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It is easy to dismiss these incidents as nothing more than viral content: tidbits of reassuring indignation that are quickly consumed, shared and forgotten. Shoppers, workers or bystanders are called out and threatened for speaking Spanish in public - a variation on the refrain “This is America speak English" - victims take video of the exchange, which goes viral on social media and news coverage of the incident results in an outpouring of support for the victims. Regardless of the location - a Walmart in Georgia, a grocery store in Colorado, restaurants in Virginia, West Virginia and Texas a Fourth of July celebration in California a road in Texas a cardiologist’s office in California - these videos follow a very similar script. For the 41 million who speak Spanish at home in the U.S., however, speaking Spanish in public is often met with significantly more hostility.Įver since video of New York lawyer Aaron Schlossberg threatening to call ICE on the Fresh Kitchen deli employees because he heard them speaking Spanish went viral, tens of similar videos have come to light. After all, you wouldn’t expect Alfonso Cuarón to be heckled for saying muchas gracias in his Best Foreign Film acceptance speech. But even with the Academy’s reputation for staidness, the Oscars are a friendly stage. There is no doubt that hearing other languages in a major broadcast helps normalize multilingualism in the United States. These nuggets of multilingualism, combined with some historic nominations and awards recipients, made this year’s ceremony fairly inclusive by Academy standards, even if some of the awards raised eyebrows. Thanks to Diego Luna, Javier Bardem, Alfonso Cuarón and Trevor Noah, nearly 30 million viewers in the United States and a few hundred million more worldwide heard Spanish and Xhosa in the 2019 Academy Awards ceremony. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) This article is more than 2 years old. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Angela Bassett, left, and Javier Bardem present the award for best foreign language film at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb.