Characteristics of Language in Latino Community Essay

Characteristics of Language in Latino Community - Essay Example Latinos in the US are an example of a language community. Their main language is Spanish, but most of them adapted to English after they migrating to the US. Other than language, Latinos also share the same beliefs and cultural practices. The term Latino refers a section of the United States that originated from Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. Latinos trace their history back in 1500 when Spaniards migrated to the US and settled in Texas, Florida and Mexico. Factors that contributed to their migration from Caribbean and Latin America in to the US included expansion of territory by the US, neoliberal economic policies in US, wars and military interventions, and forced cheap labour, among others.Moreover, the history of the Latinos has been overlooked and even forgotten in current discussions and debates over immigration, but it started developing in the late 1980s when more case studies were conducted in New York, Chicago, Texas, Los Angeles and other major cities. H owever, despite the fact that Latinos settled in the US and even adopted their culture, their proximity to the border, constant migration and close ties to their homeland helps them to replenish their culture (Stuart and Hirschberg 443).â€Å"Machismo† is a term that plays an important role among the Latino/Hispanic groups. They use it as a flattering word, which means courage to fight, honour and dignity, protecting ones name, keeping one’s word, respect for others, love for one’s family and affection for children....They use it as a flattering word, which means courage to fight, honour and dignity, protecting ones name, keeping one’s word, respect for others, love for one’s family and affection for children. It can also be used in order to influence a person’s behaviour and to distinguish between sexes. Other examples of word used by Latinos include Corazon which means heart in English, respecto-respect, dignidad-dignity, afecto-warmth and demonstratives, and sensibilidad-sensitivity. The Latinos are said to avoid competition or activities that set them apart from their own group. They claim that standing out among one’s peers places a person in great jeopardy; thus, it should be avoided as much as possible. Latinos say that European Americans are not trustworthy; hence, they teach their children to treat them with a lot of hostility and fear. For this reason, Latinos children do not believe that European Americans professionals want the best for them. Moreover, Stuart and Hirschberg (445), claim that Latinos children are not good at expressing themselves verbally; thus, they are not able to express their emotions to their friends, adults and authority figures. Properties of the Latino language community Since the Latinos started migrating into the US, their population has increased dramatically. Stuart and Hirschberg (448) claim that Latinos were estimated to reach 40 million and become the largest minority g roup in the US by 2010. The most affected states where Latinos have dominated are; New York, California, Texas and Florida. They are now transforming the Unite States into Latino dominated region due their increasing population. Also, they have significantly influenced culture, politics and economy of many states in the US.

Are political parties still the central actors in politics Essay

Are political parties still the central actors in politics - Essay Example Politics, therefore, does not occur in a proverbial vacuum, consisting of a variety of interactions between society and the political actor and other relevant political figures that maintain responsibility for community governance. Politicians are often affiliated with a specific political party, an organisation that aims to influence the development of government party that are considered appropriate for securing the party’s objectives and agendas. Political parties serve as coalitions consisting of like-minded politicians that have the same ideologies and expectations for government. The question at hand is whether political parties are still the central actors in politics. Though political parties are highly influential and often serve as the underpinning for how politicians identify themselves comparatively to other political figures, there is little evidence that political parties are the principle actor along a political model or system. In fact, it would appear that the media is now the central actor in politics as media services a much broader role in society as it pertains to political activity. The media is able to influence politicians and societal members, promote real-time political activities, engage society about politically-relevant events, and even serve to expose questionable political behaviours. Political parties are no longer the central actor in politics. Political party affiliation is a method by which to classify a politician and their unique agendas as compared to other politicians. In the United States, political parties were established in the late 1700s when it became clear to those running for public office that they would need to garner public support to obtain a majority vote competitively (Nichols 1967). As there were no established political parties in the United States prior to 1787, the ideologies of the Republican Party and the Democratic Party (the two main parties in the country) became