Give me a
break -- 55 million Latinos in the U.S.
and confusion still lingers about the best language to use when communicating
with Latinos? Corporate America continues to pour millions
of dollars into Spanish-language media, documents, and campaigns despite the
fact that Latinos are becoming increasingly more English-dominant, and audiences
for Spanish-language television, radio and print have been losing audiences for
some time. Apparently, few marketers have come to grips with the demographic
reality that two-thirds of U.S. Latinos are native-born and depend primarily
on English-language communications.
This
paradox has lingered for two main reasons.
First, too many self-serving marketers and media shops have sold the
Spanish language as the single gateway to the Latino community in the U.S., reinforced
by a history of biased, self-serving research studies. Secondly, our nation’s academic institutions continue
to produce graduates with little knowledge about the language and other
characteristics of U.S. Latinos. In short, the collective Latino IQ of
Corporate America is embarrassingly low and unable to distinguish fact from
fantasy.
To
clear up some of this confusion, I would like to share some simple truths about
language usage gleaned from my 36 years of practical experience in conducting
surveys and experiments with Latinos for a broad spectrum of private, public
and academic clients. I am not a linguistics expert, but have studied the use
of language in these studies. This experience has been reinforced by teaching
undergraduate and graduate courses on Hispanic marketing, survey research,
statistics, and mass communications. Thus, these simple truths are not just
subjective impressions about language usage, but grounded in academic and
real-world experiences.
1. Not all Latinos communicate in Spanish.
We have heard
and read about it for many years – Latinos have better recall of advertisements
in Spanish, Latinos make love in Spanish, the love affair with Spanish telenovelas,
and so on. As a result, marketers
continue to pour millions of advertising dollars into Spanish-language media
and communications believing that they are reaching all segments of Latinos.
However, substantial research evidence confirms the following two facts:
· Spanish-language audiences are comprised primarily of recent
immigrants who are generally less educated, have lower incomes, are the least
connected to the Internet, and primarily apartment dwellers.
· By contrast, native-born Latinos are more dependent on
English-language communications, and generally
include children, voters, higher income earners, homeowners, the more highly
educated and Internet connected, and professionals.
Although
many marketers may prefer to bury their heads in the sand and remain loyal to
their Spanish-language strategies, the organizations that are paying for advertising
and media placements should be informed that their Spanish-language
advertisements may not be reaching a sizeable segment of Latino consumers.
2. Do you understand what I am saying?
It is
often the case that a Latino customer is presented a form to complete a
transaction or register for a program or service. Attorneys, healthcare providers, and mortgage
companies often present documents that need signatures on documents that
involve important decisions. In such circumstances, Latinos are typically asked
if they understand what is being explained or what they are reading, and a head
nod or “yes” response is usually accepted as confirmation that the information
was “understood.” But is this type of
confirmation a valid one? Perhaps not in some cases, because there is no follow-up evidence that
the information was really understood. Latinos, especially immigrants, will often
confirm that they understand an instruction or a document to save face and not
admit that they lack the ability to read or understand that language. Consequently,
it is important to ask a Latino customer to explain or demonstrate their
comprehension of an instruction by asking them to repeat in their own words
what the instruction means, or asking them to physically demonstrate their
comprehension. In a healthcare setting, for example, it would be advisable to
ask a Latino to repeat, in their own words, the instructions for taking their
medication(s) – clearly a more valid
measure of comprehension than a simple head nod.
3. Translators are not the last word on language
decisions.
Over the
past years, I have used translators for a variety of tasks and languages, and
appreciate the function that they serve. With few exceptions, I always use a
certified translator with experience in the subject matter at hand, whether
legal, healthcare, insurance, etc. – which helps to affirm the accuracy of the
translation. However, it is a mistake to think that your job is done when a
translator submits their finished product.
In addition to the accuracy of the translated document, it is equally important
to know who the intended audience will be and their ability to read and
understand the document. Translators do
not always know who the intended audience is, and sometimes produce documents
whose reading difficulty level is too high, or include words or phrases that
are unfamiliar to the intended audience. By copy testing or pilot testing the
translated document, one can have the added assurance that the appropriate
communication has been established with the Latino consumer.
Hence, your
customer, not the translator, should have the last word on the acceptability of
translated documents.
4. The use of Spanish is decreasing, not increasing.
Although
media stories often talk about the large numbers of Latinos that watch Spanish-language
television, the media hype contradicts what has been known by demographers for
the past decade. That is, the number of Latino immigrants in the U.S. – the
primary audience for Spanish-language media – has been decreasing in
recent years. As explained by the Pew Research Center, the demand for
Spanish-language communications of all types is expected to decrease in the
coming years, while the demand for English-language communications will
increase as the children of the immigrants comprise a larger component of
future population growth. Of course,
this does not mean that an organization should not offer or eliminate
Spanish-language support; on the contrary, it underscores the importance of also
including English-language communications when reaching out to Latino consumers.
5. Speaking Spanish is not an automatic qualifier for reading
or writing in Spanish.
Naïve
marketers are often surprised to observe that Latinos can be conversing in
Spanish quite comfortably, but may have difficulty when asked to read or write in
Spanish. What some marketers fail to understand is that a language usually has
at four basic functions or components --
reading, speaking, writing, and listening -- and proficiency in one of these functions does
not necessarily mean proficiency in the other functions. In addition, many immigrants
from Mexico lack formal education and cannot read or write in Spanish, while other
immigrants from Latin America tend to be more highly educated and literate. By better understanding the origins and
educational background of Latinos, marketers can develop communications that
will be understood by Latinos in their target audience. Thus, one should always
consider the language function being utilized when evaluating a translated
document.
6. While the U.S. Census Bureau collects language data,
it can be misleading.
Organizations
often quote language statistics collected by the Census Bureau as evidence
about the number of Spanish-speaking households that reside in the U.S. at any
point in time. The quality of this
language data, however, is limited in several ways. First, one question in the American Community
Survey (2015) asks: “Does this person
speak a language other than English at home?” If the question is answered
“yes,” then the next question that follows is:
“What is this language? Thus, we
learn from these two questions the number of persons that speak Spanish and
other languages as well. But it does not
ask how well Spanish is spoken, or the extent to which that person uses Spanish
in any given task. Presumably, if a
person utters one word in Spanish, then they are considered a “Spanish
speaker.”
The only
other language question included is:
“How well does this person speak English?” – to which one is provided
four options: “Very well,” “Well,” “Not
well,” and “Not at all.” While this type
of language proficiency question is useful in providing some guidance on how
well a person speaks the English language, other research that I have
summarized elsewhere shows that Latinos tend to over-estimate their language
skills on self-reported measures like the one used by the Census Bureau – a
consequence of social desirability. That is, native-born Latinos who are more
English-language proficient often want others to think that they speak Spanish
better than they actually do.
Immigrants, who are more Spanish-language proficient, often want others
to think that they speak English better than they actually do. Even when they claim proficiency in both
languages, 9 in 10 native-born Latinos will choose an English-language
interview when given a choice, while 9 in 10 immigrants will choose a
Spanish-language interview. Hence, the
language that a Latino chooses when provided a choice is a more valid indicator
of their language dominance than their self-reported language proficiency. Our experience suggests that Latinos should
always be provided the choice of English or Spanish when asked to complete a
task – such as an interview or a written document. This simple procedure will usually
assure that you will get a more valid response. These Census Bureau language questions, while
useful, are crude measures of language behavior that should be used cautiously
when evaluating the language behavior of U.S. Latinos. Click on this link to
read the white paper entitled “Are Latinos Over-Estimating Their Language
Abilities with Self-Reported Measures?” http://www.rinconassoc.com/category/publications
7. Employers take great
risks when using Latino employees for translations or language advice.
As a shortcut, some companies will utilize
Latino employees to translate documents or interpret on the spot when the
situation demands it. Unless you know
the training and education of that employee, you are taking unnecessary risks
in assigning them this responsibility. Latinos that are born in the U.S. rarely
study Spanish formally in school and rely on the Spanish that they have heard
or used growing up in their communities – often a mixture of English and
Spanish. Important documents that relate
to employee personnel procedures, healthcare, safety, insurance or legal
matters should only be translated by a certified translator and copy-tested to
ensure that employees understand the translated documents or other visual
aids. Experience also suggests that
graphic symbols, such as those used in hazard warning signs, also have cultural
components that may not communicate the same message to culturally-diverse
groups. Copy testing is especially important with signage that relies on
graphic symbols since they are often used to warn or prevent injuries or
accidents.
8. Knowing a language does not necessarily mean that
you know the culture.
In the
employment world, many occupations require proficiency in one or several
languages. While proficiency in a
language other than English is a definite asset in many jobs, it should not be
confused with knowledge of a particular culture. It is not uncommon, for example, for a
foreign-born Latino with an excellent command of the Spanish language to
receive more consideration for a job than a similarly educated Latino whose
Spanish proficiency is not as well polished --
the assumption being that a higher language proficiency also means more knowledge
of the culture. This assumption may not
necessarily be a valid one since a native-born Latino may indeed have more
knowledge of the U.S. Latino culture than a foreign-born Latino who happens to
communicate well in Spanish. If the job
involves responsibilities with U.S. Latino consumers, then knowledge of
the Latino culture in the U.S. should be just as important in employment
decisions as proficiency in a language.
9. Are Latinos really diverse?
I often hear statements about the wide
diversity in Latino communities, a reference to the numerous countries of
origin represented throughout the U.S.
Indeed, the U.S. Census Bureau tells us that about 22 countries are
represented in the category known as Hispanic or Latino. A look at the Latino population in some
geographic areas, however, would lead one to re-think the use of the word
“diversity.” For example, the State of Texas
included 10.1 million Latinos in 2013,
representing a broad variety of Spanish-speaking countries. However, fully 88 percent of Texas Latinos
were of Mexican origin – not exactly the picture of diversity. Decisions
regarding language usage should consider the primary countries of origin
represented by the Latinos living in a particular community since the type of
Spanish utilized can vary by country of origin.
How can you find out about the country of origin for a particular
community? It’s easy – just visit the
Census Bureau Factfinder web site at http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
to obtain the Latino country of origin for any city, county, metropolitan area
or state.
10. Language ability depends on sight and sound
as well.
My experience in conducting hundreds of focus
groups with Latinos has shown that their ability to understand a written
document or verbal instruction is sometimes influenced by limitations related
to their visual acuity and hearing impairments.
Latinos will not readily admit when they are unable to see very clearly,
but an astute observer will notice non-verbal cues that suggest a vision
problem. Similarly, hearing impairments
can be subtle and not usually something that will be readily apparent. As a moderator, I have addressed such issues
by reading a document out loud so that everyone can hear and understand the
instruction, and ensure that any written documents are provided in large fonts
to enhance their readability. Rather than embarrass a person because they
cannot see or hear very well, it makes more sense to offer options that will
allow all persons to participate in the task or activity.
