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Title: Language Shift and Maintenance among Immigrant Children in the U.S.: Evidence in the Census for Spanish Speakers and Other Language Minorities

Citation Type: Conference Paper

Publication Year: 2003

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Abstract: Research on U.S. Spanish over the last thirty years, and earlier, has demonstrated an inexorable loss of the language among Spanish speaking populations here. However, analyses of 1980, 1990, and 2000 U.S. Census data, using an innovative approach known as a synthetic cohort, reveal a high degree of transmission of Spanish from first generation to second generation speakers. Data from the Integrated Public Microdata Series (IPUMS) are used to create a simulated longitudinal sample of Spanish speakers over a ten year period, tracking reported language use of individuals starting at ages 5-7 and ending at ages 15-17. Comparison of analyses using a cross-sectional approach indicate that other studies have tended to under-report the degree of transmission between first and second generation speakers. English language acquisition is studied as well, indicating that second generation speakers are bilingual, with a high degree of control of both Spanish and English.

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Authors: Mora, Marie T.; Dvila, Alberto; Villa, Daniel

Conference Name: Linguistic Association of the Southwest 32nd Annual Meeting

Publisher Location: Edinburg, TX

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Migration and Immigration, Other

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