Hispanic American Diversity

The four groups Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and South Americans have been chosen for identifying the linguistic, political, social, economic, religious and familial conventions and/or statuses of Hispanic groups living in the U.S. All these groups are from different regions but have been placed in one category due to the similarity of their language. The base is Spanish but the accent and the meaning of certain words are different. Two groups; Mexican Americans and South Americans, even though they are the same region have different dialects as well.

Mexican Americans

The Mexican American population is the largest minority group in America. The Census Bureau data shows a record of over 35 million as of March 2005 (legal and illegal). The Mexican Americans come from all over Mexico resulting in a wide variety of linguistic varieties amongst them. Mexico’s language is derived from Spanish but varies from different regions in Mexico. A majority of Mexican Americans do not speak Spanish at all, native born mainly. The Mexican American population is very much into the political civil rights in America. They are active in many civil rights movements, from workers rights to voting rights. The social status of the Mexican Americans is poor due to the majority not having an education. Alba (2006) states that, a very low level of Mexican-American educational advancement beyond high school, regardless of generation. Because of the poor education, economically the Mexican Americans are behind White Americans. A writer for the Public Policy Institute of California writes

Substantial education and wage deficits persist between people of Mexican descent and other Americans. Third generation Mexican Americans in California average a year and a half less schooling and about 25 percent lower wages than non-Hispanic whites.