Survival Without English:
Salvadorans living in Washington Heights
Miki Fernandez and Jenny Reyes
To many, the area in upper Manhattan known
as Washington Heights is
synonymous with the term "Little D.R." because of the high concentration
of Dominicans in the area. While the population in Washington Heights is
highly Dominican, there is another Spanish speaking group who also calls
Washington Heights home. They are the Salvadorans. Although this group
has a small presence in Washington Heights, compared to the Dominicans,
They also live and work in the area. In fact, according to the Newest New
Yorker 1995-1996 (a census data information book), there were only 2.2%
entries into the US by Central Americans including Salvadorans in the year
1995-96 (pg 4). Furthermore, The 1990-1994 edition of the same book
revealed that of the Salvadorans who do enter the US, the majority of them
do not settle in New York City (pg 11). These are some reasons why the
number of Salvadorans in the area is limited. For the Salvadorians who
live in Washington Heights, English is not a necessity as Spanish is the
primary language of the area, and many services and organizations in the
community cater to Spanish speakers such as, schools, government offices,
hospitals, social facilities, and local businesses.
Upon visiting Washington Heights it is very
easy to assume that many of
the children are Spanish-speakers. We visited P.S. 128 and found that
there are many children who are non-native English speakers. In fact, 25%
of the children in this school have very limited or no knowledge of
English and 80% of the student body knows Spanish. The school guidance
counselor stated that "98% of the non-English speakers speak Spanish as
their native language. Most of them are coming from the Dominican
Republic, and other Latin American countries including El Salvador. The
other 2% speak Chinese and Bengali."
The children that are not native
English-speakers have to attend bilingual
classes. Those bilingual classes serve as transitions, and help them
learn English. Part of the bilingual program (which is only offered in
Spanish) is ESL or English as Second Language, in which students are
taught how to speak, write, read, and understand English. According to
the school, it takes children 3 to 5 years to leave bilingual program and
become part of the monolingual (English only) classes, which make up 75%
of the student population. We have to keep in mind that 80% of the
students have some knowledge of Spanish, so the rate at which they learn
English depends on their age and their exposure to English outside of
school.
Government agencies also provide services
for Spanish speakers. For
example, an Officer from the 33rd Precinct revealed that it is mandatory
for Police officers in the five boroughs to carry a handbook containing
Spanish phrases. Interestingly enough, this booklet is only mandatory in
the Spanish language. In the event that an officer lacks the knowledge of
certain Spanish words, he/she can refer to the handbook. This may be the
case during an arrest, where it is obligated that the suspect's rights be
read in their native language. Furthermore, officers are placed according
to their language knowledge. That is, Spanish-speaking officers are placed
in Spanish speaking neighborhoods, while Chinese-speaking officers are
placed in Chinese speaking neighborhoods, and so on and so fort. Thus,
Salvadorians in need of police assistant will be happy to find Spanish
speaking police officers in the Washington Heights area.
In addition, the local libraries make
available workshops, publications
and special events in Spanish. There is even an ESL course at one of the
local libraries. Post offices too print their information in Spanish and
employ Spanish speakers. Thus, proving the point that there are many
resources available to assist the Salvadorian community in Washington
Heights, where Spanish is given the same, if not more priority than
English.
Because Washington Heights is a
Spanish-speaking community, hospitals and
clinics supply interpreters for those who cannot speak or understand
English. We visited Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center to see what the
situation was here. At this hospital there is a volunteer program of
interpreters. These interpreters are highly trained and they work
throughout the hospital and the community to assist those that have very
limited English. Ariel Lenarduzzi, a representative of this organization
revealed that there are interpreters available who are fluent in about 160
languages. The staff also participates in something called a language
bank. This program requires the Doctors and Physicians report all of the
languages they master. According to the languages they know, they are
grouped with patients who need translations in those languages. Although
there are translators available in many languages, Spanish is the most
requested, with 90% of the interpretations being in Spanish. When asked
if patients have any trouble with the different Spanish dialects, Mr.
Lenarduzzi answered by saying "Most patients come from the Dominican
Republic, those that come from other Spanish speaking countries pick up
the Dominican dialect, different dialects are not a problem." We found
this to be true for many Salvadorans in this community, as time goes by
they adopt the Dominican dialect, as this is the dominant dialect in the
community.
Educational, governmental, and medical
institutions are not the only
facilities that offer services in Spanish. Social establishments and
services enable Salvadorians and other Spanish speakers to lead rich
social lives in their language. The Churches in the area for example
accommodate Spanish speakers by providing mass in Spanish. The Spanish
Fort Washington 7th Day Adventist Church, for example operates on a solely
Spanish basis, while at the Church of Our Lady Esperanza Church, English
mass is held only on Sundays. Aside from the primary role of Church as a
place of worship, Often times church serves as a gathering place for
Spanish speakers and a place in which to participate in different social
activities, such as prayer groups, bible study, community service
projects, and outings. In addition, entertainment is available in Spanish.
Not only are there TV channels and radio stations in Spanish, but many
Salvadorans enjoy the performances of Spanish artists when they make
appearances in the local restaurants and clubs.
Moreover, Spanish speakers in Washington
heights have a wide array of
Magazines and newspapers from which to read to keep abreast on current
events, and fanfare. Some of the most popular include TV Y Novelas, Furia
Musical, Vanidades, all of which are magazines, and Noticias Del Mundo and
El Diario, both of which are Newspapers. All of these and many other
Spanish publications are available at the local Newsstands. Services such
as these allow all Salvadorians and all Spanish speakers in the community
the chance to live a well -rounded life, not limited due to lack of
English.
To walk around Washington Heights feels like
being in Spanish-speaking
country. Most local businesses (e.g. stores, restaurants) are owned by
Spanish-speakers. Most of the signs and advertisements are written in
Spanish or in both English and Spanish. People walk down the street
speaking Spanish, employees will greet you in Spanish or in broken
English. Most of these individuals come from the Dominican Republic but
we found some businesses owned by Salvadorans. One of these Salvadoran
owned businesses is a restaurant called "Rincon Centro Americano" or in
English, Central American corner. This restaurant only sells food from El
Salvador. All of the employees that work here come from El Salvador, and
as you will see, have very limited English.
We interviewed one of the employees that
works at this restaurant, and
this is her story. Marta has been in the United States for fifteen years.
She speaks Spanish and does not know English. Because she can communicate
perfectly in Spanish with other people, she feels no need to learn
English. In Marta's words "If I go to the bank the cashiers speak
Spanish, the same with the post office, the hospital, and of course at my
job. There are always people that speak Spanish so I do not need to learn
English." She said she is planning to learn English, but not out of
necessity. At her job in the restaurant, English is not required because
most, if not all of her customers speak Spanish. Like Marta, the other
employees at this restaurant do not speak English.
Since Marta's situation is common in this
community, we decided to look at
someone that needed to learn English for survival. Roberto came from El
Salvador 10 years ago. He decided to move to Washington Heights because
since he did not know much English, it would be easy for him to get around
in this Spanish-speaking neighborhood. He lives on 168th street in
Manhattan with his wife Rosa and his 3 Children: Jenny (7), Robert (5),
and Amy (2). Roberto works at a Pizza shop at Rockefeller Center. As he
said " I had to learn English in order to be able to work here and
communicate with the customers and my employer. At home I speak Spanish,
since my wife does not know English. My children learn English at school
and Spanish at home." His children are first-generation Americans, and up
to this point they are growing up bilingual. Although Roberto lives in
Washington Heights, he had to learn English for his job, which requires
interaction in this language.
Washington Heights is home to many immigrant
groups, which have one thing
in common, language. Salvadorans are one of these groups. They live,
work, learn, and maintain vibrant social lives in this community. Most of
the children in the area schools are Spanish speakers, government agencies
provide assistance in Spanish, hospitals have interpreters for patients
who speak Spanish (as well as other languages), social facilities such as
Churches serve as a spiritual as well as a social setting for members of
the community. Likewise, there are numerous Spanish publications in this
neighborhood, as well as local businesses owned by Spanish speakers like
Salvadorans. In sum, many people who live in Washington Heights do not
have a need to learn English, this is because English is not the dominant
language in this community.
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