Governator points Hispanics toward English

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The Governor of California was an immigrant. And when he came to the US, he disciplined himself to only rarely use his native German tongue. He recently told the National Association of Hispanic Journalists that Hispanic immigrants should break away from Spanish-language media and also immerse themselves in English. Arnold Schwarzenegger's remarks, as he predicted, were a mortal lock to draw fire from members of the aforementioned Hispanic media.


According to MiamiHerald.com, Schwarzenegger said, "You've got to turn off the Spanish television set" and went on to list other Spanish outlets that he felt should be avoided. Staying away from these outlets forces Hispanics to learn English faster, which helps them better function in the English-speaking nation. National Hispanic Media Coalition President/CEO Alex Nogales told MiamiHerald.com, "I'm sitting shaking my head not believing that someone would be so naive and out of it that he would say something like that." He said access to Spanish media was a necessity to being able to function in the US, not an impediment.

SmartMedia observation: Schwarzenegger's remarks to the contrary, we don't think Spanish-language media is going away any time soon. It is still a growth sector as American businesses strive for a share of the rapidly-expanding Hispanic population. We would expect to see more use of hybrid "Spanglish" formats before the current Spanish-speaking population follows other immigrant blocs before it into the fully-integrated melting pot, and full integration seems to be many years in the future.