Note: This is the first part of the series “Not Latinx Enough: Examining the Expectations, Assumptions, and Stereotypes of being a Latinx Person in the U.S”
Following Mandarin, Spanish is the second most spoken language worldwide. According to a Pew Research Center study conducted in 2011, 37.5 million people in the United States speak Spanish, 2.8 million of them are non- Hispanic or Latinx people. Though English proficiency among Latinx and Hispanic people is rising, with most of those born in the U.S speaking English and more than a quarter of those outside of the U.S speaking English, 35.8 million Latinx and Hispanic people were found in 2015 to be actively speaking Spanish at home. It was reported in the 2011 National Survey of Latinos Dataset gathered by The Pew Research Center that “More than eight-in-ten (82%) Latino adults say they speak Spanish, and nearly all (95%) say it is important for future generations to continue to do so.” Therefore, as these stats show, speaking and knowing Spanish is very prevalent and important to many Latinx people. Thus, one of the ways Latinx people are policed by others within the community and outside the community is through the knowledge of Spanish (or lack of). As mentioned previously, I did not grow up speaking Spanish. My mom did not grow up speaking Spanish as well so she did not have the opportunity to teach my brother and I. Whenever I tell people I am part Mexican and don’t speak Spanish, they are shocked and ask in a judgmental tone why I do not. When researching for this article, I discovered many other Latinx people discussing this same issue.