Enhancing Multilingual Capability Among Hispanics

Abstract

Hispanics are the country’s largest and fastest growing minority, but they are not an easily identified racial or ethnic group (Pew Hispanic Center, Trends 2005). In 2000, the U.S. Census reported 32.8 million Hispanics or Latinos in the United States, representing 12% of the total population. By 2004, the Hispanic population was estimated to have grown to over 40 million, an increase of more than 23% in just four years. The largest increase in the Hispanic population is occurring in the southern United States (Pew Hispanic Center). Paralleling the growth of the Hispanic population, the Hispanic labor force will expand to nearly 10 million by 2020 (Pew Hispanic Center).  Language barriers and cultural sensitivities need to be addressed for optimal inclusion of this force in the U.S. The dramatic expansion of the Latino population in the State of Louisiana emphasizes the importance of this group, both socially and culturally.  At the same time it presents new challenges and demands a real approach for addressing the languages barriers and the cultural sensitivities inherent in such a socioeconomic shift.