(CNN) 鈥� What do Sen. Ted Cruz, Oscar-winning actor and a puzzled kid stumbling to answer questions on live TV have in common?
They鈥檙e all Latinos who鈥檝e been shamed for the way they speak Spanish.
The issue regularly emerges in debates online 鈥� and even on stage during presidential primary season. And a new reveals how widespread it鈥檚 become.
About half of US Latinos who don鈥檛 speak Spanish have been shamed because of it, the study says, noting that 54% of Latinos who speak no more than a little Spanish say another Latino has made them feel bad for it.
The experience is more common for younger Latinos. Among those aged 18-49 who said they could carry on a conversation in Spanish 鈥渁 little鈥� or 鈥渘ot at all,鈥� 57% report being shamed by other Latinos for not speaking Spanish well, the study says, while only 44% of those aged 50 and older had that experience.
At the same time, the study found that more than three quarters of Latinos say it鈥檚 not necessary to speak Spanish to be considered Latino.
鈥淚t鈥檚 this interesting set of tensions around what the role of Spanish is in Latinos鈥� lives,鈥� says Mark Hugo Lopez, director of race and ethnicity research at Pew.
Why do these tensions keep flaring?
鈥淭here鈥檚 a subtle but ongoing shift in the ,鈥� Lopez says. 鈥淲hile the vast majority, according to the Census Bureau, do. 鈥� among younger Latinos, you see a growing share speaking only English.鈥�
In this climate, high-profile moments on TV and online reignite debates over whether someone is 鈥淟atino enough,鈥� Pew鈥檚 study notes, and language often plays a major role in the conversation.
The study cites several examples:
鈥� As Sen. Marco Rubio and Cruz sparred , Rubio slammed his Republican presidential primary rival鈥檚 language skills. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how he knows what I said on Univision, because he doesn鈥檛 speak Spanish.鈥� Cruz fired back 鈥� in Spanish 鈥� and the debate continued.
鈥� Last year DeBose opened up about her insecurities around speaking Spanish, telling Lin-Manuel Miranda that she hesitated at first to play the role in 2021鈥檚 鈥淲est Side Story鈥� that would eventually land her an Oscar. 鈥淚 do not speak Spanish. I鈥檓 not fluent. And I thought for the longest time that that made me less of what I was,鈥� DeBose said in a . 鈥淎nd maybe I shouldn鈥檛 talk about my background because perhaps I didn鈥檛 represent the community well enough.鈥�
鈥� More recently, debate surged online when a reporter tried to interview a child outside SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, after Mexico鈥檚 CONCACAF Gold Cup win there. of the visibly confused kid struggling to answer a rapid string of Spanish questions, prompting critics to slam the child鈥檚 parents and his generation鈥檚 attitudes toward learning the language.
They鈥檙e helping Latinos learn Spanish 鈥榳ithout shame鈥�
When she saw the video circulating online, Jackie Rodriguez says she saw herself in that little boy鈥檚 face.
She had also attended that soccer game, and she loved the outpouring of joy and sense of community she found there. But if anyone had grilled her in Spanish about the details of what happened on the field, she says she wouldn鈥檛 have known what to say.
鈥淚 could tell you who my favorite player is, and who looks good, and who won, but I can鈥檛 talk about the technicalities,鈥� she says.
Being shamed for your understanding of Spanish, like that child was on air and online, can have a lasting impact, Rodriguez says.
鈥淲hen you sit with that, that鈥檚 when those mental blocks start to build up. And next time you want to speak Spanish in public, you鈥檙e going to think of that moment,鈥� she says.
For years, Rodriguez has been helping others face their insecurities about speaking Spanish.
She鈥檚 a co-founder of , which bills itself as a 鈥渟afe space鈥� for Latinos to 鈥渉eal, practice and have fun learning Spanish with others that share similar stories.鈥� In Spanish, 鈥渟in pena鈥� means 鈥渨ithout shame.鈥� Spanish Sin Pena holds online language classes and discussion groups and even offers in-person travel experiences for participants.
The program started out about five years ago in the form of coaching sessions for a few individuals. Since then, it鈥檚 blossomed into a supportive community of more than 1,000 people, says Wendy Ramirez, another cofounder.
鈥淲e have grandparents in our program. We have people that are pregnant about to have babies that join our program because of that. We have people that just are still in school. We have professionals,鈥� Rodriguez says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just really cool to see all these different walks of life.鈥�
Many bond over the common experience of being children or grandchildren of immigrants, and wishing they spoke Spanish better in order to connect with their families.
According to Pew鈥檚 study released this week, most US Latinos speak Spanish, but the share of Latinos who do differs by generation. Nearly 70% of Latino, U.S.-born children of immigrants say they can carry on a conversation in Spanish at least pretty well. But among later generations descended from Latino immigrants, a much smaller share (34%) say they can do that.
鈥榃e need to stop apologizing鈥�
The Pew report doesn鈥檛 delve into the impact shaming over Spanish has in the lives of people who face it.
But says it鈥檚 a reality he knows all too well. In his years as a teacher, a principal and now as an educational consultant, Medina says he鈥檚 heard from many people who are struggling.
鈥淪ome feel guilty for not speaking Spanish or for making the decision to not have their children learn Spanish,鈥� he says.
Others face ridicule when they try to use Spanish or Spanglish in conversation.
Last week Medina, whose videos about Spanglish and dual language education have a large social media following, took to TikTok with a response to the stories he鈥檚 heard. A major reason many struggle to speak Spanish, he said, is because of the education they got in U.S. school systems.
鈥淲e need to stop apologizing for the Spanish we speak or don鈥檛 speak,鈥� he said.
His message sparked hundreds of responses. Among them:
鈥淢y Spanish was taken away, beginning in kindergarten. We were made to feel ashamed of our language.鈥�
鈥淗ate going to Mexico and all my family saying I speak like a gringa and shaming me as if it鈥檚 my fault I don鈥檛 speak it very well.鈥�
鈥淚 was bullied even in my own family for the 鈥榳rong鈥� Spanish I spoke.鈥�
Responding to shame with a game
Carlos Torres says growing up in California, he rarely spoke Spanish with his mom, who鈥檇 immigrated to the US from Mexico.
鈥淢y mom and the rest of my family, my grandparents, were always trying to tell me, 鈥榊ou鈥檝e got to learn English. You鈥檝e got to fit in. You鈥檝e got to go to a better school.鈥欌��
Now 31, he says as an adult he frequently found himself asking questions of his wife, who鈥檚 more fluent in Spanish. They realized the questions 鈥� and the often-entertaining conversations they sparked 鈥� were something others in their generation deal with daily, too.
So together they created 鈥�,鈥� which features cards that quiz players on Spanish words and encourage them to share childhood memories along the way.
Laughter-filled videos of Torres and his wife, Jessica Rosales, quizzing people with the cards have earned the game .
The game鈥檚 title is a play on words, referring to a slur that鈥檚 frequently used to describe the way some US-born children of immigrants speak Spanish. That term, 鈥渘o sabo kids,鈥� mocks an incorrect conjugation of the Spanish verb saber, which means 鈥渢o know.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a term that has been used to kind of tease people about their Spanish or single them out and try to make someone feel that they鈥檙e not Latino enough,鈥� Torres says.
Torres and Rosales say they hope their game will turn that idea on its head and bridge the language gap between families and friends.
Pew鈥檚 study found that for many, speaking Spanish is closely connected with Latino identity.
But Torres says their game is revealing a more complicated picture, too.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter how much Spanish I know or how much Spanish Jess knows. We share very, very similar childhood memories, very similar Latino household memories,鈥� he says.
And that, Torres says, should bring people together 鈥渞ather than us putting each other down based on the amount of Spanish we know.鈥�
The-CNN-Wire
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