by Cindy Tovar
It is my greatest hope that some day my future grandchildren will be gathered around me in the living room telling me “Despierta, abuela, ya es hora de comer!” instead of “Wake up, grandma, it’s time to eat!”
In my early years, Spanish was my primary language, but English replaced it as soon as I entered school. Now, I read, write and think only in English. Fortunately for me, my leftover Spanish allows me to pass for a bilingual person. If you speak to me in Spanish, I’ll understand you well enough, just don’t speak too fast, use slang, or tell a joke, or else you might get one of these looks from me:
As the generations pass, we will become more assimilated. What place will the Spanish language have in our own families?
The younger generation doesn’t seem to mind that they don’t know Spanish. My teenage nephew doesn’t really care that his Spanish isn’t good enough to be deemed a marketable skill. Several native Spanish-speaking children in my preschool refuse to speak Spanish in school now that they’ve learned English. Some even refuse to speak it at home, making communication with their parents/family impossible. Apparently, Spanish isn’t cool; it’s embarrassing, probably because it’s not the norm.
I fear for my children, whose Spanish will be more Spanglish, at best. I fear for my children’s children, whose ability to communicate with their family in Colombia will be practically non-existent. Even I already feel that I can’t develop strong, meaningful relationships with my distant cousins because I can’t express myself to them the way I would like.
If I want to say, “I’m excited”, I struggle to find the words that will best fit the description. Excitada? Maybe, but who says that? And even if I do eventually find the right word, the feeling I’m trying to describe will have been lost in translation, and it just wouldn’t be the same.
For me, the Spanish language is the link to our past. It unites us as a family and as a culture. As our families grow and change in this country, we can’t let go of the one thing that brings us together; the one thing that helps foster understanding, despite our differences: el español.
To learn more about Cindy, visit Dagny’s Dichotomy.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those
of the author and should not be understood to be shared by Being Latino, Inc.
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About Cindy Tovar
My son is 25 (born and raised in NYC). When he was a baby, I did not allow anyone to speak to him in English, because I was determined that he would speak Spanish. Like yourself, I didn’t learn English until I went to kindergarten, and through my learning it, I passed it on to my mom, so we both learned English together. On the other hand, doing the same with my son was a choice. I saw the value of this, not just because of cultural pride, but of cultural OBLIGATION, and many other reasons. One of these reasons, which I didn’t see until years later, is that my grandmother (who passed several years ago at age 85), had many grandchildren (having had 6 children herself), and even MORE great-grandchildren, quite a few of whom she actually met, but, couldn’t communicate with because of their lack of being able to speak Spanish. I was proud that my son was one of the handful that could speak with her and have full conversations with her. They each worshiped the ground the other walked on, and were so connected, thanks, in part, to my son being able to speak her language.
Cindy!!! There´s a whole movement of parents making sure our kids grow up fluently bilingual in Spanish and English and embracing our Latino heritage: http://SpanglishBaby.com
I don´t go around spamming with my link, I just really thought you´d honestly enjoy the conversations happening there.
I have 2 girls that speak Spanish, I spoke alot of Spanish to them and still do and fortunately my mom watched them for me and she doesn’t speak English so if they didn’t ask to be fed in Spanish you didn’t eat. My oldest tried that I don’t like speaking Spanish mess, yes it lasted a few hours til she got hungry. My niece on the othere hand cries but my mom isn’t as strict on her and like I tell my sister my niece is the one getting the short end of the stick. When she wants to spend the night at my mom’s house when my kids are spending the night she says,” mom i need to go to Nana’s because I’m forgetting my Spanish…
Great post. You hit a lot of issues that pertain yo US Latinos. I was blessed to be born to bilingual parents and also make a conscious decision to take formal studies in Spanish in high school and college. I studied the language and also wrote essays in Spanish. I was also blessed to work as a editorial director of Spanish textbooks where I manage editors from all over Latin America.
Cindy, Thank you so much for your post! I concur! I have said it once and I will keep saying it, the key to our success is unity. The key to our unity is our language. And again I will point out- when the slaves arrived in America they had a native language THAT WAS BEATEN OUT OF THEM until it ceased to exist. I pray that we make speaking Spanish a badge of honor for future generations! And thank you, Ana for the link, I will definitely be visiting it!
PS:: thank you for encouraging parents to think about this issue. Language is really the bridge to our beautiful heritage…and las abuelitas!
Time. It takes time to maintain your language. Unlike a car, where the more you use the more it breaks down, language is the reverse. Our children are surrounded in english and communicating in it is immediately more profitable (spanish is profitable in terms of marketability, not that you will immediately use it on a day to day, just as the break the emergency glass for the spanish speaking guy).
Keeping fluent requires time that our children don’t feel the need to spend. Aunque da pena porque hablar español con una persona mayor que te pueda enseñar y desarrollar el orgullo latino que asegura nuestro deseo de dar seguimiento a nuestra culturas. But its an individual choice and fewer people are taking the TIME. So if you got the spanish, hold on to it as long as you can…….
@ Betty: I like that you find it your cultural obligation to pass on Spanish. What interesting way to see it!
@Ana: Thanks for the link! I didn’t know there was a whole movement, and I officially see myself as part of that movement!
@Claudia: Not feeding them unless they speak Spanish is tough love, but it works! Lol
@Julio and Orville: I definitely need to challenge myself to write in Spanish and try to perfect it in my own life so I can pass it on successfully. Making the time for it is important, because it does need to be a conscious decision on our parts. Hopefully, it’s a decision that more and more Latinos will be making.
@vivirenelamor: Very well said!
Incredibly interesting article! It definitely hit home for me as my two younger sisters do not speak Spanish at all. My younger sister understands the importance, but my youngest sister doesn’t really. She understands that it’s important, but lacks the motivation to learn it.
Thanks for this blog!
Great article! I completely agree. We need to maintain our Spanish to have a strong connection with our culture and other Latinos. Language is a huge piece of our connection. I taught bilingual education in the Bronx for three years and was disheartened to work with many people who valued English over Spanish. The message to kids was, “Forget your Spanish and start speaking English now.” I tried my best to counteract this message! Bilingualism is powerful and beautiful.