June 16, 2004

I Love LA

I’m honored. I live just five miles away from what has to be one of the most linguistically diverse real estate triangles in the world. A graphic depiction of the fascinating linguistic and multicultural mosaic that is the United States has just been released by the Modern Language Association and it shows that 39 of the 40 language tracked by the Census Bureau are in the 13-square mile area north of Long Beach. In the whole of Los Angeles County, 83% of the zip codes have 20 or more languages and over half have 30 or more. Read on.

    California claims the lowest percentage of people who say they speak English at home — 60.52%, compared with about 82% nationwide. Appalachia, deep Dixie and parts of the Midwest fall at the other end of the scale. English is spoken exclusively at home by 96.38% of Mississippians — although not everyone in the country professes to understand it. Neighboring Alabama is close behind.

    In all but a handful of states, Spanish is the predominant second language. But four states have French or Creole as the next most prevalent language behind English (Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Louisiana). German is the prevailing foreign language in the Dakotas and much of Montana, a remnant of 19th century settlers. Native American languages top the list in Alaska.

    Yiddish is concentrated in New York's Brooklyn and the Borscht Belt of the Catskills, as well as Los Angeles and the retirement communities around Miami. But although the language may be dying, at least one person in every state except Wyoming and Alaska reported to the census that it was his or her home language.

Multiculturally diverse, yes, but not without growing pains. Border patrol raids have gripped Southern California as of late, sparking fear in Latino neighborhoods throughout the area.
    Reports circulated throughout those neighborhoods Friday that federal agents were arresting people outside supermarkets and restaurants, bringing some businesses to a near standstill. One Pasadena elementary school with a majority Latino student population reported 30% absenteeism. The city's official day-laborer hiring site was deserted.

    In Huntington Park, diners shunned restaurants and shoppers avoided markets along Pacific Avenue, one of the city's major thoroughfares. Store managers in Bell Gardens and South Gate said customers were calling to ask if it was safe. "They're nervous. Everyone is afraid," said Rene Morales, a security guard at Ranch Market in South Gate. "There's fear all over Los Angeles."

According to this article, about 400 folks have been rounded up by the U.S. Border Patrol, and community organizations are crying foul. “We cannot and we will not accept institutional fear in our communities as a way of life," said Juan Jose Gutierrez, national coordinator of an organization called Latino Movement USA. The Border Patrol claims business as usual, but The Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund has opened an investigation.

Still, for this New Hampshire boy, Randy Newman said it best: “I Love LA.”

Posted by dmorse at June 16, 2004 07:08 PM