Hispanic American Diversity
...the linguistic, political, social, economic, religious and familial conventions and/or statuses of Hispanic groups living in the United States. These four groups are from different regions but have been placed in one category due to the similarity of their language. The primary language spoken by these groups is Spanish but the accent and the meaning of certain words are different.
Mexican Americans
The Mexican American population is the largest minority group in the United States, with over 25 million people. The Mexican Americans come from all over Mexico resulting in a wide variety of linguistic varieties amongst them. Mexico’s language is derived from Spanish but varies from different regions in Mexico. Many Mexican Americans, especially school-aged children, do not speak Spanish except in their homes. Some do not speak Spanish at all. The Mexican American population is very much into the political civil rights in America. They are active in many civil rights movements, from workers rights to voting rights. Due to the lack of education, the social status of the Mexican Americans is poor. Very few Mexican Americans further their education after high school, regardless of generation. Because of the poor education, economically the Mexican Americans are behind White Americans. A writer for the Public Policy Institute of California writes “Substantial education and wage deficits persist between people of Mexican descent and other Americans. Third generation Mexican Americans in California average a year and a half less schooling and about 25 percent lower wages than non-Hispanic whites. (Grogger, 2002, p.132)
The majority of the Mexican Americans in the United States are Catholic. The family unit is the single most important social unit in the life of Hispanics. Family responsibilities come before all other responsibilities. The father is the provider...
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