October 15, 2004

America The Bilingual?

Is this yet another case of discounting assimilation? In this PNS piece, Louis E.V. Nevaer -- author of "The Rise of the Hispanic Market in the United States" -- claims that the United States is now a bilingual nation. Unlike our Canadian neighbors, who institutionally mandate both English and French officially, Mr. Nevaer cites free market capitalism as the primary reason Spanish has become so deeply entrenched in the U.S., particularly as companies (like our clients) regularly tailor their advertising and communications to Latinos:

    Hispanics, without apology, refuse to "assimilate," if that means giving up their culture and language. When it comes to breakfast cereal, Hispanics collectively indicated their choice would be determined by which one advertises in Spanish: Post Raisin Bran or Kellogg's Corn Flakes. Corporate America listened.

    Proof? Pick up the phone and call any customer service number and you are likely to hear, "Press one to continue in English," followed by "Oprima dos para español."

    Welcome to the United States de América!

This really runs counter to Gregory's piece I cited earlier this week (see "Assimilation Happens -- Deal With It" for reference). Nevaer's argument simply collapses by saying Latinos don't assimilate -- it's straight up erroneous. First off, he seemingly equates language and culture. Sure, they are intimately intertwined, but it's not inconceivable that people can both retain their cultural values yet also lose their parents' native tongue. In fact, that's what normally happens among second generation Asians and Latinos -- proficiency in the language of your parents is one of the first things that diminish with greater acculturation. This is common sense, but don't take my word for it, it's well documented by Pew Hispanic research. Secondly, Nevaer also perpetuates the notion that culture is somehow a fixed, static thing and not malleable -- already addressed in the aforementioned L.A. Times piece.

Let's also be real clear about what Nevaer means by 'bilingualism' --- he isn't really talking about people suddenly adopting two languages. He's talking about the emergence and ubiquity of Spanish here in the U.S. resulting from massive Latin American immigration. As a result, Nevaer asserts that Spanish has become a rival language:

    We are, in fact, in the midst of a linguistic "crisis," as Spanish spreads and English remains in denial. (Consider this tantalizing fact: More New Yorkers get their news in Spanish from Jorge Ramos on "Noticiero Univision" than in English from Dan Rather on "The CBS Evening News.") From New York to Los Angeles, from Miami to Seattle, government is struggling to provide civil servants who speak Spanish -- from police officers to social workers, from librarians to motor vehicle department clerks.

    The last time language challenged America this way was in the 18th century. At that time, the Founding Fathers debated whether to make English or German the "official" language and, unable to decide, declined to make a choice, thus passing the buck onto us.

    Yet, there comes a point when politics has to ratify economics. Until then, corporate America will continue to address, and seek to profit from, the greatest domestic reality of the 21st century: America the Bilingual.

There's no question that American companies and corporations are going after the Hispanic market in a huge way. About five, six percent of total U.S. advertising spending is now going toward reaching this population -- luring folks to buy everything from soap to cars -- mostly in Spanish language media. As an ethnic marketing agency, we are one of those companies Mr. Navaen cites within this marketing and advertising apparatus, and we've benefitted. No doubt.

Yet, we've also seen many companies adopt rigid notions about Hispanic consumers. It's like once they've discovered the simple formula of Spanish-language advertising, that's all they need to know and do. With the exception of a select few, most companies have yet to truly comprehend just how dynamic and heterogeneous the Hispanic market really is. It's a continually moving target -- and gradually shifts away from Spanish as folks acculturate. Why? This population has reached a tipping point in that a greater proportion of Hispanic growth now originates from the ranks of the U.S. Born (roughly 60 percent of the Latino population now) than it does from immigration. Add it all up and it means there will be a future wave of Latinos who won't watch Sabado Gigante, dislike telenovelas, and speak only passable Spanish.

What will marketers do then?

Posted by thomas at October 15, 2004 03:29 PM | TrackBack