourselves we must acknowledge that (despite what human resources would say) a culturally diverse work environment is often self-segregated. People tend to gravitate toward people that: look, talk, and act like them. For the English-only Latino this means professional isolation and perhaps even UNEMPLOYMENT. So, ingrained is the intercultural bigotry between bilingual Hispanics against the English-only minority that if a bilingual Hispanic is in a higher position (which they often are) they will make the work environment one of stagnation and discomfort for their English-only counterpart irrespective of their work, even if the work itself has nothing to do with being able to communicate in another language.
This is if the English-only Latino has a job in the first place. The cold hard truth is this, when people (of any racial background) hire a Hispanic person they assume they are getting Spanish language ability FOR FREE. They never pay extra to people in America for speaking Spanish despite it being a marketable skill. So, when they find out that the Hispanic they hired cannot speak Spanish they immediately wish they did not hire that person. The implication is that they might as well have hired someone white or black for the job if they were not going to get a bilingual Latino. Often, the job goes out the window not long after.
English-only Latinos live a difficult life and often never talk about their struggles with other people out of fear and even less is written about them. I wrote the above so that others can know that they are not alone. Our people may have turned their backs on us, but remember: “a language can be learned, but an ugly personality lasts a lifetime.” We are also AMERICANS, we are citizens of the greatest empire in the history of all mankind, accept that, and be proud. Serve your birth country and remember that here it is only what you make of yourself that matters in the end, not what language you use to communicate.
