A study investigated the stigma associated with not speaking a native language in a Hispanic community. Subjects were 288 male and female university students and staff, both Hispanic and non-Hispanic, in the San Diego (California) area. Two forms of a paper-and-pencil survey were administered to the subjects; one gave a stimulus figure, a Mexican male student named Juan, who spoke only English, while the other had the figure speaking both Spanish and English. Respondents answered questions concerning the stimulus figure's leadership, social status, communication skills, and educational potential. Results indicate that the Hispanic non- Spanish-speaker was felt to be less Hispanic than the bilingual Hispanic. Hispanic respondents felt that if Juan did not speak Spanish, he should not hold a leadership position in the Mexican-American community. All respondents felt that if Juan did not speak Spanish his social success was low, he was less Hispanic, his communication skills were low, and his intelligence was lower. Charts illustrating the results are appended. Contains four references. (MSE)