Miami In Need of Better Español

A topic of particular interest to me...and one that gets constantly misrepresented and misinterpreted in the media and in mainstream thought...is the issue of bilingualism in Hispanic-heavy areas such as Miami. It is because of this that I found today's feature Miami Herald article on the Erosion of Spanish in Miami by Enrique Fernandez particularly interesting.

It's a long article with a few side stories, but please take the time to read it if you have any interest in how assimilation really works in the USA. Forget about everything Tom Tancredo and Newt Gingrich have told you.

I have written posts related to this topic here and here. A common theme in these posts is a strong desire and pull for English to become the dominant language of second and third-generation Hispanics, even in Miami. The common perception is that in Miami, one can get by without speaking a word of English. I suppose that's true in many areas of town, but where does lack of English skills get someone? Not too far. That's why English ends up being the primary language of the younger generation, along with the typical peer pressure and pop culture issues that dominate every group that comes along.

The fact that proper Spanish...spoken, read and written, is faltering somewhat in Miami is not the least bit surprising. This has been known and documented for more than a decade now. This definitely runs counter to xenophobes who claim that Hispanics are a threat to the English language.

The problem is exactly the opposite, and one that will surely surprise many people:

What do we do to make sure we keep up our Spanish fluency in Miami?

That's right, you read that correctly. It's not English that failing in Miami, it's Spanish.

Of course, there are and will likely always be plenty of Spanish speakers in Miami, simply due to our geographic location and business culture. I may be exaggerating the state of Spanish proficiency in Miami, but not by much. The Herald's Fernandez mentions several examples of companies in Miami having problems hiring local fluent Spanish speakers, and having to resort to hiring people from places such as Puerto Rico to find someone who can speak, read and write formal, business Spanish, not just the "kitchen" Spanish spoken at home in informal settings.

Being born in the United States, I can personally relate to the stories in the article. I am proud to say that I can not only speak Spanish, but read and write it as well, but it took effort and practice not to mention insistence by my parents and family. I will never be at the level of someone, say, born, raised and educated in Colombia, but I feel comfortable enough with Spanish that I can talk to someone from any Spanish-speaking country.

Our schools need to do a better job of teaching Spanish. It's that simple. Miami-Dade County only has a virtual handful of bilingual schools, way too few for our area. If we're going to be a truly bilingual community, local officials, high-powered CEOs, and the rest of us need to encourage and support any and all efforts to increase bilingual proficiency. More resources need to be allocated to our schools to ensure that the new generation learns proper Spanish. English won't be a problem, as this post alleges and is supported by the Herald article and others. Our economy depends on Spanish speakers to not only deal with locals, but most importantly to continue our links to the Latin American business community. Otherwise, companies are going to start looking to other cities. Miami can't afford that.

We have a natural edge in the bilingual world. Let's keep it.