More on English vs. Spanish

On Wednesday, June 23, 2004, Thomas Tseng posted the following on New American Dimension's The Melting Blog:

An Old Cat Sings A New Song

... the battle between English vs. Spanish is a very contentious one in Hispanic marketing. You can pretty much draw a thick line to separate those in the old Univision/AHAA camp ("Spanish rules, period") and the new generation Latino vanguard of SiTV/Mun2/LaTV ("English works too, for the young!"). As a result, I just about dropped when I read this passage from Felipe Korzenny in this week's Hispanic Market Weekly (paid subscription only)

"The U.S. is the No. 2 Spanish speaking country in the world," said Felipe Korzenny, professor of communication at Florida State University in Tallahassee and co-founder of Cheskin Research. He estimated that there are 46 million Hispanics, including undocumented immigrants, in this country. That would place the U.S. behind Mexico, which has 105 million residents, and ahead of Spain, which has 41 million.

Of those 46 million Hispanics in the U.S., Korzenny estimates that 70 percent - roughly 30 million - are proficient in English. "It's time to question some of the assumptions we've made about Hispanics," said Korzenny. "Just because they speak Spanish at home, doesn't mean they have to be targeted in Spanish." Research conducted by Korzenny indicates that Latinos whose first language is Spanish spend 13.64 hours per week watching Spanish-language television and 13.48 hours watching English-language television.

I always placed Korzenny in the old guard. At least in public and at conferences, he's consistently sung the sole virtues of marketing to Hispanics in Spanish only. Moreover, in the past, Korzenny publicly debunked a study that my colleague David and I kicked off at the old, tired firm we abandoned last year. That research captured the preponderance of English-preference among Gen-Y Latino youth. His statements above clearly signal a different tune.

Not to knock Korzenny. He is one of the early pioneers of Hispanic marketing research, and the rest of us who are fortunate enough to work in this eclectic, funky industry owe him a debt of gratitude. I've had the pleasure of speaking with him several times in my short (relatively) career in ethnic marketing at various conferences. A class act. Shortly before starting New American Dimensions, he even offered a job for me to work at his firm, which I politely declined.

He's since moved on into semi-retirement as a professor at Florida State University, but still looks pretty active as an elder statesman for the ethnic marketing industry. Now, he's coming around too.

Comments

[Allan Steer]

Check over the Bilingual jokes & Humor site to http://www.chistescalientesypicantes.com

[jeannine mckenna]

the usa is an ENGLISH speaking country!! i'm totally baffled as to why we need to learn spanish. when i lived in germany-i learned german-in quebec i speak french-in mexico i speak spanish.when i visited the netherlands i learned some dutch. WHY SHOULD AMERICANS HAVE TO LEARN SPANISH IN AN ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRY SUCH AS THE USA???????

[Ricardo Escobar]

First of all of all, we don't live in England...or did you forget that we fought wars to eradicate their oppression. Yet, you still cling to your master's tongue...sad. Regardless, the English you think you speak is not even really English-go to England and see for yourself.

I understand though, you're trying to cling on to your roots...200 years right b.t.w. I have trees in my back yard older than that. Unfortunately for you, at the rate that the Spanish population is growing, they are projected to be the majority over whites by around 2050.

Don't worry though, it's not like they'll be Taco Bells everywhere and everyone will drive over crowded landscaping pick-up trucks. All it will probably mean is that Major League Soccer will actually be taken seriously and news casters will be way hotter.

My point is: It's not that big of a deal!!! Seriously though, it's no secret that America's greatest asset is its ability to rapidly evolve. Think about it, we have filled piles and piles of history books in just 200 years.

Honestly, I would worry more about people fighting to make Ebonics a recognized language.