Our position: Central Florida's increasing diversity will add to its richness

There's no question that the Hispanic population in Central Florida is growing and, at the same time, becoming more diverse.

The latest statistics show that Puerto Ricans, U.S. citizens and always the largest Hispanic population in the area, are now being joined by Colombians, Dominicans and Mexicans, among others.

The Hispanic population ranges from 14 percent in Seminole County to 24 percent in Orange to 39 percent in Osceola.

So should Central Florida be concerned about a culture clash?

Hardly. Instead the changes should increase the richness of the area.

There's every reason to believe that our diverse population will assimilate fairly quickly, without anyone having to abandon his or her cultural roots.

A recent think-tank study by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research found that people who arrived in this country in the past 25 years have assimilated faster than their counterparts of a century ago.

That isn't true for all groups. Mexicans, for example, are making slower progress than others. But the study should help shoot down concerns that Hispanics here aren't assimilating. It's just the opposite.

Look at language -- always the most controversial issue when it comes to diversity -- where true assimilation begins.

In five Orange County schools that offer adult-language programs, enrollment is up from 3,804 to 3,921 in the 2007-08 fiscal year, and that doesn't include a new batch of several hundred summer-school students.

Given the region's diversity, it's critical that Orange and other counties make the teaching of English a priority. Learning the language is the most difficult challenge for the first generation.

Another study, this one by The Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research group, tracked the assimilation of Hispanics by generation and found that while only 4 percent of first-generation immigrants spoke primarily English, by the third generation, that number skyrocketed to 78 percent.

And there's little need to fear that Orlando will become like South Florida, where English-only speakers account for 27 percent of the Miami-Dade residents.

Miami presents totally different circumstances than here. It was a gateway for a huge wave of Cuban immigration that allowed those residents to live in enclaves and not have to speak English.

That's not the case in Central Florida. To prosper, you have to speak English. It's the difference between being the person washing dishes in the back of the restaurant and the person managing it up front.

Central Florida is spreading its cultural wings. That's something to celebrate.

Editorial-Sun Sentinel