Latinos lose habit of speaking only
Spanish at home
By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff on 05.03.16
Word Count 573
Owner Lourdes Perez (center) teaches a dance move during practice at the Spotlight Dance Studio in Cudahy,
California, April 14, 2016. She speaks almost entirely in Spanish, while most of her students, though Latino, speak
English. Photo: Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/TNS
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Like many Mexican immigrants, Juan Rivera's family spoke only in
Spanish.
So when he had his own children, he wanted them to speak both languages. He covered
his home with sticky notes with words in English and Spanish.
Soon the children went back to speaking just English. Rivera stopped posting the notes.
Across the country, Latino communities are going through a big change. More Latinos are
growing up in families that speak only English. Latinos are people whose families come
from Central and South America.
A new study came out last week. It was done by the Pew Research group. The study found
that in 2014, about 1 out of 3 Latinos ages 5 to 17 grew up in families that spoke only
English. In 2000, the numbers were lower.
Overall, more Latinos are speaking English at home, the study found. Fewer Latinos are
speaking Spanish.
Where You're Born Rules What You Speak
The researchers found that more Latinos are born in the United States. Fewer Latinos are
coming from other countries.
The first generation prefers to speak Spanish, said Jody Agius Vallejo. She teaches at the
University of Southern California and studies immigrants. The second generation speaks
both languages. The third generation usually speaks only English.
In the last 20 or 30 years, large numbers of people have come to the United States from
Latin America. Many schools taught Latino children in both English and Spanish. In 1998,
California voted to stop most school programs that taught in both languages. Some people
did not like these programs. They claimed the children would never speak English if they
learned in both languages.
It is not that simple, though.
Spanish Is So Much More Than Words
Outside a dance studio, mothers waited for their daughters. Most of the children spoke
English, but the teacher speaks almost entirely in Spanish.
The mothers joked about speaking to their children in Spanish only when they punished
them. The mothers also said they were sad. Their children do not know enough Spanish to
speak with their grandparents.
Maria del Rosario Peralta continues to speak to her daughter in Spanish. Her daughter
answers in English.
This summer, the family plans to visit the grandparents in Mexico. Peralta worries that her
daughter will not be able to talk with them.
“I tell her, 'What’s going to happen when we go to visit your grandparents?'” Peralta said.
“Vas a hablar o te vas a quedar muda?” In Spanish, it means, “Are you going to talk, or are
you going to stay silent?”
Nearly half of Latinos are younger than 18. About 9 out of 10 of them speak only English at
home or speak English very well, according to information gathered in 2014 by the U.S.
government. In 2000, fewer Latinos said they knew English well or spoke only English at
home.
Erika Aparicio is 24 years old. She came to the United States when she was 6 and speaks
both English and Spanish. She prefers to speak to her parents in Spanish.
Aparicio tries to speak only Spanish to her 3-year-old daughter.
“I’m not going to let the Spanish die with me,” she said. “I see the value in knowing two
languages.”
For many families, language is about more than just what you speak, Vallejo said.
It is about who you are. It is about relationships with family and friends - and the memories
you share with them.