Why Spanish is important

Just last week I read that in 2008 one in every four new American is Hispanic. At that rate it seems that Hispanics are going to soon be a majority in this country. At that rate it seems that as Americans, we have to adjust to the demographics and have to make sure that we learn Spanish to remain competitive in this landscape.

That is not to say that this growing demographic must not learn our language and customs, but becoming assimilated will take time and perhaps one or two generations. This is no different from other cultures that have come to America though. Anyhow, to continue to be competitive in our country and more so in this global landscape we must understand that we have to have more focus in learning other languages and given the growing Hispanic population, Spanish is a must.

In my travels to Mexico and Latin America, I was surprised to learn that most of the people I encountered were fluent in more than one language. Not only did they speak their native tongue, but many had mastered at least two others. With my little Spanish I was out to venture on my own when I wanted to visit towns outside of the capitals. In college, my Latin American friends, those who were international students, spoke more than 4 languages fluently. It made me pity my public school education and country, which had taught me to speak only one language in the wake of globalization.

But given our new market, do you know how much money is spent on Hispanic ads? That should tell you how much buying power this demographic has. We can no longer afford saying No to Spanish if we want to land that hot shot gig or just remain competitive in this global landscape.