Parents help their kids speak fluent Spanish and maintain their heritage

Parents help their kids speak fluent Spanish and maintain their heritage
- December 8, 2011
- Ruben Rumbaut, sociology professor, is quoted in the Washington Post, December 7, 2011
-----
From the Washington Post:
Spanish seems so very alive because it is fresh on the lips of so many new arrivals.
Yet, simultaneously, the language is dying daily. Research shows that most grandchildren
of Latino immigrants will sound like gringos. Despite parents' and grandparents' best
efforts, "Spanish appears to draw its last breath in the third generation," said Ruben
Rumbaut, professor of sociology at the University of California at Irvine, a leading
expert in the survival rates of immigrant languages. He calls the United States "the
world's largest language graveyard" because of the cultural power of American English.
For the full story, please visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/parents-help-their-kids-sp....
-----
Would you like to get more involved with the social sciences? Email us at communications@socsci.uci.edu to connect.
Related News Items
- Careet RightFlying in America is about to get more expensive and less fun
- Careet RightTime travel in physics: "We still don't know"
- Careet RightExploring nineteenth century performance culture's role in Latinx identity formation
- Careet RightFor most Americans, ICE and Homeland Security funding isn't a priority
- Careet RightThe emotionally priceless child 2.0