A lifetime without Spanish | The Latinos who lost their language and the fight to recover it

[@markriffey8899]

A friend of mine who is ethnically Mexican can understand the Spanish language perfectly, but tells me she can’t speak it. She says her boomer parents wouldn’t allow it to be spoken at home in an effort to make her assimilate. I’ve heard her talk on the phone to other relatives or friends and they say or ask something in Spanish, and she always replies in English.

[@thekingofmoney2000]

That’s very common, it happens to all immigrant groups in the US.

[@deassfgh7807]

she needs to start repeating things. That is how babies learn and delayed adults in language.

[@Barcelona006]

@markriffey8899 that sounds just like something I've seen on TV, several times

[@yvetteb2958]

It was cause of the racism my grandparents went through they did not want us to speak it

[@PicklesFiona]

How come people don’t get on the backs of German Americans, or Swedish Americans etc who don’t speak those languages? This is “othering” pure and simple.

[@LucasFernandez-fk8se]

Because they learned English like good Americans and these Mexicans aren’t learning English like good Americans should. When the Germans didn’t learn English they outlawed speaking German all across the Midwest (where the germans settled) then othered them until they learned English

[@Sol-Amar]

​@@LucasFernandez-fk8seI read that the decline of the Geman speaking population in America was due to WW2 propaganda and fear of being associated with Germany at that time.

[@ladydontekno]

If there was still a lot of immigration from Germany or Sweden, there would be a lot more German and Swedish speakers in the US, and you'd have the phenomenon of whatever those folks would call a "no sabo kid". There's still a ton of immigration from Spanish speaking countries.

[@fablb9006]

Why should they speak spanish if their country is an english speaking country ?

[@Pi_Likethenumber]

@@LucasFernandez-fk8se Bro how do you not see an issue with that-

[@irwintuquier4562]

We were forced to forget our real language. The language of the americas and made to speak a european language which is spanish. We are not hispanic or latino.

[@someperson9536]

The same can be said for many Asian Americans because many Asian Americans do not speak an Asian language fluently.

[@Barcelona006]

@someperson9536 not to mention, the one who can't speak an Asian language at all.

[@gz6622]

You can be American and be bilingual. I'm glad I grew up speaking both English and Spanish. If I ever have children, I'll make sure to teach them Spanish.

[@SuperRip7]

'kay.

[@jordimg7727]

super well done ! the spanish language must be passed onto next generations. Being natively bilingual is an asset

[@goyam2981]

Yes, look at Gloria Estefan and her daughter. Gloria is super rich from selling both English and Spanish albums.

[@sanepillow59]

America is a continent

[@gz6622]

North America and South America are continents. People from the United States are called Americans.

[@luedog8385]

spanish is a colonizer language not the native language of Mexicans or mesoamerica

[@sanepillow59]

English is a colonizer language you ignorant pocho

[@crismarieb6275]

Yes this is exactly what my grandparents and parents went through I’m 4th generation Mexican American so you lose it, kids that are first generation don’t get it.

[@bp6h]

Good video, thanks for covering this subject.

[@IloveAutumn-b5p]

What is sad is Hispanics can't respect people who speak other languages. A Hispanic lady told two Canadians not to speak French in Starbucks. She didn't even know these people. I have been told not to speak my language by Hispanics. They love their language and culture and can't see that others love their own too.

You are saying all hispanics are like that just because of one hispanic person you saw doing that?

[@thekingofmoney2000]

I’ve seen it here in Texas among Mexican immigrants, some of them are really rude.

[@catherinemurry2324]

Pero, podemos aprenderlo. Toma clases de español si quieres

[@ericktwelve11]

Pero estos pendejos mo quieren

[@परप्रांतीयहकलामराठीवाचवा]

English is a global language not Spanish

[@ericktwelve11]

@@परप्रांतीयहकलामराठीवाचवा English is a commodity language, nobody uses English as a way of life, it's just to make money and that's it, even the Anglophones don't treat their own language as sacred

[@परप्रांतीयहकलामराठीवाचवा]

@@ericktwelve11 what is your mothertoung

[@wizhard94]

@@परप्रांतीयहकलामराठीवाचवा Cierra la boca, agüevado. El Español es el tercer idioma más hablado del mundo.

[@macpoeticflow2869]

The fact that The United States think my native language is Spanish is inherently racist. It is because of the colonization of my people of Puerto Rico, we where forced to speak Spanish. I am Proud of my heritage, and proud to be an American.

[@elora179]

I agree. What was your native language.

[@jacqueslee2592]

True, but White Americans believe that Spanish is Mexican not from Spain and do not know the history of Spanish colonization. If Latinos, which is also a term created by Americans, are so proud of their heritage they should try to revive the indigenous languages. The reason why indigenous languages are suppressed and lost across Latin America is also due to inner racism within Latin America. Despite Latin Americans are not Spanish they still identify more with their Spanish background more than their real roots, which demonstrates the ideological brainwashing over the centuries by Spanish and the Catholic Church and then the Anglos.

[@themechanictangerine4337]

The colonization of "your people" you are a mix of natives, blacks and colonizers. In fact, the colonizers are not even the ancestors of Spaniards but they are yours.

[@jordimg7727]

you don't know history right, colonized your people? lmao, you have colonizer blood in you, colonizers didn't colonize your people, your people are the colonizers. understand that. and also the spanish language itself exists due to colonization by the romans (italians) so everyone got colonized down the line even spaniards themselves and it's simply a chain, it's how history has been made for millennia for everyone without distinction

[@jordimg7727]

​@@jacqueslee2592 real roots? it's you who doesn't know history. latinos (it's not an american invented term lmso) have spaniard blood in them, as well as indigenous, spaniards intermingled with locals as opposed to british people who wiped out locals instead. so latinos feeling their spanish roots isn't brainwashing but based on actual history

[@joselopez-kx3sm]

mexica. people of the valley of mexico that spoke nahuatl. if you are a latino who is moreno chances are your ancestral language is not spanish but a native american language. to me when people tell me that i should not forget spanish because i am of mexican ancestry i tell them that i am not white enough to speak it sense i am not spaniard. i am mestizo. i can speak any language i want. but the one that defines my heritage the most is lost to the ages thanks to colonialism.

[@sanepillow59]

The mother of all pocho copes 🤣

[@metaman1546]

It makes you wonder what these non-spanish speaking latinos that are really just "Americans" have to say about other fellow Americans that don't have any family ties to neither Latin America or Spain but one day decided to learn Spanish and now speak it fluently. The level of awkwardness must be Immeasurable if a gringo tries to strike up a convo in Spanish with one of these people and the answer that person, who's usually always the loudest in the room when it comes to Latino matters, can give is: No entiendo

[@axrdeardido]

when I was in the U.S, it honestly was sad that those who spoke spanish good were the north american or latin-born and not those who were latino.

[@Blade_jr]

Born and raised in California, don't speak Spanish Mexican family does tho .. so if a random dude who's not Mexican can speak Spanish you think it bothers me? lol I had a white teacher for Spanish class in high school and white kids who can speak Spanish passing with A+s you think I gave af lol?? I still failed and stop takeing the class after the first semester. It's just another white language foo it means so much to you because lots and lots of Mexicans are half white and it is what it is. I rep the true culture Aztec culture! Mayan Culture lol Idgaf about your Spanish ! jokes on you slave. . Just because your born in México doesn't mean shidd lol they still paint vincente Guerrero white in books he's black & Brown ! 🤣, and there building over Mayans and Aztecs temples thanks to the " so called "real Mexicans " in Mexico not doing shidd about it ..

[@lorena617]

Im tired of people making fun of this kids to a point of disrespect. and those making fun of them are not even bilingual themselves. I had to get away from family because of it. my kids dont speak it because their friends are not of hispanic decent or are chicanos, asians white and the only language they have in common is english. These kids may not speak spanish but are proud of their culture

[@meghanelizondo774]

My grandparents wouldn't teach their kids so they wouldn't have an accent. I grew up in the 70s and they wouldn't teach me either. I was self-conscious of learning in school and having an American accent. 😒 Also Tex-Mex Spanish has its own accent.

[@jacqueslee2592]

White Americans believe that Spanish is Mexican not from Spain and do not know the history of Spanish colonization. If Latinos, which is also a term created by Americans, are so proud of their heritage they should try to revive the indigenous languages. The reason why indigenous languages are suppressed and lost across Latin America is also due to inner racism within Latin America. Despite Latin Americans are not Spanish they still identify more with their Spanish background more than their real roots, which demonstrates the ideological brainwashing over the centuries by Spanish and the Catholic Church and then the Anglos.

[@angeldorame6368]

The only English bs Is still in affect

[@ritchienavarro4704]

English Language Media in the USA will continue in operations for many years to come and many decades to come.

[@georgeminjarez6666]

All that to me is BS . I was born in the US all my mother had to do is enforce us to speak Spanish at home . She said you obviously will learn English at school but here at home you speak Spanish to your mother ! I did the same thing to my kids & we all speak,read,& write Spanish . It’s the parents. I kinna feel sorry for these people

[@tritosac]

There is a lot of ignorance among people. For example at 1:00 the guy says "she's darker than me & doesn't speak Spanish". Has this guy ever seen portraits of Spanish Conquistadors? Has this guy ever heard of Pedro De Alvarado? The guy had red hair & blue eyes. Spaniards are WHITE! The first people to speak Spanish were not brown. They were WHITE! You know Spain is in Europe. Spaniards are European. They were the first people to speak Spanish. If he was TRULY proud of his MEXICAN background then he would speak NAHUATL or one of the other 60 indigenous languages spoken in Mexico. What is wrong with people? God!!!!

[@Ayog06]

I once worked with a guy name Chester that was native American, and he would constantly get approached by Mexicans and they would try conversing with him in Spanish, and he would tell them I don't speak your language. LOL Mexican's would say, that he doesn't want to speak Spanish. That how ignorant they were to him.

[@ferdieshoes2310]

Lost in translation. Gringo doesn't mean White,it means a person from the US. By the way, Hispanic/ Latino is NOT a race,it is a CULTURE. There are MILLIONS of Hispanics/Latinos who happen to be white in Spain and Latin America.

[@deassfgh7807]

Discrimination is real. my fathers mexican and mom is white and she knew nothing about raising a biracial child and they put me in speech therapy to correct my accent and other things happen. my daughter being more biracial and in darker skin worried me with the way people would treat her. I was not paddled in the 90s but i had other abusive things happen to me by School teachers

[@christiansoto9755]

I met a no sabo old man. He wanted me to call him Charlie instead of Carlos. Nah bro, I'm calling you Carlos!

[@Barcelona006]

I'd prefer the name Charles

[@Daiseehead]

That's so rude and disrespectful to your elders. Disgusting.

[@Jelly_roll_123]

But still spanish is again a European language. It cannot be considered as the part of Latin American legacy

[@valuecalc]

From 1492 to the present, it is certainly possible.

[@rocstarriveran0fa1h22]

Amen

[@cube6485]

How can it not be? The people are in great part decendents from Europe (latin europe) mixed with natives and africans.

[@TheBrass18]

English is a European language as well

[@thekingofmoney2000]

Most Latinos have Spanish ancestry, very few are pure indigenous.

[@luisalcaraz6726]

What's stopping them from learning it as adults? 😒

[@drrd4127]

These people don't even look Spanish i.e. someone from Spain so it is not their language, it is a colonial language. I don't understand why they don't cry over the loss of the native American languages which is truly THEIR Language. It's a crying Shame.

[@Daniel-Aguilar865]

Finally someone who understands

[@ericktwelve11]

You don't look spanish too.

[@hadesinferno2927]

We are Hispanics, that is, our civilization is the Spanish civilization

[@valuecalc]

dr rd, you're right. Spain demolished the native groups forever. The Spanish language is extremely powerful.

[@valuecalc]

@@hadesinferno2927, and we have black and Indian groups who have gone over to British culture.

[@JDAlem]

All True !!

[@antoniogutierrezjr7471]

My parents spoke Spanish fluent but didn't teach us cause of fear of discrimination I learned. Later on mostly cause my grandma and marry a woman from Columbia Mexican place hi regard on passing the language unlike white immigrants who quickly assimilate and not teach kids there etch Mc language cause we are in USA

[@carlovee5401]

Get you head out of you as@#. And pay attention to % of hispanic people or Hispanic family members that surround you . If they Hispanic . Then you should know Spanish. But if you don't want to speak the language is because you think your better then them. Or just to lazing to try to learn . !!

[@Cody1nOnly]

✊🏽

[@SuperRip7]

Virtually every Hispanic American speaks Spanish. Finding someone whose first language is English is near impossible.

[@danielolivo285]

yerrr you found one lol

[@AppellateOdin]

Do you mean that the other way around? Because I know many people whose first language is not spanish or dont even speak spanish.

[@SuperRip7]

@@AppellateOdin "Because I know many people whose first language ..." You are talking about white people and black people right ?

[@AppellateOdin]

@@SuperRip7 Nope, talking about Hispanic.

[@SuperRip7]

@@AppellateOdin Well then hear this. I say if, but I am being semantic. If they exist then they would not live in the American Southwest, Florida, cities like New York or Chicago. I am over thirty years old and living in the LA Metro Area my whole life, I have never confirmed a single Hispanic individual whose first language was English or learned Spanish later in life. I don't think American culture works like that for them. But it is just me.

[@rocstarriveran0fa1h22]

🤣🤣🤣 lost those language these people are Indio prob 1% Spanish blood 🩸 real Spanish lol there brown not tan

[@cube6485]

There's a small amount of people in LATAM that truly pure native, european, or african. There exists pockets of unmixed people, but they barely come close to representing the majority as the majority is mixed. People in Latin America are so mixed that they frequently pop out kids that look 'of a different race' than they do, what they look like on the outside doesn't inherently represent their total ancestry.

[@-dp8hx]

You are wrong. Several of those ppl on the panel are more Native in their features for sure, but none of them look full Amerindian. You must not have seen a full blooded Native American before bc many of them are mixed in general since exposure to Europeans, including the ones in Canada and the U.S. Most of those ppl look like regular Mestizos to me. A good dose of both Native and Spanish. Native genes are strong, so they tend to surface more even if the person is equally mixed. The same way most black and white biracial ppl tend to look closer to their black side. 👍🏼 European genes usually don't dominate. Why do you think they were so afraid of race-mixing and purifying the race as much as possible *?* Another misconception ppl seem to have is that all Spanish ppl from Spain are fair skinned with light hair. Look at Penelope Cruz. She is from Spain and bears a resemblance tht many Latin American women have. Olive skin, dark brown hair, and dark brown eyes. 👍🏼👍🏼👌🏼✌🏼

[@metaman1546]

It makes you wonder what these non-spanish speaking latinos that are really just "Americans" have to say about other fellow Americans that don't have any family ties to neither Latin America or Spain but one day decided to learn Spanish and now speak it fluently. The level of awkwardness must be Immeasurable if a gringo tries to strike up a convo in Spanish with one of these people and the answer that person, who's usually always the loudest in the room when it comes to Latino matters, can give is: No entiendo

[@-dp8hx]

You sound bitter and ignorant. Many of the ppl you just described actually have a tendency to distance themselves from a Hispanic identity that was enforced on our ancestors and that lowkey bothers you. So much that you had to write a paragraph comparing us to "gringos". Many Chicanos actually go out of our way to embrace our Indigenous roots. As you know, the Indigenous of Mexico did not initially speak a word of European Spanish. What would I do if I met a Caucasian or black or Asian person who happened to be fluent in Spanish and then automatically expected to be able to communicate in it with me all bc I'm brown and dark-haired ? I'd simply let them know I don't know the language. Wouldn't feel apologetic or ashamed whatsoever. That they took the time to learn another European language that was used during colonization of the Americas just like English . . . ? No. Why should I be bothered that they beat me to it ? I understand history and therefore I know the truth. 🙂

[@metaman1546]

It makes you wonder what these non-spanish speaking latinos that are really just "Americans" have to say about other fellow Americans that don't have any family ties to neither Latin America or Spain but one day decided to learn Spanish and now speak it fluently. The level of awkwardness must be Immeasurable if a gringo tries to strike up a convo in Spanish with one of these people and the answer that person, who's usually always the loudest in the room when it comes to Latino matters, can give is: No entiendo