Spanish dies in grandkids, study finds

By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times
El Paso Times

Irma Salazar had such a hard time in school in the 1950s -- because her Mexican immigrant parents had taught her only Spanish -- that she made the choice to speak only English to her own children.

"I didn't want them to have the trouble I had when I started school. I had a hard time communicating with teachers," Salazar said.

According to a recent study, her decision follows a national trend that sees Spanish dying off as the dominant language in immigrant families within three generations.

The study -- published in the September issue of the Population Council journal Population and Development Review -- shows that about 35 percent of the U.S.-born children of Mexican immigrants spoke Spanish, only 17 percent of their children did so, and only 5 percent of the next generation was fluent in Spanish. The language life span was even shorter for non-Spanish-speaking immigrants such as Asians and white Europeans.