- Author: BusinessWire.com
“it is important that Hispanic/Latino children learn about the Hispanic culture”
Patterns from previous waves of immigrants to the US suggested that today's generations of US Hispanics would acculturate quickly. The research shows no increase, however, in the proportion of Hispanics who identify themselves as “highly acculturated” – just 18%, the same figure as in 2009. By contrast, 55% of US Hispanics now consider themselves “Bicultural,” up from 43% five years ago. The group that is shrinking is the “less acculturated,” who showed a 12-point drop, from 37% in 2009 to 25% this year.
This trend toward biculturalism may be related to the fact that more US Hispanics now say they were born in the US (43%) than in Mexico (37%); the two figures have essentially flipped from 2009 to 2014, with the proportion of those saying they were born outside of the US dropping by 11 points.
Reflecting this move towards Biculturalism, the language mix in the US Hispanic home has also changed distinctly; the proportion of those who speak “more Spanish than English” has dropped from 30% to 21%, while the figures have risen for “both languages equally” (from 21% to 25%) and “more English than Spanish” (14% to 19%). Being monolingual (all English or all Spanish) is the exception for US Hispanic households; 81% speak at least some English in the home, while 85% speak at least some Spanish.
US Hispanics are also relating more to some “mainstream” US cultural values, such as being willing to give up family time to get ahead and rejecting fatalism. Over four in ten (41%) said they agree at least partly with the statement, “Being successful is important, even if I have to sacrifice time with family and friends”; this compares to 37% five years ago. In contrast, a full 86% believe that “it is important that Hispanic/Latino children learn about the Hispanic culture” – suggesting that Hispanic values and culture remain strong.
“This data clearly confirms what many in the Hispanic marketing space have been seeing – that the market is changing,” said Carlos Garcia, SVP of GfK's Multicultural practice in North America. “The market is acculturating, and yet it remains distinctly Hispanic in taste and feel. Hispanics are not immune to the ebbs and flows of the economic and social tides; but even as they adapt, they are holding on to their food, their families, and their values. Out of this data, two key lessons for marketers emerge -- communicating to Hispanics can no longer be only in Spanish; and, conversely, more English-language communications are reaching Hispanics, and therefore need to be sending out a coordinated strategic message – even as it is fine-tuned culturally to reach diverse populations.”
The new findings come from six years of profile surveys among participants in GfK's KnowledgePanel Latino, which covers 93% of Hispanics of all acculturation levels – including English- and Spanish-dominant and bilingual people. It also represents the 32% of Hispanics without internet access at home by providing those panelists with a computer and ISP.
Source:Published originally on BusinessWire.com as55% of US Hispanics Consider Themselves Bicultural – Up 12 Points Since 2009, December 11, 2014
- Posted By: Myriam Grajales-Hall
- Written by: Richard Barth, HispanicMarketInfo.com
There is power in words. During Martin Luther King Jr. Day his “I had a dream” speech could be seen in text or video and either way was touching and very much relevant today.
Hispanic identity, acculturation and assimilation has a language component. As reported in HispanicMarketInfo, a July 2011 study by Horowitz Associates reveals that for many U.S. Latinos, biculturalism is key to self-identity.Eighteen percent of Hispanics identify themselves as “completely American,” 43 percent as completely Latino, and almost four in ten (39 percent) feel they are a mix of both.
Latinos in bilingual homes are more likely to be bicultural. Four in ten Hispanics in English-oriented homes (where mostly/only English is spoken) consider themselves both Latino and American, and a full 16 percent of those heads of household define themselves as “completely Latino.”
At the same time, bicultural Latinos do not necessarily only live in bilingual homes: Almost one-quarter of bicultural Latino heads of household live in Spanish-dominant homes; one-third live in English-oriented homes.
The study also found that Latinos identifying themselves as bicultural spend the majority of their TV viewing time– 72 percent — with English language TV and 28 percent with Spanish language programming.
Source: HispanicMarketInfo.com, Cultural identity and language, January 17, 2012.
- Posted By: Myriam Grajales-Hall
- Written by: Hispanic Market Facts/Research
Many U.S. Hispanics feel culturally connected to both their U.S. and Latino identities, according to the annual FOCUS: Latino report.
The study finds that, when asked to rate on a scale of 1-5 whether they identified themselves as “completely Latino” or “completely American,” 18 percent of Hispanics identify themselves as “completely American,” 43 percent as completely Latino, and four in ten (39 percent) feel they are a mix of both.
These data correlate to acculturation markers like language use in the home. Latinos in bilingual homes are, concomitantly, more likely to be bicultural. Four in ten Hispanics in English-oriented homes (where mostly/only English is spoken) consider themselves both Latino and American, and a full 16 percent of those heads of household define themselves as “completely Latino.”
At the same time, bicultural Latinos do not necessarily only live in bilingual homes: Almost one-quarter of bicultural Latino heads of household live in Spanish-dominant homes; one-third live in English-oriented homes.
Latinos identifying themselves as bicultural spend the majority of their TV viewing time– 72 percent — with English language TV and 28 percent with Spanish language programming. Yet Spanish language TV remains important: Four in ten bicultural Latinos watch TV in Spanish at least every other day. And, programming in English targeted to Latinos is quickly gaining ground, with 20 percent of biculturals watching at least weekly.
Source: Hispanic Market Facts/Research, New Study: Focus Latino Report Reveals That Many U.S. Latinos, Biculturalism is Key to Self-Identity, July 8, 2011.
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